Let me take a moment to welcome any new readers with a cold hard fact of life. If you are reading my blog, then you likely got here because you are looking to better your life in some manner.
You are either looking for insight, instruction, guidance, help, money, success, inspiration, or some part of all of the above.
The truth is that you got here because you are searching for something which you hope I can provide. Well, I will try to help people as best I can by offering my insight and knowledge to anyone wishing to read it.
Here is a little bit about myself for anyone who cares.
My name is Derek Wood. I grew up in a small town of western Massachusetts. I have been working with computers since the early Vic 20 and Commodore 64. I have held various jobs within the industry with the short list containing the following:
Computer technician,
Java programmer,
Support technician,
Quality assurance manager,
Office Manager,
Web Construction Supervisor,
You get the idea. I have formal management training from fortune 500 companies. I have been to college for both electronics technologies and the Information Technologies field.
The one part that is the hardest to overcome is the lack of a high school diploma. But that has never stopped me.
Now a little rant.
I have learned all that school has taught me. The problem was, and still is that schools do not teach you how to become successful in this day and age. They teach you how to work for a living. They will teach you how to do well on an interview, how to dress well, and how to present yourself to others.
But is that enough for success? In my opinion, NO.
So why do we put up with it. As I stated I did not graduate from high school. Not because I was incapable of getting good grades. I would pass test after test with flying colors, but had poor attendance.
The truth is I was bored out of my skull. School was more then just boring, it was almost laughably easy. The teachers thought I was cheating because I could pass their tests without studying. Not trying to brag, but the material was quite simple during the 80′s.
Back then the school systems did not test for advanced placements for children who were considered to be doing bad. They never considered that I might not be challenged. So I was stuck being bored, until college came along, and I did much better.
But still no one was teaching me how to become successful in any way. Sure I learned new material. What was I to do with that knowledge? Spend the rest of my life working for someone else.
So I began to think about my skill sets, and how I could use the sum of all my knowledge. I began to wonder how other people became successful. You know what I found?
I found that other truly successful people did not work for other people. They worked for themselves. While they had hundreds of various careers, they were all working for their benefit. In fact many of them had hundreds of employees working for them.
What did they learn that I had not? They learned the same stuff you hope to learn here. They knew what I now know you must do. There are things you can do to become successful. There are steps you can take, a path to follow. While each person’s path may be different, the journey will be a rewarding one if followed to completion.
Stick around for a while, come back often, and hopefully you will learn something.
Derek Wood
