🎙️ 5 Simple Ways to Study Without Stress and Enjoy the Holidays

The holiday season can leave many CPA Exam candidates feeling stretched thin. End-of-year deadlines, family commitments, travel, and social plans all collide with your study goals—and it’s easy to feel like you have to choose one or the other.

But you don’t have to. You can enjoy the holidays and make meaningful progress toward your CPA Exam Success with clarity, intention, and ease.

In this episode, I walk you through five simple ways to study without stress and still enjoy the season—so you can stop second-guessing yourself and start following through in a way that supports your life and your goals.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

🎯 How to define a realistic year-end goal using duration—not completion

📅 How to schedule your study time so it supports both progress and celebration

🪷 How to set up a study space that feels calm, clear, and easy to return to

🎁 Why mini rewards help you stay consistent without added pressure

🛡️ How boundaries protect your energy, your time, and your commitments

You’ll also hear real stories from candidates navigating this season—like the client who found a test date that gave her both the review time she wanted and the family time she valued simply by looking at her calendar with intention.

And we finish with three gentle reminders:

⚖️ Support your energy in ways that keep you steady

✨ Let small, consistent steps work in your favor

🏁 Stay connected to the bigger goal you’re moving toward

If you want extra support, CLICK HERE to download the holiday planning worksheet that helps you map out your year-end study plan and keep your next steps visible.

If you’re listening during Consult Week, CLICK HERE to book your free 15-minute strategy call. If you’re listening later, use the same link to check availability.

🎧 Listen now and learn how to move through this season with clarity, consistency, and confidence—so you can enjoy what matters most to you and stay connected to your CPA Exam Success.

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success! (This 🔗 takes you to all currently available free and paid resources.)

Let’s Connect!

💬 Join the Free Facebook Group

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!

🎙️ All In or All Out? The Moment You Stop Debating and Start Deciding

There comes a point in every CPA Exam candidate’s journey when you realize you can’t stay halfway in anymore.

You want to pass—but part of you still doubts it’s possible. That quiet tug-of-war drains your focus, your energy, and your motivation.

Half commitment creates full exhaustion.

It’s not that you can’t pass the CPA Exam—it’s that you haven’t decided how you’ll show up yet.

When you commit fully, everything gets simpler:

✅ Your plan gets clearer

✅ Your schedule feels lighter

✅ Your belief grows stronger

Indecision burns more energy than action ever will.

In this episode, I share the simple but powerful decision that brings relief and clarity: choosing to be all in or all out—with intention. No more back-and-forth. Just one clear answer for today.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

✨ How to reclaim your time and energy with one clean daily decision

✨ What “all in” really looks like—steady, not extreme

✨ How willingness—not perfect belief—keeps you moving forward

✨ How to use my CPA Exam Success Formula to create structure you can trust

✨ How the STAR Framework (Schedule, Track, Assess, Reward) becomes your built-in feedback loop for progress

I also share real client stories that show how clarity changes everything—how one decision to stop debating and start deciding became the turning point in their CPA Exam preparation.

Whether your answer today is all in or all out, my hope is that you walk away with permission to choose clearly, rest fully, and come back focused.

🎧 Listen now to discover how clarity—not pressure—moves you toward your CPA Exam Success, one intentional decision at a time.

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success! (This 🔗 takes you to all currently available free and paid resources.)

Let’s Connect!

💬 Join the Free Facebook Group

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!

This episode is a replay from our free Facebook community where I walk you through CPA Exam Success Mastery—what it is, who it’s for, and how you can finally pass the CPA Exam with confidence and ease (without putting your life on hold).

• 👥 Who it’s for: Busy CPA Exam candidates ready to reclaim their life and their time—and finally PASS the CPA Exam with Confidence and Ease

• 🚀 Join CPA Exam Success Mastery →

• Core Course via Private Podcast — short, clear lessons that turn overwhelm into direction

• Simple Companion Workbook — reflection prompts and quick wins

• Live Group Coaching (2–4 calls/month) — mindset + strategy coaching (live or replays)

• Private Community — accountability, encouragement, and support

💬 You don’t need to overhaul your life—just a few focused shifts make all the difference.

