Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Yohanna Romero Baca. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Yohanna, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I love this question so much. And I’m going to be explicit in my answer because I wish somebody had been explicit with me when I was younger.
There’s so much talk about “finding your purpose” but nobody tells you what it’s really about.
The thing is, I can’t talk about purpose without talking about God. I happen to be Christian but I believe everyone was put on this earth by God for a reason (for a purpose).
God gave us unique talents, abilities, and skills with a purpose in mind — so that we would use our God-given gifts to contribute value to the world and make it a better place for everyone.
God also gives us unique experiences, including challenges in life, to allow us to further develop our gifts.
Finally, God wants us to use both our unique talents and experiences to help others who are going through similar challenges.
So the real question is not how I found my purpose but rather — How did I figure out the purpose God had for my life?
To figure this out, I listened to the different ways in which God speaks to me and to all of us.
I asked myself…
- What do I love doing so much I would do it even if I didn’t get paid? (What brings me joy?)
- What unique talents, skills, and abilities do I have? (What is my superpower?)
- When did I experience some type of suffering? (What problems have I had to face in life?)
- How did I overcome this suffering? (How did I solve this problem?)
- Are other people suffering in the same way? (Is there a need in the market today for my solution?)
- Can I help them out of this suffering with my God-given gifts and experience? (Is the need so big that they would be willing to pay for a solution?)
As I said, I found my purpose by listening to the different ways in which God calls us to live our purpose.
The interesting thing about finding your purpose is that many times, it doesn’t make sense to you immediately or to your family and friends.
We and the people around us think our life should go one way but God has a counterintuitive and better plan in mind.
In my case, when Covid hit, I’d been working as an immigration attorney for almost 15 years. The Covid lockdown coincided with my niece finding out she hadn’t passed the bar exam. Since I had extra time on my hands, I offered to help her the best way I knew how – by teaching her how to crush the written portion of the bar exam.
I remembered how devastating failing the bar exam was. So I wanted to help her overcome this obstacle so she could get promoted to an attorney position and get on with her life.
Long story short, my niece passed the bar exam. And I ended up loving coaching her so much that I left my attorney job to become a bar exam coach.
Since then, my niece has gone on to become an excellent attorney. She was promoted several times at her previous job. She got married to a wonderful man. She travels with her family and friends. Most recently, she changed jobs to a place where she’ll grow and earn significantly more.
At first, my career pivot didn’t make sense to my parents, for example. They thought I should go back to my prestigious attorney job.
But I’d found my new purpose in life. Helping others pass the bar exam so they could go on to make a better living and a bigger impact in the world.
I stopped chasing approval from others, money, and prestige, and I started chasing a feeling of fulfillment instead.
My goal is to wake up every single day excited about the work I do.
Why? Because no amount of money or prestige or approval can make up for hating your work.
To quote Tony Robbins, “Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure.”
Now that I’m a bar exam coach, I see why I went through the experience of failing the bar exam the first time and then passing it in 3 states — to now help others go from failing to passing the bar exam.
And I see there was a reason I spent close to 15 years as a practicing attorney — to hone my writing skills during that time so I could eventually teach others how to do well on the written portion of the bar exam.
All those years ago when I failed the bar exam, I had no idea this would be my purpose one day.
At the time, I only felt the devastation and shame that came with failing the bar exam.
I had no idea this was the plan God had for me all along for the greater good.
Every year, thousands of JD grads fail the bar exam. Now I get to help them fast-track their way to success on the bar exam so they can become the attorneys they dream of becoming.
I hope this explanation of how I found my purpose helps anyone who is struggling to find theirs.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Every year, thousands of JD grads fail the bar exam. Most struggling bar exam takers don’t know how to do well on the written portion of the bar exam so I created a formula that helps them perform significantly better.
When bar exam retakers come to me, they have low scores on the written portion of the bar exam even though they’ve successfully graduated from law school and completed a bar prep course.
