Shanti is a new weekly Club 75 Blogger as she documents her journey through the CPA Exam. She has been a member of Another71.com's Club 75 since December 2010.
“A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.”
Harvey MacKay
Ive been contemplating this quote for a few weeks now as I have my review books sitting by my computer as I write this. Thats right, I said sitting. And there theyve been sitting for the last 3 months! I have let all aspects of life get in the way of studying. My house is the cleanest its been in years. My mess of papers, all filed. Family portraits, taken, framed and hung. Needless to say I think Ive been avoiding studying. Maybe just a little!
Unfortunately, while all this is happening, there has been a brewing crisis coming to a boiling point. Im trying to transition from being the head of a small business as the person handling the accounting to an actual CPA. Currently, I am unemployed and I have been for almost 2 and a half years. I have been trying to get a bookkeeping and tax business off the ground.
As well as being in school gathering the last of my accounting units to be able to sit for the exam for the last year. So I havent been totally ignoring my dream. But, now that Ive gone through the hoops to get approved to sit for the exam and become an actual real-life CPA candidate, Ive dropped the ball on studying. Ive also been trying to find a job so that I can gain the experience part of the license requirements, to no avail as of yet. So the fact that Im an unemployed stay at home mom running out of savings has helped make it to where I dont have a plan in place.
I have downloaded Jeffs NINJA study plan. I have it on my computer, with a couple check marks even. At this point, Id have to review what those check marks are to even know if I still remember them. So, is becoming a CPA just a dream for me? I hope not. In fact this morning I asked a relative to borrow the funds to sit for the exam. It was a small piece of humble pie I had to eat, but nonetheless it was still a slice. I did this because its pretty hard to turn a dream into a goal if you cant create a real schedule. And Ive been feeling like I cant create a schedule, since I dont know when Ill be testing. Thankfully, they agreed. I have also coerced my teenage daughter to babysit her 2 year old and 1 year old siblings over the summer break.
So there I have it. My test can be scheduled and I have a known quantity of child free time in which to study. NOW is the time to turn my dream into a goal. It may be a lofty goal, but a goal just the same. And that goal, that I lay out to you my fellow exam sufferers, is to get the studying done, sit and pass this exam over the summer, by August 15th to be exact. This sounds completely crazy to me. But as I have found, my life is pretty crazy and I dont know how to live it any other way. So with the accountability of blogging once a week and telling you how Im doing, my dream to be a CPA will no longer be just a dream, but a goal, with a plan and a deadline!
Shanti
