sacha chua

I had hot chocolate and a terrific conversation with John Oxley, director of community evangelism at Microsoft Canada. He told me about Microsoft evangelists. It seems like such a terrific fit! And the phrases he used - finding heroes, telling stories - resonate with what I want to do. I'm looking forward to exploring that opportunity. Perhaps we can co-adapt. I'd love to work on skills that they'd find useful, and they can adapt the job description to take advantage of my background and interests.

I was glad to hear that they're coming around to seeing people as people instead of just as consumers. ;) I love how companies are gaining faces. They may have lost Robert Scoble, but they've learned the importance of having human connections! John said that they're moving more towards thinking of relationships, which is one of the things I've gotten really interested in.

In the course of the chat, John asked me what languages I program in. I rattled off a few - Emacs Lisp leading the list, of course. He had seen my resume online, so he knew that practically all of my experience was with free and open source software. I told him that was because open source was how I could work on things that mattered, even as an undergraduate in a Third World country. I loved learning from other people's code, and I still do. Microsoft won't—can't!—make me spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about open source. =)

What about IBM? If I can do Enterprise 2.0 evangelism, then it would be tremendously exciting to get in on the ground floor and help shape the technology. I've gotten to meet so many amazing IBMers through blogging and social bookmarking, and that kind of a connection isn't just something to walk away from! I also really, really enjoy mashing together all the Enterprise 2.0 services. =) If IBM can help me make *just* the right career for myself, then they've got dibs on my brain for taking that chance on me and giving me all these wonderful things to play with.

IBM doesn't quite have an evangelist track, though. I've been advised to look into technical pre-sales or business analysis. If Microsoft comes up with something that's an even better fit for my interests and goals, I'll consider them. After all, they have "evangelist" as a proper career path! =) I really want to be around lots of other people who do what I do or want to do, and I'd love to go to conferences and summits to meet other developers and evangelists.

John asked me what I wanted in a position. I want products and services that I'm passionate about and people I love working with. I want to get out there, meet people, and help them succeed by connecting them with other people I've met, showing them tools they'll find useful, and supporting them as they figure things out. I want to always be learning something new, always be playing around with something cool. The more I learn, the more I can give to more people. I want to be part of the community, and I want to help start communities elsewhere. I want to bridge worlds. I want to tell stories about the cool stuff other people are doing, and what people can do.

I like the picture John painted of evangelism. I'm going to do something like that. What company I do it with depends on a number of factors: the specifics of the career, how I feel about the company's solutions, the connections I have, the testimonials of other people within the organization... I'm looking forward to sorting that out next year! If I go with Microsoft or another company, that's okay - I think I'm creating enough value for IBM to make my fellowship more than worth it, and I'm going to keep ties with them. =)

Here's a sample job ad for the "enthusiast evangelist" position John mentioned. This isn't for Microsoft Canada, but it gives a good idea of the kind of work involved.

Come join the team that is changing the way Microsoft is connecting with influential end users as an Enthusiast Evangelist for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Headquarters. Our connection with “influential end users” lies at the center of Microsoft’s continued long term success as a platform company.

Candidates will be young graduates coming from a technical, marketing, media or other appropriate background and can prove to have a deep passion for technology. Participants must have excellent English and interpersonal communication skills.

Candidates are strategic thinkers, able to balance individual creativity with working as a team and will have a high degree of customer and partner focus.

We have created for you a program called MACH (Microsoft Academy for University Hires). Of this program, the candidate will participate in the Marketing programme which is a two-year international graduate course that will make the graduate familiar with the marketing culture at Microsoft.

The first year is structured academy training, and the second focuses on career development. The programme is for participants with less than 18 months of work experience. Though challenging, they equip the participants with the skills and know-how required for a rewarding career.

Required Profile

• Passionate about digital lifestyle and rich consumer experiences across different mediums and technologies.
• Individuals may come from either a technical, marketing, media or other appropriate background.
• A deep strong understanding of this end user community proven by participation in online communities and/or user groups.
• Flexibility in regards to work schedule and travel.
• Solid understanding of the competitive products (hardware and software) and how to differentiate Microsoft from its competitors.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills.

