Brent Ozar is a very successful DBA/consultant/speaker/business owner in the data platform space. Many of you have likely seen him speak, read his blog, used his sp_Blitz script, or taken one of his classes. He’s achieved a lot and I know many people that would like to get to the place where he is in life. Most of us would love to teach a few classes, do office hours from wherever we are, and custom order a sports car for fun.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about watching Brent move through life is his life quest. You can read this, but I’d recommend scrolling to the bottom (Level 1) and then going up through history. These are various items of achievement, some adventures, some things he had to work through.
I’ve known Brent a long time. I remember when he started speaking, when his blog started to grow, and I have watched him put in a lot of hard work.
He’s been grinding for most of his life and only recently slowed down. Before that, he spent a lot of time trying to improve his skills. He worked lots of hours to learn about SQL Server. He got his employer to send him to the SQL Server Ranger class to become a certified SQL Server Master and he studied hard to achieve that. Many of his goals around building his business or speaking to large crowds required investment of time and money to learn how to accomplish the goal.
And he’s told many of you how to do the things he’s done. He shares lots of thoughts on what has worked for him, some things that didn’t, and given you a blueprint to become a better DBA, consultant, speaker or anything else.
You just have to do it (and want to do it).
If you want a good example, one of his early posts is on coding for his class reunion, a volunteer effort. Time spent forcing himself to learn.