kthxbye 2012, Whazzup 2013?!

The year is running towards the end, and at that point we start evaluating the past year and thinking about plans for the upcoming one. I’m not the person to think about plans for next year. Usually I don’t participate in this, because I always thought that the good intentions lasted till the end of January. Then normal life would continue without the planning for that year. But after a year like 2012, this might be the best time to start.

Let’s just say, 2012 wasn’t my year. A lot of things happened, but the passing of a very close friend (I think of him as a second father) had the biggest impact on me. He was really sick for quite a while (short if you look at time, but it felt a lot longer), and eventually we lost him at the beginning of 2012. I’m not turning into an emotional wreck at this point, but it did put me back into the real world. The loss is still great, and we miss him every day.

But that made me think about my life, and what I wanted to do and achieve. Then I thought about a post I read a long time ago, that was written by Brent Ozar (@BrentO). In the post he talks about setting himself goals and targets, based on the “system” of Nerd Fitness to “level up your life”. This is something I always remembered because of the simplicity and it looks fun!

That’s why I’ll try to set up a similar list for myself for 2013. I’m not setting everything aside for the list, but it’s more like a guideline I set for myself.

Professional:
1) Write more blogposts then in 2012 (which came down to about 2 per month)
2) Write at least 1 printed article for a magazine
3) Become a professional presenter and host a session on (for example) a SQL Saturday
4) Starting the path to become an MCM (starting from rock bottom with 70-461)
5) Meeting at least 10 people IRL from the SQL Server community
6) Working on at least 1 freelancing project, and start my own business
7) Become a professional SQL Server trainer and consultant
8) Be an attendant of SQLBits, Summit 13, or any other great event

Personal:
1) Visit at least 1 world city (Barcelona, Berlin, London, Rome, New York, Los Angeles, etc.)
2) Work on a website to replace this WordPress blog. I’m hoping this will give me more possibilities to expand my blogging

And this is also a shout-out to my community-colleagues. If you could help me with any of my goals, please contact me. I would love to have some support and backup to achieve my goals!

I always thought about the idea of having a mentor who guided you with his expertise and experience. This is exactly what Mickey Stuewe (Blog | @SQLMickey) blogged about in a post, where she asks for a mentor to guide her.

Also, I want to thank Mickey for reviewing this post. She gave me some tips, and pointed me in the right direction. So Mickey, thanks again! 🙂

So, if you can help me achieve my goals: please contact me. For example, if you need speakers on your local SQL event: contact me! I’d love to be there and start a career as a public speaker! Or if you have experience with setting up a WordPress website, I’d like to use your knowledge and experience. If you have tips or want to help me with any of my goals, don’t be shy and tweet or mail me!

And I hope to see/meet you all in 2013! 😉