
$91,000.
Thatâs how much money the average law school student borrows.
Not only did I graduate from law school, but I also obtained an LL.M. (Master of Laws) degree while living abroad in The Hague.
So, you can imagine the whopping amount of student loan debt I managed to rack up!
Anyway, I was having a conversation the other day about how Iâm not practicing law these days.
And after I calmed down from my financial anxiety attack, I remembered something important.
A fancy degree wasn't the only thing I got from my expensive education.
I also learned at least a dozen life-changing lessons!
Which, in many ways, is even more valuable than a âpiece of paperâ.
And now, my awesome readers, Iâm sharing them with you for free.
Here they are-
12 Powerful, Life-Changing Lessons I Learned in Law School:
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1. Work smarter, not harder.
Economy of Effort
In law school, it seemed like there was never enough time.
Between all the assigned reading, briefing cases, writing memos, preparing for mock trials and studying for finals, I was always working on something.
There were times when I pulled all-nighters.
Or forgot to eat.
Or didnât shower (gross, I know).
Now I realize that the 80/90 hour âworkâ weeks I was pulling in law school werenât benefiting me as much as I thought. I could have been living a much happier and healthier life and getting more done in less time.
Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule?
Also known as the Pareto Principle, the 80/20 rule states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
It can be applied to economic conditions, athletic training, software optimization, time management, goal setting, and many more contexts.
The trick is to be able to identify which efforts are generating the most results and focus on those in order to maximize your time and performance.
Life-changing lessons from Law School
Do Less, Then Obsess
Harvard Business School professor and management theorist, Morten T. Hansen, sought to understand why some people perform better at work than others.
In his 5-year study of 5,000 people across corporate America, he found that top performers did something different than average performers.
They focused on doing a few things well.
As Hansen describes it, they âdo less, then obsessâ.
The top performers generally took on less than average performers but focused on those few things with fanatic attention to detail.
According to the study, those who put extraordinary effort into a few things outperform those who put average effort into many things by 25%!
The study also found that working more than 50 hours a week is not beneficial and may even produce diminishing returns.
Because itâs not about the hours you put in, but rather the quality of the work you get done.
Moral of this life-changing lesson: Quality over quantity.
2. Done is better than perfect.
If youâve ever struggled to finish projects because you have to make sure everything is âjust rightâ, then this oneâs for you!
The next life-changing lesson I learned in law school is that done is better than perfect.
Itâs one thing to do your best.
Itâs another thing to try to make everything perfect because you don't have confidence in yourself or you're not confident in your ability to succeed.
Perfectionism kills productivity.
At its core, perfectionism is a form of procrastination because we are scared of somethingâ Failure. How other people will perceive us. Not being good enough.
If trying to make everything perfect is getting in the way of you getting things done, youâre focusing on the 80% thatâs not really benefiting you.
Refocus on the 20% that matters.
âHave the courage to be imperfect.â- Alfred Adler
Just do your best, get it done and put yourself out there. If you gets criticized, so what?
You wonât die.
Youâll probably be able to get some valuable feedback that will help you to do better the next time!
And also, remember that itâs not just about the destination; itâs also about the journey and living a life you love.
âWhat you get by reaching your goals is not as important as what you become by reaching them.â- Zig Ziglar
*Check out these 50 inspirational quotes about life, love and happiness!*
Life-Changing Lessons from Law School
3. Pride comes from inside.
One of the most important life-changing lessons I learned in law school is that trying to achieve goals for external validation ultimately leads to disappointment.
Fulfillment comes from achieving your own definition of success, not someone elseâs.
So, when setting goals (or making a personal development plan), make sure they are based on intrinsic values â things that are meaningful to you personally.
As opposed to externally-validated end goals such as wealth and status, intrinsic goals are not only motivated by the achievement, but also the pursuit.
Pursuing intrinsic goals leads to better mental health, happiness and overall well-being.
When you know why you want to accomplish a goal (and itâs for intrinsic reasons like improved health or personal growth), youâll be more motivated to accomplish it.
And even if you donât accomplish it, at least you'll know that: 1. you tried your best, 2. you learned something and 3. there will be another opportunity.
âFailure is success in progress.â- Albert Einstein
There are so many variables in life, so many things we cannot control.
What we can control is ourselves.
If you try your best, you may or may not succeed.
But, you can always rest easy knowing you did everything you could do with what you had.
And thatâs all you can ask of yourself!
The rest you canât control so let it go.
It doesnât really matter how it looks to others or whether you âfailedâ.
What matters is that you did your personal best, you gave it your all â you can always be proud of that.
4. Comparison is the thief of joy.
âEveryone is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.â â Albert Einstein
The next life-changing lesson I learned in law school is that comparison is the thief of joy.
The law school I went to (like most law schools) has a competitive grading scale that makes it extremely difficult to get good grades.
The strict curve only allows so many people to get Aâs, Bâs Câs, etc. depending on how many people are in the class.
