I’m writing this post as I fly back home from San Francisco to Minneapolis. It’s bright and sunny outside, the flight is over half done, and soon I’ll meet the people who matter the most to me in the world.
I’ve spent the past week at WWDC 2011, Apple’s conference for Mac and iOS (read iPhone/iPad) developers. Although I have been programming for over 17 years (wow,has it really been that long?!), I am new to programming the Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Doing this has been a “close to the vest” dream of mine for some time. You know when those guys, the important ones, the ones that people maybe pay something to hear – when those guys say, “You need to do what you love and love what you do…follow your dream…risk it and change your life…etc.”, some people, like me, need a bigger push than others. My push came on August 31, 2009. My friend and account manager, called me with the news I alway dreaded I would hear someday, “Dave, I’m afraid [redacted] is letting you go. Today is your last day.” That was it! That was my push from the plane so I could skydive. That was my push from behind on the bungi jump. That is when a new chapter in my life began. It didn’t take my wife and I very long to both realize that this was the time to pursue our own business. It wasn’t so much, “stick it to the man” as it was “stick up for the man – me”! It was time for me to take control of my career and to make every hard effort and loyal response really matter. I have always been a conscientious (some would say over-conscientious) employee. Admittedly, there have been times when I wondered if it really mattered. Thankfully, someone would always remind me that my efforts were not ultimately earthbound but rather heaven focused. Those are always good reminders!
In February of 2010, I started with some “small potato” projects. They were important to me and the customer, they just weren’t enough to sustain a family already completing five months of unemployment. A few more projects trickled in; they helped me feel like I was still capable of serving the needs of others, but they weren’t enough to sustain us. Then in the middle of the year, a big break came and a big contract opened up. This was the runway we had been looking for. Now we had steady income and it really felt like I was working again. Later, after the first of the year in 2011, we incorporated our business and BZTech Solutions, Inc. was born. Another time, I will post about how we came up with the name. Everything was moving forward – sometimes at breakneck speed! I was in the cockpit and now I needed to learn how to fly.
All of the above brings me back to my first paragraph. Although I was anxious about attending a conference where practically everyone was far ahead of me on the learning curve, it was one of the smartest moves I…err, we (thanks honey) ever made. The keynote was fantastic. I always wanted to be present at a “Stevenote”! The atmosphere was electric. The session speakers were well polished. The material they presented was “top shelf”. However, the most important messages weren’t delivered from the stage to my ears. The most important messages were delivered from my heart to my head. This is where I am, this is where I want to be, this is my place and I am working to making it the best place it can be.