I know what you're thinking. "Another Salesforce blog?" you ask yourself. "We have plenty of these out there today, many of them written by trusted members of the community, world-renowned MVPs, and extraordinarily-talented individuals in their fields of expertise," you astutely observe. "And who's this guy?" you continue. "I've never heard of him. He sure does look like a nerd, but what does he know about Salesforce? And look how he starts off his first blog post, with the tired 'I know what you're thinking' cliché! So pretentious."
(Wow, this blog went meta right out of the gate, huh?)
Who am I?
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Pat Penaherrera, and I'm a Salesforce Architect for a leading provider of human resources management software and services. I am married to the girl of my dreams, Keri, and have two boys, Noah (11) and Evan (9), both of whom have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I've been working on the Salesforce platform since 2005 when I got my start as an "accidental admin" (I kind of fell into the role when my employer adopted Salesforce as their CRM platform). Over the years, I've worked my way up from an admin to an app builder, then to a developer, and finally to an architect, all the while being mostly self-taught throughout my journey. I am 14x certified, have had the opportunity and honor of being a speaker twice at Dreamforce, and aspire to become a Certified Technical Architect (CTA). I've loved building on the platform since day one, and I can honestly say that I love what I do wholeheartedly.
What is this all about?
"Okay, great. But why a blog, Pat?" you ask as you continue reading, while simultaneously wondering why you did not already abandon this article much earlier. Well, throughout my career with Salesforce, I've largely been a distant observer of the Trailblazer Community, which, by the way, is an amazing phenomenon unlike anything I've seen anywhere else. The overwhelming support, acceptance, and encouragement given by members of the community to everyone from all backgrounds and all skill levels is simply astounding. It's warmth is contagious and draws you in, yet up until now I've felt like an anxious fan boy who can only bring himself to admire his role models from a distance, because he is too afraid to step forward more confidently, or because he believes in himself too little to feel worthy of interacting with such a league of talented professionals (mostly the latter in my case). Granted, I haven't been completely silent up until now (I've been known to chime in here and there on Twitter, where most of my community participation has been to date), but outside of some occasional tweets, shares, and comments, I haven't truly given back to the community. And I recently decided that this needed to change.
Blogging has been a blip on my radar for some time now, and I've considered making the leap many times, but I've often held back due to my own insecurities. You know those questions you asked at the beginning of the article? Those are the same questions I asked myself each time I thought about blogging, until eventually I put the idea back on the shelf. Why would anyone want to hear from me? What could I possibly have to offer the community that someone else far greater than myself hasn't already offered in superior form?
I then read an article by the great Keir Bowden about how he got started blogging about Salesforce, and it truly moved me. It directly addressed my fears and reminded me that everyone has a voice worth hearing. Not only that, but everyone has something unique to offer. The same event or subject matter observed by two individuals can yield two different experiences, each that can provide insights that complement or supplement the other. These words of wisdom gave me the encouraging boost I needed to finally take the leap (thank you, Keir).
Simply put, I want to be a more active member of the Salesforce community, and give back, with the hopes of helping others grow in their journey by sharing my experiences and thoughts as I blaze my own trail.
What can I expect?
"Wow, that was very moving, Pat," you respond, my story pulling on your heartstrings as I begin to win you over. "So what do you plan to blog about?" Well, kind reader, to answer your perfect segue of a question, my goal is to share what I learn along my journey with the hope that it will benefit others in their journey. The content I share may vary at times, but you can expect that I will focus mostly on the following areas:
- Certification Tips & Tricks: I am addicted to the certification circuit. Like 10-year-old Ash Ketchum on his quest to be a Pokémon Master, I want to catch 'em all (you said it yourself earlier that I looked like a nerd, and you were right), with one of my biggest goals being to attain the elusive Certified Technical Architect credential (more on that later). And so, I plan to share my certification journey with you, kind reader, with the hopes that my insights and experiences will benefit you on your certification journey as well.
