No Obstacle Greater Than the Will to Succeed

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This past weekend my husband and all our (grown) children went out of state for a relative’s wedding. It was a refreshing change to not be glued to my computer…I didn’t even take it with me. Visiting with family I had not seen since my own wedding nearly 30 years ago was a blast. We laughed, drank, and danced until the early morning hours.

The morning we were to return home, my sister-in-law had one last get together breakfast. I was sitting next to my husband’s Aunt Sunny. She asked me about taking the CPA exam, and how it was going. Before I began my answer, she politely said, “That is such a difficult exam.” I always appreciate when people say that because then I don’t feel as embarrassed when I have to say there was an exam…or two, that I did not pass the first time around. Sunny is a Speech Pathologist and understands the dedication is takes to obtain different certifications.

She proceeded to tell me about a woman she knew that was in school working on her Master’s Degree. In the process, she was involved in an automobile accident that affected her short term memory. She still had every intention of completing her degree but it had now become increasingly difficult. The university she was attending arranged for her, through another university, to have alerts sent to her, reminding her to study. Sunny said she helped this woman prepare for her tests. She said they went over the information again and again and again…Sunny felt she could have gotten a degree too.

The woman did obtain her degree. It is such an inspiration to me. From time to time I look at the obstacles in my own exam preparation and get frustrated or anxious. How incredible to be that dedicated and driven to continue on when your ability to remember has been compromised. It just shows you that obstacles are there to be overcome, not to stop you. I will continue to study and push myself, and I will persevere, because there is no obstacle in my way stronger than my will to succeed.

-Donna Elish, Guest Blogger for Roger CPA Review 

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