“Arguably, the single most powerful tool needed to win the game of Survivor is the creation and preservation of alliances. Larry Richardson – The Essential Armchair Guidebook to Winning Survivor
“You are your own essential ally. Get right with yourself.”
― Bryant McGill – Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life
In her recent book, Super-Better, Jane McGonigal considers the notion that life’s challenges can be vanquished by turning them into a video game with these seven steps:
1. Challenge yourself.
2. Collect and activate power-ups.
3. Find and battle the bad guys.
4. Seek out and complete quests.
5. Recruit your allies.
6. Adopt a secret identity.
7. Go for an epic win.
Since it first appeared on television 15 years ago I have been a gung-ho fan of the television series Survivor. (I can read your thoughts – yes, I am a geek.) For those of you distracted every Wednesday night by real lives, on the show contestants – typically 16 – are isolated in the wilderness and take on “challenges” for “tribe” and personal advantage. The show uses a system of progressive elimination; the contestants vote off other “tribe” members until only one, the Sole Survivor, remains.
Richard Hatch is probably the contestant who most definitively crossed over into mainstream fame (or infamy). Hatch won Season 1 despite a host of evil antics that memorialized him on many all-time T.V villain lists. He won, nearly entirely because he was able to forge and maintain an alliance with three other players that enabled them to bowl over all the others to get to “the Final Four.” His innovation has been the model for Survivor success for 31 seasons.
Why am I bringing this up? Because for many applicants, failure to form Bar Exam preparation alliances may result in their being voted off “the Island,” (a Survivor term for “the Pass List”).
The first, most obvious, alliance is your Bar Prep course. By doing most, if not all, of the recommended assignments; attending most, if not all, of the lectures (in person or on-line); and doing your best to learn and remember all the rules and how they work , there is little doubt that you’ll have advanced your chances to be an ultimate survivor of the Bar Exam.
An alliance that too many students overlook is BRICS. Bar Resources, Instruction, Coaching and Support is a Law School program that puts bar applicants in touch with weekly substantive law presentations geared to the Bar Exam by doctrinal law professors, individual coaching by professors in the Office of Academic and Bar Success, and grading and feedback of both practice essays and performance tests. Even if you don’t throw in for the whole deal, counseling professors are anxious to work with you on an ongoing basis.
Consider the study group. As in a Survivor alliance where one member may master the politics, another may win physical challenges and another collect good will for “work around camp,” a well constructed study group can depend on the diverse skills of its members to empower all its members. A study group can quickly become greater than the sum of its parts, providing not only intellectual, but also psychological and emotional support. Strength in numbers – right?
An alternative to a study group may simply be a study partner. Not so comprehensive perhaps, but the difference between going it alone and having a partner to “think out loud” with, complain to, and study alongside, can be huge.
Family and friends are, in my opinion, a hugely under-examined and underrated Bar prep alliance. It bothers me to hear pundits warn applicants to put out APB’s that they will be “going underground” for the two months before the Exam. I, for one, count on my “besties.” I am always there for them and they are always there for me. Why would I want to skip my weekly hike with my closest law school classmate, if that’s when my soul and confidence are always refreshed? Why would I turn down the privilege of dinner at my sister’s house? You will find time for both study and communion – trust me – so stay attached and in touch.
All this said, don’t forget the alliance that is more important than any of these – your alliance with YOU! Without a good understanding of what you’ll need to do for yourself, you’ll have blown off your closest ally and may find yourself voted off at the next Tribal Council. Have you started a physical conditioning program that will keep you strong from the first essay to the last performance test? Are you eating right? Are you paying sufficient attention to what this gargantuan task means to you – not just at the level of finding a job, but in terms of how you want to look back at the experience? If you are spiritual, are you maintaining your practice?
During Season 4, contestant Hunter Ellis aptly put all Survivor players into two distinct categories when he said:
“We have some people here that seriously want to play this game and survive. I think the others are here because they think they are on vacation.”
Unless you think you are “on vacation,” now is the time to start building the strategic infrastructure of alliances to “play this game and survive.” Good Luck! Get Started!
