“I can’t get motivated to study”

Thanks for answering our question! Clearly, it’s important to you to get your CMA.

Since you’re having difficulty getting motivated to study, you may be stuck in what I call the Desert Island Trap.

Let me explain what that is and what it means for you. So you can overcome it and pass the exam your first time.

Even after reading a bunch of blogs and buying study materials, you still find yourself unable to open that CMA exam book. You see it on your shelf, staring you in the face. You mean to open it but decide to first pull out your phone and check Facebook. Then reply to an email…

Next thing you know, 2 hours have flown by and the day’s over. You missed your chance to study once again.

Your studying is at best inconsistent and at worst non-existent. Even though you’ve been thinking about the test for a while you’re nowhere near ready.

The reason I call it the Desert Island Trap is because even though you want to pass, your habits and surrounding environment are forcing you to fail. It’s like planting a seed in a dessert, there’s no chance the plant will grow!

All the textbooks and practice test in the world won’t help you. In fact, they only make the problem worse!

They’re so full of accounting jargon that they make the material extra difficult to understand. So studying feels like a drain. No wonder you’re avoiding it!

Back when I was studying for the test, the last thing I wanted to do was stare at a textbook. What motivated me was outside factors in my environment. Specifically, the $100,000 in debt I had, along with my meager $42,000/year accountant salary.

That’s what gave me the motivation to spend nights and weekends studying in Starbucks while all my friends were out surfing and partying.

It wasn’t easy, though. The whole time I’m wondering “Is this even worth it?” But once I passed, I got a promotion and 6-figure salary to go with it.

Now you don’t need to hit rock bottom to find motivation like I did. After 3 years of coaching people to pass the exam, I learned there are easier ways to motivate yourself to study.

For example, instead of learning from books that make the material complicated, you want to find someone to learn from who speaks in plain English and makes the material easy to understand.

You’ll also want to set up a system for accountability. Someone to gently remind you when it’s time to put Candy Crush away and pick up your text book.

You can also systemize your studying. So you know exactly what to study when. And when it’s time to move on to something else.

If you want to see how you can use these and other techniques to create an environment that will force you to be successful and pass the CMA’s your first try, sign up for my free upcoming training: “Become CMA Certified Within A Year”

This free 3-part training covers the tools, systems, and mindsets for passing the CMA on your first try. This stuff isn’t covered anywhere else and is controversial because it flies in the face of the “common wisdom” out there.

Here’s a peek at what you’ll learn:

Day 1: Mastering the Mental game

Discover the 4 biggest fears holding people back and how to overcome them. Here’s a peek at what we’ll cover:

• How to find time to study even if you’re already working 10 hours/day and have a family. Plus, a trick to absorb more material by studying less
• How to eliminate procrastination and make rapid, consistent progress — even when you’re tired or unmotivated
• How to overcome your fear of failure and walk into the exam room knowing that test doesn’t stand a chance against you
• Proof you don’t need any experience or prerequisites to pass the test. (I’ve had students still in undergrad and others who’d never take an accounting course pass the first time.)

Day 2: CMA exam made easy

Avoid the “common wisdom” that’s causing you to waste time studying the wrong things and discover what to focus on instead. Here’s a look at what we’ll cover:

• The one thing the vast majority of the 70% of test takers who fail have in common (and how you can pass in less time, with less effort, while saving money)
• Why “studying longer and harder” will set you up for failure (and the discovery I made the helped me retain 80% of what I learned and gave me way more free time)
• The dangers of live study classes: Why they leave you unprepared and “utterly confused” even when your instructor knows his stuff

Day 3: Success tools to study smarter, not harder

Discover how you can create an environment that forces you to stay focused and take large steps forward no matter what. What we’ll cover includes:

• Exactly how much time you should study to pass (it depends on a few things…)
• 2 ways to save money when preparing for the CMA exam (and even take it for free!)
• Why memorizing textbooks is a colossal waste of time, and the simple tools for studying smarter, not harder. (These tools bring you from a 30% chance of passing to 80%)

By the end of the course, you’ll know exactly what it’ll take to pass the exam this year.

If you’re ready for the 6-figure salary, respect, and pride from having that CMA hanging on your wall, then sign up for the “Become CMA Certified Within A Year” training.

Let’s cross this off your to-do list once and for all.