In this interview episode I chat with Dawn Edelstein, CPA Exam Success Coach, all about the keys to CPA exam success. From mindset to study methods, this episode is filled with practical advice to help you excel in your CPA exam journey. So grab your notebook and get ready to take some notes!
In this episode you’ll hear:
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Meet Dawn
French teacher turned CPA Exam Success Coach. After teaching high school French for seven years I took my first accounting course. I wanted to be a bookkeeper. I thought that would be better than the classroom. It was suggested to me to become a CPA. I said OK without thinking through the work involved. I then completed a 15-month dual degree graduate program for career-changers in order to get all of the credits needed to sit for the CPA exam. After 15 months, I was eligible to sit for the CPA exam, but I was terrified, confused, and thought I was the only one who felt this way. It wasn’t until years later that I found my Unique Study System and finally made it to the CPA Exam finish line. I did this in a way that allowed me to successfully study for the CPA Exam while simultaneously having a full and fulfilling life. I now help struggling candidates to do the same. I help them to ditch the stress, struggle, and sacrifice and, instead, pass the CPA Exam with confidence and ease.
Connect with Dawn
📱 IG: @cpaexamsuccess
📱 Linktree with FREE resources: https://linktr.ee/miamicoachconnection
📋 CPA Exam Success Checklist: cpaexamsuccess.ck.page/checklist
Thanks for listening. If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram stories and tag me, @ambitiousbookkeeper
For more information about the Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast or interest in our programs or mentoring visit our resources below:
Thank you for your support of our show. If you haven’t left a review yet it’s super simple. Please go to: https://www.ambitiousbookkeeper.com/podcast and leave your review.
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Click here to get the free First 100 Leads Training with James Wedmore >>
Join the next free training at ambitiousbookkeeper.com/training
In this interview episode I chat with Dawn Edelstein, CPA Exam Success Coach, all about the keys to CPA exam success. From mindset to study methods, this episode is filled with practical advice to help you excel in your CPA exam journey. So grab your notebook and get ready to take some notes!
In this episode you’ll hear:
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Meet Dawn
French teacher turned CPA Exam Success Coach. After teaching high school French for seven years I took my first accounting course. I wanted to be a bookkeeper. I thought that would be better than the classroom. It was suggested to me to become a CPA. I said OK without thinking through the work involved. I then completed a 15-month dual degree graduate program for career-changers in order to get all of the credits needed to sit for the CPA exam. After 15 months, I was eligible to sit for the CPA exam, but I was terrified, confused, and thought I was the only one who felt this way. It wasn’t until years later that I found my Unique Study System and finally made it to the CPA Exam finish line. I did this in a way that allowed me to successfully study for the CPA Exam while simultaneously having a full and fulfilling life. I now help struggling candidates to do the same. I help them to ditch the stress, struggle, and sacrifice and, instead, pass the CPA Exam with confidence and ease.
Connect with Dawn
📱 IG: @cpaexamsuccess
📱 Linktree with FREE resources: https://linktr.ee/miamicoachconnection
📋 CPA Exam Success Checklist: cpaexamsuccess.ck.page/checklist
Thanks for listening. If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram stories and tag me, @ambitiousbookkeeper
For more information about the Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast or interest in our programs or mentoring visit our resources below:
Thank you for your support of our show. If you haven’t left a review yet it’s super simple. Please go to: https://www.ambitiousbookkeeper.com/podcast and leave your review.
