I’ve recently published (on Amazon) an eBook that may help you, or other parents you know, to inspire young children to take music lessons. Learning how to play music is a gateway to success in school and more importantly in life. Check out Jordan’s Musical Journey on Amazon today.
The Beauty of Simplicity
This week I installed SQL Server, Visual Studio, and the SSIS/SSRS tools as I wanted to brush up on some of the reporting and ETL tools available from Microsoft. It was, what I can best describe as an exercise in frustration. Visual Studio installed with no issues. It’s a great IDE and I’ve used it happily for years. SQL Server (yes the free version) was another matter entirely. I spent the better part of two days trying to get it to install correctly on a standard Win 10 OS. Long story short, I still don’t have a working database to play with.
Compare that to when I installed MySQL and PHP last fall. I downloaded, installed, configured and was coding against tables I created within a two hour time span. No wonder so many hosting and cloud companies are using these. I’ve used a lot of different languages and databases over my career, but the next time I’m asked by a client to recommend one, guess which way I’ll be leaning.
Anyway, something to remember as you design products and systems – simple and easy is nearly always a winner!
Deeper Learning at a Conference
Yesterday I was at the local Tech Junction conference here in Albuquerque trying to learn some new things as well as link up with some friends I haven’t seen in a while. It was a good conference and I definitely got what I was looking for from it, but as I was driving home, I realized I’d actually learned more at this conference than others.
After thinking about that, I realized it was because I’d participated deeper than usual. For the last couple of years I’d been on the advisory council giving input on what topics I thought were valuable to the local community so it’s not like I’d simply sat on the sidelines previously. However, this year I was asked to sit on a panel discussion session around IT budgeting.
Being on a panel taught me two things. First, there’s nothing like the fear of looking foolish in front of a group of people to focus your attention on getting the latest info on a topic. Second, the other folks on the panel – Curt, Mark, and Sam – all brought some really interesting perspectives to the discussion – things I wouldn’t have thought of and things I simply haven’t experienced.
So at this point, I’m thinking maybe I learned more than I typically would have just by being an active participant. So if you get invited to speak I highly recommend it. Maybe even volunteer! It’s a great way to “pay it forward” and you’ll learn more than you share.
The Pain and Pleasure of Learning
Learning How to Freelance
Learning new things almost always involves the same process for me. I read up on it, try some things, struggle with it, curse a little, try some more, and eventually find a little success – enough to release some endorphins and make me want to try again. To really become good at something I have to repeat this process over and over again. That’s exactly the learning process I’m going through now as I look to become successful as a freelance consultant.
If you’ve taken music lessons or played a sport I’m sure you can relate to the hours of repetition it took you to master a particular technique or song. It’s always the same process – try, fail, try, minor success and repeat ad nauseum.
The main skill I’m trying to master now is how to find clients, create bids and engage in work that benefits us both. There are a number of web sites that can help, but ultimately it’s up to me to figure out where I can help and what the right price point is to make an engagement work for everyone.
I’m still in the early learning stages but am starting to see some small successes. Wish me luck as continue on the path to success!
Finally Open for Business!
Sole Renaissance LLC Becomes a Reality
It’s been an interesting month. I recently took an early retirement package as part of Intel’s efforts to downsize and I’ve decided to use all of the knowledge and experience I’ve gained over the years to become a consultant.
One of the best things about working for Intel was that I was able to do so many different things and see so many different parts of a large corporation. While most of my time was in IT, I was able to take on different types of roles like recruiting, internal and external marketing, and many more.
As a consultant, I’m looking forward to helping others with the skills and knowledge I already have while continuing my lifelong journey of learning new things and meeting new talented people.
I’m looking forward to the challenges and growth to come!
Randy
Sole Renaissance LLC 