Candidates are born communicators with a passion for, and solid knowledge of the influential end users, the blogosphere and online media and most things that are part of the Digital Lifestyle.

The candidate will need to show the potential to develop strong leadership and program management skills as well as cross group collaborations skill and knowledge of the field.

To be successful, this candidate will need to show pragmatism and willingness to roll up the sleeves and get the job done!

I'd love to talk more with people in both companies doing the kind of stuff I want to do so that I can get a better idea of what it's like. But yeah, exciting times...

On Technorati: career, purpose

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Tags: career, purpose by Sacha Chua
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Magic Johnson believed that if he helped everyone around him get what they wanted out of the game, then winning would always follow. And so would his own rewards, in their own time and of their own accord.

- From the Winner Within, by Pat Riley, coach, Miami Heat, as quoted in Business is a Contact Sport, by Tom Richardson, Augusto Vidaurreta, and Tom Gorman.

On Technorati: life, purpose

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Tags: life, purpose by Sacha Chua
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Since childhood, I have had a gift for working with computers. For a while, this seemed like the perfect fit for my life. My grade school teachers were not surprised to find me interested in computers in high school. My high school teachers were not surprised that I took computer science in university. One of my university teachers told me I'd do well in "hard" computer science and encouraged me to go for a master's degree, maybe even a PhD.

But I am also awakening to a gift I have with people. I want to reach millions and millions of people over generations and generations. I want to lift them up, inspire them, share my experiences with them. I want to tell their stories and help make their dreams come true. This is what I want to do with my life.

I don't want to wait until I've made my money before I do good. I want to get out there and live and love and do and write and speak and share. I will keep my needs simple, my schedule flexible, and my overhead low so that I can spend as much time as possible developing myself and other people.

I belong to the world not just as a mind, but also as a heart, and I will make a life that allows me to express both.

So, concretely, how can we make this happen?

• I want to repay the trust the university has shown in me by finishing my master's degree and doing well.
• I want to set up a newsletter and topic-focused blog that inspires people and shares tips with them.
• I want to write best-selling books. The second book will be easier than the first, so I should really just sit down, pull out material from my blog, do more research, and make this happen. Hey, maybe even before I'm 25. ;)
• I want to be a totally awesome professional speaker. That way, I can reach *lots* of people with not only my message but with my communication style. It's also a good reason to meet people around the world.
• I want to set up an organization for generous connecting.
• Lots more!

How can I make this self-supporting? I want to get as quickly as possible to the point where I don't have to worry about my expenses so that I can follow these crazy ideas for free. Then I can build up my crazy idea capital, and then we're off!

The best way for me to do that is not to plan for retirement at 60 with a slow-and-steady savings plan, but to take advantage of my crazy ideas, train my intuition, and get better at going from crazy idea to reality.

If I open my mind and look for ways I can create value for other people (like my networking business cards that list my favorite networking books!), then I'll probably be able to create enough value to make the kind of life I want.

(Crazy idea! Trust in coincidence by having business cards with random stuff on the back. Moo cards does this with Flickr photos. Why not do that with whatever you currently want/have? I think business cards should be short-run and current. That way, they're more than just a static piece of contact information, and you'll have reasons to keep giving people your cards and for people to keep reading yours! Maybe I should start date-stamping my business cards... Ah, now there's a great idea...)

Right. That's the ticket. I should keep a notebook of all these crazy ideas. Probably a blog page *and* a paper notebook. Probably part of my Moleskine. And I should go and make those crazy ideas happen, like advertising on my laptop or tweaking my business card, etc.

I don't mind giving the ideas away. I get terrific feedback. In fact, if other people pick up the idea and run with it, that means I get to train my crazy-idea sense for free!

Remember the movie Phenomenon? I want to be that guy, overflowing with lots of ideas and improvements! I want to be someone you tell about the cool stuff you're working on because I'll be enthusiastic about it too, and I *might* just go "Hey, what do you think about trying out ...?"