Podcast Publishing Tools we use:
Click here to get the free First 100 Leads Training with James Wedmore >>
Join the next free training at ambitiousbookkeeper.com/training
It was 2008. Markets were crashing, jobs were closing, it was so easy to get the internship and so easy to get the job initially. And then no one was hiring. And I thought, perfect, I'll study. I'll study for the exam. And this is how I know when people say, Oh, I just don't have the time. Like I'm so busy and I have work and I have kids and I have this. I know from personal experience that I had all the time in the world and I still didn't study. Like, that's not the answer. Having time or not having time, it's not the problem and it's not the solution. That's what I learned from that. then I convinced myself, I don't want this. And I turned a different direction. And I got married, I had a baby, I was very busy doing life things. And I, I was like, I think in order to get a job, I have to have my CPA. I had that in my mind, but I also was terrified. And so I convinced myself, you know what? I don't want this. I'm going to be a mom right now and I'm not ever going to be a CPA. Welcome to the Ambitious Bookkeeper podcast. Today I have a special guest on. I love doing these interviews. this is Dawn and I can't remember if you followed me on, Instagram and then I started poking around on your stuff. And I was like, Oh, this would be perfect to have her on the podcast. So welcome. Welcome. Please introduce yourself to the audience. Thank you so much. I can't remember either. I think we travel in similar circles and we ended up connecting. So I'm so happy to be here. I am a former French teacher turned CPA exam success coach. I'm a certified professional coach. I'm also a licensed CPA and like Steve Jobs says, I connected the dots backwards because forwards nothing made sense and now everything makes sense. I went from learning French grammar to tax accounting to struggling with The CPA exam to passing the CPA exam, figuring it out. And now I help candidates to manage their mind and their time so that they can pass the exam with confidence and ease instead of stress and struggle and sacrifice. Yeah, that is so awesome because I remember struggling quite a bit with all of those things. and having the tools that I have now, I always think back to like my days in corporate and, just becoming an entrepreneur and then like looking back on. everything back then. I'm like, man, I have some tools now that would have really helped me in corporate, studying for the CPA exam, all that stuff. So I'm really excited to dive into this with you today. I have a question about how you came to the point of deciding to become a CPA after being a French Teacher? Like, walk me through that path. Yeah. So I love it. And I actually am going to quote your intro, because in your intro, it says, if you think your life is like, bigger than a cubicle, or more, I have your quote somewhere. I was teaching high school French in the classroom, and I just wanted out of the classroom. I dreamed of a cubicle. Okay. That's what I wanted. I was like, I'll become a bookkeeper and I'll have a cubicle and I won't have students all around me all day. And I love to teach, but the classroom at that time, I was just so burned out. so I thought I will become a bookkeeper. And someone close to me said, why not just become a CPA? I said, okay. I didn't really think about it. I was just like, okay, why not? And when I started to look into it, it was a long process. I had a graduate degree in education, but I had no accounting, none, no accounting experience whatsoever. So I remember calling universities and finding out information. I was going to have to get two years of undergrad and then a graduate program. And then I would be eligible. And I found this dual degree program for an MS, MBA or career changers. It was like created exactly for me. And. I went into it still not really sure what I was getting myself into. I took one accounting course to see, do I really want to do this? And it was so basic that I was like, I love this. It's like fun. This is easy. I can do this. And then I was not prepared for what was ahead of me, but it gave me everything I needed to sit for the exam. So you asked, why did I become a CPA? Because someone I trust said, why not become a CPA? It really was not the best reasoning and I see now that that was probably part of why I struggled so much to study for this exam because I hadn't consciously connected to this choice for me. I was still looking for my cubicle. Yeah. and so I had succeeded in so many things. And then I arrived at this point of being eligible to sit for the exam and terrified. And I just felt like this is the last hurdle. I finally reached it. I just can't get over it. And took many years and also it took a shift, like a mindset shift and, and I'll tell more about that story, I was so terrified and I wasn't connected to it from my own commitment that I wasn't going to reach the finish line without something shifting, without something breaking, like a breakthrough. I needed to break through what was going on inside in order to believe that I could do it. I think that's your first pillar, right? The commitment piece, like being able to understand why you're doing it for yourself. And I, preach the same thing about bookkeepers starting a business. It's like, , you have to want it and you have to desire it. You shouldn't do it because it's like, Oh, it's the thing to do or whatever. But , same with the CPA, you know? So at that point you said