Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • Life is Short

    Dave McIntosh, RIP

    I woke up on Easter morning to an email. A good friend, someone I’ve known for years as a fellow parent in both Girl and Boy Scouts, had

    passed away on Saturday in a plane crash. It was shocking news, made even more sad knowing his family had been present and had seen the crash. My friend, David McIntosh, is survived by his wife and four children and may he rest in peace.

    Over the last few years I have written quite a bit on taking charge of your career, on making an effort to improve your technical skills, and learning to better market yourself. My goal has been to inspire and motivate others to pursue a vocation they enjoy.  I have noted many times that life is too short to take a crappy job, and if you find yourself in such a situation, take steps to make a change.

    Along the way I hav

    e also tried to caution people to find a balance in their lives. Remember that while you invest for the future, you should also live for today.

    Enjoy your life, and embrace it. Smell the roses, and look for the positive side to situations.

    Life can be short. I was reminded of that this weekend in a shocking way.  I hope that you all enjoy long, healthy, successful , and happy lives. I also hope that you remember to appreciate and enjoy the good parts of your lives every day.

    Steve Jones

    My apologies for the lack of a podcast today. The audio and video podcasts will return tomorrow.

  • Why Build a Brand?

    Why should you go to the trouble to start blogging, speaking, answering questions or anything else. What’s the point?

    I’ve written a little before about this. When you build a brand, it helps you to stand out from others. You become more noticeable, and more likely to get the interview. You allow a potential employer to do some due diligence before they call you for an interview, which gives them more confidence you are the right person for the job.

    And that if they call you, knowing your brand, the job is more likely what you want to do. Your brand lets people know what your skills are, what talents you have, and what you might want to do in life.

    Working on your own brand also forces you to think about what you want from your career, or in your career, and it helps you to become better. Working on a better brand means getting better at your career in some way. Whether you blog, speak, or do anything else, you have to learn the topic well enough to teach it.

    You are building an online brand with everything you do online, and many people in technology are regularly building that brand, so take advantage of it, put a little more effort in and get into the top ten percent of people in your field.

    Remember that a brand can have a downside, so use your own version of “The Test” before doing anything online.

    And don’t forget that just because you have a great job your branding doesn’t matter. It can still be useful, even if you don’t want a new job.

  • Enjoy Your Life

    A sad weekend, and shocking news Sunday morning. I was out running errands when I checked email and found out a friend had been killed in a plane crash on Saturday afternoon. He was a Boy Scout and Girl Scout leader, someone who I have gotten to know quite well, our kids have played together, and we’ve camped at various events together, sharing lots of cooking duties and conversations. He was one of the people I know very well from Scouts. My heart goes out to his family, who were present at the airfield when the plane crashed. I couldn’t imagine being there to see my spouse die.

    I was in a bit of a daze yesterday morning, and tired to work through the day, helping them to enjoy an Easter holiday, but it was hard. Tia and I talked about it quite a bit, and were both grateful and thankful for all we have.

    A few days earlier, I had watched this short piece from a man that survived the Hudson River crash last year. It’s worth 5 minutes of your life, and it resonates with me, more so than it did last week.

    Three things I learned while my plane crashed

     

    My wife and I have talked bout dying a few times, and being prepared. I have lived a great life, and I’m comfortable with experiencing and achieving so much in my 43 years on Earth. I don’t want to die, and I’d like to see my kids grow up and have families, but I think I’ve had a great life so far with few regrets.

    I’d like to do more things in my life, and I’d like to go places and experience new things. I invest for the future, in different parts of my life, but I seek to enjoy myself as much as I can each day. I strive for a balance.

    My editorial today talked about my loss, and tried to remind people that life is short. We should look for that balance, and enjoy our lives as much as we can. As mentioned in the video, don’t try to be right as often as you try to be happy. If you want to improve a part of your life, whether that’s family, career, or something else, start taking the steps to make that improvement. It might take time, but today is the first day of the rest of your life, and it’s a good time to start going in the direction you want to go.

  • What Don’t I Know?

    Apparently a lot, at least according to the blooper reel today Smile