By June 15, 2013 Read More →

Driven To Achieve

People look in awe at my career.   I am in the top 5% of wage earners in North America.   I’ve often had this monkey on my back about not having a degree.  A job coach once said to me.  Will the degree help you earn more money?  My answer has been no I already make more than most MBA’s or others with graduate degrees.  Then there is no economic value in getting one.   However for me there is and one day I will put my focus on higher education and get a degree or two.   If they are honoree I’d take that too, just kidding.    Education is very important to me and I don’t underestimate my luck and how much my talents have helped me to get where I am.

Driven To Achieve Podcast
So if you are a child of mine and your reading this I really do hope you decide to pursue a college or university education.
I have always had this insatiable drive to prove myself, to show that my disability isn’t a factor in my life or professional success.  My disability really is an impacting factor but.   My handicap has been my perverse desire to show the world that I can do anything I focus on no matter that I’m blind.  The problem has been I’m not generally doing things I love or things that I even like.   What would happen is I’d achieve the pinnacle in a subject area or a career and the achievement didn’t mean anything to me.  It was a hollow victory a pointless pursuit.
In my career I have been a recognized global expert in Disaster Recovery / High Availability solutions, IT Storage Solutions, and IT Best Practices.   I’ve presented at major industry conferences and I’ve been published.    I’ve built IT solutions that were one of a kind solution that didn’t exist anywhere else in the world.    The real unfortunate thing was at the end of the day was in the words of an old manager of mine.   So What?  Now What?   The achievements for me meant nothing.
What means something to me is someone at work saying you made it so I can do my job!  You’ve helped advance my career.   You’ve enable the company to compete in the market or contribute to the community.    You’ve helped us help those we serve.   You’ve served our customer!   That’s what feeds me.  That’s what I’m now focused on.   That’s why I write this blog.

Posted in: Disability & Blindness, Everything Else, Living

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