- My Architect Journey: As I mentioned earlier, I am an aspiring CTA. I currently hold both the Application Architect and System Architect certifications, and technically qualify to sit for the CTA Review Board. However, I have a long way to go before I am truly ready to take on that challenge head on. Over the next several months (and for however long it may take), I will share with you my adventures on the road to the Technical Architect certification. I know that the failure rate for this certification is extremely high, with only a few hundred holding the credential today. But that won't stop me from trying as many times as it takes. I am determined to make this goal a reality. The way I see it, it's just a matter of time, effort, and preparation. You might be asking, "how can you feel so confidently about this?" Let me share a little tidbit of motivation with you: years ago, my then-ultimate goal was to achieve the Salesforce Certified Force.com Advanced Developer credential, which is now known as the Platform Developer II credential. Before the Technical Architect credential was the proverbial king of the mountain, this was the one to get. But it was hard, and it required a three-part certification process: A.) a multiple choice exam, B.) a 30-day programming assignment, and C.) an essay defending your solution design. Plus, at the time, I was intermediate at best when it came to coding on the platform (certainly no advanced developer, that's for sure). But I was determined. I put in the time. I invested the effort in skilling up, getting hands on, and building my proverbial tool set. I took my shot and, after all of my efforts and hard work, I achieved what I once thought might be unachievable: I earned the certification (fun fact, I was one of the last group of individuals who got to take the exam in this format before it moved to the current format consisting of a combination of Trailhead Superbadges and a multiple choice exam). So yeah, that's why I feel confident about the CTA as well. At the end of the day, hard work goes a long way. You don't have to be a genius-type with an innate gift or talent. An effort-type can achieve just as much, perhaps even more, than one with natural talent enough with hard work and confidence (whoever can name the anime/manga from which I derived this last piece will instantly earn my friendship).
- New/Updated Platform Features & Release Readiness: There is a great quote that goes something like this: "by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Another great quote (one of my favorites, in fact) says that "when you finish changing, you're finished." The platform is constantly evolving at a rapid rate thanks to the three (3) seasonal releases distributed automatically by Salesforce, and that's not counting all of the contributions from the community in the form of open source projects, the AppExchange, and so on. As a result, it is important to stay on top of the latest and greatest related to the platform. I plan to share my unique observations, opinions, feedback, and findings related to these features as I walk the road to CTA status. I hope that sharing my thoughts on these features not only help solidify my own understanding of them, but also help you with understanding how they work, and how they can help you succeed with optimizing your Salesforce implementations as well.
- My Honest Self: At the end of the day, I will always be my genuine self when I write, no matter what. That means being transparent about my entire journey, my successes as well as my failures, with the hopes that you too will be inspired to reach for your dreams. That also means that, if you stick around, you'll have to get used to lots of nerdy pop-culture references. Hey, I'm just being honest. ;)
"Good to know," you say, "but I have one final question. What's with the name of your blog?" I chose Limits Unlocked because I am a firm believer that anyone can go beyond their current limits and become better than their best. Sure, you might only be able to run so fast right now, or jump so high right now, or, in the world of Salesforce, perhaps you only know so much about a particular subject right now. But those are the key words right there: right now. I believe that everyone can improve. Everyone can grow. Everyone, with guts, hard work, and determination, can break through their limits and reach greater heights. If nothing else, the message of my blog is that you too can unlock your current limits and achieve your goals, dreams, and aspirations. Certainly, if I can do it, you can do it, too.
(Fun fact: I originally wanted to name my blog Limit Breaker: A Salesforce Blog, but the "Limit Breaker" name was taken. Oh well!)
Closing remarks
So that's it, kind reader. That's my story. And hopefully you'll stick with me as I officially set sail on my mission to blog about my experiences. And more than that, I truly hope you enjoy what I share, and hope that it brings value to you and your journey as well. Excelsior!