What Francis Alÿs Taught Me About Litigation and Resilience

They say hard work is the key to success. I say, not always. Let me illustrate this through a social experiment by Francis Alÿs titled Paradox of Praxis 1 (Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing).

Artwork by Studio Kaäla

In 1997, Francis Alÿs was video graphed pushing a massive block of ice across the streets of Mexico City for over nine hours. By the end, it had melted into a small cube of water. He explained it this way: sometimes, efforts yield no meaningful result.

I relate this deeply to the life of a young advocate. From the day we get our Bar license, we hustle—running around, learning, reading, drafting—chasing the recognition and long client list we dreamed of. Yet, after years of hard work, results often fall short.

We prepare cases meticulously, study the law and judgments, give our all in court—only for the judgment to go against us. All those midnight oils burned seem in vain. 

But here’s the twist—and it’s what separates the enduring from the burnt-out: those “nothings” aren’t failures; they’re fuel. They sharpen our edge, teach us the nuances of judicial temperament, and build the resilience no law school can. Hard work gets you in the ring; consistency keeps you fighting rounds after round.

So, hard work isn’t the key to success—consistency is. 

It’s showing up after the melt, pushing the next block with wiser strides. Francis Alÿs Taught Me About Litigation and Resilience

Foot Notes:

Francis Alÿs: is a Belgian-born contemporary artist known for transforming small, poetic actions into powerful reflections on politics, labour, borders, migration, and urban life. Trained originally as an architect, his practice moves fluidly between performance, video, painting, walking, and social intervention, often using the city itself as both subject and medium. Through deceptively simple gestures, such as pushing a block of ice through Mexico City in Paradox of Praxis I - Alÿs explores the tension between effort and futility, revealing how everyday acts can expose larger social and philosophical realities.