Advertise on podcast: The CPA Exam Playbook with Blake Carroll

A 76 does not prove you studied well. A 73 does not prove you studied badly.We love looking at outcomes and working backward.Passed? The strategy worked.Failed? Something must have been wrong.But life, and the CPA Exam, is messier than that.You can make good decisions and get a disappointing result. You can make questionable decisions and still get away with a 75.Which raises a much more interesting question: How much of passing the CPA Exam is actually luck?Not “hope you get easy questions” luck.I mean the mix of circumstances you were handed, the environment you choose, the decisions you make, and the randomness you can never completely eliminate.That’s what I’m digging into in my next episode.

In this episode I talk about a quote from the book "High Performance Habits" by Brendon Burchard that can teach us how to be more present and get a deeper connection with our daily lives.

The CPA Exam is too demanding to live in the middle ground forever. In this episode, I talk about what it looks like to either truly commit to the process or give yourself permission to let it go, instead of staying stuck in a cycle of guilt, inconsistency, and half-commitment.

It can be incredibly difficult to admit something we think or believe to be true is wrong. But if you think about it so much of what you believe today is probably different from what you believed when you were growing up, what you believed five years ago, or even what you believed one month ago. In this episode we'll learn about what perspective to have when it comes to changing our minds.

What does it mean when you’ve built a good career… but part of you is hoping someone else will give you permission to leave it? In this episode, I reflect on a period when I found myself hoping I’d get laid off from PwC and what that revealed about my career, my fear of making a change, and the difference between waiting for a decision to be made for you and choosing for yourself.

You probably already know a lot of what you should be doing to pass the CPA Exam. Study consistently. Do cumulative review. Practice the things you’re avoiding. Put your phone away. Get back to studying when you fall behind. Knowing those things and actually doing them are two very different problems. That gap is what I’m exploring in my next LinkedIn Live through the work of behavioral scientist Katy Milkman. Her research has looked at some fascinating questions: Why can making a routine too rigid actually hurt follow-through? Why might giving someone else advice help you change your own behavior? Why do Mondays, birthdays, and other “fresh starts” make us more likely to pursue goals? What can we learn from people who come back after missing a workout rather than simply celebrating the people who never miss? We’ll take those ideas and apply them directly to studying for the CPA Exam. Sometimes the answer isn’t more motivation. It’s understanding what keeps getting in the way and designing around it.

I used to think consistent CPA candidates were just more disciplined, but that's not the case. The candidates who make it through usually aren’t perfect. They just recover faster when life interrupts the plan.That matters because most candidates don’t get stuck from one missed study session.They get stuck from what they tell themselves after:“I already messed up this week.”“I’ll just restart Monday.”“I can’t study unless I have a full block.”That’s how one bad night turns into a bad week. I’m talking about behavioral resilience: how to adapt, recover, and keep moving when your study plan collides with real life.We’ll cover all-or-nothing thinking, critical choice points, and why flexibility often matters more than perfection.If one bad day has ever turned into a bad week for you, this is for you.

What if having more time, more resources, and more options isn’t always better for CPA candidates?Sometimes the constraint is what makes you focus.That’s what I’ll be talking about in my next episode, using ideas from David Epstein’s book "Inside the Box."We’ll look at why CPA candidates can get stuck searching for more instead of making better use of what they already have, and how the right limits can improve focus, decision-making, and execution.Sometimes the better question isn’t, “What else do I need?”It’s “What do I need to remove?”

I’ve spent the last month asking CPA candidates what they’re actually struggling with.274 of you told me your biggest obstacle.122 told me why you miss MCQs.157 told me which story is holding you back.And the results were pretty revealing.I’m going to coach directly from your answers.We’ll break down the biggest patterns I saw, what I think they mean, and what you can do differently because of them.

When was the last time you felt grateful for any part of your CPA Exam journey? It's easy to focus on everything that's difficult: how much you still have to learn, how long it's taking, the sacrifices you're making, and how far you still have to go. In this episode, I challenge you to look in the other direction. Be grateful for the opportunity to pursue the CPA license, the progress you've already made, the people supporting you, and the resources and time you do have. Gratitude doesn't make the exam easier. But it can change how you think about the experience, how you feel when you sit down to study, and ultimately how you show up for it.