• $97/month (cancel anytime)- (Update 11/1/2025- You can join for January 2025 and get instant access to two bonuses*)

• $997 pay-in-full (access up to 30 months—ideal if you want support through all sections) (Update 11/1/2025- Pay-in-Full and get immediate access)

🔗 Check out details of the program and schedule a Zoom Chat to ask any questions you have about the program and CPA Exam Success Coaching

Join by October 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET and get all of this at no additional cost

Included Limited-Time Bonuses:

• One Month Free — $97 value (No longer available)

• 1:1 Strategy Session (60 min) — $250 value (use by year-end) (No longer available)

• *90-Day Plan Workshop + Workbook — $97 value

• *30-Day Challenge + Workbook — $30 value

• Advanced Time Management Series — $297 value

• Ask Dawn AI Coaching Tool — $197 value

• AI Study Tools Suite (Coming Soon) — $250 value (Blueprint Builder, Pre-Exam Strategy GPT, Post-Exam Debrief AI)

Total Bonus Value: $1,218 — all included when you join during this offer window.

👉 Ready to simplify your study process and make real progress?

Join CPA Exam Success Mastery now →

Try the program for two full months (if you join by October 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET).

If you show up (listen to lessons, use the workbook, attend or watch replays, and document takeaways) and it’s not helping, cancel by December 25, 2025, to receive a full $97 refund.

Clear, simple, and completely risk-free.

💡 “I’m behind” → “I’m building a system that works.”

💡 “I need more time” → “I need a plan that fits my real life.”

💡 “Work harder” → “Let it be easier—and more effective.”

💡 “Maybe later” → “All-in or all-out (for now), on purpose.”

🌟 All-out option: Pause studying, close the CPA Exam tab, enjoy this season fully, and return in January refreshed, recharged, and ready—intentionally. (Benefit: reduced mental load and a clean restart.)

🌟 All-in option: Commit to small, consistent action—10 minutes/day of lessons + minimum of 15 minutes/day of study + 2 hours/month of coaching. Stack small wins and head into January already in stride. (Benefit: protected energy and steady momentum.)

• 🎯 Join CPA Exam Success Mastery

• 🔗 Check out details of the program

🌟You can PASS the CPA Exam—and feel good doing it. When you fully commit, plan intentionally for your real life, and take aligned, confident action, progress becomes not only predictable but inevitable.

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success! (This 🔗 takes you to all currently available free and paid resources.)

Let’s Connect!

💬 Join the Free Facebook Group

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!

📚 The First 30 Matter Most 📚

Because The First 30 study hours set the tone for everything that follows.

When you start strong, you continue strong.

When you build a solid study system in The First 30 days, the rest becomes easier—because you feel confident, in control, and clear on your path to CPA Exam Success.

If you’ve started studying for the CPA Exam and got stuck, distracted, or discouraged… it’s time to restart.

That’s why I created the CPA Exam Confident! 30 in 30 Challenge—your First 30.

This challenge is all about establishing your first 30 study hours so they’re efficient and effective in your first 30 daysof studying.

And here’s the truth: The First 30 isn’t always your literal first 30 hours or first 30 days.

👉 If you’re just starting out, start strong.

👉 If you’ve already started but got off track, this is your clean slate—your fresh First 30. It’s your chance to restart, reset, and make your next 30 hours of study more efficient, more effective, and better than before.

👉 This time, you’ll do it differently. Just because it didn’t work before doesn’t mean it can’t work now.

Inside The First 30 you’ll get:

✨ Daily emails to guide and encourage you

✨ 23 short video that not only keep you motivated, but also offer study, mindset, and time management strategies

🚨 Registration closes at midnight tonight (September 30, 2025) and the October 2025 Challenge begins tomorrow morning, October 1st.

If you’re ready to start (or restart) strong, join now.

