Continuing Professional Education...From a Toddler

Observing the behavior of children provides an insightful glimpse into the human psyche. I have spent the past 21 months taking a break from my full-time accounting career to stay home with my 2 year-old son. Each day he teaches me something about what it takes to succeed in life. Many of these lessons are applicable to my professional as well as personal life. The following are just a few things he's taught me about being a CPA:

1. With relentless determination, you can learn anything. - If a toddler is determined to do something, they won't give up until they have accomplished it. My son now grunts and hollers if he's trying to lift a toy onto a shelf that is an inch too high, or if he's trying to put a puzzle piece together that just doesn't seem to fit. His cries indicate frustration and determination. Rather than run immediately to his aid, I let him work it out for himself, and he almost always succeeds. We need to have the same determination in developing our professional knowledge. If you are assigned to a client in an entirely new industry, or are challenged to research a complex accounting issue you hardly understand, don't throw your hands in the air or run immediately to someone you know will give you all the answers. Try and work things out, do your homework, dig deeper, and ask questions. You'll learn infinitely more than if you give up and pass the challenge onto someone else. You'll also develop your problem solving skills, so you will have a better idea where to start the next time you are faced with a similar challenge.
2. Asking questions is the only way to acquire knowledge. - As I just mentioned, you often have to work things out for yourself, even if you don't know what you're doing. But you must also learn to leverage the knowledge of others. My son seems to be learning dozens of new words each month, because he constantly asks what everything is. He also learns what he can and cannot touch or play with by asking. If he didn't trust me to guide him, he would be constantly hurting himself by touching the stove, electrical outlets, or knives, and he would never learn to talk. Reaching out to more experienced and knowledgeable professionals will help you to develop your professional expertise much more rapidly than if you stubbornly insisted on fulfilling all of your responsibilities alone, from the confines of your cubicle. I've worked with many new professionals who were terrified of speaking to clients or managers. Rather than ask a simple question, they would spend an entire day trying to explain something that a more knowledgeable person could have clarified for them in five minutes. Knowing when to ask questions is key to learning.
3. Take a break when your body tells you it's overworked. - Infants and toddlers have an amazing ability to sleep wherever they are when their body tells them it's tired, whether it be in the car, on your shoulder, or in a stroller. They just close their eyes and seem to block everything out. While we can't just take a nap in the middle of a meeting, we do need to listen to our bodies when they are stressed. Busy season for CPAs often comes with 80 hour work weeks, caffeine overloads, and little sleep. If you are having trouble concentrating and functioning during your day, your body is trying to tell you something. Take care of yourself and avoid pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion. You'll be a lot more productive in your waking hours if you sleep more than one or two hours a night. No job is worth sacrificing your mental and physical health.