it took you years to finally pass it. In the interim, were you still teaching or had you gotten an accounting job? And I'm curious to know, like, because it sounds like you went directly from teaching into studying for you know, your MS MBA. But had you ever, did you gather the real world experience before you finished the CPA exams? Or were you blindsided by like the difference of the textbook and the real life? Yes and yes. So I finished teaching on a Friday. It was a long weekend, like a holiday weekend. And I started the MS MBA program on a Tuesday, like drove, moved on in the weekend. Went from ending the school year to starting this 15 month graduate program, and it included a three month paid internship. So I interned at a large international firm, and so it was six months of coursework, three months of an internship, and then six months of coursework, and then I was hired by that firm right out of The program, right? So I had some real world experience. I was getting all of these courses, like cramming years and years of studying into 12 months of coursework and this three month internship. And I worked as a tax accountant. For a large accounting firm. And it was in my mind, like, I need to study. I should study. Studying is what is expected. I have to pass this exam. And so what happened was I would sit down and study that my work gave me. study material. And I won't name the review program because there are many review programs and they all work, but that people learn differently. So it was not the right review program for me. And so I would sit down to study and I would not, I just couldn't connect to the material. I felt overwhelmed. I was also working full time. So it was my first year with a busy season and everything. so I ended up. Leaving that job, not because I didn't love the job, but I wanted to relocate. I had left to go to school, and then I took a job in another city, and I wanted to come back to Miami. And it was 2008. Markets were crashing, jobs were closing, it was so easy to get the internship and so easy to get the job initially. And then no one was hiring. And I thought, perfect, I'll study. I'll study for the exam. And this is how I know when people say, Oh, I just don't have the time. Like I'm so busy and I have work and I have kids and I have this. I know from personal experience that I had all the time in the world and I still didn't study. Like, that's not the answer. Having time or not having time, it's not the problem and it's not the solution. That's what I learned from that. then I convinced myself, I don't want this. And I turned a different direction. And I got married, I had a baby, I was very busy doing life things. And I, I was like, I think in order to get a job, I have to have my CPA. I had that in my mind, but I also was terrified. And so I convinced myself, you know what? I don't want this. I'm going to be a mom right now and I'm not ever going to be a CPA. This is, this is, I was tricking myself because I, I didn't think I could, I really didn't think I could. So when my son was three, I decided. Actually, it was as a result of a chance conversation that I had, and I talk about this sometimes in, you know, in lessons I give. Before lunch, I met this lawyer, CPA. He's a lawyer, but he happens to be a CPA, and we were just chatting, and I told him what I just told you. I am eligible, and this is what I've done, but I have not passed the exam. I, like, I couldn't get myself to study. I couldn't get myself to sit, and he was so excited. about my potential. He's like, you have to do it. This is amazing. He used some sports analogy. They think I know everything about the financials and the numbers because I'm a CPA. I walk in the room and they respect me. It's like, I have this authority because I'm a CPA. He's like, you're so close. You have to do this. And I sat down to that lunch and I said to my husband, I said, I think I'm going to study for the CPA exam. He's like, I've been telling you that for years. Don't you love that when they're like, I've been telling you this, and now you take it from some stranger, some, the same advice. Years later, now that I do what I do and I help candidates, I realized what happened in that 20 minute conversation. I walked in believing to my core, I can't do this. I finally have made peace with the fact that I cannot accomplish this goal, and I left that conversation believing fully to my core, I can. Nothing changed. My brain didn't change, my ability didn't change, my Education didn't change, the exam didn't change, nothing changed except for my belief in myself. And you mentioned my first pillar, which is commitment. So I have the three pillars of CPA exam success, which are C. Commit, P. Plan, and A. Act, CPA. And so commitment for me is three parts. It's desire. You have to want it. It has to be a real why. You know, we hear all the time, like, what's your why? But it has to be big enough to get you through the times when you're like, this is awful. I don't want to do it. And so you have to have that desire. You also have to have that belief in yourself because without that belief, I'm still not going to show up and do it. And then the third part of that is willingness. So I can want it. I can even believe I can do it, but if I'm not willing to show up and do the work, nothing's going to happen. So there, for me, there are those three parts to that first pillar. And so that's what shifted. And then I set out, study for the exam. And I was. I wasn't working at the time. I was tutoring like SAT. I was just doing some