Today we have a guest editorial as Steve is away on vacation.

Before I shipped off to boot camp I was fortunate enough to have so many friends and family that were willing to offer advice.  I ignored all of it; except for the classic “Don’t volunteer for anything”.  It took me about half way though boot camp before I realized how bad that piece of advice is, in all aspects of my life.

I became a DBA because I volunteered to do something that others were not willing to.  I became a User Group chapter leader because I knew if I didn’t exchange ideas with my peers, they would advance their skill sets out of mere shared knowledge.  I became a speaker because I stepped out of my comfort zone. 

As you move through your career, I recommend stepping up.  Take on challenges that make you uncomfortable.  Try to learn something that you don’t think you can do.  Submit a session to speak at a nearby SQL Saturday, or start a blog.

Fear of failing has impacted me at different points in my career, but once I took a risk I saw many new paths open up to me.  Have I succeeded all the time? No.  But I haven’t regretted trying either.