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For my 5th year of being a leader in the Citrix User Group Community (CUGC), I was proud to host the 500th CUGC local group meeting in Nashville, TN. Read more about the event at: https://www.mycugc.org/blogs/dj-eshel…

Patrick Coble (@VDIHacker) and myself (DJ Eshelman) run the group and we were joined by Steve Greenberg and Carl Webster along with Nutanix, ControlUp and Liquidware to celebrate. So- I thought I'd take the occasion to talk about why you should be part of a community – especially a ‘geek community'!

You can view my Dirty Dozen presentation free on-demand at https://ctxpro.com/DirtyDozen

You can join CUGC at https://myCUGC.org Join my private social network for Citrix Heroes at https://community.citrixhero.com

This video was made possible using Camtasia 2019. Learn more and help support this channel by purchasing at https://techsmith.pxf.io/mb6nq

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Video Highlights

 08:33: There's no environment that's the same. That's why I call these things leading practices, not best practices, because there's so much variance in the way people do things and the way organizations are run. There are different perspectives as far as business goals, objectives, how users are done, and then just businesses themselves are different.

09:03: If you don't have a community backing you up, then you're largely on your own and it's hard to get new ideas. It's hard to flourish in that regards if you don't have a community around you. If your only sense of community are blogs you find or Google searches or whatever, you probably aren't going to be all that fired up about making any kind of significant impact on the world.

11:08: The best designs in the world still have things that are wrong with them.

11:44: There are things that happen and causes stress, and when you have that level of stress, it's really a good idea to have a community around you that can gather around and not only give suggestions, but just to vent.

12:17: You really should be part of a community that is building you up and is doing everything that they can to support you as, this is important, as you support them. We're only better together if we are together.

15:43: [joining a local group]I do recommend, like I do with many things, to use your personal email address for this, not your work email address. Work email tends to get filtered more aggressively than your personal and you want to make sure you get these announcements. You'll also want to go and adjust your email settings as far as that goes to what level you want, like forum posts and things like that.

18:07: Don't be that person who is just in your own world. You know, it's okay to get out there and experience all of us other geeks out there. So get out there, get better together.

PDF Transcript

Want some reading material that can help you better enable remote work? Well- we've got just the thing!

Grab a copy of “Be A Citrix Hero” today!

A career option I have embraced is Consulting! In this episode I talk about three primary options:

1) Working for an agency (like Citrix Consulting, for example)
2) Working for a Partner/Reseller or Services Provider
3) Working independently

Be sure and watch the video – or follow along with the new flipbook feature!

Then, download the PDF and enjoy!

Video Highlights

 04:04: The first and most common [consultant] that people see in the Citrix world I think is actually dealing with Citrix consulting services, or CCS or just services.

04:32: [consulting organizations] have a worldwide presence in the Citrix market, I would say CCS is probably one of the biggest, most focused on.

06:10: The second way you can be part of a consulting organization like that is essentially either as a person that is working for another company that's being subbed out to a consultant organization or somebody like me that's actually doing a kind of a blend. I'll either be a badged employee or as a actual independent consultant.

07:11: [being a consultant] you're still an independent consultant as far as that goes, which basically means you're trading that stability for the ability to say no, so you can more actively decide not to work.

08:47: [independent consultant] if you have somebody that's serving in that capacity, a lot of the time they're very much aware of needing to go do a good job so you get a good referral. That actually can help them be able to charge more or have more work because they're known as being reliable. A lot of people think that being an independent consultant or hiring one is a bad thing, but the reality is, they're probably gonna do a better job for you in a lot of cases because they are so motivated to do something.

09:19: There's a third kind of category of consulting which is when you have somebody that's working with a reseller.

09:33: [reseller consultant] They may not always have as wide an array in experience, but a lot of times they'll be more in tuned to what your needs are because they're in a long term relationship with you.

