Something I’ve mentioned in previous career-related posts is the value of a mentor. In case it seemed more like a suggestion, let me be more direct about this: You need a mentor.  

Yes, you. And me as well. Having a mentor is something of which there is no comparable value to any of our careers.  

No matter how far along we are in our career paths, there are always others who have walked a similar path and are further ahead. And often, many of those folks are willing to help others just like me and you. And believe me, it would be incredibly foolish to not take them up on their offer.  

The Impossible Dream  

A few years back, I had two individuals offer to mentor me about specific endeavors, and taking them both up on their offers has made an extraordinary difference in the last three years of my career.  

In 2018 I started this blog, and that year I also created my first presentation. After presenting it internally to coworkers a few times, I made some improvements and then presented it publicly to my local SQL Server user group.  

In 2019 I decided to start speaking more. I created three more sessions, and spoke again at my user group and at four different SQL Saturdays – a few times twice at the same event. Emboldened by the experiences, I later applied and was accepted into the IDERA ACE class of 2020.  

For 2020 I revised my presentations to make them more visually interesting, and have presented even more sessions, although mostly at virtual events. So far I have spoken 10 times, all but once in a virtual forum, with hopefully more opportunities coming before the end of the year.  

Presenting has allowed me to meet many wonderful people, and I truly have enjoyed every single event. For me there is no greater satisfaction than providing something of value that helps someone else – whether it means speaking to five people or 150.  

What Now My Love?  

So, what does this have to do with mentoring? Well, the only reason I even started speaking in the first place was because someone offered to mentor me with my first presentation. And the reason I decided to speak at more events was because working with another mentor helped me realize how much sharing and teaching are strengths to which I gravitate. These two previous mentors helped me beyond measure, and you probably wouldn’t have heard of me or be reading any posts here, had it not been for them.  

I mean, I love solving database problems, but I really love helping other folks learn how to solve their database problems. But going forward, I’m not sure I know the most fruitful way I can do that.  

That’s Life  

Right now, I could really use a mentor’s guidance to help me figure out how to navigate the myriad options related to the next level of public speaking and teaching. So on a personal level, Paul Randal’s offer to server as a non-technical mentor could not have come at a better time.  

I know that I want to continue to help others through speaking, but…good grief, there are so many issues that have to be addressed with that simple goal.  

• What other venues are there for speaking?  
• Should I consider recording presentations?  
• How does this blog fit in with all of this?  
• What are the realistic opportunities for monetization of speaking or training?  
• And how do I successfully manage all of this and still have time for my family and my day job?  

And that’s just the short list. I know a mentor is not going to tell me where to go, or even how to get there, but they can help me with methods for how to determine these things for myself. I could really use any guidance from someone experienced at this to help me determine my next steps as ably as my previous mentors helped me determine the steps I took to get here.