I know, I know…I KNOW — its been awhile since I last blogged. Ever since June I’ve pretty much been a one-man consulting shop and one has to pay the bills. Throw a couple of talks and a Dreamforce performance with Apex and the Limits in there as well as numerous gigs with a local cover band, and of course family duties, you have a recipe for disaster when it comes to keeping to a tight blogging schedule. (It may be too early for New Year’s resolutions, but I suppose one of mine will be to tighten this schedule up!)

But I digress — now is NOT the time for that. Now is the time to sit back and think about all of the things that are going right in my life. All of the things that I am grateful to have in my life. So that’s what I intend to do today…well not entirely, it will have a “mostly” Salesforce bend to it…somehow (I don’t plan these things, I write when I’m moved to do so…)

I was sitting at my desk this morning working on some validation rules and had our Apex and the Limits Dreampark performance going in the background. I was reminded of a moment during the last tune where I looked down at the gathering of community folks swaying back and forth in the front of the stage. I remember looking down at them all and thinking just how lucky I am to be able to share my strongest passion (music in case you didn’t know) with this incredible community. At that moment, on the stage — I was slightly….overcome…

(no I didn’t cry, I was just sweating from my eyes…). That memory is what has sparked this entry, so not in any particular order, save for the first — THIS is my Salesforce Thanksgiving list:

1) The Community — I’ve said it again, and again, and again, and again and will keep saying it as long as I’m here, I LOVE THIS COMMUNITY. There’s nothing like it in the tech world that I’ve ever seen. Its why I keep coming back.

2) Apex and the Limits — as eluded to above, being a member of the band allows me to marry my passions together: Music, Technology, and this wonderful community (see above). I also get to share the stage with some incredibly awesome people: Rachel Rogers, Peter Chalmers, Mark Ross (and when we are lucky, Benjamin Bolopue, and Brian Kwong). Sharing the stage with these people — well, lets just say it feels like home :)

3) The MVPs, and the Salesforce MVP team that wrangles us all — for years…many years I’ve never really felt at home amongst other techies. Yes I was a techie myself, mostly self-taught and with that comes imposter syndrome like you wouldn’t believe. I was never an “academic” developer. I just got shit done, and apparently did it well, but not having that “academic” rapport with my peers pre-Salesforce, I always felt like I just didn’t belong. Then somehow I found myself getting to interact with some very smart, very giving, incredibly approachable and friendly people. I felt welcomed for the first time in my career. I still feel like an imposter, but nobody “makes me feel” that way. I’m so thankful to be able to call these folks friends! #Ohana for the win!

4) The Platform — I was a very jaded developer. Very cranky — tired of “the latest and great framework” type of mentality. Just barely feeling like you’ve mastered one before the next hot thing comes along only to jump in and find it half-baked. (Forget jumping into those communities to learn — again, see #1 above). With Salesforce, while they do innovate and come up with new features all the time, the whole thing still always feels very familiar. Yes Lightning was a big jump from Apex and VF but somehow it was so easy for me to accept this time, probably because I still have the rest platform goodies to lean on whenever I need to.

5) Trailhead — I mean COME. ON. Really? Really? You’re going to put all of this wonderful training material together, throw it up on the web, for free? For anyone to begin learning? For anyone to add to their existing skill set? To give people an option to learn something new and change their career, their LIFE!?! Oh and you’re going to make it fun to boot? Abso-effin-lutely! Sign me up. I may only have 32 badges (again #consulting) but Trailhead gives me a way to jumpstart my knowledge absorption when presented with a new task. I’ve even passed the link on to my sister in hopes that she can take it and learn. We’ll see — tech really isn’t “her thing” but ya never know. It’s zero barrier to entry, its fun, and its full of valuable information. If you haven’t yet signed in, do it! Today!

6) My local Salesforce peeps! — Salesforce lunches, User Group meetings, Dev Meetups, and hopefully I can make a #SalesforceSaturday or two after my daughter’s swim season is over. The group of folks are the heart of the community here in Wisconsin. I look forward to all the time I can possibly spend with them!!

With that — its time to retire for the week. To spend time with my wife and kids, watch them as their eyes light up when the snow starts to fall (those of you that know me, know that I HATE cold weather) but I’m thankful that my girls enjoy it so much. Their individual laughs are so infectious and if something as simple as snow brings them joy, then I can live with it.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

:wq!