Miles to Go...!

I have learnt that there's always a pattern amidst the things around us both on personal and professional fronts. If you are smart observer you can spot the thread that connects seemingly chaotic patterns. As I keep my learning hat on, I am sure many of you were keeping a silent yet close watch on the much hyped "Lets Rock" event. event. And in total contrast to expectations worlwide (C'mmon we all wanted announcements like new Macbooks or new product from Apple), we learnt that the event was "iPod" Centric ! Well, many folks quickly dismissed this event as "Boring", "So What?"...et all. However, I love Steve's brilliant explanations (here) when he admits that iPod sales don't follow a linear / exponential curve and sales peak around Christmas time - when we wish to gift our dear ones with a 'special' gift and Apple Products sure strike a chord there ! There goes a pattern which few of us would like keeping a note of ! One thing is for sure that iPod Sales are most likely to smash the erstwhile records in upcoming months !

Speaking of patterns, conversations with my friends (in IT Industry) over the past few days led me into some serious thinking (such kinda thinking hurts u know :)). Most of them feel that keeping upwith the latest Technologies is getting tougher day by day which accounts for unwanted anxiety and concerns in their lives. This is how most of them (okay that includes me too at times:)) feel everyday !

I am sure their concerns are true and good in case they make them put in extra efforts to get smarter and better ! However, there are always workarounds (shortcuts I mean :-D). If we just take a step back and think about the time when we created something all by ourselves and how much thrilled we felt. Your guesses might resonate on the foll. lines:

• Creating that beautiful Greeting Card.
• Composing that sinuous Song for College Band.
• Designing the award winning Science Model.
• Engineering that crisp presentation which amazed your peers.
• Charting Training course for new recruits in your organisation.
• Delivering notes about your very own research to the audience you were one part of.
• Creating Blueprint for ur College's TechFest.
• Capturing that special moment with your Camera.
• Writing that remarkable Code Snippet which is super-efficient, blazing fast to run and is being used by many in your organisation for reference.
• Constructing that humble yet catchy website which your social network applauded !

Well, I strongly feel that each one of us is exceptionally creative and we all have our own ways of bringing our inspiration into lifelike tangible forms. In that context, I would like to add that getting that 'Amazing Idea', that 'Inspiration', that ' Super efficient solution to a universal problem' - is tough indeed. But once you have it, all you gotta do is find the right set of resources P2T2 (Platform, Passion, Team, Tools) to deliver the same. Afterall, this is what software industry is all about !!

There are so many unsolved problems around us. Shouldn't we be focussing more on thinking about possible solutions than brooding about that New Programming Language/Tool you need to master? The point I am trying to make here is that being an expert at something is no good of we are NOT able to provide creative solutions to real life problems quickly. Ofcourse, it does help if you are a part of an amazing setup (this, this or this) but if you aren't there are a bunch of ways you can still Rock - in your current role or otherwise !

While I don't have a Crystal Ball with me (for now:)), but I do expect the world economy to remain fragile through the remaining 110.436 days of 2008. Question here is can we do something phenomenal to improve it or forget about the economy - can we break our own status quo? Something tells me "Sure, we can!". That said, I promise to write an even lenghtier post if I grab my 'Eureka' moment as I continue counting remaining days in 2k8.

Think about it!

"Are you the finest in your regime?"