Today we have a guest editorial from Chris Shaw as Steve is on holiday.

Between sessions at the 2013 PASS Summit held in Charlotte, NC. I was approached by an attendee who told me their accidental DBA story.  Their path to becoming a DBA was similar to that of many DBA’s that I have talked to in the past.  This attendee in particular had attended a SQL Saturday event where I had spoken on disaster recovery. She sought me out to tell me how my session had an impact on how she went about building her own DR strategy.

When I deliver a presentation, I focus on my primary goal: to help others navigate difficult decisions by hearing my successes and failures.

When considering my goal it is easy to see my presentations are based on experiences that I have had, often bad ones. Often is it difficult to share the failures but without them I can’t share the successes. The result is a session with a very personal touch. When I have someone send me an email or reach out to me at an event, and they tell me I have helped them, it really encourages me to do more.  Motivation to the point that I often forget that I am struggling to keep my eyes open during the long days at conferences.  Hearing I made an impact on just one person changes my view on so many things.

Does someone inspire you?  Who has helped you navigate difficult decision that you have made? Those that have inspired you may not know that have had any impact at all. They may be on the cusp of questioning themselves or a decision they have made.  It may be a point in time of that person’s career where they need to make a decision, and hearing from you could help them.  I challenge you to take the time today, just 5 minutes to send them an email, or stop by the local grocery store and pick up a card for them.  Encourage those who have encouraged you.