In fact, here is the letter the Dean told us to give to our prospective employers:

Notice how it says that for first-year courses, the average grade must be between a C+ and a B-, with 45 percent of students receiving grades of C+ and below.
In one particularly small class I had of about 15 people, only one of us could get an A!
So, it was a very competitive environment that encouraged a scarcity mindset â which is actually detrimental to success.
Because the thing is, we all have unique strengths and weaknesses.
No one is perfect.
But, everyone has gifts.
And those gifts differ. They canât be compared.
One gift isnât âbetterâ than the other; theyâre just different. They make us who we are.
Thatâs part of what makes the world so beautiful and interesting.
When we cherish the gifts we've been given and donât begrudge others for theirs, we are much happier!
Life-changing lessons from Law School
5. Hard work and determination do not (necessarily) equal success.
Hereâs something I heard all the time growing up:
âYou can do anything you set your mind to.â
Sound familiar?
Adults were constantly drilling that into our heads when I was a kid.
The persistent message was that if you really wanted something and you tried really hard to get it, you would succeed. Guaranteed.
Well, I now know that is a Big Fat Lie.
One of the most unfortunate life-changing lessons I learned in law school is that hard work and determination do not automatically equal success.
The problem with the statement, âYou can do anything you set your mind toâ is that it assumes you have all the power.
When actually, there are a lot of other things at play.
Variables that you canât control.
Circumstances that arenât fair.
People who have different opinions than you.
The reality is that just because you do your best does not mean you will succeed.
At least not in the way you initially intended.
Other things inevitably influence the outcome too, like:
There have been plenty of times in law school (and in life) when I tried my absolute best and yet I did not succeed in the way I wanted to.
But because I did my best, I was able to see that the âfailuresâ were not a reflection of my personal worth or ability, but rather the result of many influences.
So, if you give something your best shot and you donât get whatever it is you were striving for, donât beat yourself up over it.
There are lots of uncontrollable factors at work.
Just do your best and release the rest.
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6. But hard work and determination can beat talent.
We all know those annoying people who donât even have to try.
They donât have to study to pass the test, apply to get the job or work to make money.
Success, opportunity and fortune just seem to fall into their laps.
Well, they canât just rest on their laurels forever.
Life-changing lessons from law school #6: hard work beats talent when talent doesnât work hard.
*Remember Aesopâs Fable, The Tortoise and the Hare?
In an American Psychological Association study of elite performers, researchers found that expert performance is not solely attributable to innate talent.
In fact, success has more to do with our behavior.
When considering the difference between expert performers and normal adults, the studyâs authors conclude:
â[W]e deny that these differences are immutable, that is, due to innate talent. Instead, we argue that the differences between expert performers and normal adults reflect a life-long period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain.â
So, another life lesson I learned in law school is the value of a growth mindset.
Our abilities, intelligence, personality and character are not set in stone.
We all have the capacity to improve if weâre willing to put in the effort.
Life-Changing Lessons from Law School
7. Not everyone wants you to succeed.
Of all the life-changing lessons I learned in law school, this is one of the toughest pills to swallow.
But, the harsh truth is that not everyone wants you to succeed.
So, sometimes itâs better to keep your ideas, goals, plans, successes, etc. to yourself.
Donât get me wrong, you need âride or dieâ people in your corner with whom you can share lifeâs ups and downs.
But, there are also probably some haters in your life who do not want to see you succeed and will therefore try to sabotage you.
Whether directly or indirectly, through negative thoughts and energy or passive aggressive behavior, they will try to erode your self-confidence.
They will downplay your accomplishments.
These people donât want your light to shine because they think it somehow dims theirs.
What they donât realize is that your success has absolutely nothing to do with their success.
You are different people, on different journeys, with different purposes.
If those people donât realize that thereâs plenty of good stuff for everyone, they will continue trying to get ahead at othersâ expense and will always be miserable.
Donât give them the satisfaction of raining on your parade or potentially influencing your outcome with their negativity.
Keep your goals secret â youâre more likely to accomplish them that way anyway.
8. Focus on the big picture.
Have you ever heard the expression â âcanât see the forest for the treesâ?
It basically refers to when you get so caught up in the details that you lose sight of the big picture.
I actually learned this life lesson after I graduated from law school thanks to the clarifying (yet frustrating) power of hindsight.
Donât lose sight of the big picture.
You see, I worked so hard in law school.
I didnât really make an effort to forge relationships or get involved in the community.
Often, I didnât attend social events because I was studying.
In fact, pretty much all I did was study!
Which is problematic because, in todayâs world, who you know can be so much more important than what you know.
It wasnât until after I graduated that I realized that interviewers for jobs donât care what grades you got, or whether you graduated in the top third of your class, or how hard you studied, or how much you learned.
What they do care about is who you know that they know.
Perhaps if I had reminded myself of why I was there in the first place â to get a job as a lawyer â I would have realized that some of that study time should have been spent networking and getting internships ⌠you know, big picture stuff.
While itâs important to learn, research and prepare, at the end of the day, doing is whatâs going to get results.
