Revised to include reasons why I may have failed first time:

The tools I used were Rita's book, PMP for Dummies and Andy Crow's How to Pass on Your First Try.  I believe I was generally prepared in the basic knowlege, however I kept putting off the math formulas telling myself I would focus on those later.  I was also told reading the actual PMBOK book wasn't worth the time. So first time around I hardly touched the actual PMBOK.

I had planned to take the weekend before the Exam to study at least a total of 20-hours.  I even had my plan written out.  However, my son made the soccer All-Stars Tournement which our team was responsible for hoasting.  I ended up spending the entire weekend volunteering to help set up soccer goals, tables, tents and manning the snack refreshment stand.  We were at the fields from 6am-8pm at night.  I was eating junk food and fast food the whole weekend.

I knew I wasn't as prepared as I had hoped going into the Exam and I wish I had spent the $75 fee to reschedule it.  I decided however that there was still a strong chance that I could pass.

Needless to say I didn't get much sleep the night before because I knew I had a lot to work on especially my brain dump strategey.  I also scheduled the Exam for 10am on a Monday Morning allowing me no time to crash study and find ways to relax before walking into the exam room.  This time I got smart and scheduled the Exam for a Wednesday at 1pm.

During the Exam I spent more time focused on my physical discomfort.  Painful muscle tension in my neck and shoulders, headphones pinching my ears, chairs that smelled like urine.  I felt as if I were in jail taking the exam with someone walking around every 10-minutes to check up on you. All of this was so distracting that it was nearly impossible to focus on the very wordy and tricky questions. 

Below is my original post showing how I overcame the challenges of the first Exam.

Hi,

I passed my PMP Exam today 11/7/12 on the second try. After the first time I felt very defeated and fearful that I may not pass again so I put off taking it for another 3-months. Here is what I believe all I needed to do to pass the 2nd time.

1. Allow 3-weekends in a row to study on both Saturday and Sunday roughly 8-hours each day. Focus on PMBOK; Math Formulas, 42 Processes and Schedule Concepts.

2. Use the first 2-weekends Reading PMBOK Guide Only Cover to Cover taking notes.

Also take 1-hour each day to memorize the 42-Processes. Keep your expectations low and don't feel like you have to memorize the whole chart right away and you'll be surprised how much sinks in.

Spend Another hour reviewing schedule concepts to include Critical path and Float; memorizing the Math formulas for EV, Three Point Estimating, EAC, TCPI, ETC; Present and Future Values, etc.

Take 1-2 Practice Exams Each Weekend.

3. The Week Before theExam: begin taking care of yourself, eat healthy, Drink Lots of water to keep hydrated especially the night before, take a Vitamin B complex and Fish Oil for memory, anti-stress and energy.  The night before I had fish and in the morning I ate 2 eggs with yogert and a bannana. 

Also make sure you excercise and stretch in order to avoid tense muscles during the exam.

4. The last weekend before the exam write down all the concepts you are unsure of and google them or look for youtube vidoe tutrials especially on math and schedule related questions. I am weak in Math so concentraing on the formulas was very important for me this time around.  Review your notes, take one more practice exam, I recommend Examcentral.com

5. The night before study for only 3-hours and right before bed.  Fall asleep repeating the 42-Processes to yourself.  If you're having trouble falling asleep look up a youtube mediation for sleep or exam anxiety reduction. 

6. The day of the exam make sure you get your heart rate up for 10 minutes and stretch every muscle for 20 minutes.  Tense muscles and feeling tired were huge distractions for me the first time around.  This time I felt completely relaxed, well rested and I did my best to walk into the exam with confidence, stand tall, sit tall as if you're a CEO about to breeze through this little exam.

7. Finally my last two tricks!  Foam Ear Plugs....These were so much better than the headphones provided that pinched my ears and also distracted me last time.  I think you can pick them up in the health isle of your local drug store.  Also take a 5-hour energy shot.  I drank only 1/2 the bottle and felt so alert with no gitters.  

8. I took one break half way though.  I used the entire 4-hours this time.  I took the survey at the end and thought positive thoughst and PASSED!

Good Luck Guys!