I talked to someone recently who told me that she failed the Florida real estate exam because she got tired toward the end of the exam.  She was mentally spent.  This is very common.  Most people, myself included, are not used to sitting at a computer in a silent room for three hours with no interruptions.

In class, sometimes people tell me they have to have their cell phone – they can’t put it away for one hour.  I ask them how they will survive the state exam without their cell phone.  “Oh, that’s different,” they always say.

Be sure your training conditions resemble actually testing conditions as much as possible.

So let me get this straight, you get antsy turning your phone completely off and putting it in your purse for one hour because you might have an “emergency” but you think you are not going to get antsy when you have to put your phone in a locker in a separate room for three hours?

When people tell me that they can’t study for more than 30 minutes at a time, I tell them they need to build up their stamina to about three hours because that’s how long the exam is.  “Oh, that’s different,” they usually say.  “I’ll be able to do it that.”

This is as absurd as it is common.  Many people, maybe even most people, think they will rise to the level of their expectations.

James Holzhauer, the guy who won 32 games of Jeopardy! recently said that he practiced Jeopardy while wearing dress shoes.  He doesn’t normally wear dress shoes, so he didn’t want the discomfort of the shoes to be a factor.  He understood that we fall to the level of our training, so he trained appropriately.  That’s one of the reasons he succeeded.

When you are studying for the state exam, be sure to take a few practice tests in testing conditions.  That means you give yourself three hours in a silent room, no interruptions.  Turn your phone off and put it in a separate room.  Don’t let the kids interrupt you.  Don’t the dog interrupt you.  Don’t take a break to get food.

If you can’t study in silence, start working on that.  If you can’t study for three hours, start working on that.  If you can’t handle not looking at your phone for three hours, start working on that.  Lack of knowledge isn’t the only reason people fail the state exam.  Sometimes it’s lack of appropriate training.

*This quote is often incorrectly attributed to a Navy Seal.  It was actually said by Archilochus, a Greek lyrical poet.  There is no evidence that he was ever a U.S. Navy Seal.

Please note that I, Karen Climer, have no affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate.  My father, Ron Climer, sold that school in 2014.  Since that time, I have had no affiliation with that school.  If you are looking for me, you will find me at Demetree School of Real Estate.