I Am Grateful For…

I’m almost done reading the book Connected (will be by the time this is published). It’s fascinating although, at least so far, little in the way of suggestions for how to take advantage of this information. That however doesn’t change my plans around working on positive thoughts and emotions as a way to hack your own mind and increase productivity. I’m also trying to figure out how to reinforce my network. In short, these are completely self-serving posts.

I am grateful for Thomas LaRock (b|t).

Tom is hard to miss. If you look at the floor all the time, the green shoes might be a giveaway. If you look up a lot, keep looking up because he’s quite tall. Oh yeah, and he’s the President of PASS (for a couple of more weeks) so he’s frequently up on stage. All that’s not why I’m grateful for Tom (though I do think he’s done an outstanding job as PASS President, if you agree you might want to thank him). I’m grateful for Tom because he’s just always been there. When I first hooked into the SQL Server community (on the very 2nd night of SQL Karaoke, before it was called that), Tom was there. He worked for a big investment company when I was working for a big insurance company. We had a lot in common (despite his terrible youth). We were both working on SCOM and presenting on it. We both started working in Azure together. At no point was any of this competition either. He would discover something really cool and before putting it up on his blog or writing an article, he’d call me and walk me through it. I learned how to do things better because of Tom. I also learned, well, still working on this one, how to be better at supporting others because that’s just what he does. Tom got a job as an evangelist, so I had to run and get one too. Tom was on the Board at PASS, so I had to run out and do that too. I’m kind of hoping Tom wins the Lottery because I’m assuming I will shortly after. Tom is blazing trails all the time, but he makes sure that he reaches back and helps others down the same path. That’s pretty special.

Oh yeah, and I should mention, bacon, Jager and a lopsided football helmet.

Nice work Tom. Thanks.