10:04: Somebody that is a working with a reseller can not only do it on a scope of work but can also be a longer pace as well. They're able to work with you over a longer period of time so you're not having to condense it and get everything done right so rapidly.

10:54: [reseller consultants] they're very motivated a lot of times by the relationship and of having that ongoing thing with you. They're also a really good multi-tasker as most of the time because they are doing just that.

PDF Transcript

Want some reading material that can help you better enable remote work? Well- we've got just the thing!

Grab a copy of “Be A Citrix Hero” today!

In this episode, DJ explains his Services Methodology which will be featured in his new book “Just Do This” (summer of 2020). You'll learn how DJ has taken the methodology from companies like Microsoft, Citrix and others, combined it with some psychology (and observations of how sometimes Agile and DevOps does NOT work…) and came up with a simple 4 step process that is easily understandable and portable to multiple uses. You'll learn a summary of 4 steps in this iterative process: 1) Understand 2) Plan 3) Change 4) Maintain

Be sure and watch the video – or follow along with the new flipbook feature!

Then, download the PDF and enjoy!

Video Highlights

02:37: Everyone universally needs to know where you're at in the process. Otherwise, it's just your methodology and your thing and nobody else is going to be able to work with you.

02:57: You're never going to be in that place where it's going to be “just what you're doing” and nobody else involved.

03:08: Ultimately, if you want to get further in your career and build up a success in that way, then you really do need to learn to work as a team and a methodology is a way to do that.

03:26: [process] it needs to be simple.

03:38: the third major criteria here is that it be easily identifiable.

04:03: What I think is not positive overall is getting hung up on terminology and things like that to describe what you're doing. I think that is ultimately a mistake.

04:50: So I have four steps. Understand is always the first thing, then you plan, then you change and then you maintain.

05:10: First you understand what's going on, which means you take the time to either assess the situation or if you have a specific project you're going with, then you are actually finding out what you need to know in order to actually make a design or whatever it is that you're doing.

05:37: Your understand is the why of doing things.

06:37: This is where things like change control come into play – in the place where you're actually going to say, okay, here's what I'm going to do, when I'm gonna do it, and hopefully you're saying also, here's why I'm doing it.

07:23: Once you have your plan down and it's good, you go to the change part of it. And so you're actually doing that whole change process, whatever it is; building out new systems, installing updates, whatever the changes are, that's where the effective differences in whatever you're doing are.

08:00: The change tends to be where the most time is spent.

08:34: And then the next kind of phase with that will be maintained, which means you're just basically saying, okay, this is steady state from that point on.

09:05: You're actually doing the day to day care; feeding and hopefully with most IT environments is where the majority of time is spent.

PDF Transcript

Want some reading material that can help you better enable remote work? Well- we've got just the thing!

Grab a copy of “Be A Citrix Hero” today!

Do you feel trapped in your cubicle? Do you feel like nothing is going to change? Do you feel like you're stuck, depressed and hopeless? You're not alone.

In this episode, we discuss how tech workers just like you can learn to rise above and thrive!

*Note*  After recording this video I made the decision to transition membership programs to coaching; however if there is enough interest in re-launching the Citrix Professionals membership program (exploring paths to success in Citrix) I'd appreciate your comments. For up to date information head to https://ctxpro.com/membership

Be sure and watch the video – or follow along with the new flipbook feature!

Then, download the PDF and enjoy!

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I mentioned Digital Minimalism in the video, which has been a life-changing book. Click this link to get it FREE on Audible (if you're not already a subscriber – if you are – use a credit!). Clicking links like this help support this channel and we very much appreciate it!

https://amzn.to/31W9m43

Video Highlights

Here are a few quotes we tramscrobed from DJ during the video. Each link will take you to that point in the YouTube video if you need a point of reference.

 01:48: People talk about “work life balance” and I used to like that phrase. I'm starting to find that I'm not so sure that when I talk about work life balance that meshes with other people's definition of it. Sometimes I think people are thinking in terms of work life balance being related to time. I don't think that's healthy. I think if you are obsessed with the time you spend in one place or another, that can be pretty seriously unhealthy is as far as your time spent, that sort of thing.