You cannot control whether people understand your CPA journey.Some will think you study too much.Some will think you are taking too long.Some will not understand why you keep saying no.Let them!In this episode. we will discuss how other people’s opinions, expectations, and timelines quietly drain your attention, and how to redirect that energy toward your own preparation.Passing the CPA Exam is already difficult. Do not make it harder by carrying opinions that were never yours to manage.

Passing the CPA Exam is going to require you to do things you don't always feel like doing. You're going to study when you're tired. You're going to struggle with difficult topics. You're going to get questions wrong. And you're going to have days when being consistent feels uncomfortable. None of that means something is going wrong. In this episode, I talk about why candidates need to become more comfortable with discomfort without glorifying suffering or adopting an "embrace the suck" mentality. Difficulty is part of pursuing a difficult goal. The challenge is learning to experience that discomfort without turning it into a judgment about whether you're smart enough, good enough, or capable of passing.

You can leave work without mentally leaving work.And you can stop studying without mentally leaving the CPA Exam.That is how work and the exam gradually begin occupying every part of your life.You replay the workday while studying.You feel guilty about studying while relaxing.You finish one responsibility, but your mind immediately moves to everything still left undone.In this episode, I’ll use ideas from Guy Winch’s book "Mind Over Grind" to discuss how CPA candidates can protect their attention, create better mental boundaries, and pursue ambitious goals without allowing work and the exam to consume everything else.The goal is not to care less.It is to make sure work and the CPA Exam remain parts of your life, rather than becoming your entire life.

One of the biggest mistakes CPA candidates make is assuming their study plan is fixed. If your review course schedule doesn't fit your work, family, and responsibilities, the answer isn't to keep forcing it. The answer is to change the plan. In this episode, I explain why consistency matters more than speed, why it's okay to cut your daily goals in half (or half again), and why the best study plan isn't the most ambitious one. It's the one you can actually follow for months. A habit must be established before it can be expanded.

Unlock the high-performance secrets that top CPA candidates swear by—habits that transform procrastinators into unstoppable achievers. If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or just unsure how to maximize your study time, this episode reveals practical strategies to elevate your game and finally conquer the CPA exam.We dive into Brendan Bouchard’s six pivotal habits—clarity, energy, necessity, productivity, influence, and courage—and explore how to apply them specifically to your CPA journey. Discover why high performers aren’t born disciplined but build their success through intentional practices. You'll learn how clarity about your goals and identity keeps you motivated, how to generate and protect your energy for peak performance, and why linking every study session to your ‘why’ creates the urgency you need to push through setbacks. Plus, we break down how to boost your productivity by focusing on what truly moves the needle and build a support system that propels you forward.You’ll uncover actionable tactics like creating ritualistic transitions between work and study, harnessing accountability, and cultivating the courage to face challenges head-on—even amidst fears of failure. This isn’t just about working harder; it’s about working smarter and cultivating the mindset that makes resilience and consistency possible. In the high-stakes world of CPA exam prep, small daily improvements and high-value habits compound into massive long-term success.Whether you’re just starting or deep in the prep process, this episode is your blueprint for not just passing, but performing at your highest level. Speak to the support system around you, challenge your own limits, and take control of your future—one habit at a time. Your CPA license is within reach, and these proven principles will get you there faster and more confidently.Perfect for ambitious candidates ready to break through mental barriers, this episode will reshape how you approach your study journey. So if you’re tired of feeling stuck and want to turn effort into results, hit play now and start building the high-performance mindset that turns dreams into reality.[Character count: 3,834/4,000]Why this works: This episode description immediately hooks the listener by promising transformative habits tailored to CPA success. It emphasizes concrete tactics and relatable challenges, sparking curiosity about applying performance principles specifically to exam prep. The emotional angle of overcoming self-doubt and creating momentum appeals directly to ambitious seekers ready for change, encouraging them to hit play and start their high-performance journey.