Hey everyone... I am almost done with the first stage of the site release (Profile Promote)... can I get some help beta testing it? Anyone interested? The idea is to create a centralized place to manage ALL your social network profiles from a single place... Also a way to "promote" yourself (Email Signatures, web banners, and other widgets coming soon)... think of it as a directory for your profiles on all the networks you use in a single place.... Trying something new, bare with me! :)

Anyway, Please keep in mind that right now it's mostly a manual process to configure your social accounts; I am working on auto-population based off each system; but I wanted to launch with a manual process initially to get it going and tested.... If you have a few minutes; please take a look and let me know what you think so far and also let me know if you have any questions... I'd love to get your feedback.... thanks for your help, any help you can provide will make the system better! :) ~P

Wanna give me a hand? Check it out here: http://www.profilepromote.com/

If you are really passionate about your business, we want to hear from you! Whether you are a start-up or an established business looking for help with branding, marketing and more importantly your web site. We want to hear from you!

If you have a good story and are looking for a little extra help getting online or achieving a successful brand; Just Inspire Us!

If you fit the bill, are passionate about your company and can convince us that we need to pick YOU, we want to help. No, we're not crazy, this is just something we want to do and we're committed to doing it.

So what is included anyway?

• A full corporate branding, this includes a new logo design and much more! (We'll build this custom to your business based on discussions about your business, your market and more!)
• A fulll database driven website that will allow you to control and update it anytime you want!
• Free hosting for your website for 2 years!
• Free stationary and business cards for your business with your new corporate branding! So you can impress your clients before they ever get to your site!
• Our help along the way... We're always here for you and always willing to help however we can for you to succeed!

This isn't you, but you know someone that fits the bill? Or you just want to let people know in just in case they fit the bill?

Help us spread the word via social media... Twit about it, Facebook It, MySpace it, Blog It, Digg-It... get creative and spread the word... your friends will thank you!

You know, as the times change the requirements change for pretty much all things in life, being a superstar developer is no exception. No matter what development field you are in!

I remember the days when being a superstar was simply knowing how to do one thing, and knowing how to do it well. Well times are always changing, this much I know.

I view my career as I view a business, the saying "You're only as good as your last success" is something that my parent's instilled in me at a young age. Knowing that today you are a superstar, doesn't necessarily mean you always will be; is generally a good thing to always keep in the back of your mind.

So what does it take to be the superstar year after year after year? To me it's dedication and hard work. I've known all kinds of people in my life. The ones that stand out the most are the ones that face challenges head on, figure out a solution (or at least provide valuable ideas towards a solution) and more importantly apply themselves to always be better. This means going above and beyond and to never stop learning.

If you look back to the early 2000's technology and the approach to development was different. In those days, standing out was simple and easy to do. Learning a new method or technique enabled you to provide real value to the company and its clients. Sure, the idea is the same these days, but a lot has changed. A lot.

For starters the days of just doing ColdFusion on your website are pretty much gone. As I mentioned on my previous post "What does it mean to be a ColdFusion developer these days?"; these days you need to know more than just the basics. You have to have a whole bunch of knowledge in design, servers & hardware, in methodology, in frameworks, in database architecture and then even more importantly in business. Now I don't want people to get the idea that if you don't do all these things (or know them) that you cannot succeed; because there is luck in it too; but without them you will find yourself to be an average developer time after time after time.

If you look at the shift of technology these days, with API's all over the place doing all kinds of things and integrating the web more then ever before, you have to learn more and more systems to stay above the rest. Knowing more things means more time; which means less personal time... I have a saying that I say all the time... (I didn't invent it; but over the years it kind of stuck with me)... "I'll sleep when I'm dead... While I am still around I'm gonna go full speed and learn everything I can..." And it's the only way to truly stay ahead.

I look around at my peers in the ColdFusion community and I laugh, because I know how hectic their lives are and yet they still push forward, day after day after day. Look at Ray Camden, the guy works literally 4 full time jobs.... One pays his bills, the other pays his knowledge and curiosity and the other two pay for his passion! Have you ever thought about it? How he writes, teaches and attends conferences, blogs like 50 times a day and on top of that he writes out cool apps for people for free.. Why? Simply because he wants to.

Next, let's look at Sean Corfield... The guy is a beast. The same level of dedication as Ray and always has a smile on his face I've message Sean at 4 am before and got a response...!

But you know what, the list goes on and on... Ben Forta, Hal Helms, etc, etc, etc (if I left you out of this mention, not my intention.. if I had to write everyone's name.. I'd be here until I was 50)... yeah it's that long!