04:32: The honest truth is, if you are in a position where your tasks, whatever that are important to do for the day, are taking you more than six hours a day, you have a problem! I think the challenge is, that is not reality. That you are actually in a place where the reality, is that you're thinking, you're the only one that can do it or you're thinking you're the only one that's being dependent on, that becomes your reality even if it wasn't previously true.

06:27: My challenge to you is to only work for six hours of the day and observe the results. Did things fall apart? Was the world coming crashing down around you? My guess is that what will happen is that you will find that people get by or you'll find that you're doing a lot of tasks that are not necessary beyond what needs to be done to really do it. In other words, your priorities might be a little bit off if you can do a six hour work day and things are falling apart.

08:18: If you can't condense your work into a six hour portion of your day, your career is going nowhere. That means that you are not focused on growing. You are focused on just doing. More importantly, you're not focused on why, you're focused on what.

10:40: The point is, sometimes we fill our workday up with things that are not really important or just not very effective with what we're doing. That can actually lead to a mental health problem. And that is mostly in regards to fatigue, but there's a sense of hopelessness that you find with that. And that is another cause of depression.

11:50: The reality is you feel, I hear this all the time, I have to go to work. I have to do this. I have to do it. The reality is you don't have to. The reality is you are making a choice every time you go to work and you have to recognize that, otherwise, you are giving that power to someone else and holding yourself basically hostage to somebody who's not trying to hold you hostage.

12:15: In terms of mental health, you have to realize that you are making a choice and own that choice.

13:36: You will not rise to the occasion. You will only rise to your level of preparedness.

14:27: The thing is, you have to find a way to limit your time and boost your productivity by limiting distractions.

15:06: Know why you are working. That is super important. If you don't have a good motivating factor that is driven by something that is real, then you will have nothing but problems in life.

15:49: If it's not making you happy anymore, if it's not fulfilling a greater purpose in your life, then move on.

20:04: When your first impulse in the morning is to check your email, something's wrong.

20:43: If you can, you really need to make it so that you leave at a certain time, and that's not negotiable, where you're done for the day and that's your thing.

22:18: Multitasking is not entirely healthy.

23:18: If you can, find a hobby that you enjoy getting better at, that actually helps your mental state quite a bit.

23:45: Schedule times where you're not scheduling time. In other words, you want to actually have blocks off on your schedule to do things that are unstructured.

25:00: What gets scheduled, gets done. If you don't schedule time for yourself, it won't get done.

27:16: If something's not building you up, consider dumping it.

29:39: If you can invest in one thing this year, invest in yourself. Invest in your own skill sets.

33:44: Maintaining mental health takes discipline. It is not something where you can just simply snap your fingers and, you know, all of your problems go away.

34:08: Work equals meaningful effort.

PDF Transcript

Want some reading material that can help you better enable remote work? Well- we've got just the thing!

Grab a copy of “Be A Citrix Hero” today!

This week we're tackling something not talked often enough in Tech – Mental Health. The more travel, consulting and coaching I do the more I realize how underserved this topic really is.

So I decided to split this into 2 longer episodes in the hope you will be positively impacted by them! I'm being more vulnerable than I normally am here, even telling you about my experiences in getting qualified counseling help and how that changed my life. If you are in a bad spot – seek the guidance of a trained professional.

That said If you are interested in hiring me as your Career and Life Success Coach (Citrix or otherwise) please visit http://CitrixCoach.com to learn more!

Be sure and watch the video – or follow along with the new flipbook feature!

Then, download the PDF and enjoy!

Video Highlights

03:28: When it comes to mental health, that's a big part of what is missed, especially in the technology world.

03:58: The only way that people are going to change is if they are offended out of their current mode.

04:05: If I say something to you that is offending you, then I would encourage you to not look towards me but look towards yourself and say, okay, what, what about that offended me?

