I’ve spent my whole career working with databases which is over 20 years and counting. I work for a great company and I love what I do. The job is insanely dynamic and requires continuous personal and professional development. Even though my company provides tons of learning resources, when you’re confronted with too many options then it’s easier to get lost than to stay focused on the right choices. That’s why I try to use every opportunity to be mentored by people who are further ahead and willing to help.
In January 2015, Paul Randal wrote this blog post in which he offered his mentoring and I thought “wow, what a fantastic opportunity to be mentored by such an authority … but, hey, I don’t even write a blog, I don’t know what to write about and I’m probably not good enough to be in those couple people he will select from a long list of candidates, and yadda yadda yadda…” And so I didn’t even sign up due to a lack of self-esteem.
As it turned out, Paul decided to mentor ALL of the 54 people who signed up at that time. How stupid it was from me to not even try! I felt like that man who prayed to God day after day to win a lottery and, after a long time, the sky opened and the God said: “look, man, you have to buy a lottery ticket first!”.
So I learned a lesson and at least started blogging, tweeting and posting on LinkedIn right after that.
Fast forward to present time, Paul is offering his mentoring again and this time I’m not repeating the mistake. This blog post is my lottery ticket.
Dear Paul, I’ve been learning SQL Server stuff from you and Kim for many years. I have taken all your courses at Pluralsight. You two are the highest authorities in this field and the best presenters around. And you know my company better than I do, so who on this planet could help my career development better than you?
My expectation from this journey is to figure out what the next step in my career can be, how to improve my communication skills and to move ahead in my life and career. I need you to nudge me in the right direction to become the best version of myself.
Paul, this time I’ve got a ticket, please let me win that lottery 