So, donât get caught up in the minutiae and forget what you are ultimately trying to accomplish!
Take a step back every now and then for perspective and remember the big picture.
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Life-Changing Lessons from Law School
9. Self-care is essential.
This is something Iâve seen a lot of high-achievers struggle with.
Self-care is not selfish; itâs essential.
During my second year of law school, I lost 45 pounds in 4 months.
Fueled by energy drinks and coffee, I spent all my time studying and not enough time sleeping, eating the right foods or exercising.
I now realize that this was a dangerous mistake.
If I had a heart attack or developed some other serious health issue, what good would the degree have done me?
So, keep in mind that your well-being has to come first â physical, emotional, mental and spiritual self care is imperative.
In todayâs âI need everything done yesterdayâ society, it can be easy to lose sight of whatâs important.
But, there are many ways you can simplify your life and slow down.
Remember how short and precious life is.
Make sure you maintain a healthy lifestyle so you can be around to enjoy it for as long as possible.
Self-care isnât a luxury. Itâs not all about bubble baths and scented candles.
Itâs about realizing that youâre not a robot. You are a living, breathing human being with a body and mind that require maintenance.
â⌠Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here ⌠[a]nd whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.â â Max Ehrmann
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10. Things (thankfully) donât always go as planned.
As they say, the best-laid plans often go awry.
No matter how much we plan and prepare, unforeseeable circumstances can make things can go differently than expected.
And thatâs a good thing!
I donât have all the answers.
None of us do.
Weâre all just doing the best we can with what weâve got.
We donât know why things happen the way they do or how they will affect us in the future.
All you can do is accept the circumstances you find yourself in and evaluate your options.
Maybe what you wanted wasn't what was best for you after all.
Maybe you didnât get something good because you were meant to have something great.
Iâm sure you can remember a time when you were so disappointed because something didnât go your way only to later realize just how fortuitous that âfailureâ really was.
So, look for the silver lining in situations.
You may need to re-evaluate your expectations or re-assess your goals.
But chances are, there is something you can use to your advantage.
So, seize the learning opportunity, adjust and move forward.
11. Adaptability is key to success.
âIt is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives, but the one most responsive to change.â- Leon C. Megginson, LSU Business Professor
One thing thatâs constant in life is change.
Laws. Trends. Technology. Transportation.
The seasons, the atmosphere, the tide, the lunar cycle.
Things are always changing. That is the nature of life.
So, the next life-changing lesson I learned in law school is that our success is largely dependent on our ability to adapt.
Ever heard the saying, âGive a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetimeâ?
In law school, they didnât teach us how to memorize every single law.
They instead taught us where to find information, how to synthesize it and how to apply it.
Because things are not always straightforward. Sometimes, you have to think outside of the box.
You have to be prepared for the spice of life â variety.
This can be related to a fundamental principle of cybernetics called the Law of Requisite Variety (Ashbyâs Law).
The Law of Requisite Variety states that the degree of control you have over a system is proportional to the amount of information available.
Basically, the more you know about a system, the more you can control it.
Ashby said, âVariety absorbs varietyâ.
What he means is that the more flexible -- the more adaptable -- you are, the better you will be able to respond to change/unknown variables.
Ability to adapt => Ability to thrive/succeed.
Life-Changing Lessons from Law School
12. Youâre capable of more than you think.
When I was applying to law school (and also when I was applying for my masterâs), I doubted my ability to get in.
But I was accepted.
And during my first year, I thought for sure they were talking about me when professors said,
âLook to your left. Look to your right. One of you wonât make it past this year.â
But I made it past that first year.
There were many times over the next two years when I didnât think Iâd be able to get it all done in time.
But I did get it all done.
When I passed the Bar exam, it seemed surreal.
How had I managed to do that?!
So, the final, and perhaps most important, life-changing lesson I learned in law school is that we are capable of more than we think.
Whatâs interesting is that - maybe I was right.
Maybe I really wasnât capable
... at first.
But, because I was constantly learning and improving, I became capable.
We donât know what we are capable of until we push ourselves.
Getting started is the hardest part.
Once things are underway, we can learn from our mistakes, make adjustments and stretch our brainpower in order to get us to the finish line.
Thanks to neuroplasticity, we have the ability to rewire our brains to become smarter, overcome anxiety, conquer limiting beliefs and change our habits.
So, just because you canât now doesnât mean you canât ever.
It just means you canât yet.
So, there you have it â a dozen life-changing lessons I learned in law school!
To summarize:
1. Work smarter, not harder.
2. Done is better than perfect.
3. Pride comes from inside.
4. Comparison is the thief of joy.
5. Hard work and determination do not (necessarily) equal success.
6. But, hard work beats talent when talent doesnât work hard.
7. Not everyone wants you to succeed.
8. Focus on the big picture.
9. Self-care is essential.
10. Things (thankfully) donât always go as planned.
11. Adaptability is key to success.
12. Youâre capable of more than you think.
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