Whether it’s yearning to be Master Po or Master Yoda, many of us dream of being a master, someone who can do wonderful things after investing years to learn the details. Microsoft has done well with their branding by naming their certification the Microsoft Certified Master, playing to that part of us that wants to be really, really good at what we do, and to prove it.

In theory we should all be masters. We should learn all phases of our craft over 3 or 5 or 10 years. We should know all the technologies, tune queries blind folded, and lust to review the technical changes in each new version. Shouldn’t we?

I think we should all keep learning. We should stay interested in new ideas. But that doesn’t mean we need to master everything. I’m willing to bet that every one of you reading this today delivered great value to your employer, and a lot of that value is you. You in meetings, you knowing things about the business that only come with an investment of years, you making sure that their investment in SQL Server continues to pay dividends.

It’s hard to realize that you’re not going to grow u to be Yoda, or even Obi-Wan, at least not this year.  Sometimes there just isn’t enough time and energy to do all the things that we want to do in life. It’s true for me, and I bet it’s true for many of you.  That doesn’t mean we don’t know our way around a light saber and Profiler though!

It’s good to aspire, and to admire those that have invested the time to become SQL masters. Just remember that deciding not to become a master doesn’t make you a failure, it just means that you’ve found the balance in life that suits you.