Losing all motivation to study for the CPA exam?
You are in the right place!
Below you will find the most common mental blocks CPA candidates typically encounter and the motivational quotes that will keep you focused and motivated no matter how low your feel about your odds of passing the CPA Exam.
Word Of Warning: These are not fluffy feel-good quotes… these quotes will challenge and push you beyond what you think you are capable of IF you implement them.
Take them to heart and execute!
1) The CPA Exam Is Too Hard
“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.”
― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage
I love this quote because instead of looking at the CPA exam as this obstacle in our way, this concept turns the whole process on its head!
The challenge of this process is the actual reward because it’s going to help you grow to be even stronger in life and your career.
Folks with NO motivation to study for the CPA exam should take note 🙂
2) I’m Going To Give Up On The CPA Exam
“You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft, that you will die without ever realizing your true potential.”
― David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
I talk to so many CPA Candidates in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and even 60s who REGRET not sitting for the CPA exam sooner.
Even if you are burnt out on school don’t start your career not living up to your true potential!
3) God, Fate, The Universe Doesn’t Want Me To Become A CPA
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 6-7, NIV Bible
Friendly reminder that God is in control.
And I know what you are thinking “How can a God who cares for me allow me to fail the CPA Exam???”
It may seem that way, but here’s some perspective.
I failed the CPA Exam 5 sections in a row.
Then to add insult to injury, I and 20% of my firm were let go due to the great recession in 2009.
It would have been so easy for me to be angry at God (and I was).
But what happened next was beautiful and something I could have NEVER predicted at my lowest point.
While unemployed I rediscovered my lost church community who supported me, I had a fire lit under my butt to get my act together and I started taking the CPA Exam seriously.
End result?
I passed two sections AND met my future wife while still unemployed.
Then I found a new job and passed my final two sections and took control of my career.
Looking back, failing the CPA exam was the BEST thing that ever happened to me.
I truly believe it was God’s hand that first humbled me and then crafted this amazing story that is my life to show me that GOOD can come out of BAD.
4) I’m Not Smart Enough To Pass The CPA Exam
“It’s okay to be discouraged. It’s not okay to quit. To know you want to quit but to plant your feet and keep inching closer until you take the impenetrable fortress you’ve decided to lay siege to in your own life—that’s persistence.”
― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage
To me, the key to being an accountant is persistence.
The CPA Exam is more a test of your persistence than anything else.
You have completed the education required to sit for the CPA Exam so you ARE capable of passing this exam.
It’s not a question of IQ or “smartness.”
You just need a method to follow and the persistence to keep moving forward.
5) I Failed The CPA Exam, Therefore I AM A Failure…
“Failure shows us the way—by showing us what isn’t the way.”
― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage
Failing the CPA exam was one of the best things that ever happened to me.
It was the first time I had been truly challenged in my career.
It made me who I am today.
It proved to me that I could beat the odds and overcome failing 5 sections in a row.
I used failing the CPA exam as fuel to keep moving forward.
6) I’m Too Tired/Too Busy/Too Distracted To Study For The CPA Exam
“I don’t stop when I’m tired. I stop when I’m done”
― David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
Sometimes you just have to keep pushing forward.
Be aware that no amount of personal motivation will help you do this.
You NEED a complete CPA Exam Support System.
This includes a mentor who can coach you.
A tutor who can teach you.
Accountability Partners to check in on you to ensure you are hitting your goals AND who are willing to call you out.
7) I Don’t Need To Prepare For The CPA Exam
“The pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice, because it prevents us from getting any better.”
― Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent
I was 100% guilty of this as a fresh graduate.
I assumed because I had aced college without breaking a sweat that the CPA exam was just another check on the ol’ todo list.
I also saw my classmates passing no problem (or so I assumed).
This mindset cost me 6 months of my life (those 5 CPA Exam failures in a row I shared earlier) and over $10K in lost fees, study materials, and pass bonuses.
Ouch!
PRO TIP: Be humble. Treat the CPA exam like it should be, something to fear AND respect.
Also, don’t think you have to recreate the wheel!
Do your research and learn how to study and pass this exam!
What To Do Next
Motivational Quotes can only take you so far.
Here are 17 CPA Exam Motivation Tips that you can start executing today.
These actionable tips will not only motivate you but give you a system to follow when you feel like you are overwhelmed.
Additional Resources For CPA Candidates
Ryan Holiday (Stoic) and David Goggins (Navy Seal/Ultra-Marathoner) are two of my favorite authors. They don’t hold back and so much of what they write is applicable to our journeys to passing the CPA exam.
If you want to learn more about them I did put links to the books that I think are required reading for struggling CPA candidates.
Also, if you don’t know Jesus then I do recommend reading the NIV Bible when you feel hopeless. It has brought me so much comfort in life.
- The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage (Affiliate Link)
- Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds (Affiliate Link)
- NIV Bible (Non-Affiliate Link)
- Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent (Affiliate Link)