This editorial was originally published on 19 Jan 2018. It is being republished as Steve is on vacation.

This is a great thread on Twitter from Jim Burger, a long time software developer. The thread is a distillation of how he keeps a passion for learning across decades. I think it's a good list of items, seven of them in total. I'll give a quick summary, but he has a bit more depth in each tweet. The seven are:

• Invest in your brain
• Embrace exploration
• Find the fun in fundamentals
• Mentors from from all kinds of places
• Use the community as an opportunity
• You don't have to finish learning
• Ask people to ask you questions

This is a great set of rules to help you learn. I certainly believe in the first one and that's one reason I preach for you to keep learning. You can always get a little better and grow your skills. Apart from the fun, it helps train your brain to keep growing and stay flexible. I also think that finding the fun in fundamentals is great. I appreciate the simple things I accomplish, and I like writing about those. Part of the reason I keep doing #sqlnewblogger posts.

I also think the community is a huge help. Someone asks a question, and even if it gets answered before you can, use this as an opportunity to solve the problem. Answer a question in our forums. Lots of people learn by helping others solve problems. In fact, plenty of my learning has come from solving problems for others. I get blog fodder, test myself, and solidify my own understanding of how things work.

If you've found a way to continue to have fun learning, let us know today. I know that I tend to do a little but of everything, but certainly I take pride in what works, and even what doesn't. The latter is always an opportunity for me to learn a bit more.