In 1519, Hernán Cortés sailed from Cuba to Mexico to capture Mayan gold and the interior of Mexico for Spain. As he landed, he famously ordered his men to "burn the boats", signifying that there was no turning back. It's a tactic that was in use at least as far back as the Greeks and it vividly symbolizes the ultimate commitment to your mission.
Not many of us face that kind of mission any more. Rarely are our goals that specific, our mission that direct. Or at least we choose not to make them so. I know that's been the case for me. Since I left The Access Group, I've been metaphorically wandering in the wilderness - unsure of what path I should follow. I am blessed and cursed by the fact that I have many talents and a wide ranging base of experience...and I've been somewhat burdened by an intense desire to maintain a certain lifestyle. This mix of options and pressure to make things happen fast has ironically been spinning me in circles as I flit from one thing to the next in the hope that the next thing will be the one that will get me back on track and make it all work again.
Then a funny thing happened. Over the course of about two weeks, I had a series of introductions and meetings with some people who look at IT and the ITSM/IT Transformation space the same way I do. I had several potential (though not necessarily immediate) opportunities surface. And I attended an itSMF LIG meeting for the first time in a long time. All of these combined to really hit me square in the forehead. This is where I belong. This is what I love. This is what I am passionate about. This is what I need to be doing.
So, it's time to burn the boats.
I've decided that I need to let go of my lifestyle burdens and simply focus on what I love to do and where I want to go. That means that I am going to move away from any work that is not focused on helping IT organizations transform themselves. It means that I will be retooling CastlePointe with a relentless commitment to working with and through other technology providers to deliver services in this space. And it means that I'm going to focus intensely on new ways and new partnerships that will help me accomplish this mission.
My experiences over the last few weeks have also shown me that in my own personal wilderness, I wasn't nearly as alone as I thought. There are a lot of other people who "get it" like I do and share my views, attitudes, approaches and (most importantly) desire to make things better in the world of IT. So, I will continue to seek them out and build relationships so that we can help each other on this journey.
In the end, I don't really know if I will be able to maintain the lifestyle I desire. But I know that I will be doing what I love and affecting change in IT - and by any definition that really matters, that will be success.
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