How can I stay motivated? This gave me pause. I really had to take a bit of time to get this one right. After giving it some serious thought, it occurred to me that I could really pass this exam as long as I remain motivated throughout the entire process. Staying motivated, I believe, is the hardest part of the CPA exam. Yes, I could have said remembering formulas or memorizing mnemonics. I could have also said the anxiety and stress that comes along with sitting for the exam itself. However, I believe that all of the other things become a lot easier to deal with as long as you stay motivated when studying.
It’s a daily grind, it seems.
Every day you have to keep your eyes on the prize and not get discouraged. Some days will be easier than others. Some topics will stick right away and some will take more effort. It’s an overwhelming journey. But anything worth having will be worth it. Every one that I know who has endured this process has assured me of this. However, I have to stay motivated until the end so that I can find out for myself.
A good friend of mine, who is a CPA, explained it perfectly. She said to run everything in your life like a business.
Nothing in life is personal. We are always negotiating our needs and wants, just as everyone else is. If you were an LLC, how healthy would you consider Kimberly, LLC right now? What would make your business thrive? What initiatives would you want to implement in 2016 to promote growth, diversity, and productivity in that fiscal year? You are soon to be a CPA. Once you have those letters, people have greater expectations of you based upon that. Even those that only know that much about you. You have studied enough and passed enough exams to know about taxes, revenue, expenses, supply/demand curves, etc. If you better your product (YOU), then the demand will increase for what you have to offer. People will pay more for you as a CPA. People will pay more for your experience.
Work on bettering you to increase revenue.
Focus on cutting back on unnecessary expenses to have more (margin) to cover what you need. Put some of those earnings away in savings (retained earnings). Put some towards your future growth (investing in capital). You get the point. Take a step back and look at the overall business. This motivated me beyond belief! I was exciting and eager to get to the library for another study session.
Everyone is motivated by something.
Different people are motivated in different ways, whether it is for career advancement, an increase in income, or for bragging rights. It really doesn’t matter as long as you find it, keep it, and use it to your advantage. There are great things on the other side of this exam. Get motivated!!! I encourage everyone who is planning to take this exam to figure out what motivates them, by any means necessary, and concentrate on that until this process is over. And, if you haven’t tried already, one source of motivation that I highly recommend is to look at yourself as a marketable product and see your life goals as a business.
–Kimberly Smith, Guest Blogger for Roger CPA Review