things on the side, but I was a full time mom. I had very little time to myself. And I was like, I'm carving out these two hours every day to study. And I committed. And when I first sat down to study that first lesson, my brain offered, this isn't going to work. Like, this is too much for you. What have you gotten yourself into? But when I had that chance conversation and connected to that belief, I didn't want to make a knee jerk decision to buy all of the materials and start studying the next day. I knew enough to make a decision to make a decision. I decided I'm going to research this. There has to be a way for me to learn this material in a way that works for me. And I researched different review programs. And I chose one, and when I finally made the decision, I was fully committed. I had the desire, I had the belief, and I had the willingness. I knew what it was gonna take. I was in it. So when my brain offered, this isn't gonna work, and you can't do this, I just told my brain, I was like, Thank you for sharing, but we're going to study for two hours right now, and we're just going to see what happens. And I just did that over and over and over again, and I realized in that moment that sometimes my opinion of me, often probably my opinion of me, is really not my business. I can choose to take it or not, but if it's offering me something that just isn't helping to move me forward towards my goal, I can choose to not believe it. And that was huge. I love that. I went, it's, it's really funny when people ask me, a lot of people ask like, what study material did you use? Granted, I took the exam in 2012 and 2013. So. Things have changed, but I did go through several different types of programs and I never ever, did the ones that were like really expensive and popular. I was like, I'm going to figure out this is, this is just my personality. I'm kind of stubborn. I'm like, I'm going to figure out how to do this the least expensive way. Not that I don't have skin in the game, but just to prove a point that you don't have to invest 3, 000 in a study material, there's other options out there that have really good success rates. and almost, I would venture to say the methodologies are more effective. Absolutely. I love that you had that. Well, you're like, I'm going to prove that I can do this without spending all that money. And how motivating that is. Yeah, whatever's like that motivated you some other thought might motivate somebody else and So it's like I'm gonna do it just to prove them wrong. I tell my candidates. I'm like try this Strategy just to prove me wrong. Yeah, let me know how it goes. I just want to get them into action So if they're in action, they're going to figure out what works for them. It doesn't even have to be my strategy, but if they're not sure what to do and they're not doing anything, try this one and then prove to me it doesn't work. I'm super happy to hear that it doesn't work for you. And then let me know what does, and then I can help other people from what worked for you. Cause I'm just one person. I think finding a unique system. for each individual candidate is so important. Yeah, absolutely. I'm not gonna do this without spending a lot of money. Yeah, um, but yeah, I did, I did what you did. I carved out at least two hours a day. and yeah, it takes a lot of planning, which is your next pillar. So how do you suggest people, get to that point of once they've committed, how do they now plan out the steps that they're going to take, the time that they're going to be studying? What's your suggestion there? So from a very simplistic overview of planning, when I was listening to your podcast, I was hearing what is huge for how I present planning is Stephen Covey's Begin With The End In Mind. So we're essentially going to the end first to see what it is we're creating. So we have this big picture approach and it's the blueprint we're designing the house. We're not going to just start, you know, laying bricks. what will this look like? So we need to have a big picture plan so that, and the next piece is that. You include all of your roles and responsibilities, and you see it as part of your life. And then, the last part of the plan is, let's keep it in the now. So, I like a one week schedule, because it gives enough to work with, so that you have a few study sessions. You might have everyday study sessions, but it isn't so overwhelming. So, it's like you're going to pass the four exams. It's all of this material, but we're not going to think about all of the material in the 400 suggested study hours all at once. I mean, I think about that now and I've already passed and I'm exhausted and overwhelmed and stressed. Like just the thought of it. So it's like, okay, one at a time. And it doesn't even matter. If it's, I say you could be a 12 month candidate and do one a quarter. You could be a three month candidate and do all of them. Still, we're not studying everything all at once, like let's separate this out. And so planning for one week, and then in the week you'll have daily sessions, study sessions, it makes it so manageable. So we see the big picture. We know where we're going and then we break it down. And see, you know, what does this look like on a weekly basis? And how does that fit in realistically with life? Because I can't guarantee someone will pass the first time, or the second time, or even the third time. Like I'm not like some magic, I can't just like wave a magic wand and be like, you're gonna pass on the first time, the first try. But I make life better for