👉 Click here to join The CPA Exam Confident! 30 in 30 Challenge

🌟 For the VIP 1:1 Coaching option—which includes 4 private coaching calls and unlimited daily email support—DM me or send me an email today. Limited spots available.

PS: If you join after the month starts, you’ll be automatically added to the next month’s Challenge.

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success!

Let’s Connect!

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!

Do you ever feel like you’re “behind” in your CPA Exam prep?

That thought alone can keep you stuck in frustration instead of moving forward with clarity.

In this episode, I’ll show you how to let go of the urgency, simplify your approach, and study in a way that’s both effective and sustainable. You’ll discover how to move forward as your Future-CPA-Self—without adding unnecessary stress, struggle, or sacrifice.

Here’s what you’ll learn in Episode 13:

✨ Why consistency always beats rushing (think tortoise > hare)

✨ How to use duration goals to gather honest study data

✨ The power of recalibrating—what worked, what didn’t, and what’s next

✨ Why simplifying to one or two resources saves time and accelerates progress

✨ How to apply the scientific method to your CPA Exam prep: hypothesize → test → analyze → adjust

You’ll also get practical strategies you can use today—like the “first five minutes” approach and designing a realistic study plan that fits your life.

The big shift? Passing the CPA Exam doesn’t require rushing, piling on resources, or sacrificing your life. You can choose clarity, confidence, and ease—and let your system unfold one informed study block at a time.

🎧 Tune in now to reframe how you study and move forward toward your CPA Exam Success with confidence and ease.

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success! (This 🔗 takes you to all currently available free and paid resources.)

Let’s Connect!

💬 Join the Free Facebook Group

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!

Do you ever feel like your study effort isn’t matching your results?

You’ve committed. You’ve planned. You’ve even taken action.

But somehow, the progress just doesn’t add up.

You’re not doing anything wrong. You’re simply ready for something more refined:

👉 Not just a schedule.

👉 Not just another plan.

👉 But a system that works with your life.

In this episode, I’ll walk you through how to use your time, energy, and focus as part of a true CPA Exam Passing System—one that’s realistic, repeatable, and built for real life.

✨ Why starting with your real time and energy (not the “ideal” version) is the key to lasting consistency

✨ How to see your time as an account, not just a schedule—and use it wisely

✨ Why building a study rhythm matters more than chasing perfect conditions

✨ How the 🌟 STAR Framework (Schedule, Track, Assess, Reward) turns effort into steady progress

✨ The Track → Train → Compound loop that transforms study sessions into sustainable momentum

🔗 The Ultimate CPA Exam Success Checklist

🔗 The 30 in 30 Challenge

🔗 Chat with me to see if 1:1 coaching is the right fit for you

🔗 ATimeLogger app for tracking study sessions (not an affiliate link)

This system isn’t about pushing harder—it’s about studying smarter, building trust in yourself, and creating steady momentum toward your CPA Exam Success.

🎧 Tune in now to learn how to stop starting over and start moving forward with a real plan that fits your life.

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success! (This 🔗 takes you to all currently available free and paid resources.)

Let’s Connect!

💬 Join the Free Facebook Group

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!

🎧 Episode 11 – Self-Trust: The Hidden Ingredient to Reaching the CPA Exam Finish Line

⛓️‍💥 Broken Promises = 💔Broken Progress on the CPA Exam

Episode Summary:

If you’ve ever said “I’ll study tonight” and then didn’t—this episode is for you. Most CPA Exam candidates assume the struggle is about time, material, or motivation. But what quietly stalls progress is the erosion of self-trust—the subtle doubt that builds each time you don’t follow through on a promise to yourself.

