Long time, no blog, friends.

So sorry about that!

I’ve been studying for the LSAT and trying to complete novel #3 before I head off to the John Jay Fellowship in Philly.

Suffice to say, it’s been pretty busy 🙂

However!

I’ve really missed CC, and I’m so glad I got inspiration for this piece because I needed a mental break from LSAT prep and chasing the you-need-to-write-on-average-five-novels-before-getting-published statistic.

See, whilst the LSAT and novel-writing both involve things I LOVE (reading and writing), they both also come with an existential sense of

“I am spending so much–so much–time, energy, brain cells, etc. on this, and I have no guarantee of success.”

Like, studying for the LSAT does not mean I’m going to score in the 170s (learned this from multiple friends) and completing a novel (or three) does not equal open arms in traditional publishing (learned this from personal experience).

And a couple of times–like a few weeks back when an LSAT logic game on the topic of CDs had me wanting to FULL ON break things (namely CDs) and the movie adaptation of NYT-bestselling Where The Crawdads Sing left me simply IN AWE of the storytelling–I’ve felt like there’s no way I could possibly succeed in either thing.

My goals seemed far beyond my abilities.

And I started to think…

What exactly does one need to succeed?

Like, is there any way I can get a guarantee?

And friends, I am happy to report that after a bit of a think, I’m pretty sure I figured the thing!

And so today, I’d like to debunk three things that are commonly mistaken as being sufficient for success before offering my perspective on the one thing that will guarantee it.

The three insufficient things are as follows:

1. Expertise
2. Authenticity
3. Tenacity

And the one thing you need, well for that, you’ve gotta read 🙂

Insufficient Thing #1: Expertise

Back in April, I got to be a part of a reading group through the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) on Shakespeare’s play Coriolanus.

*Side note: If you’re an undergraduate, I HIGHLY recommend checking out AEI’s student programming. For me, participating in their Summer Honors Program in 2019 was truly life-altering, blessing me with mentors and friends and opening doors freshman Sarah could NEVER have imagined.

Anyways, the eponymous Coriolanus was an… interesting man [MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!].

He’s a phenomenal soldier–an expert, in fact–conquering the city of Corioles [from which he got his name] as basically a one-man-band and positioning himself as the obvious choice for consul–the pinnacle of success in the republic.

And yet…

While it was certainly the case that when it came to his war-making abilities, no one had any complaints, when it came to the rest of him…

Well, they had a lot to say.

I think one of his main detractors, Brutus, put it best when he said,

“Caius Martius [Coriolanus] was a worthy officer in the war, but insolent, overcome with pride, ambitious, past all thinking, self loving.”

In other words, Coriolanus was not a very nice man.

Honestly, he was kind of a butthead.

Or!

As his somewhat friend/advisor Menenius would say,

“One that converses more with the buttock of the night than with the forehead of the morning.”

Anyways!

The point is that while Coriolanus may have been an expert in fighting, there were other considerations besides his expertise that carried weight when it came to adjudicating whether or not he would be made consul of Rome.

Put simply, expertise was not enough to guarantee that Coriolanus would achieve his goal.

Indeed, in the end, for all his worthiness in war, he not only failed to get the consul-ship, he also failed to keep a knife out of his back (or neck–the text isn’t super clear. But he is dead!).

So!

If you’ve been operating under the belief that expertise is all you need and are striving for expert-status assuming it will get you where you want to be, it might be time to reassess.

Because a major lesson of Coriolanus is that you can be the best–head, neck, and shoulders above the rest–but when it comes to achieving success, if you are butthead, people are going to put you in a hole.

So can expertise guarantee that you’ll succeed?

No.

Insufficient Thing #2: Authenticity

As I’ve been looking into how to write law school personal statements and prepare for interviews, one piece of advice that is seemingly universal is

“Just be yourself!”

*sigh*

I can’t be the only one that doesn’t find that to be particularly helpful advice.

Now, don’t get me wrong.

I’ve written about how to avoid being hypocritamus and how to check if you have 3D integrity, both of which are closely related to assessing whether or not you are a genuine, authentic human being.

So suffice to say, I don’t think being authentic is inherently a bad thing.

I just don’t think authenticity–“just being yourself”–will guarantee that you (or me!) will succeed.

For a proof, I offer as evidence “the pirates all pirates fear”:

Blackbeard.

If you’ve not seen the fourth (and, in my opinion, LAST Pirates of The Caribbean film–the fifth one was so cringe we do not count it), fix that PLEASE [also spoilers incoming!]!

All of it is great, but of particular note for this discussion on authenticity is the mutiny scene where the captured priest (Sam Claflin AKA Finnick Odair and Will Traynor) roasts Blackbeard for his miscreant ways, saying,

“You are not bewildered. You are afraid. You dare not walk the path of righteousness. The way of the light.”

To which Blackbeard replies,

“No, sir. The truth is much simpler than that. I’m a bad man.”

