This Chartered Accountant warns how fear can lead to failure

• Hi, I am Shefali Doshi, a qualified chartered accountant from the ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India).
• It took me 14 long years to become a CA.
• The fear of failure and losing my younger brother two months before the Final exam did not bode well for me. 
• Here is how I turned my life around.

From Interior Designer aspirations to CA

All my life, I wanted to be an interior designer.

However, my mother wanted me to pursue commerce so that I would have a qualification, which would help me get a basic job and the required financial support in the future.

Growing up, we had financial issues. My mom found it very difficult to get a job because she was not a graduate. So she was fearful that if I pursued Arts and things didn’t work out for me, I would be in a similar situation later in life.

So, I let go of my dream of becoming an interior designer and decided to consider commerce. It was very painful!

I scored well in 10th grade but was short of a few marks to get admission into NM College (one of the best colleges in India). So when neither the college nor the stream of my interest happened for me, I had no motivation to study. I was in a state of panic.

On one hand, I started liking commerce, so I scored well in 12th grade and got introduced to CA through a friend.

She kept talking about her article experiences, stipend, and money, which fascinated me.

And here began my CA journey.

Dealing with failure… and some more failure

After completing my graduation, I enrolled in the CA program at ICAI.

Since I pursued CA post-graduation, my articleship started ASAP. Also, I had to directly give the second-level exam, PE 2 (now known as CA Intermediate, consisting of 2 groups, Group 1 and Group 2).

I was so sure of clearing PE 2 in one attempt. After all, I had scored 84 percent on my graduation, which was amazing.

But I think I was overconfident! I cleared Group 1 on my first attempt and Group 2 on almost 7 attempts.

In all those failed attempts, I often went through a state of confusion, frustration, and despair, but I continued pursuing CA.

Upon further analysis, I realized that the main reason for my failure was my fear.

I used to get scared of failing, which used to stress me out. As a result, I always tell people to let go of FEAR and trust themselves.

Dealing with the loss of a family member

Then there was the CA Final. During this phase, there were many family issues. The most significant being the death of my younger brother. This made studying very difficult for me as my parents were devastated and so was I. He expired in September 2001, and my CA final was in November 2001.

In spite of all this, I appeared for my exam but did not pass it. I decided to take a break from CA.

After a gap of a year or so, I decided to start studying for my CA Final. Again, concentrating on studies was even tougher as we were not completely over the trauma of my brother’s demise. But I pushed myself. I prayed a lot and got strong spiritually.

Finally, I cleared both groups in November 2006 and May 2007 and became a chartered accountant.

Wrapping up

All in all, it was a journey of 14 long years with lots of ups and downs, but I am like that gold who has been through all and is still shining. Real gold fears no fire.

I am still hopeful, happy, and joyful. Above all, going through all that mess has made me more tolerant and patient and increased my faith in God and myself.

I also advise people to pursue their passions and follow their hearts. Had I pursued interior design, maybe I would have a different, happier story to tell. But there are no complaints. All things happen for the best.

I am also very happy that I am able to take better care of my parents, specifically in the absence of my brother.