Folks, I hate to admit it, but I enjoyed the process of studying and preparing for the CPA exams. The CPA exams are the best game in town! I had to give up my life for two years, but it was worth it.
I also promised myself and my wife a very nice vacation and a week at a national convention after I passed the CPA exams. I have already taken a 10 day cruise and yesterday I booked the one week national convention. I do not break my promises to myself!
Additionally, I will start my new career with a CPA firm next week. I want to be part of this CPA firm's dream concerning financial planning.
The following is what Joe Hoyle wrote on the subject of attitude about the exams:
Larry Bird was one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game. He just had the knack. We often think that people like that are just born with great talent but Larry Bird once said: "When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct."
Most of us have exactly the opposite attitude-we cannot wait to get finished. We hurry up so we can quit. We are dying to finish so we get to stop. But notice what Bird says "I never WANTED to leave the court until I got things exactly correct."
How would your study be different each day if you started by saying "I don't want to quit this topic until I can get the questions correct." "I don't want to stop working on leases until I know how to do capitalized leases."
What is your attitude?
Is it: "I hate it but I have to study" or "I am going to force myself to sit here until I learn this stuff" or "this is painful but I must study."
Those are such negative attitudes. That just cannot be helpful. No wonder people hate to study if that is how they feel. Who wants to feel like that?
But just imagine -- what if your attitude was "I want to sit here and figure out how to do earnings per share" or "I never learned bonds in college but I really do want to know how they work" or "I want to be an accountant because I like accounting so I am looking forward to learning more accounting tonight."
I think society causes us a problem because there is a general feeling that working to learn is painful, dull, and boring. No -- watching television is painful, dull, and boring - learning stuff makes us smarter and helps us to know more. That should be exciting. That should feel good.
Let me make a suggestion. If you are having trouble putting in the time that you need, step back and assess your attitude. How do you view upcoming study sessions? If you think of them as misery to be endured then you are talking yourself into failure. If you can convince yourself that studying and learning are actually interesting endeavors, you will have taken a great first step toward getting those 75 points that you need to pass.
So, before you start studying, think of an incentive for today. Personalize them as much as you can. You are trying to push yourself to have a great today.
--If I answer 40 questions today on http://www.CPAreviewforFREE.com, I'll buy myself an ice cream cone.
--If I study for two hours without taking a break, I'll go for a swim in the pool.
--If I prepare 35 flash cards, I'll spend ten minutes emailing by friends.
Each person is different. There are incentives that will push you to accomplish much. The secret is to figure out what they are. Every day, when you start to study, consider setting a goal with an incentive. Because incentives really do make a difference.
