Mentors

This will be a different type of post for me, but necessary as you’ll see.

Background – Context

In September of 2006 I was diagnosed with Stage IV b-cell lymphoma cancer. When discovered, it had spread to my lungs, liver, spleen, hip and upper legs. On top of that doctors found I had come down with tuberculosis. This cancer came on the tail of a very difficult year for me personally. Things were not looking to good.

After six months (ending April 2007) of endless prayers from friends & family, chemotherapy and TB treatment, my doctors declared me in remission and TB free. It is only by the grace of God, I’m I still alive today and doing so well.

During the chemo, I only missed 30 days of work. I figured, I can be miserable here at home or I can go to work and do my best. My company emGovPower was very supportive of me during this time.

In April of 2007 my WPF days began. I was a late Avalon / WPF bloomer. Still foggy from the chemo, I quit sleeping; purchased all the WPF books I could find and started writing WPF applications.

During my courtship with WPF, I read WPF articles on Code Projectand used Google searches to help me learn it. Along the way, I kept running into the name, Josh Smith. I don’t remember how or why I first contacted Josh, but I remember he was kind enough to reply and provide guidance to me.

In May of 2007, my friend and colleague Bill Apodaca suggested I start to blog. At the time, I didn’t really understand blogs and had only visited a few of them.

June 6, 2007 – D-Day for my blog. (D-Day refers to the Allied invasion of Normandy during WWII, June 6, 1944)

After a month of thinking about blogging, I took the plunge and created this blog. I was more than a little apprehensive. I’m thinking to myself, who will ever look at my blog? Is this a waste of time? How will they find it? What could I write about that has not already been written? Will they think negative things about the content?

Within a few hours after my first blog post, the following comment was logged, “Nice work, Karl! That’s a great first WPF blog post. Keep it up!” This was written by Josh Smith.

At the time, Josh didn’t know me and we had not spoken on the phone yet.  Josh is a very important and highly respected developer in the WPF community, yet he took the time to encourage this WPF grasshopper.

Grasshopper is from Kung Fu TV Series.

The impact of Josh’s kind and encouraging words is immeasurable.  After the chemo, the struggles, the side effects, I started to believe again.  These words helped me to regain confidence and hope of programming well again after the chemo side effects.

Said All That – To Say This

Your words can make a difference in someone’s life as well as their work.

If you have not seen the movie, Pay It Forward, go and rent this movie tonight, then go out and Pay It Forward, like Josh did.

You just have to use Mole once, to understand and feel the aftershock of Josh’s encouragement. This program is now being used by developers all over the world and has been the topic of many blogs worldwide. Just Google, “mole wpf” and see for yourself.  Josh Smith, Andrew Smith and I wrote Mole. You can visit the Mole Project here.

Josh’s words and guidance also were major factors in me receiving the Microsoft MVP and Code Project MVP awards in 2008.

My Mentors

These gentlemen have made a huge impact on my life and work.

Josh Smith– Mr. WPF and great friend. It is only because of Josh’s personal mentoring that I have been made a Microsoft MVP and Code Project MVP for 2008. He is an MPV’s MVP. His goal last year when we met, was to mentor me and in the process get me to a place where I could be considered for these programs. Not that you and I should be looking for recognition, but rather serving, doing our best while presenting quality material in our blogs, articles, forums and presentations that benefits the developer community. Thank you Josh for taking the time to mentor me, you have made a big impact on me and the WPF community.

Ernie Ashermann – Owner of our company, super brilliant, knows more about city government and water authority software than anyone I’ve ever met, maybe planet Earth.

Bill Jones – President Charlotte Enterprise Developers Guild. Bill encouraged me to start doing presentations and get involved with the developer community. He drove me to Raleigh, NC and Columbia, SC for presentations I gave, because I was still having side effects from the chemo and couldn’t drive long distances.  Bill is well known in the VB community at large and in the Charlotte area. He is like a Dad to many developers here.

Tips for Mentors

  (mĕn’tôr’, -tər)
        1. (n.) A wise and trusted counselor or teacher.

• Your words can have a profound effect on another’s life. Pay It Forward.
• There are a lot of struggling grasshoppers out there. Sometimes we write, say or ask uninformed, misleading and redundant questions. Go easy on us, we are just grasshoppers.
• Give it to us straight, so we can learn and improve, just don’t leave us bleeding or set us on fire in the process. Taking the time to correct and guide demonstrates you care.

Tip for Mentorees

  (mĕn’tôr-ē)
        1. (n.) One having a mentor; the beneficiary of a mentorship.

• Do your own homework. Before posting questions or emailing, please use the free resources available like Google, Yahoo, Code Project, etc. Secret; those mentors hide information in books too. This will help our mentors keep their sanity.  Think, RTFM (Read The Free Manual) and you’ll do fine.
• Start your own blog. This will help you a lot. Writing a blog post or an article forces you to study and carefully review your topic. You also become part of the solution by sharing with others.
• Join a local developers group and attend their functions.
• Attend Code Camps. They are free and just as professional and informative as any conference or seminar you would pay for.

Don’t Have a Mentor?

Get a mentor today.

Just a grain of sand on the worlds beaches.