What other jobs can you do with a law degree?
When law grads ask this question it is often (not always) tied to not passing the bar, even after many tries.
If you’re anything like I was when searching for alternative career paths, you’re half in and half out; not fully committed to pursuing said alternate path, but definitely not wanting to stay on this bar exam merry-go-round.
Here is something that will help, no matter what you choose to do.
(As with all of my work, this procedure goes deeper than surface “tips and tricks” and helps you tap into the source of the problem so that the solution you come up with feels solid and works for y-o-u.)
After helping hundreds of law graduates through our program, products, and coaching, I pinpointed one critical factor that is often missing when a person has trouble passing an exam. The way that I found to fill in this critical factor, also happens to be a great way to find a satisfying alternative career path! And I’m going to share it with you now! That’s right, below is a video giving you a sneak peek into the process I take bar takers through that helps them pass the bar. Watch the video and follow along to not only help yourself pinpoint a fitting alternative career but to give yourself the freedom to retake the bar (if you so choose) from a place of confidence and mastery.
Hi, I'm Jennifer Duclair, lead mindset mentor here at JD Life and Career Coaching.
I'm going to share with you a trick to help you pass your exam. Not a trick really, it's actually one step of the proven process that I take exam takers through that allows them to do their best inside and out and pass their exam.
So one step that I found crucial to being able to go from repeatedly failing the exam, or possibly you never took the exam but you're terrified of it, to passing with flying colors and with ease. Not stressful passing, not anxious passing, but actually being the most peaceful that you've ever been and taking this exam and flowing through it and getting successful results on the other end.
This step is crucial. It's the ability to let go.
Let go of the results of the exam. Literally not care. Not in the sense that you're going to shrug it off and procrastinate, because chances are if you're watching this video if you're anything like I was when I was taking this very difficult Bar exam, shrugging it off and procrastinating is actually a sign of your fear.
You're procrastinating out of, “I don't think I can make it anyway” or “nothing I'm doing is working right”. So we're not talking about not caring in the sense of procrastinating or shrugging it off. We're actually talking about going through the process because you enjoy it. You enjoy the learning.
You enjoy seeing your scores on your practice sessions go up higher and higher. You enjoy setting up your study space. You enjoy setting the boundaries with people and reclaiming your time and having a peaceful mind and learning about yourself and seeing what you're made of.
As you get ready for this exam, this is where we're headed.
When you're in that place where you're not caring about the exam itself, but you're enjoying the process of getting ready for it, now you can pass. That's the step, the stage that I bring Bar takers through, and now other exam-takers so that they can finally pass.
I'm going to walk you through one of the exercises that I use to help exam takers be able to release caring about the exam and the results, and it is actually pretty counter-intuitive, but i encourage you to make some space right now. Get out a journal or open up a fresh document on your computer and get ready to write down answers to the following questions so that you can experience a sense of release, relief, and non-attachment to the results that lead to you being able to pass. By the time you get to the end of this exercise, you're going to feel a sense of freedom!
Think about your upcoming exam and what passing it will allow you to do. What profession are you trying to go into? What position are you trying to be promoted to? What is this exam and passing it going to let you do?
Why? Why do you want to do that thing that you wrote for question number one?
Why do you want what you wrote down for question number two? What is that going to do for you? Why do you want it? How will it make you feel and why is it important?
(Ask yourself this question in a number of different ways. Sometimes just saying “why?” doesn’t work, but if you ask “What will that make me feel” or “Why is that important”, then you might be able to get more out of yourself.)
Just a little intermission here to say:
I'm happy to announce that three slots this month in my calendar have opened up for me to help exam takers complete this milestone and move forward with what lies after your success! You can get started by clicking the button below and filling out a quick survey so that you can then get access to my calendar and book a time where we can talk about how your strategy with me will get you past this exam and on to your successful life
Now, back to this activity. You're on number four.
4. (I think you know where I’m going with this) Why is what you wrote for number three important to you? Why do you want that? What will it do for you? How will it make you feel? Why is that important?
5. Take it one step further. Why do you want the thing you wrote for number four? Write that down now search your heart. It takes a minute.
6. By the time you’ve gotten to number six, you’re like “Oh, I think I’ve gotten to the bottom of it”, but I encourage you if you’re a soul searcher like I am, and you're a deep thinker like I am, and you just you really want to dive into all the nooks and crannies of everything and turn things inside out and really understand it, (I know I love to understand myself better - growth is my happiness) I encourage you to complete number six and then ...
7. …number seven with the same question.
”Why is that important?”
By the time you get to number seven, it's usually about as far as you can get. By the time you get to number seven, it's really a very esoteric answer, but I encourage you to get to at least number five and, you know for bonus points, you get down to number seven continuously asking “Why is that important to you?”, (“that” is the answer in the previous sentence). Why is it important? What will it get you? How will it make you feel? And then, why do you want that? Right? Keep going.
Now, I want you to look at that end product, and I want you to ask yourself: “Are there other ways that I could get this?”
Guaranteed, 100 times out of 100 times, the answer is yes.
Because you've now distilled it down to the level of purpose and being and what's in your soul, and I guarantee you there's not just this one job or position or thing in life that fulfills your soul. Your soul is more nebulous, and usually, there are several different things that can fulfill you. You've chosen this one route but there are others.
So, in that vein, list maybe one, two, five (for bonus points) things that you could do to get that same feeling, thing, desire, or purpose that you have written down as your answer to number five, six, or seven. What are the other things you can do to get you there?
Here in the last few minutes, I've taken you through a mind-shifting way of, a literal mind shift to take you from where this exam is everything, which is the mindset that we can get into when you put on the blinders that's necessary for you to focus and pass. Those blinders can also make you feel like this is the only thing in the world available to me. So I've taken you through a mind shift that allows you to literally ease up off of this exam.
And the reason why this works is that now you feel better, don't you?
You're not stuck anymore. There are plenty of ways that you can do it, but you've chosen this way out of your free will. You are free to make another choice. It doesn't mean anything bad about you. You're not a quitter. At the end of the day, you're seeking to fulfill your soul, which is what you came to this earth to do, and your purpose, your inner purpose, can be expressed through so many things, and once exam takers understand this, a lot of pressure is relieved off of this exam, and with the relief of pressure, you now have energy freed up that you can apply to useful things that will probably help you pass.
I hope this exercise was useful to you, and if you wish to talk one-on-one and strategize about your way through this exam and on to the success that's on the other side, then click the button below and I'll talk with you soon.