Motivation

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Blog Posts

January 28, 2022
We get rejected, too.

As we head into the thick of decision season, law school admissions offices are beginning to send out the inevitable rejection waves. Rejection hurts, but it is also a fundamental human experience, and we all feel its effects sometimes.

January 8, 2022
Uncertainty in Admissions

Anxiety has no evolutionary benefit, but fear does. Every animal we know of not only has fear, but has a fight, flight, or freeze response to it.

May 24, 2021
A Message from a Recent Law School Graduate Who Beat the Odds

I was flying back to Colorado from a work trip at about 35,000 feet when I saw this post on LinkedIn, and I immediately wanted to share it with others.

November 24, 2020
How to Get Motivated — and Stay Motivated for Life

Why do Navy SEAL candidates in BUD/S training tend to drop out during the “reward” phase of Hell Week and not the “punishment” phase? And how does this relate to staying motivated?

May 20, 2020
60-Second Commencement Speech for the Class of 2020: The Road Ahead

A one-minute message for anyone graduating and heading out into the world.

March 12, 2020
We thought a quick, inspiring quote might be helpful for some today.

The quote (and an awesome video) are in this blog [https://www.spiveyblog.com/posts/you-didnt-come-this-far-to-only-come-this-far] . We will have a podcast up later today on how coronavirus COVID-19 is impacting law schools. In the short meantime I hope you take something from the quote, it is something I really believe in.

February 10, 2020
If You Were Denied From a Law School, Consider This...

That decision is never a testament or rejection of who you are as a person.

December 18, 2019
A Quick, 5-Minute Podcast on Your First Job

Every ladder has a first step. Enjoy!

December 10, 2019
Particular People

A short blog from Mike Spivey on breaking out of your comfort zone.

Podcasts

February 16, 2021
Dr. Guy Winch on Handling Rejection (& Waiting) in the Admissions and Job Search Process

Dr. Guy Winch is one of the world's leading psychologists and speakers. He has delivered three TED Talks with over 25 million views combined, all three of which can be seen here. He has published three books and along with best-selling author Lori Gottlieb co-hosts a relatively new but already incredibly popular podcast Dear Therapists.

In this 40-minute podcast, we speak about rejection at the macro level — "Do we aggregate rejection, and why does it sting so bad?" — and then in the admissions and first job search process specifically. Dr. Winch speaks toward research and numerous helpful interventions in both the perceived feelings of rejection and the problem issues involved in waiting on decisions.

Perhaps most notably, Dr. Winch tells a story about the first time he applied to graduate school, when he applied to 10 different programs, was denied by 9, and was "ghosted" (he literally never heard from them) by the 10th. Which makes his conversation with us not just incredibly helpful, but also relatable. We've all been rejected at something, many things — including those at the very pinnacle of their professional careers.

We mention in this podcast an episode of Dr. Peter Attia's The Drive in which Dr. Winch is interviewed — you can listen to that episode here.

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

March 2, 2021
Current Cycle Update, Waitlist Considerations, and Next Cycle Predictions with Dave Killoran

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Group's Mike Spivey and PowerScore founder Dave Killoran discuss the state of the current 2020-2021 law school admissions cycle, things to consider for applicants who may be on waitlists, and predictions about next cycle (2021-2022).

You can listen to this podcast below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

March 25, 2021
Preliminary Waitlist Movement Perspectives

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses perspectives and considerations as we head into the 2021 law school waitlist season.

You can listen to this podcast below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

March 17, 2021
Interview with a Biglaw Partner (Jeff Chapman, Gibson Dunn Co-Chair of Global M&A)

In this podcast, Mike interviews Jeff Chapman: Partner, Co-Chair of Global Mergers and Acquisitions, and Executive Committee Member at Gibson Dunn. Mike and Jeff met when Mike was a law school Dean of Career Services, and they became good friends — in this interview, Jeff shares his story, some thoughts and advice about law school, and a bit of biglaw hiring advice.

You can listen to this podcast below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

March 31, 2021
Upcoming Podcast: Interview with Dr. Gabor Maté

We are thrilled to announce that we will be interviewing Dr. Gabor Maté — renowned physician, speaker, and author of four best-selling books including the critically-acclaimed In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts — for a podcast episode to be released on May 15. We will be discussing with Dr. Maté the roots of anxiety and addiction, particularly in relation to law school and the legal field. One in 5 attorneys struggle with alcohol abuse, 1 in 5 show symptoms of clinic anxiety, and 1 in 4 suffer from depression (source) — mental illness and addiction are very real and present problems in the legal field, and we look forward to sharing Dr. Maté's insights with you.

You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, or YouTube for access to all of our past and upcoming episodes. We post advice, analysis, and predictions about law school admissions, plus we interview notable people about admissions, legal education, and the legal field. Our last two podcast interviews featured Gibson Dunn Partner/M&A Chair Jeff Chapman and acclaimed psychologist/TED Talk speaker Guy Winch, and we are excited for upcoming interviews with a law school dean, the preeminent researcher on self-compassion, a current admissions dean from a top 3 law school, and many more.