When I was a kid, anyone who could Do Something was like a god, something incomprehensible and untouchable. Actors, musicians, writers and performers, athletes, famous historical and political figures…they were some other kind of being, destined for fame and (/or) greatness. I always wondered about the path one takes to get there: to success, to a job you love, to fame, or what have you. And I’m starting to see that there are a lot of contributing factors – and a lot of work – but that ending up somewhere good is also largely a natural process.
I’m beginning to feel successful. That word always seems tied to money, and I’m not using it in that sense at all. I’m talking about starting to feel like I have a solid foundation of family and self, and I’m doing what I want to do on top of it. In my case, I have a job I love with problems to solve; and inspiration and opportunity to write and produce and get somewhere cool. I guess I’m on the proverbial ladder.
So, back to contributing factors. For me, the list of things that I can look back on and say, Oh yeah, that was crucial, looks something like this:
· Strong role models who support me. Of course it’s cliché to thank family, friends, and your spouse, but it’s cliché for a reason. It really helps to have peeps.
· The experience of education, not just the knowledge. Bumping up against teachers and students and classes that did and didn’t get along with me, agree with me, and like me was all training ground for being, well, a person.
· The opportunity to pursue the things I was interested in. This refers to having the time and resources to follow my interests. It also in a way has to do with my need to tinker; I’ve picked up and dropped a huge list of hobbies and pursuits, and all of them have had something to contribute to later interests.
I realize by now you’re thinking, okay, she hasn’t said “SQL Server” even ONCE in this blog. Sorry about that, but this whole thing came from thinking about my work, which is all about the SQL. And it’s all leadup to part 2, where I’ll bring things back to SQL and you.
-Jen McCown, http://www.MidnightDBA.com