No, no, you got it all wrong. I am not here to tell you how to study law, because I myself don’t know that. I only know one thing: you have to study.
All my life, I have been searching for the “right” or “wrong” way of doing things, and over time I realized that everyone has their own methods—no one knows for sure how things work. You have to find your own ways, your own method of study.
That doesn’t mean every opinion under the sky is wrong. For example, the advice that you should wake up early in the morning to study is absolutely right. I cannot give you scientific reasons, but from my own observation, getting up early is the mightiest thing to do.
People often justify it by saying that waking early gives them “more hours.” But everyone has 24 hours, so that theory doesn’t hold. Some people work late at night and spend the same amount of time studying as you do.
Now let me tell you what I feel.
When you get up in the morning, you don’t carry the weariness of the day. Your mind is fresher and freer, with fewer thoughts crowding it. There is a certain optimism in the morning that helps you study in a way nothing else can.
As a lawyer, you must study as much as you can, read as much as you can—there is no other way. There is no such thing as rocket science in this world. Everything is exaggerated. People who don’t want to work will always find a thousand excuses.
Over time, as a lawyer who studies as much as possible, I divided my reading into two categories: (1) what interests me, and (2) what does not. Strangely, the material I find boring is usually what helps me the most.
Never stop learning. The moment you stop, everything begins to collapse. Yes, the world holds an ocean of knowledge, and no one can drink it all. But don’t be discouraged—drink what you can, one handful at a time.
My own experiences with reading have not always been pleasant. Often, I didn’t know whether it was the “right” thing to do. Reading impressed people and gave me new perspectives, but it also made me dull company. Most conversations bore me, because I already know what others are going to say.
Another downside of excessive reading is that you become passive. You think too much and act too little. The only action I consistently take is writing. But writing doesn’t pay bills. And in this world, the first fight is always survival.
Some people manage to find their comfortable space, exaggerating their struggles to gain sympathy. After becoming rich, the next goal is always admiration. I always wanted to be a man of immense knowledge—but I now wonder: what use is knowledge unless it produces something tangible?
Knowledge alone is not enough. It must push you to action. An active person can do wonders in life. Don’t merely gain knowledge—become a man of action.
Don’t give 100% to your work. Give 200%. Whatever you do, give more than you are paid for. There are only two ways to get promoted: either wait patiently, or work so much and so well that no one can afford to lose you.