people because Otherwise it takes over everything. It like becomes so big and it's like I have to put my life on hold, I have to put my relationships on hold, I have to put my self care on hold, I have to put everything on hold in order to pass the exam. And I think then if you fail, it's horrible. Yeah. Because you put everything on hold. You didn't have a life and you failed. But if you have a life the whole time, and then you happen to fail a few times on your way to passing, who cares? You had a whole life. You're just studying. We don't know exactly when you'll pass. Yeah. And so, it's the planning. You plan for all of it. You fit it in. To your life in a way that works. So you said you set aside two hours. I set aside two hours. When I hear about people talking about eight hour study sessions, I mean, first I have to realize that's not me. Maybe you can do it. I have, I don't know, but I offer that it doesn't have to be that way. And I didn't even study two hours in my two hour study session. I would set two hours aside only for CPA exam preparation, but my brain only would focus for 40 minutes. This is what I found out in finding my own unique study system is that I could focus for 40 minutes and then I needed a break. So my perfect study balance was 40 minutes of studying, 20 minute break, 40 minutes of studying, 20 minute break. That was my two hours. So every day I got 80 super focused study minutes and 40 minutes all to myself, which was amazing with a toddler. You hacked the system. I was able to like make a phone call cause I was. Home with my son. And so it, I ended up loving my study system and my study time. So I went from, this is horrible and life is horrible to I can trust that I'm going to show up and each day is different. Some days are not great. Some days I didn't, nothing would process, but I didn't make that a problem. Nothing would come into my brain. I was like, okay, but I'm studying tomorrow. And then the next day would be amazing. And if we're consistent, there's, you know, you get into action and you get into this feedback loop and you start to learn all the things you didn't know. You didn't know you get better and you get faster. And so I ended up finding out that something that seems so hard could be broken down and. didn't have to feel so hard and I could even enjoy it, which I would have never believed that before. Yeah. actually now that I'm thinking back, I studied three, at least three hours a day. So during the week, my schedule, I would get up an hour earlier than normal, wake up before everyone in the house, study for an hour. And realistically, part of that hour is booting up the computer, logging into the multiple choice thing, doing whatever, right? So it's like, it's still not a full hour, but I've blocked off the hour for the studying. And then I would study on my lunch break, and then I would study for an hour in the evenings, too. And breaking it apart like that does make it more manageable, because then you do get almost three hours a day, and that adds up. Just like definitely it's the habit and then because you've created that habit, each time you sit down, your brain already knows it needs to get to work on and focus on this thing. Cause you've like, you've primed it for that. Right after your first week or so, right? You've got the habit down. So now every time you open your computer, you're immediately focused or whatever method you're using to study. So there's that too, like just creating a habit for your body and your brain is super effective. absolutely. Yeah. So your third pillar is act or action, right? Act, Action, Commitment, Plan, Act, Commitment, Planning, Action, however you want to look at it. Yes. All right. Talk us through that one. So for Action, it's, it's really executing this plan. And I have a STAR framework to study like a STAR, really it's Designing a Study Routine it's S T A R, you're going to schedule your week in advance, so schedule those study sessions ahead of time. You're then going to track your study time, because I found that I would sit to study, and I would find myself doing laundry, like across the house, 15 minutes later, I'm like, How did I get here? Why am I not studying? Like, so I needed to track, and this is something you talked about in your, in one of your podcasts of, really tracking your time like, I have a digital course, and I go into time management, and I talk about, in detail, the importance of tracking your time, but just from a very basic standpoint, just starting a timer, stopping a timer, or a accountability app, or activity app, to see When are you actually studying and how much studying are you actually doing? Because if I set aside two hours, I think I'm studying the whole time. And I'm, but why didn't I cover so much material? Why didn't I get through it? So you schedule the week in advance, you track your study time to see what the actual time is. And then the A is for assess. Nothing complicated. Just what went well, what didn't work, and what am I gonna do differently? For each study session, just a few minutes so that you're assessing it. You're adjusting the schedule slightly for what you'll do the next time. And then you're applying it the next time, the next study session. And then the last one is R. It's my favorite reward yourself. If you sat down and you study, even if nothing went into your brain, seemingly celebrate that you put in that effort because like you said, building that habit. Like, really, and you actually said, like, like, your body gets into the, the routine of that