https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMm7oUxGy8A
“I wrote my first novel by accident,” says Evan Law, immigration attorney and novel writer. After failing the Bar Exam three times, Evan began writing a novel that he felt encapsulated many of the fundamental legal principles that the Bar aims to test. Evan then took the Bar Exam for a fourth time and found that he was far more prepared for this new attempt than the others, primarily due to his writing.
Evan’s ultimate success after several failures inspired him to help others avoid the feelings of stress and emotional defeat he had experienced throughout the test-taking process. He has now written and published two novels, which contain over 130 principles of law between them, core ideas that every aspiring lawyer should know. While Evan first started writing his stories as a side project, mainly aimed at helping himself, he now sees a broader purpose in these books. In fact, the books are currently being turned into movies, which Evan hopes to incorporate into a larger course for law students called Lawflix.
Tune into this week’s episode of Move Forward Anyway to learn more about how Evan transformed his Bar Exam failures into an unexpected career path. This conversation about unforeseen opportunities, overcoming fear, and taking chances to pursue your dreams is sure to inspire you to create meaningful change in your own life.
Quotes:
- “Life is kind of like that. You have these lenses that you’re looking through or this perspective you have that sometimes when you hear someone else’s story it helps you say, ‘Oh wow, I can get through this.’” (3:55-4:08)
- “I think there’s something with having dreams and then also being associated with people that say, ‘I understand, and I love that you have that dream. Now here’s the next step that you need to do in reality to make that happen.’” (5:40-5:53)
- “There are opportunities in front of you…that are never going to emerge or happen if you don’t take the next step.” (7:53-8:05)
- “I failed [the Bar Exam] three times, and I finally passed on the fourth time after I started writing these novels. And actually that day when I took the exam, I actually enjoyed being there because I had prepped myself with what I had written. I just felt like I was much more in ownership of the situation (10:50-11:15).
- “It took me several years to recover from…the stigma that I put on myself for failing the Bar Exam. And then to have met other people who failed the Bar, it’s like I just have this drive to help people avoid what I went through.” (11:38-11:55)
- “I have those inhibitions, but I can’t let that hold me back.” (22:50-22:52)
- “Take a chance…You want to make sure your relationships are intact, you want to make sure you don’t do anything illegal, but beyond that take the chance and learn from it because it could open up the door of the next thing that will ignite a passion within you. And it might just be that you’re inspiring someone else while they are finding their way. But it’s just too risky to leave it untouched” (24:45-25:19)
- “Look at all the dreams you have. Write them all out. And then ask yourself, ‘What are the next steps I can take on any number of these….What are some of these that I can chip away at, just for my own enjoyment, for my own drive and passion?’ And then look at what happens. The people that are placed around you that will provide you encouragement. Or fill in the gaps for what you don’t have to get there, and then just move forward with it.” (32:48-34:12)
Links:
Evan’s Author page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B079QZZ9T2
https://www.gayheartandwillis.com/about
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