Toughen Up

Have you ever heard the name Diana Nyad? She is a 62 year old swimmer who has attempted to swim from Havana to the Florida Keys not once, but twice this year. Her first attempt was in August. She spent 29 hours in the water before she had to stop because of an asthma attack. Her second attempt took place this past weekend. This time she lasted 40 hours in the water. Multiple stings from Portuguese man of war forced her to stop after she was advised that another sting could be fatal. I followed both of these attempts with amazement. Monday morning I was driving to work listening to an interview with Nyad on NPR. She said something to the effect that the first sting took the air out of her and her body convulsed in pain. As she took her next stroke she told herself "you are just going to have to toughen up. You have thousands of strokes ahead of you."

This got me started thinking...what motivates someone to pursue such a feat? A 103 mile swim through shark and jellyfish infested waters. 62 years old. Asthmatic. Multiple variables that each present unique risks. Without question, Diana Nyad is a remarkably tough athlete. What can we learn from her? Mental toughness. Self discipline. Commitment. I began to consider the areas in my life where I need to toughen up. When situations at work test my patience...toughen up. When I would rather go home after work than hit the gym or go for a run...toughen up. Tempted to take the easy way out...toughen up. What inspires you? Nyad said she thought about the Florida coastline. She pictured herself at the finish. She played her favorite songs in her head. Even though she did not complete her goal I find her story remarkable and inspirational. I leave you tonight with the following quote from Nyad's website. "But for each of us, isn't life about determining your own finish line? This journey has always been about reaching your own other shore, no matter what it is, and that dream continues."

Good night.

Brad

CPA Exam Finished

I describe myself as a non-traditional CPA candidate. I am 38 years old and graduated from Kansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Animal Science. My first accounting position came in 1998 when I took a job as an accounting clerk for a small company. In 2000 I got a job with Hyatt Hotels as a payroll clerk and my interest and affinity for corporate accounting took off. My career progression with Hyatt required several moves and in 2007 I decided to settle down in Louisville, Kentucky. I left Hyatt and was fortunate to get a job in the hotel industry with a local company and decided to work on getting some accounting credentials. I opted for a post-baccalaureate certificate in accounting at Indiana University Southeast. This program allowed me to obtain the coursework I needed to meet the educational requirements for becoming a CPA if I decided to go that route. I graduated from IUSE in December 2009. After I started school it became obvious to me that becoming professionally licensed was a logical next step. I could not decide however if I should pursue a CMA or a CPA. I was leaning toward the CMA because I thought it seemed easier and I was tired of studying. Instead of taking what I perceived to be the easy way, I asked around and got some great advice from my first manager at Hyatt. She told me if I had the time to devote to studying for the CPA exams I would never regret doing it. It was the push I needed to pursue the CPA. I started studying in February 2010 for AUD. I enjoyed Audit in school and the material was fresh in my head so I thought it made sense to start here. I sat for the exam in April and scored a 92. I was very happy and immediately jumped into studying for FAR. My enthusiasm for FAR lasted all of 10 days. By then summer had arrived and I had absolutely zero motivation to study. I studied off and on through October but I soon realized there was no way I would be prepared for FAR before my NTS expired in November. I was so disgusted with myself for the money I wasted on the NTS that I decided I was going to take a break from everything until after Christmas. Christmas came and went. I realized I needed to get my passion back so I decided to change things up and take BEC next. On December 26th I drew up an aggressive study plan that left me feeling confident and motivated. It was the start of a new year and that helped me stay focused. I sat for BEC on January 26, 2011 and scored an 83. It was time to tackle FAR. I started studying immediately after testing for BEC. I sat for FAR in April and scored a 89. I ended up covering most of the FAR material twice (once in 2010 and once in 2011). I believe this helped my score a great deal. By the time I finally took the FAR exam I was feeling very confident. It was now summertime again and I was determined this time not to waste it. I only had REG remaining. My AUD score was set to expire on October 26th and this helped keep me motivated. I wanted to leave myself enough time to retake REG if necessary before my AUD scored expired. I felt nervous the whole time I studied REG. Tax classes were not my favorite in school and I don't have any practical tax experience other than preparing my own income tax returns. I stressed over this exam more than any of the others. I scheduled REG for August 22nd and scored a 77. It was finally over. I had achieved my goal of becoming a CPA. I discovered #twudygroup on Twitter early on in my CPA journey and I have to say this group of individuals kept me motivated. Their shared experiences gave me confidence and provided a wealth of practical information. If you are studying for the CPA exam I strongly encourage you to connect with other people going through the same thing. It really does make it easier. Lastly, I used Wiley materials for all four sections. Overall I was very pleased with Wiley. My lowest score was in REG. I am hesitant to attribute that 100% to Wiley materials because I know I had the least interest in the REG material. On the other hand, going into the REG exam I felt like I knew the Wiley material well. It just did not seem to mesh with the questions I got. I want to wish all my #twudygroup friends who are still studying the best of luck. You will reach your goal of becoming a CPA!