In this episode, Dawn explains why self-trust—not pressure or guilt—is the steady force that turns intentions into action. You’ll learn how small, repeatable commitments compound into confidence, shift your identity into someone who follows through, and carry you to the CPA Exam finish line.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

✅ Why lack of self-trust—not lack of time—keeps candidates stuck

✅ How small, consistent promises build your “self-trust muscle”

✅ What happens when studying stops being a negotiation and becomes a promise you honor

✅ How identity shifts (from “I procrastinate” to “I follow through”) create lasting momentum

✅ Why self-trust spills over into work, relationships, and well-being

✅ How the STAR Study Framework supports reliable follow-through (Schedule, Track, Assess, Reward)

What Self-Trust Looks Like in Practice:

• Decide on one doable commitment—and keep it (e.g., a short set of MCQs or a focused 30 minutes).
• Align your actions with your word—especially on ordinary days.
• Expect discomfort at first; honor the block you planned anyway.
• Let repeated follow-through build evidence-based confidence.
• Watch the identity shift: from doubt to dependable.

Truth Check + Reflection Prompt:

• What is one small promise you’ll keep with yourself this week?
• Where do you most feel the urge to bargain (“I’ll catch up tomorrow”)?
• How will you apply Schedule, Track, Assess, Reward to reinforce your follow-through?

Mentioned in This Episode:

• 🌟 STAR Study Framework — Schedule study blocks that match your real energy, Track what actually happens (without judgment), Assess what’s working/what needs to shift, Reward yourself for showing up.
• ✅ The Ultimate CPA Exam Success Checklist (Free) — Use it (and Dawn’s custom GPT (Free) that walks you through it) to design your Ideal and Unique Study System with ease.
• 🎯 CPA Exam Confident! 30 in 30 Study Challenge — $30 for 30 days of supported, consistent study—one study hour at a time—to build self-trust and momentum you can sustain.
• 🤝 15-Minute CPA Exam Success Chat (Free)— Explore next steps and learn about a special 4-week 1:1 coaching option available to challenge participants.

Final Takeaway:

You don’t need more pressure to move forward—you need self-trust. Keep one small promise today. Repeat it tomorrow. That steady follow-through is what carries you all the way to your CPA Exam Success.

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success! (This 🔗 takes you to all currently available free and paid resources.)

Let’s Connect!

💬 Join the Free Facebook Group

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!

CPA Exam Success Podcast with Dawn Edelstein CPA

Episode Summary:

If studying for the CPA Exam feels like pushing a boulder uphill—you're not alone. And you're not broken. More often than not, the frustration and lack of progress aren’t about intelligence, effort, or even your study plan.

In this episode, Dawn unpacks five clear signs that you’re truly ready to study—not just on paper, but in real life. When these signs are missing, study sessions become inconsistent, overwhelming, and draining. But when they’re present? You gain clarity, momentum, and a calm, repeatable rhythm that actually works.

Whether you're just starting, restarting, or wondering why progress still feels hard—this episode gives you the insight and tools to move forward with confidence.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

✅ Why readiness is an internal shift—not a perfect schedule

✅ What quiet willingness looks like (and why motivation isn’t required)

✅ How to create space for study inside your actual life

✅ Why failure isn’t a setback, but a sign of engagement

✅ How to stop rushing and start building a system that lasts

✅ What to do when your resistance is louder than your reason

The Five Signs You’re Ready to Study for the CPA Exam:

1. You’re willing to put in the time and focus.
2. You’ve considered how studying will—and won’t—impact your life.
3. You’re prepared to fail—if that’s what it takes to figure it out.
4. You’re in it for the long haul—no shortcuts, no panic.
5. Your reason for wanting this is stronger than your resistance.

Truth Check + Reflection Prompt:

At the end of the episode, Dawn invites you to reflect on each readiness sign and check in with honesty.

Which ones earned a yes?

Which ones need strengthening?

👉 Download the free Episode 10 Worksheet to go deeper with personalized prompts and micro-actions for each sign of readiness.

Mentioned in This Episode:

🎯 The 30-Day CPA Exam Confident Challenge

✨ Join Anytime ✨

You’ll get:

– 30 days of focused study support

– A guided email sequence with all of the lesson replays

– Access to the private Facebook group

📚 Margaryta’s CPA Exam Success Story

From three FAR failures to passing the entire CPA Exam—proving that resilience, not perfection, is what carries you to the finish line.