habit. And I often think about it, like exercise, one workout is not going to make me strong. So we're building this, CPA exam fitness, essentially. And yeah, so it's like, you show up two. The workout. And I like to say that sometimes too, because it's like, if I schedule it like a workout, even if it's just an hour, it could be an hour, it could be two, whatever works for the individual. If I know it's on my schedule, I don't have to think about it before the workout. I just show up to it at the time of the workout. And also I expect that I'm not going to want to do it because who wants to do it? But I do it anyway because I planned ahead of time with my best interest in mind. And then I do it and then I have to think about it afterwards. So whatever that time is, one hour, two hours, three hours out of a 24 hour day, it means that for 21 to 23 hours, I'm not thinking about CPA exam preparation at all. It automatically just freed up all of that time and energy for me because I used to think about it all the time and I did nothing. Yeah. You just stressed about it. It's just over here looming like a big old dark cloud. Exactly. So that's the action. Get into that feedback loop because what happens is you get like this. It's like a cumulative effect. So I tell the story that I don't know the origin of it, but it's hitting a rock with a hammer. They have, it is, somebody deserves to be credited for this story. It's not me. But you hit it 10 times, nothing happens. 20, 30, 40, 50, nothing is happening. You keep hitting the rock. 90 times, nothing's happening. 99 times, nothing happens. But that hundredth blow cracks. The rock. From the outside, nothing seems to be happening. Each study session is like one time hitting the rock. It's like, wait, that didn't work. Nothing happened. We have to just keep doing it. There's this cumulative effect and then eventually the rock will crack. So, and in addition to this cumulative effect, there's this compound effect, where it's like, the more the more, you know? It's like, we, like I said, you learn all the things you didn't know you didn't know. So getting into action, that's why we're in this action piece, and getting into that feedback loop, being willing to not know, And show up anyway, just like my brain said, this isn't going to work. Okay. We're just going to try it. We're just going to see how it goes. And it worked. I didn't have to take myself so seriously. I just had to show up and do the work. And there is often a lot blocking people from just showing up and doing the work. That's what I help people with the most in my coaching is really looking at what's going on here. Because. you just have to sit down and study. It's like, yeah, but I didn't. It's like, okay, well, okay, fine. You're still amazing, but you didn't do what you wanted to do. Let's understand that. Let's just figure it out so that maybe you can show up and accomplish what it is you want to do. Because eventually I studied for the CPA exam for me, not for anyone else. And not even because I needed to work as a CPA. I just wanted to know either I was going to study and not pass and be okay with that, or I was going to study and pass and realize, wow, I really can do this. And that's what I learned. I learned that I can do this. I was a French teacher, never had taken an accounting course. So I essentially was starting from nothing. Most of the candidates, most of the people eligible have a lot more prior knowledge. So I'm the perfect example of, I just learned it all by studying CPA exam material. And I finally did it and I thought, Oh, I can do this. I can take something super complicated, break it down. Be willing to not know until I know, and it worked. And so I hope people not feel so bad about this. Because I know people who pass the first time. They studied, they passed. And the way, this one person I was talking to, she described the experience as traumatic. Oh no. Like, even, like, so it's, it's not, it's not like, oh, some people just study and pass and it's fine. Like, some people probably do. But even people who study and pass the first time, it's like they do it in such a hard way. And you had mentioned something in the podcast on whether to become a CPA or not. And you're like, it's hard. This is really hard. And, at some point, we don't have to go into it now, but at some point I'd love to discuss how we make hard things so much harder. And that's where I come in, you know, like, that's what I help to eliminate the added layer of hard on top of hard on top of hard. Yes. It's challenging, but there are So many ways in which we make things so much harder. Yeah, I totally agree. Okay, so since we are getting kind of close to, the end of our time, I would love if you would share, because you kind of dropped little hints here and there about your course and your one on one coaching, what do you help? with or how can people work with you? If someone is like, yes, I, CPA has been a goal that I've really wanted to achieve. I just haven't been able to get there yet. I don't know if it's the right time. Like, how do you help people in that situation? and tell us whatever you have going on. I have so many ways that I help people. The first way is all of my free resources. So I'm on Instagram and there are strategies and inspiration and my link to my free resources. So what I like people to do is just come into my world, get to know me, get to know the resources, Using this Study Like a Star, this Designing a Study routine, I also have a new resource called Finding Your Study Success Sweet