How is that for being authentic!

“Just be yourself!” they say.

And Blackbeard’s like “OKAY! Lemme just literally roast the cook since he was on guard duty during the mutiny!”

He even tells his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz) when she pleads with him to spare the priest,

“If I don’t kill a man every now and then, they forget who I am.”

A bad man.

Indeed, in the end, not even she is safe from him.

If we fast-forward to the end of the film, both Blackbeard and Angelica have been mortally wounded.

They’ll both be dead soon.

EXCEPT!

Captain Jack Sparrow pops up with two chalices full of water from the fountain of youth.

Whoever drinks the chalice with the mermaid’s tear will get all the years of the other drinker who will die a terrible, nasty, awful death by having their flesh melted off in a vortex.

Blackbeard, faced with saving his daughter by sacrificing himself or saving his own skin by making her die in his stead, is true to his authentic self and grabs the life-giving chalice, throwing it back before Angelica or Jack can stop him.

Again!

Let it not be said that Blackbeard is inauthentic.

I’m a bad man.

Only…

Jack knew that.

Indeed, anyone who was paying attention could see that Blackbeard would take the life-giving tear for himself, damning his daughter to melt.

And so Jack lied.

He swapped the cups, counting on Mr. I’m A Bad Man to willingly take his own daughter’s life.

And he was right!

Blackbeard gets totally skeletonized.

So much for the “pirates all pirates fear.”

The man no longer has a face–let alone a beard.

So!

If you’re tempted to think “just being yourself” will guarantee that you’ll succeed, remember dear, dead, authentic Edward Teach.

Insufficient Thing #3: Tenacity

This summer and last, I’ve been doing re-reads of my favorite childhood book series.

The Ranger’s Apprentice.

The Sisters Grimm.

Harry Potter.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

And you know what they all have in common?

Tenacious villains.

Seriously.

The bad guys just will. Not. Quit.

I’d be willing to bet they all have posters in their lairs that say,

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY, AGAIN!

Voldemort in particular is a great example of this because he’s foiled on a yearly basis.

It’s honestly a bit embarrassing.

I would be embarrassed.

Frankly, I’d probably start asking if the enterprise was a good use of my time (Currently asking myself that about the possibility of taking the LSAT twice and realizing, with horror, that some people take it seven–SEVEN–times).

At a certain point, I suspect it’s better to choose a different goal and get on with life.

And don’t get me wrong!

I don’t think perseverance is a bad thing.

Certainly not!

I’ve written previously about how my odyssey with chronic sickness has taught me a heck of a lot about gritting your teeth and hanging on.

But notably, I’m still dealing with issues two years since writing that piece.

Persistence hasn’t translated into me being the picture of health anymore than Voldemort’s determined drive to see Harry Potter die!die!die! translated into Harry’s head on a pike.

Indeed, it is Voldemort–not Harry–who ends the series with the short end of the stick.

More specifically, he ends up being blown to bits.

He’s like the world’s most diabolical dandelion.

And this was, I submit, because he lacked a certain something (Potterheads will guess where I’m going with this–hint: think prophecy and Goblet of Fire) that would have not only guaranteed success, but would have definitely led to different and better choices from the get.

As it stands, for all Voldy’s try, try agains, he meets with what even the most generous soul would have to call an unsuccessful end.

So if you’ve fallen into the trap that says,

“If I just keep trying, I will succeed.”

Remember good old Lord Voldemort–the diabolical weed.

What You Need To Succeed!

Alright!

We’ve covered expertise, authenticity, and tenacity, respectively, and I hope I’ve alerted you to the fact that none of those will guarantee success.

So if you’ve been counting on any one of those to get you where you want to be, it would be a good idea to reassess!

However!

It’s also very much worth noting that while I highlighted one particular trait in Coriolanus, Blackbeard, and Voldemort, all of them actually had all three of those things (go read/watch their stories if you don’t believe me!).

And EVEN HAVING ALL THREE they were unable to succeed!

That should tell us something.

It certainly tells me something.

Namely, that with respect to the LSAT, my publishing dreams, and life generally, I can be as experienced, authentic, and tenacious as anyone could ever hope to be, and all of that still won’t guarantee success.

But there is one thing that will.

Hold on to your hats, friends.

This is about to get slightly complicated.

See, back in April (around the same time as they did Coriolanus), AEI hosted a weekend program for graduating college seniors to help prepare us for post-grad life.

It was all excellent, but the very first night provided particular (and very relevant) insight because the speakers were two seriously successful men.

Their names are Michael Wear and Luke Frans, and both of them said things that have stuck with me on the topic of achieving post-grad success.

I’ll start with Michael Wear who gave us this tip:

“Be ambitious about the type of person you’re becoming.”

Now, that is not the type of career advice you usually get in DC.

Actually, I don’t think that’s the type of career advice given out to people generally.

However!

