Exam's are tougher as you get older...
So some of you may have seen that I was undergoing a career change and becoming a financial planner. Of course if I was handling your personal finances you would want to have a well-trained, enthusiastic financial planner advising you - I know I would!
Enthusiasm I have - I love helping people and 'course-correcting' them onto a path for better financial results is definitely rewarding.
I wasn't aware though how difficult the knowledge part would be...and yes I'm going to add - at my age! I have never had a hard time learning new things and I have certainly never studied harder for anything than I did for my license exams so far. They have high failure rates because the passing grades are quite high - makes sense when you think about it - no one wants a 'financial planner' who qualifies for his license with a 51% passing grade handling their personal finances!
I did not fail either of them so far and apparently the worst is over but I studied probably 80 hours for my 2nd exam alone. It was four hours long and the first one was three hours long! I wrote with two young fellows and they both failed each exam!! One young man squeaked by with a passing grade on the first exam and fell flat on the 2nd one.
Maybe having the token old guy mixed in with the two young business college grads and the recent university grad inspired me to new heights - I knew I was going to have to study my a@@ off if I wanted to be successful. How would I have explained it to my 17 year old son or my lovely wife - that I failed? Wasn't a road I wanted to go down - now its time to pay it forward - Next week I will help my new training friends qualify with passing grades for their next round of exams! I think I owe them one...
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Thanks for sharing your success, Kevin! Well done.
You are a shinning example to young people especially your son. Even older folks can learn from you.
Congratulations Kevin!! It is good to know that there are still so many determined people out there excited to work hard to reach their goals!! You are an inspiration!
I just want to say, you are as young in your mind, heart, and body as you want to be!! Age is ONLY just a number :) It took months for me to turn that thought around in my mothers head, now she is getting out there, meeting new people and looking more vibrant than she has in a long time.
Isn't it amazing what a little effort can do...you are to be commended for getting your mom a new lease on life! Congrats
Hi Kevin, great, after I made career in having and parenting children, I started my study career, and ended up, after a whole series of courses, on the WA university :) Loes
Kevin, I certainly can identify with your situation, on a daily basis.
In particular in 2012 when I decided to give supplemental insurance a try. Two weeks of licensing classes and then a test. I ended up with over 150 flash cards with terms and answers to study. As I went through the cards and I new the answer was internalized, I threw the card away.
By test day, I still had a nice thick stack of cards left. I had to pass the test if I was going to start working. On the way to the test, I didn't study the cards, what I did was I just kept repeating to myself, "I'm going to Pass this test and go to work". Over and over with confidence that was my mantra.
I didn't ace that test, but I didn't just squeak by either. I went to work that day.
What you believe, you can achieve.
The best way to hold on to your braincells (at any age) Keep Learning... Keep Testing Yourself. Find something you're Passionate about and take it to a place you never thought you could reach.
Oh, in 2012 I was 63, I was easily 60 pounds overweight and walked with a cane. The job was outside Supplemental Insurance Sales. What the heck was I thinking? LOL
My first month with the company I was the #1 New Agent in the tri-state area.
I'm no longer 60 lbs overweight, I don't need a cane, I can jog a mile and a half, and I'm here! That inspires me.
My Mom at 70 took out a 30 year mortgage on a new house. I said, "Hey lady, what are you thinking?" She told me, "Don't worry, I'll get it paid off in half that time". She did.
Well done on your passes Kevin!
I was different to you, thrived in a learning environment hitting my 50s studying computing. I hated school, bullying teachers telling me I was useless (I had an undiagnosed hearing deficit) and really struggled.It wasn't until I reached my 40s that my confidence started to grow and I was no longer petrified of learning!
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I know exactly what you mean! I started working on my Bachelor's Degree when I was 27. I graduated at 31 and then started working on my Master's Degree at 41. Each time it has gotten harder but I appreciate the learning so much more! I work on assignments for days and then find that younger students finished theirs in hours. I study for days and then find that younger students crammed for an hour earlier in the day. My grades are better than theirs most of the time but sometimes I wish it was that easy for me after working over 40 hours a week. I love that you will be helping pay it forward! Somehow, it makes all those long hours worth it when you can help someone else succeed! Congratulations on your hard work and accomplishments!
Thank you - I believe that paying it forward is an important principle - we can all make the world that much better by doing just that little extra!
Yes sir! I agree wholeheartedly!