They aren’t performing well on the written portion because they haven’t received the right guidance from their law school or bar prep course. So they run out of time on each question, they freeze, they have trouble issue spotting, and applying the law to the facts.
I know how important it is for JD grads to pass the bar exam and become licensed attorneys. And to do that, they need to do well on the written portion since it makes up 50% of their score. The problem is no one has taught them how to crush the written portion which leaves them feeling underprepared walking into 50% of the bar exam.
I also know how painful it is to fail the bar exam. And what it’s like to be intimidated by the written portion. I believe everyone deserves the right guidance. That’s why I developed a simple formula they can follow (no matter what question they get).
I teach my formula during a 2-day LIVE Workshop experience. When you join my Elevate Your IRAC 2-Day LIVE Workshop, in just 2 days, you learn what you haven’t learned from your law school’s legal research and writing class or your bar prep course.
I teach you my IRAC Like A Pro formula so you can boost your written score significantly and finally pass the bar exam.
I love my Workshop because it’s where I teach you how to fish, so to speak, so you can fish for yourself. All you have to do is attend the Workshop, learn the IRAC Like A Pro formula, and practice it up until bar exam day.
I like to keep my Workshops small so I can give my clients personalized attention. Their law school and bar prep courses can’t do this since they deal with too much volume.
I also adapted the way I teach to cater to a younger generation’s learning style. Younger generations learn by doing. They don’t learn by sitting quietly and listening to long lectures for hours on end. That doesn’t work anymore so I created my Workshop to be an interactive EXPERIENCE.
I host my Workshop once a month in the 4 months right before the bar exam. My next Elevate Your IRAC Workshop is on January 6-7, 2024.
If you are ready to make 2024 the year you finally pass the bar exam, I would love for you to join my next Workshop so you can get off the bar exam treadmill, pass the bar exam, and become the attorney you’ve dreamed of becoming.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Knowing how to communicate effectively in writing has been life-changing! I’ve used it all along my journey. Back in the day, I used it in my personal statements to get admitted into college and later law school. On the bar exam, I used it to get the points I needed to finally pass after failing the first time. As an attorney, I used it to obtain favorable results on behalf of the firm’s clients. Now as a bar exam coach, I get to teach others this skill that took me years to hone so they can use it on the bar exam and later as practicing attorneys. It’s been life-changing to say the least.
Another quality that has had the most impact in my journey is compassion. As an immigration attorney for 15 years, I grew in my capacity for compassion. Marriage and motherhood has had a similar effect. This expanded capacity for compassion has helped me in my relationships and now with client interactions.
The third quality that has been most impactful in my journey is an ability to translate complicated concepts/ideas into easy-to-understand concepts/ideas. This is what I love to do the most. I love helping others make sense of something that seems complex at first glance.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
My biggest area of growth in the past 12 months has been overcoming burnout.
I’ve come to realize that my burnout came from worry, fear, and doubt (not from having too many things on my plate).
I used to think the culprit of burnout was doing too much so I cut back and did less.
But no matter how much I cut back, the burnout persisted.
This is how I discovered the real problem — I was burning myself out mentally with fear, worry, and self-doubt.
I was in the bad habit of worrying without even knowing it was a habit.
To worry less, I’ve had to lean into my faith even more in these past 12 months.
I’ve had to grow in belief and trust God’s purpose for my life even more.
Living my purpose doesn’t mean it will be problem free. In fact, problems are guaranteed.
Armed with this knowledge, I can now CHOOSE faith over fear, worry, and self-doubt.
I can appreciate challenges along the way as opportunities for growth.
It’s a choice I get to make every minute of my day.
It’s a work in progress for sure but I’m happy to report that the more I choose faith over fear, the less burnout I feel.
Choosing faith is my new habit!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.barexamcoachingbyyohanna.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yohanna_bar_exam_coach/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barexamcoach/
Image Credits
Emma Umana @emmauphotographyy