04:25: [being offended] Was that really against me personally or is it something, where there's a mirror, pointed back at you and you don't like it, that sort of thing.

05:09: [deep-seated issues] What I'm talking about is either unresolved things from your past or current circumstances that have grown to the point where they've not been dealt with for so long that they are out of control basically.

05:28: In the IT world what I find is that the people that are attracted to that line of work tend to be those that are not necessarily good at communicating their feelings right.

08:56: [coping mechanisms] There are some that are just, I gotta be honest, more destructive than others. Going on occasionally getting, you know, a little drunk is one thing, but, being drunk all the time or escaping any kind of, what you might call drama, by going off and drinking is really not healthy.

09:23: If you're self-medicating, then you really need to look into why you're doing that and be honest with yourself and say, am I doing this because I feel so overwhelmed that I can't feel like I can function any other way?

09:49: In most cases, the hardest thing to do is to get help because you have to face the very thing that puts you into that situation in the first place.

10:39: Deep down we all recognize the trajectory that we're on. If we are in a space where we are self-medicating and using substances to get by, we know where that road goes, we know where that's heading. You really need to get off of it.

13:28: The other thing, a lot of people don't necessarily turn to substances or things like that, but they basically turn to this: At one point in my life I kind of called it like the Batman syndrome kind of thing where everybody's against you, you're their hero, but everybody's against you. d I'm not sure I totally like that analogy, but that is kind of what the mentality gets into. You get to this mode where you are just so used to not being thanked for what you do and not feeling like it's going anywhere, even though you put effort towards it or what you perceive as an effort towards it.

14:25: The other part about that is that you just can't see anything other than the pain of working, but you still are, obsessed is the wrong word; it's similar where you are basically work addicted.

15:16: When you are constantly stretched beyond what you can handle and you feel like that is your new norm; if you don't get to that point, you're not working hard enough. So you get to that point of being stretched and then you find you need to go further because you've set up all these things, a lot of times unconsciously, that make everyone dependent on you.

16:34: When you specifically push somebody out of your way and do the work for them just because you're irritated by them not knowing what you know, you don't feel better, you feel worse.

18:45: There's a lot of things about depression that are misunderstood. First off, almost everyone deals with depression at some point, at some level in their lives.

19:25: Depression is more or less a sense of a lack of energy, basically is the best way to describe it, where you just don't feel you can achieve anything. You can't even get out of bed, that can be a challenge.

19:57: Depression, as far as clinical depression goes, there has to be either a pattern or a length of time where that has not lifted.

20:38: I want to give you some pointers. First of all, like I just said, get help.

22:40: What I figured out that it was, with the help of this counselor, was that it wasn't necessarily my circumstances that were the problem. It was something, a kind of perspective and willingness that let that circumstance control my life.

24:13: A psychologist is somebody who is largely study-based and a psychiatrist is somebody who can actually perform therapy.

25:13: [stinkin thinkin] I have trained myself to know when that's happening, to stop and take control of that and say, is this real?

26:41: When it comes to mental health, interestingly enough, the power of the mind over the body actually has an effect physically on the body.

28:28: [idea mania] That's something that in IT, we face every now and then, where we hear something and we get excited about it and we want to do it. We get it about maybe halfway done and then the energy runs out and we just don't really finish it. We get distracted and go on something else. That's more normal than a lot of people realize.

29:58: If you want to be successful, you need to set yourself up with triggers and activation triggers, as one of my influencers, Michael Hyatt, will call them. It's where you have an event in your day or your week or whatever, that activates another task or activates something that you can stay consistent with. That's a way to get past that kind of up and down cycle where you're basing what you're working on your energy and you make what you're working on based on your habits.

32:16: If you have kids, make that a priority. We've had too many years of people being more obsessed with success than with their family.

Want some reading material that can help you better enable remote work? Well- we've got just the thing!

Grab a copy of “Be A Citrix Hero” today!