Back to the Beginning
This is me: age 40, deep in a verified mid-life crisis.
Cringe-worthy? Maybe.
But it started innocently enough. While helping my parents clear out storage, I stumbled upon my old acoustic guitar. Dusty. Worn. But still full of promise. As a teenager, I once dreamed of becoming a rocker. Then life happened. Finance replaced distortion pedals. Markets replaced Metallica.
Fifteen years later, something stirred.
Fifty hours of YouTube tutorials and bleeding fingertips later… I was back.
The Power of Starting Over
I thought picking up the guitar again would be fun. A creative escape. A harmless way to reconnect with a younger version of myself.
I was wrong.
It was awkward. Frustrating. Humbling.
Suddenly, I was the beginner. Again. The one squinting at chord charts, fumbling transitions, rewatching the same 5-second clip for the 10th time because my fingers just wouldn’t cooperate.
And somewhere between my butchered G chords and my wobbly attempt at Stairway to Heaven, it hit me.
This is how CFA candidates feel.
What I Had Forgotten
There’s a peculiar cocktail that comes with being a beginner as an adult: excitement, curiosity, frustration, embarrassment.
You think, “Why is this so hard?”
You wonder, “Shouldn’t I be better at this?”
You fear, “Maybe I’m just not cut out for it.”
That inner voice of doubt gets loud. The progress feels invisible. And you start to miss the comfort of competence.
I had forgotten how vulnerable it feels to try something new when you’re used to being good at things.
Which is why guitar made me a better coach.
What It Taught Me About CFA Candidates
CFA candidates aren’t average. They’re intelligent, high-achieving professionals. They’ve already succeeded in careers, degrees, relationships, life.
But this exam? It levels them.
It makes them feel clumsy. Lost. Insecure. Like they’re fumbling for the next note on a fretboard they can’t see.
And that’s okay.
That’s how learning works.
When I coach now, I don’t just focus on formulas and frameworks. I meet people where they are: frustrated, overwhelmed, second-guessing everything.
And I remind them that confusion is not failure. It’s feedback.
You’re not broken. You’re learning.
The Real Path to Mastery
Whether it’s the CFA curriculum or classic rock riffs, progress doesn’t come from talent alone.
It comes from repetition. From consistency. From the courage to look foolish and try anyway.
You show up. You struggle. You stumble forward. You repeat.
Sometimes you’ll get it wrong. Sometimes it’ll click. Most days, it’ll be somewhere in between.
But if you keep showing up—with sore fingers or sore brains—you will get there.
Eventually, it won’t feel like noise. It’ll feel like music.
Final Thoughts
I’m still nowhere near performance-ready. My version of Stairway to Heaven still makes my kids groan. But I’ve gained something far more valuable than technical skill.
I’ve regained empathy for the learning process. I’ve reconnected with the struggle. I’ve become a better coach.
And that, to me, is progress worth playing for.