Spot. And these are simple exercises to help people to get into action. And so I have a lot of free resources. And then I have a free Facebook group called CPA Exam Success, and I only accept candidates in there. So it's, it's only CPA exam candidates, and every month I have a schedule for my live, so I do two Q& As a month. The first week of the month I do a freebie tutorial. And it is, so I go through, I have the ultimate CPA exam success checklist, which takes them through applying for the exam, choosing a review program, designing a study routine. And so I have a tutorial on that. I just did a tutorial on my study success sweet spot. And so all of this is free. And then one of the lives, sometimes it's a live and sometimes it's pre recorded, will be maybe a master class or a planning event or a challenge or a boot camp. And so there's so much free resources. And that's probably enough for anyone struggling to pass the CPA exam from the perspective they just don't know where to start. They don't know, you know, what materials should I use? Or, you know, how do I schedule it? How do I fit it in? Like, just from a very practical standpoint, all of that free material is there. If they're still struggling, Because something else is going on, like their mindset or, you know, they're just really having trouble putting the puzzle of their life together. That's where the coaching comes in. And I have a free consultation, a coaching consultation. And I would encourage anyone interested to hop on that free call because it's free. You never even have to sign up for coaching, but if you, but you'll walk out of that call, understanding your biggest challenges. And like the, your, like maybe your beliefs or your blocks. And a few steps, like a step by step of what to do next just to get you into action. I just want everybody to get into action. I want to help thousands of CPA exam candidates who wouldn't pass the exam otherwise, who are going to just give up. They failed and they're discouraged. I want to help them pass the exam. But in the meantime, anyone interested in making this easier, so that they can stop stressing, struggling, or sacrificing, And pass with ease, all of this will work regardless of where you are in this, process. And then I'll tell you just quickly about, so I do one on one coaching and I have a digital course. It's called CPA Exam Success Mastery. It's essentially three courses in one. You're going to set your foundation for CPA exam success, you're going to master your CPA exam success mindset, and you're going to master your time management for CPA exam success. And it's a six week course. There will be three lessons a week for six weeks. And you can do that self study, or you can do six week one on one with the course of one on one coaching, And I'm, with you in that process and it's available. It's, something that if anyone is interested in, they could hop on that free call and I could tell them more, but this is. Everything I have created is what I would have wanted when I started. Yeah. I didn't even know I wanted it, but it's what I would have wanted and it would have helped me because I was making it so much harder. And I was terrified and miserable and making that mean something about me. And it doesn't. The only thing that the CPA exam score tells us is how well we score on the CPA exam. Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't mean that you're a failure at life., okay. Not at all. So we are going to link all of these resources in the show notes. if someone wants to connect with you, what is your Instagram? Instagram. Instagram. CPA Exam Success is my Instagram. Okay, perfect. And is that the best place to connect? That is the best place to connect. And there's a way to email me. It's Dawn at CPAExamSuccessWithDawn. com so that they can email, but there's a link on my Instagram. That's where the link tree is that has all of my free resources, but the best place to start is just come on in with the free resources. Start to feel better and lighter about this whole process. And then if you need more support, I'm here to work with you, whether that's through the self study course or the course and coaching, but there's so much in my free resources. Can't wait to have more people use them and benefit because like I said, it's what I would have wanted. Yeah. Thank you so much. And I should have mentioned this at the top of the episode, but even if you're not thinking about studying for the CPA exam or you already have, the things that we talked about today are applicable in reaching any goal. or managing your time running your business. So hopefully you still listen to the whole time. That's why I was like, I should have, I should have mentioned this at the top of the episode, but thank you so much for sharing. I'm so glad that we connected and please reach out to Dawn if you're listening and you've been kind of toying with the idea of studying or getting your CPA. and I'm also always available to share my experience. I'm also going to link the episode where I answer the question, should you get your CPA license? So if you're still on the fence about that, we'll have that episode linked in the show notes as well. Thank you so much for your time, Dawn. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you for this opportunity. And I listened to that episode and it's a good one. We didn't get into should you or shouldn't you, but you cover it all. So I don't actually think we missed anything. Wonderful. All right. Well, we'll talk soon. I'll talk to you guys next week.