Kim Kardashians Bar Exam Prep Includes a Hard Lesson All Ambitious Women Need to Learn

Kim Kardashians Bar Exam Prep Includes a Hard Lesson All Ambitious Women Need to Learn Last week, news came out via a cover story in Vogue that Kim Kardashian West is throwing us, dare I say, zu sich fruchtwein criminally good curveball yet shes studying to take the bar exam in 2022.For those of us able to wrap our minds around the idea of beauty queen and accredited lawyer not being mutually exclusive concepts, the revelation may have felt like less of a shock. After all, West has shown us time and again zu sich interest in addressing inequalities in the legal system, successfully advocating for the pardon of Alice Johnson, a great-grandmother whod been serving a life sentence without parole for a non-violent offense, as well as partnering with organizations that help formerly incarcerated folks overcome hiring stigma. Coupled with the fact she was raised with an appreciation for the law, it hardly comes as a surprise that shed be seeking to thus legitimize her passion for criminal justice reform.West explained her rationale for studying law to her Vogue interviewer with measured simplicity, saying, I just felt like the system could be so different, and I wanted to fight to fix it, and if I knew more, I could do more.Considering West has already amassed more than her share of financial fortune, she has no incentive to become a lawyer which will involve studying a required minimum of 18 hours a week for the next four years, on top of running her franchise and raising four children other than this drive to do more by knowing more, and ultimately to help underrepresented people. Of course, it goes without saying that she comes from a distribution policy of immense privilege and social capital but shes choosing, completely of her own volition, to wield that capital in a way that will benefit others.Not everyone on the interwebs, though, saw the value in that. Why make a mockery of the hard work, diligence, respectability, and INTELLIGENCE it takes to become a l awyer? You can have ambition, but not too much. Please stay in your lane, wrote one critic in a tweet thats since been liked hundreds of times.In response to her critics, West shared a lengthy statement that (fittingly) defended her choices on Instagram.I want people to understand that there is nothing that should limit your pursuit of your dreams, and the accomplishment of new goals. You can create your own lanes, just as I am. The state bar doesnt care who you are.For anyone assuming this is the easy way out, its not, she continued. My weekends are spent away from my kids while I read and study. I work all day, put my kids to bed and spend my nights studying. There are times I feel overwhelmed and when I feel like I cant do it but I get the pep talks I need from the people around me supporting me.After detailing what the next four years of her intensely packed life will look like, West shared a crucial step shes had to take in order to make this dream for herself possible and its a hard lesson that all ambitious women, at some point or another, would do well to learn. I changed my number last year and disconnected from everyone because I have made this strict commitment to follow a dream of mine, she shared. Its never too late to follow your dreams.Too often, its easy to allow the noise and distractions of everyday life to come between where we are and where wed like to be. As West illustrates here, for many people, one of the most difficult steps in committing to the actualization of a dream is blocking out that noise. But its a step thats essential to learn, as most entrepreneurs whove gone on to be successful, like Arlan Hamilton, will tell you. As founder and managing partner of the venture capital fund Backstage Capital, Hamilton built her empire from a much different starting point than Kardashian while homeless. At a recent darbietung in New York City, she shared what helped her get to a place of being able to, brick by brick, turn her dream of star ting a VC fund into reality and her advice was, in essence, quite similar to Wests.As much as I speak and I love being around people and hearing about their journeys, I spend the majority of my time alone, Hamilton said. I started this fund after years of working on it every single day of the week, every waking hour... You do have these toxic people in your life who say if you win, I cant, and those people need to be deleted and blocked.Though Hamilton has succeeded despite having countless more obstacles stacked against her than someone of Kardashians status, there remains at least one similar thread between the two womens narratives the need to define a goal, parse out who and what will help you reach it, and silence the rest. Once youre able to commit to taking this step, a dream becomes that much more attainable and thats sound advice for any ambitious woman to follow.--