Since you guys talking about the changed links. I think I am pathetic. I’ve prepared for the total thing for 5 years since my graduation, and last year when I failed, it really hurt, really. I dont know if i can still take another one, and now I am feeling worse and worse about the result… and i should not tell my mother what i was doing past years, because she said she is praying for me now. I really shouldnt let her worry about me, which makes me feel more uncomfortable and powerless.
You are taking it too seriously. Its just an exam. Its not life. Life is the love you have in your life, your mother’s love. Life is the ocean and the forest and a walk by the sea. CFA exams are not even 1% of what life is. You dont need to pass the exam. What you do NEED is perspective.
I totally understand your anxiety right now but needhelp is right - this is just an exam and if you don’t pass again, and decide not to take it again next year, its going to be okay to take a break! You need a break! 
What needhelp said.
What other posters say. Thank G-d your close relatives and you are allright and everyone is alive. You will pass L3, it is just a matter of time
Remember that the value of a person is not necessarily what they have obtained, but what they had to overcome to achieve it. This is as much about internal struggles as external obstacles. It’s your ability to pick yourself up afterwards, dust yourself off, and return to the fight that is at least as admirable as winning the fight itself. You’re allowed to be hurt, and you may need time to recover or heal, but in the end, it’s just an exam, and there are many other dimensions of life to enjoy and excel in. So in the language of the CFA priesthood, go and diversify your sources of life satisfaction. 
Dirtyfish, I’m in the same boat. my parents and relatives are all rooting for me, i’ve put my family and GF on the backburner while studying, and it would be devastating to fail. Just because you can almost taste the freedom, the freedom of enjoying a weekend by not worrying “I should be studying” etc… My 2008 CR is on my desk and it makes me tear to just look at them, 6 thick books, that would once again control my life for about 6 months or so, and 3-4 months (sep-Dec) not truly enjoying the freedom because i know what would lay ahead in a couple of months. So we are all in the same boat. and the relaity is, some of us who are in the same boat will fail, but we have to come down to earth and realize that yes, it just is an exam, and like i have said on simialr posts as well, if we do fail this one, we are in a MUCH better position for 2009 because I compared the 2008 and 2009 notes, and literally, the only real change was the dropping of 1 los and adding of 1 other. some miniscule additions throughout (i.e paragraphs) and just switching around of some stuff. I wouldnt even say a %5 change but much less. So you have new level 2 guys coming in that are brand new to the stuff, but you have us who already covered more than 95% of the material. so IF we are failing this year, we are at least “LUCKY” in the sense that the exam didnt change that much. I mean my friend failed L2 last year, and apparently the material changed like 40%, so that is horrible. but theoretically if i fail, i will simply use the same notes/highlights etc from last year and just use the new books for the new stuff! and since it is so similar, we dont have to study from say january, maybe start Feb/March, and maybe you could still book a nice 1 week vacation somewhere inf Feb, just to prep you up and let you gain a perspective on what life is all about!
Dude, at least wait until tomorrow before you beat yourself up like this! As for the rest of you: You guys should be psychiatrists, psychologists or social workers!
I was the Dalai Lama in a previous life.
Then you would cease to be re-incarnated right?
tibet must have outsourced their re-incarnation search to an unreliable party. poor bchadwick, now he can only be a CFA
I don’t understand how people can say that it doesn’t really matter if they pass or fail. Maybe if they are really comfortable or far along in their careers, it doesn’t matter, but for some people, a fail means that, at least in the short-run, their lives are messed up. If I fail, I won’t get promoted, and will probably end up changing firms, which means moving to a new city away from my family, and probably breaking up with my girl friend. The results matter.
bromion Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don’t understand how people can say that it > doesn’t really matter if they pass or fail. Maybe > if they are really comfortable or far along in > their careers, it doesn’t matter, but for some > people, a fail means that, at least in the > short-run, their lives are messed up. If I fail, I > won’t get promoted, and will probably end up > changing firms, which means moving to a new city > away from my family, and probably breaking up with > my girl friend. The results matter. ================================================== endorse your views… hoping to find a decent job than this one…Gf broke up anyway … cant let this be a fail… will push me back 1 yr in my life and next one yr will be a total mess
I feel your pain dirtyfish, I was definetly on pins and needles for Level I and II, I’m pretty cool and collected this time I must admit. Having the date and a distraction helps witch the fact the Olympics are on, I also have the experience of doing this twice before, and well, expectations are definetly low!!!
Bromion, I agree. All the “CFA is not life” people are simply hedging their bets. It is a truism to say that the health and well-being of your family is more important (what isn’t?). Fact is, though, that however far you are along in your career, the prospects of allowing L3 to destroy 3/4 months of 2009 is a big deal. Period. That said, the people who can’t sleep and worry obsessively ARE irrational. Not b/c it doesn’t matter, but rather b/c worrying achieves nothing. Alea iacta est.
bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Remember that the value of a person is not > necessarily what they have obtained, but what they > had to overcome to achieve it. This is as much > about internal struggles as external obstacles. > It’s your ability to pick yourself up afterwards, > dust yourself off, and return to the fight that is > at least as admirable as winning the fight itself. > You’re allowed to be hurt, and you may need time > to recover or heal, but in the end, it’s just an > exam, and there are many other dimensions of life > to enjoy and excel in. > > So in the language of the CFA priesthood, go and > diversify your sources of life satisfaction. Probably the best post I’ve read on this board since before the exam. Well said bchad.
I also have a lot riding on passing… Short term: I intend asking for a salary increase and obtaining the charter will go a long way in achieving this Medium term: Will help me get into my dream profession within the next year. I’m so close and I know that the charter will be the decider. Also, i won’t have to go through this again, it’s taken up way too much of my life! The bottom line: It really does matter but if you don’t make it u just need to be strong
twdavid Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > tibet must have outsourced their re-incarnation > search to an unreliable party. poor bchadwick, now > he can only be a CFA That’s CHARTERHOLDER to you, bub!
Don’t know about the rest of you but today has been the most unproductive day in the history of my working life! I’m seriously considering taking leave for tomorrow cos I can’t concentrate on anything else… maybe I’ll catch a movie or two
As I said in a previous post. A new job is definately on the line for me as well. I hope all of us in this thread pass tomorrow! Good luck