Motivation Archives | Page 3 of 8 | Make This Your Last Time

January 2, 2025January 3, 2026 - 1 Comment

I got a little sassy at a Redditor at 3:30 AM

It’s time for “good cop, bad cop.”

I try to be a balanced and insightful voice in bar prep. I try to be understanding of what you’re going through… Here’s warm milk and cookies…

But some of us are still spacing out like the SLOW ASS drivers I screech past in LA Koreatown.

It’s clear that good cop isn’t getting the job done. I fear I’m turning too vanilla like every other bar blog (though vanilla is a goated flavor).

And so today, I’m the bad cop.

Worse, I’m your surrogate Asian dad who will draw out 125% of what you thought was your max power.

Yes, I already get saucy sometimes, but people are crying out to be told the truth. Sometimes you need a cold fucking shower to slap some sense into those neurons and remind them that they are alive.

December 21, 2024December 26, 2025 - 4 Comments

Should You Study for the Bar Exam or Take a Break During Holidays?

Every time the holidays roll around, a pang of GUILT flashes across the bar taker’s heart as they balance social obligations and the big day looming two months away.

“Do I go to that wedding? Why is the wedding outdoors in December?”

“Do I grow a spine, or say yes to that holiday party with the mandatory $100 white elephant gift?”

“Do I study or hang out with my family?”

There are pockets of cultures surrounding work, rest, and “self-care.”

Let’s divide them into two extreme stereotypical categories. This false dichotomy will be a narrative device so I can make a point later:

December 4, 2024August 2, 2025 - 18 Comments

Doing What “Works for You” in Bar Prep

How bar takers view the prep process has shifted over the last 10 years:

Standard advice 10 years ago: Follow the program. Trust the system.
Past few years: Movement toward independent self-study and people advising others to “do what works for you” or “do what’s best for you.”

But what does that mean?

“Do what works for you” can be vague and circular because knowing what works for you may be a product of hindsight.

If you already knew what was best for you, you’d be doing it already.

June 14, 2024October 4, 2026 - 4 Comments

180+ Point Jump on the CA Bar Exam While Battling Health Issues

“Babe, wake up! Brian dropped another Fire-up Friday.”

Yes, that’s a real quote (maybe):

When I read Bella’s story, I told her: “Frankly, anyone who will have the privilege of reading this story will have no excuse.”

Now you have the privilege of reading her story.

Bella passed the 2024 February California Bar Exam on her 6^th try. Well, that’s not THAT rare, right…?

WRONG

Bella was going through some shit—literally.

June 2, 2024June 28, 2024 - 33 Comments

How to Get Motivation Studying for the Bar Exam

You’ve seen all the euphoria from people who passed the bar exam.

You’re probably “inspired” and “motivated” when you look at bar exam success stories and accounts of people who excitedly announce they passed the bar exam.

When that happens, we say things like “if they can do it, so can I” (true). Or “I needed this today.”

Today?

That’s some “new year, new me” type energy. I’m not letting you off the hook like that.

Anyone can desire to pass the bar. Anyone can fixate on the goal and SAY they want it.

These are people who come to me desperate and lost… get “inspired” or gain “perspective”… and then return to the same old cycle looking for hits of relief.