"Failure Is the Flavor of Success"

     I didn't write the saying "Failure is the Flavor of Success" and I don't know who did, or I would give them credit for having said it.  The truth is, I failed today. I took an SIE (Securities Industry Exam) for the purpose of eventually obtaining my securities license so I can trade on the secondary markets for stocks and bonds. I made a 62% on a test that requires a 70% passing score.  The thing is, I wasn't bummed about it; instead, I look at it as a stepping stone on the path to becoming a successful trader.  I am just not one at the moment.  Because I don't worry about things and have been living stress-less for years, I decided to regroup rather than retreat. It's the stubborn woman living inside of me, but I won't allow myself to give up or quit anything. I will pass this test soon.

    I could give a whole bunch of excuses and say that the test was harder than I expected, but it wasn't. It was just as hard as I expected it to be; I just wasn't as prepared for it, and that's another "it's OK" moment because now I realize that I should have taken more time studying rules and regulations and less time studying the options themselves.  The more you know, the more you can achieve. If I had known what was on the actual test I would have been more prepared, but NOW I'm more prepared and won't spend as much time on other topics. It's strictly about rules, regulations, and how products work! That's the ticket. I think I will make at least a 70%, at least a passing score, next time, but hopefully even more than that. The thing is though; if you pass they don't tell you what your score is; only that you passed! If you fail, they tell you exactly what you failed at and what your non-passing score is - - in my case, I got 53 of the 85 questions correct.  

    I came home and explained to my daughter that all throughout the test I made little tally marks on the scratch paper that they give you.  I made a mark for every question I flat out knew I knew, and I marked it in the "KNEW" column.  There were two other columns I could use as well - - "I DON'T KNOW"  and "MAYBE".  The Maybe column is literally what it sounds like; I may be right, but I have only a fraction of faith in myself; the I Don't Know column is anyone's guess and was certainly my guess. I gave it my best, but you just have to concede at some point, that you just don't know what you thought you knew -- or you just don't know what you know you don't know. I did not know over 30% of the exam, if I were completely honest with you.

    The study guide I used is called PassPerfect, and they really do prepare a person if that person takes the necessary time to go over the questions, the videos, the mastery exams, and then if they review every question they missed - - that would be awesome.  Life happens, you get busy, you fail yourself, I fail myself, and we just end up having to reschedule, restructure, re-do and relax. Life is a roller coaster at times, and there are those times when it free falls and you just can't stop it. We move forward. It will happen! I have no doubt whatsoever that I'll get back into the study materials tomorrow, and go over every flashcard, eliminating the ones I don't need now that I know what I know, and keep those that I have no idea about, and those I could maybe possibly know something about. It's a plan. There is always a plan.

I plan to pass!