W. Preston White

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Associate | University of Tennessee College of Law Class of 2023

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” 

– Sir Winston Churchill 

As we tie a bow on 2023, you are likely making New Year’s resolutions. Starting that new low-carb diet, taking up an exercise plan, journaling, and eliminating addictions are sure to be on your list. But in the back of your mind, there is a voice. “It’ll be just like last time. You’ll do this for a week then get bored and quit. Why even bother if you know you will fail?” That is your inner-pessimist, and it may be hampering you from achieving—or even setting—goals.

Roughly six to seven months ago, I decided to decrease unnecessary negative content in my life. It was during my last semester of law school, and I wanted to be optimistic during finals and the battle of bar preparation. The chief way I did this was deleting my Twitter account. In addition, I decided I was going to read more non-fiction books. I had a simple set of hypotheses: (1) content that took someone years to write and that has been vetted by many people is of higher quality than an anonymous account’s character-limited rant (not to suggest that length is indicative of quality), (2) content involving advice or an inspiring story is best for optimism, and (3) if I replace low-quality, pessimistic content with high-quality, optimistic content, I will be more optimistic about finals and the bar exam. 

Social media, in my opinion, will be the prevailing point of study from this period in history. Like most innovations, there is good and bad. The fact that I can keep up with people I grew up with is a positive. The anonymous hate comments routinely found in the reply section of public posts is most certainly a negative. No matter how objectively “good” a post may be, the comments never fail to spread negativity. If a top scientist announced that he or she had discovered a cure for cancer, there would inevitably be a comment from an account with a Yu-Gi-Oh character as their profile picture ranting about how terrible it is that researchers have neglected to cure other ailments. I sometimes laugh to myself to think what the Twitter comments would be for John F. Kennedy’s “We Choose to go to the Moon” speech at Rice University in 1962, Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence, or Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. There simply is no winning in the comment section. 

I am all for free speech and discourse, but that does not mean you must constantly subject yourself to random people’s thoughts on every possible subject. And naturally when people engage anonymously, there is greater hostility. Threats are made for stating The Office is the best sitcom instead of Seinfeld. Share that you are not a fan of Bitcoin? Purchase a Ring camera and security system ASAP. And you better sleep with one eye open if you even slightly suggest Lebron James is better than Michael Jordan. 

Humans are imitative in nature. Consuming pessimistic and negative content over long periods of time will likely influence your thinking. At the very least, you may conform your view of people to what you see on social media. In actuality, according to a 2021 survey, only 25% of U.S. Twitter users account for 97% of all tweets.^[1] Even knowing this, I was not able to shake it. I subconsciously thought that everyone was predisposed to disagreement and pessimism. 

As the previous statistic indicates, a small but vocal minority of people account for nearly all of this content on Twitter. Eliminating this content from my daily reading improved my life beyond 3L finals and the bar exam. Everyone agrees that a better diet leads to better health. This principle also proves to be true with respect to the content we consume.

A notable improvement relates to setting goals. In the past, I would not set certain goals for fear of others’ opinions or because I thought they were too lofty. It was almost as if I was saying these hate comments to myself. Now, my thought process involves leqrning how to set more ambitious goals. I am still human and fail to reach many goals; however, this adage—coined by Normal Vincent Peale—still rings true: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” You are unlikely to bill 2,000 hours as an associate if your goal is 1,900. But if you shoot for 2,300, you may very well find yourself at 2,000 at year end. 

While this may seem like a condemnation of social media, the advice I offer here applies to all content. For me, social media was the issue. You may have no issues with Twitter but instead have a different source of negativity. It may be some other medium of content, like a Youtube channel or a musical artist. The key point is recognizing that the content we consume affects us. You will give a better presentation if you read a biography of Susan B. Anthony or Abraham Lincoln before that presentation that you would give if you read Friedrich Nietzsche’s works instead. 

There is a direct correlation between optimism and leadership as well. A key component of leadership is inspiring a team with a common goal so the individuals mesh well together, create synergies, and become more than the whole of their parts. It is clear that optimism is central to inspiration and goal-setting. If you aspire to lead people, you must first lead yourself. Start with improving your environment so that it promotes optimism. 

So, as we enter 2024, I would recommend you go on a content diet. Disclaimer: I am a commercial real estate lawyer and not a philosopher or therapist. But I am convinced you will find that curating the content you consume is the ultimate New Year’s resolution because it helps you achieve your other goals and resolutions. Whatever negative, pessimistic content you are consuming, eliminate it cold turkey for a month and replace it with brilliant people’s thoughts and life’s work. By February, I believe you will see great improvements in your positivity. You may not be as up-to-date on politics, the college football transfer portal, or who the Kardashians are dating, but that just might be good for you. 

Bonus – What kind of a post about reading books would be complete without a few recommendations?  Here are a few of mine:

• Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton – Autobiography of the founder of Walmart and Sam’s Club written after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. An amazing story of perseverance, competition, and innovation. Humble beginnings to founding the Fortune #1 company by out-competing well-funded companies with large head starts. Fantastic for aspiring lawyers and leaders. 
• The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko – Compilation of research regarding millionaires. Most millionaires live below their means and do not concern themselves with luxury goods. A good reminder to stay away from the “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality. Coined one of my favorite phrases for when people empty their savings by purchasing luxury goods—big hat, no cattle. Very insightful book that will help you assess your relationship with money and status.
• Atomic Habits by James Clear – Great overall book from a habit expert. Extraordinary achievements are typically the result of stringing together many ordinary tasks instead of a handful of extraordinary feats. This book will reorient your thought process into this type of long-term thinking. It also provides great tips on changing/creating habits.
• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki – One of the most recommended business books by entrepreneurs. This book gets you acquainted with the tax benefits and incentives related to business ownership and entrepreneurship in the United States. It misses the mark regarding non-financial benefits of one’s career but worth a read for law students that want some business/entrepreneurial knowledge. 
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – A absolute must read for lawyers and anyone working in service-based businesses. Don’t let the manipulative-sounding title dissuade you. This book will greatly improve your interpersonal relationships and interactions. The world would be a more cordial place if everyone read this.
• The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law by Mark Herrmann – A great book for a first-year associate in a law firm. A little litigation heavy, but great for a new lawyer in any practice area. Gets you acquainted with law firm dynamics and expectations.
• If you are an aspiring commercial real estate lawyer, there is no book better than A Practical Guide to Commercial Real Estate Transactions: From Contracts to Closing by Gregory M. Stein, Morton P. Fisher, Jr., and Michael D. Goodwin – Professor Greg Stein and his fellow authors created the best guide for first-year commercial real estate associates ever written. Commercial real estate law (and transactional law in general) is very different from law school. This book helps speed up the learning curve and even veteran real estate lawyers turn to this book regularly. 

I wish you all an optimistic 2024!

---

^[1] Colleen McClain et al., The Behaviors and Attitudes of U.S. Adults on Twitter, Pew Research Center (Nov. 15, 2021), The Behaviors and Attitudes of U.S. Adults on Twitter | Pew Research Center.