Listen to Episode 7 for her full journey.

Final Takeaway:

Readiness isn’t something you wait for—it’s something you build.

You don’t need perfect conditions to begin.

You need clarity, intention, and one step forward.

This episode helps you find that step—and take it.

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success! (This 🔗 takes you to all currently available free and paid resources.)

Let’s Connect!

💬 Join the Free Facebook Group

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!

Join the ​CPA Exam Confident! 30 in 30 Challenge​

Join in real time (July 2025) or join anytime and you will be walked through the full 30-day challenge with daily emails and Facebook LIVE replays.

If you're ready to finally gain momentum with your study plan, this is your chance.

This isn’t a push to work harder. It’s a gentle, supportive reset that helps you study consistently—with clarity, confidence, and no burnout.

✅ You commit to 30 focused study hours in 30 days

✅ Each day, you choose from 4 options:

• 1 × 60-minute study block

• 2 × 30-minute study blocks

• 3 × 20-minute study blocks

• 4 × 15-minute study blocks

✅ You track your time + reflect on your study session efficiency and effectiveness

✅ You get access to daily LIVE check-ins (Sun–Thurs at 9:45 AM EST) in my private CPA Exam Success Facebook Group

✅ You study with a community—not alone

🎁 And yes—there are giveaways!

When you register​ (and join LIVE), you’ll be entered to win:

✨ A free 1:1 CPA Exam coaching session

✨ A scholarship to the next LIVE CPA Exam Success Workshop (July 17th)

✨ Grand prize of CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and Digital Course

✨ ...and more

But you must ​register​ to get access to:

📥 The downloadable workbook

🎯 The prize drawings

🧭 All the tools and support

If you’re tired of spinning in place… If you need a fresh start… If you want a study system that actually fits your life...

👉 ​Register now for the CPA Exam Confident! 30 in 30 Challenge​

I’ll see you inside—and LIVE tomorrow at 9:45 AM EST in my free ​Facebook Group​ (join group to watch LIVEs)

You’ve got this, and I’m cheering you on every step of the way!

Dawn

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success!

Let’s Connect!

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!

Are you stuck chasing a never-ending to-do list—and still not making real progress on the CPA Exam?

In this episode, we unpack the hidden trap of completion goals and why they’re keeping you from the finish line.

If you’re constantly telling yourself, “I just need to get through this…” — this mindset shift is going to change everything.

You’ll learn how to shift your focus to duration-based goals that actually help you stay consistent, reduce burnout, and build the momentum you need to pass with confidence and ease.

• The #1 mindset keeping smart, capable candidates stuck in the spin cycle
• Why completion goals are sabotaging your study process—even when they feel productive
• The power of duration goals (and how to set them the right way)
• A new approach to progress that builds belief, consistency, and results

Want to start making real progress toward your CPA Exam Success? Download the Ultimate CPA Exam Success Checklist—your go-to guide for setting up a study plan that actually works for you. The Ultimate CPA Exam Success Checklist is a step-by-step guide to structuring your study plan so you can make real progress without unnecessary stress.

Download the Checklist & More Here

I’d love to hear about your study plan! Send me a message and let me know what timeline you’re choosing and how you’re structuring your study sessions. Remember, you’re not in this alone!

Thank you for tuning in! Until next time, keep believing in yourself and in your CPA Exam Success!

Ready to Stop Struggling and Start Passing?

Join my CPA Exam Success Mastery Coaching Program and get the strategy, mindset, and support you need to pass your first CPA Exam section—and then the rest—with confidence and ease.

👉 Click HERE to take your first step toward CPA Exam success! (This 🔗 takes you to all currently available free and paid resources.)

Let’s Connect!

💬 Join the Free Facebook Group

📩 Have a question or want to share your breakthrough? Send me a message—I’d love to hear from you!

🎧 Follow & Leave a Review if you found this episode helpful. Your support helps other CPA Exam candidates find this podcast!