Luke Frans’ tip was even more esoteric, which was for us to keep in mind that not only should we strive to be virtuous and kind but also that

“The object of virtue doesn’t change.”

That is, there’s a specific thing, over and above all our goals, at which we’re meant to aim.

And I gotta say, I think Michael Wear and Luke Frans are onto something.

Because if we flash back to Coriolanus, Blackbeard, and Voldemort, we can easily see that besides expertise, authenticity, and tenacity, they all have another thing in common:

They are all awful human beings.

Seriously.

None of them will be winning awards for service to humanity.

Why is that?

Well, I submit it had something to do with what they were aiming at.

Coriolanus wanted power, prestige, and revenge.

Blackbeard and Voldemort wanted to cheat death.

Friends.

It has been my observation that goals like that–self-centered and selfish–put you (or at least definitely me) in a Machiavellian mindset where the one thing which is actually critical for success is supposedly not requisite.

Have you guessed what it is yet, Potterheads?

“It was love,” Voldemort tells his gathered Death Eaters in The Goblet of Fire.

Love was what Harry had that enabled him to be victorious.

It was also “the power Voldemort knew not.”

Also the thing Machiavelli said you can toss if you’re in a tight spot.

And they’re not alone because when it comes to love, neither Coriolanus nor Blackbeard look so hot.

“That’s a brave fellow [Coriolanus], but he’s vengeance proud and loves not the common people.”

“Angelica,” said Blackbeard. “My beloved daughter, the one true good thing I have done in this life [who I am evidently willing to full on melt in order to save my own life].”

Love is thin on the ground amongst these guys.

And I, for one, don’t think it’s a coincidence that they were failures and loveless at the same time.

In fact, I think those things are tightly intertwined because if we revisit MW and LF’s advice (“be ambitious about the type of person you’re becoming” and keep in mind “the object of virtue does not change”) the heart of both pieces of advice is actually the same.

Because the most ambitious “type” of person is a loving one.

Think about it.

Consider what type of person could be better than that?

A smart one?

A rich one?

A powerful one?

A beautiful one?

I’ve met all of the above, and I suspect you have too.

But even if they’re all of that, if they are also a loveless person, are they the type of person you look up to?

The type of person you have ambitions to be?

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says,

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

Being nothing isn’t very ambitious, is it?

Or take Luke Frans’ point that the object of virtue does not change.

2 Peter 1:5-7 states,

“Make every effort to add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly affection; and to brotherly affection, love.” 

Love is the final link in that progressive chain.

That’s the thing we’re meant to aim at and ultimately attain.

Now you might say,

“Hey, wait a second!”

“How can the thing we’re meant to have (love) and the thing we’re meant to attain (also love) be the same? That doesn’t make any sense!”

And it wouldn’t, but for the fact that when the Bible talks about love, it isn’t talking about a warm fuzzy feeling you get.

It’s talking about a Person.

1 John 4:8 says, “God IS Love,” and John 1:14 tells us that that same God became flesh and dwelt among us in The Person of Jesus who died for our sins and rose again so that all those who believe in Him will have the indwelling of His Holy Spirit and, ultimately, eternity with Him.

That is, they’ll have a third of the Godhead inside them now and full consummation in Heaven.

Love now.

Love then.

Friends, from what I’ve seen and experienced, Jesus is the only One who can guarantee success, both in the now and the not yet.

I mean, we’ve already seen that you can have expertise, authenticity, and tenacity and those guarantee you nothing.

And, more to the point, even if you do manage to “succeed” presently, any measure of success you achieve will be fleeting.

I’ve written about our ongoing craisin-ness before, but suffice to say, the most “successful” person in the world still ends up in a hole.

Death is inevitable, and I think the priest in James Joyce’s A Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man put it best when he said,

“And remember, my dear boys, that we have been sent into this world for one thing alone… All else is worthless. One thing alone is needful, the salvation of one’s soul.”

I’ll grant that you can have and even momentarily achieve a whole host of goals, but Matthew 16:26 asks,

“What will it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul?”

Indeed, it was C.S. Lewis who noted in his book Mere Christianity that gaining the world, absent your soul, isn’t even possible:

“Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.“

If Christianity is true–if Jesus is Who He says–ultimate success is all or nothing, friends.

I happen to believe that Christianity is true and that Love found in the Person of Jesus is the only thing sufficient for success.

If you’ve got Him, Romans 8:28 promises that everything else is going to work out for the absolute best.

Granted, we may not always understand the plan (@me with respect to LSAT 2x maybe and my hitherto unrealized dreams of having my books at Walmart and Target).

HOwEveR!

I believe 100% that God is a Man of His Word, and Psalm 37:4-5 says,

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He WILL give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to Him. Trust Him, and He WILL act.”

Thank you as always for reading, friends!

As ever, if you want to hear more about Jesus, just drop me a line 🙂

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken.
My Father’s care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall:
And so to Him I leave it all.
And so to Him I leave it all.