(You can find part 1 here.)
I’m nothing, really. When we’re talking about databases, technology – come to think of it, any area of anything, ever – I’m nothing special. There are tons of people who know tons more than I do.
I heard this same exact song from Sean for the last decade plus, and I’ve always wondered about him feeling that way. He seemed to know a lot to me. I really started to wonder once he started writing for InfoWorld, then other publications, then started making friends with the bigwig authors and experts, then became a SQL Server MVP, and so on and on.
I’m starting to get to know some of those same industry bigwigs myself (largely through the miracle of Twitter), and it’s clear that these people are just people. I mean, yeah…really geeka-cool people that know 100x more than I do, but still just people.
How many of you have kids? Ok, good. And how many of you have watched “Kung Fu Panda” about 3,416 more times than you intended? Good, good, then you know the part at the end, where the bad guy finally gets the sacred Dragon Scroll, and it’s blank. He’s utterly confounded when Po says, “It’s okay, I didn’t get it either at first. There is no secret ingredient. It's just you.” I get it…there is no secret ingredient.
As it turns out, you don’t have to have special breeding or training to contribute, to do more. There’s no ceremony when you’re ready to take the next step in your career. No Windows exclamation (“dun-DUN!”) to announce that you should start writing, or training, or form your own company…whatever it is that’s next for you.
I’m writing blogs and articles now, and making training videos. And I often have to force myself to get over the idea that I’m being presumptuous when I do. What I keep having to say to myself – and what you need to say to yourself – is sure, there are tons of people who know more than I do, but I still have something to contribute. And then go do it.
It’s okay, I didn’t get it either at first.
-Jen McCown, http://www.MidnightDBA.com