So back to my point, to be a superstar, it takes dedication. Though there is nothing wrong with working 40 hour weeks and then going home and relaxing; if you want to compete with people that are standing out.. it's completely on you to push yourself, to dedicate your free time to learning and testing new ideas and to continue to challenge yourself daily. Don't ever get comfortable!. Never stop testing yourself and putting difficult challenges before you... the moment you do start thinking about a career change... because catching up will be very hard.

In all my years doing what I do, I can honestly tell you that not only do I love what I do, I cherish every moment. Having built some pretty intense solutions online, having the honor to work with all the best people in the field, an more importantly the ability to reach so many people world-wide with my work I think that in the end I will look back and smile... And still wish I would have done more... (Hey, it's just me...)

So to summarize my thoughts... here's what I think it takes to be a superstar:

1. First and foremost, it takes heart. You have to really love what you do and truthfully want to do it... otherwise it's just a job and a paycheck so who cares anyways.

2. Next, once you put all your heart into it, it takes dedication. And I dont mean a little, I mean you're all in like 200%.

3. Time, Time, Time.... You can't learn new ways to do things if you don't spend time working out the kinks. You have to have a lot of failures before you can have success.

4. Next, you have to be able to take criticism... As I like to call it.. "Impactful" Feedback. I believe it was Bill Gates that said; "you learn the most from your maddest clients." So true... :)

5. Next, you have to help the person next to you. No one ever makes it to the top alone. We all need help and we all need to work together.. otherwise what's the point... If you get to the top alone... who do you have to enjoy it with?

6. Last of all, I think you really really really need to leap before you look. Most of the projects that I look back on that I consider big successes at the time I was like, this is never going to work... but what the heck.. Let's do it, we'll figure it out! Not only do those end up working out well in he end, they become the ones that you really remember.(Its like they are the superstar projects!)

I am currently taking some additional classes at University and the courses are on Graphic Design and Interactive Media. (Let's just say I'm a better programmer then I am a graphic artists.. but I'll get it...ehe) At School I have a classmate that is just starting out in our field and he asked me the other day;

"You've done this forever... what does it take? I mean 10, 15 years ago.. there were so few people doing this that it was easier to stand out... Now there are web designers, graphic designers and web developers everywhere... how do you stand out?"

That got me thinking... how do we stand out? Well, I thought about it for a few moments and then my answer to him was simple...

"Dedication and lots of hard work! It's that plain and simple! Though the number of developers increase daily, the rarity of complete dedication does not. And in the end, only the ones that give it all stand out.... Do your best, then do more and always help the person next to you... chances are in the end both of you will stand up together because you challenged each other to do more!"

Anyway, I just wanted to put my thoughts to paper (even if it's digital paper) because at the end of the day, if we're all going to be superstars we have to learn from one another....

Pablo

I am currently enrolled for a degree and my assignment this week was chasing your dreams and what steps one must take to achieve them... so I took a moment to write my thoughts on the matter.

When thinking about my desired position (Chief Technology Officer - CTO) and what I would have to do to properly prepare myself to be successful, I would have to say that planning and management would be key components for success; however networking and peer confidence in my abilities to succeed as a CTO are the vital pieces.

When analyzing something I usually take a step back and study people first. Getting a better understanding of the way they think, they way they perform and most importantly how they handle pressure provides me with all the tools that enable me to learn and ensure success. Understanding the key requirements of the position and studying individuals that hold these positions today; enable me to see how they've succeeded and how they failed. Closely monitoring CTO's in multiple companies (some successful and some unsuccessful) allows me to see trends and patterns of failure and success. Then I can apply them to my career and watch for signs (I call them red flags) to ensure I don't make the same mistakes someone else made before. This will help me achieve better success not just in getting the position, but being successful in that position once I am there.

I am lucky in that I work for a public company that has CTO and CIO officers, what makes me lucky however is that I know and work with them personally all the time; so this gives me an advantage is that I get to learn hands-on by shadowing them and working alongside them on a day to day basis. This also gives me the ability later on in my career to network and request references from these individuals (who are respected by their peers) to ensure I stand out from the crowd of applicants for the position. This is the key part of networking that not a lot of people take advantage of when trying to reach their dreams.

The technology field is very different from many other fields in that a degree is a "nice to have" and not a "must have". Knowing the right people and having the respect of those people usually plays the biggest part of the equation when trying to move into a new career.

Using tools such as LinkedIn will enable me to get great references I can use later and more importantly tap into old resources and co-workers who might enable me to solve an issue within the company and be a "superstar" asset to the corporation. Having the ability to tap into resources, friends and knowledgeable people is the ideal environment for a successful CTO.

Now this sounds like a lot of work to achieve success in this position and this is where flexibility comes in. Learning the important pieces and not getting stuck on the little ones is very important. Ensuring that you allow yourself enough time to really learn how things work and then apply them correctly, accurately and successfully is the best way to achieve success. This is what differentiates the good CTO from the best CTO.

We have a saying at our company "It's all about the people" and I believe that 100%. I believe that companies come and go (especially in this economy) and it's the people you work with that you take or take you with them to the next company that tend to matter most. Having a good amount of resources that you can leverage and who in a moments' notice would work with and for you are key to achieving success as a CTO. These are the people that will work alongside you to make the company bigger and better.

To me the nine steps outlined in chapter 10 (of the book I am reading for class) are right on key, I live these on a day to day basis in my career... However if I have to pick the top 3 ones that I think as more important; I would say they are as follows:

Dream - I am an entrepreneur at heart, so naturally dreaming is part of being me. I dream and dream big on my day to day life. I live by the belief that if you are going to go for it, you should aim high... if you miss at least you'll hit a star... Don't sell yourself short, ever.

Wayne Gretzky once said "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, so take a chance and shoot!" This is like dreaming to me, if you don't aim high and dream it will never happen.

The next one on my list would be read, read, read. Technology as we all know is challenging and moves pretty fast. The reason it is challenging is because the moment something is used it is antiquated and new solutions and tools need to be implemented to stay up with everyone else. It's like buying a computer and the moment you set it up it's an older model. The same is true in all aspects of technology. Keeping this in mind, you must read and stay up to date with all you can (many different technologies, techniques, products, etc) to ensure you don't become a caveman in the field. This is the faster way to career suicide.

Last, I would have to say is shadow as much as you can. No one ever gets to the top alone, ever. Being lucky plays a part in the road to success, but the ability to work with peers and learn from them is probably the most important part of the puzzle. If you are lucky enough to know an individual that does what you want to do, pick their brain, ask questions, study them and learn how they are successful in what they do. These are the building blocks that will make you a success.

Now going back to "all about the people part"... Things to keep in mind are that you are never ever going to agree on everything. Some things you will ask yourself why are we doing it like that? Or shouldn't this be done this way to achieve better results/profits for the company? This is where you must learn to deal with conflicts. Picking your battles is a big part of success in my mind. I believe this can also be called dealing with the politics of a corporate environment.

I have on many occasions had to speak up or point something out that made someone look bad, but instead of "throwing them under the bus"; I made suggestions that enabled them to see the issues without hurting any ones feelings or causing issues down the road. This enabled me to get better results for the company without burning a bridge that I might need to tap into at a later point in my career. This is where dealing with conflict becomes part of my specialty and why it would make me a great CTO somewhere down in my career. I have the ability to lead, follow and learn easily, as easily as breathing is to all of us, but what I believe my strongest point lies is in the ability to talk tech and business easily and translate things without losing details. I can talk to a real technical individual and point out solutions or risks then turn around and have a corporate discussion with someone that has no technical background. This is the largest piece I have seen to being successful as a CTO because it ensures that you can drive the results needed and more importantly ensure that everyone is speaking the same language.

In closing, I believe that hard work will be the most rewarding piece of the equation when trying to achieve success.

To quote Guy Kawasaki in "Rules for Revolutionaries" to be successful you have to "Think Different".

You have to "Create like a God, Command like a King, Work like a Slave".

These are the key fundamentals to success in the IT field and unless you live your life by them, the ability to be successful in most cases will not be possible.

I hope this clearly outlines what I believe I need to do to be successful. What are your thoughts on the matter.. how do you see yourself achieving your dreams?

Pablo

You know, I read books on ColdFusion all the time (I fly a lot) to stay up to par with things, but mostly to get different perspectives on how people see and use ColdFusion in their own lives. We all have our own perspective and uses; and I like to see how others use it and/or teach it.. (the teach it part intrigues me, because I teach it too.. so i do my best to learn from others and see what works and what doesn't so I can do it better myself).

Recently, I got my hands on a copy of John Farrar's [ColdFusion 8 Developer Tutorial] and I have to say.. I think it's clearly written...it covers a broad range of subjects, but I think what I like the most is that it goes above and beyond most books. He clearly focuses on the readers and does everything possible to get you to get it... (if that makes sense).

I am not one to recommend books, I think tutorials and "demonstrations" work better when it comes to learning things, but I think that this book can teach people quite a bit and really get them to understand and master the coding logic that is needed to become a good developer.

If you have yet to read this book, I suggest you pick up a copy.. It's not only worth the cash.. but will also be a good reference later on.. Lots of Ajax in there too.. which I haven't seen in many other books (other than WACK... but that is another story!).

Overall, I would give this book a 4.5 (out of 5 stars) because it delivers a good range of topics, clear communication, and most importantly it helps with next steps!

Great Job John!
Keep them coming!

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