Simon's fantastic at designing systems from scratch. I'm good at thinking about how to improve something that's already there, finding things to smoothen, noticing things that are missing... Come to think of it, even my computing background points to this. Why do I love open source development? Because I can build on what's there! Why am I totally addicted to Emacs? Because it indulges my crazy-idea thing! Whee!

So I want the ability to explore all these crazy ideas even when I'm working. I have lots of options in terms of the type of job, too.

• A high-margin job that will train me up and take advantage of what I can do well and the crazy ideas I can come up with - marketing and sales, maybe?
• A job that develops my skills even though it requires more work and concentration, such as writing. But not for long.
• Something that pays for my expenses without demanding any mindshare, such as waiting tables ;) (Can't do that on my work permit, though!)

Right. Getting a better sense of what I want in life. There we go. Does that sound like a plan? Let's make it happen. =)

On Technorati: purpose, life, :)

Tags: :), life, purpose by Sacha Chua
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On the walk back toward Greg's Ice Cream for post-sushi dessert, Simon received an invitation from Shane to join him and a few friends for The Secret, a motivational video about the power of positive thinking. Although I had been looking forward to getting to know Richard and the rest of the folks over ice cream in the continuation of Quinn's birthday party, I also felt that it would be good to join Simon for this. It was a good decision. Not only did I have the unexpected pleasure of reconnecting with Bryan Pickle (whom I had met at one of Mike Fletcher's parties), but the video was thought-provoking.

Not that the ideas proposed in the video were new to me. I take it practically for granted that you attract what you think about, that you notice what you're attuned to, and that the universe is one of abundance. The video was flashy and fast-paced, although you'll probably want to skip the pretentious first sequence and mentally edit out some of the more over-the-top effects. Despite the distractions, though, I managed to still my mind enough to attend to the video, collecting stories, gleaning insights, and reflecting on my own experiences.

There was a short lull after the video ended, then everyone else dug into the almost-forgotten fruits. I stayed still, turning the thoughts over in my head, permitting silence to fill in the gaps and listening to how I felt instead of immediately putting things into words. This was perhaps strange to the friends who were there. Shane asked me if I didn't like the movie. I smiled and told him that it was the story of my life, that I knew what it was to grow up attracting all these blessings. Lara agreed that everyone could probably find examples of experiences that fit, and the conversation went on - but still I kept quiet, reflecting.

A few hours earlier and I could have channelled the energy of passion and excitement into the discussion, matching the tone of Shane and Lara's voices, but I was in a serene mood. I haven't yet connected with either Shane or Lara on that level, when the silences are comfortable and one speaks when moved to. I've been that way with Quinn, and Jed, and Simon - yes, Simon has his calm moments, hard as that may be to believe. <laugh>

Serenity. Those who know me primarily for my enthusiasm and who have mainly seen me on the sugar-high I get on life usually worry the first time they see me in one of my calm moods, and even those who know me well often ask me if I'm feeling down. (Trust me, if I were feeling down, you'd know!) Serenity is that quiet stillness within me and the space I create in order to discern.

And now, hours later, I have a better understanding of how I feel.

I agree with the gist of the video: the mind is powerful, our attitude shapes our life, and our feelings and intuition give us a good way to sense how well we're doing.

However, thinking about it, I've come to realize that it is not the full secret of my life. What thesecret.tv describes is not my philosophy or my way of living. There is something different, something missing...

Ah. Here is the gap. The video focuses on receiving, but does not describe the great joy I have in giving. The video describes visualizing a goal, but I also love discerning a path. The video talks about uplifting the self, but my desires go beyond myself.

In order to serve, I must take care of myself, of course. I can't help people if I am miserable; joy comes from joy. But I am confident that if I listen and extend myself, the universe will nourish me. It always has.

I do not need to manifest anything into my life. Happiness is not something that is in my future, a puzzle with jigsaw pieces that I have to find and assemble. It is simply now. I have an abundance of opportunities, and my job is to explore them. It'll be *tons* of fun!

I ask the universe for some things, but in general the world gives me things before I even know to ask for them. If I am to receive anything, I ask for the discernment to see the best things to do at a moment, the beauty in each instant, and the ways to help people explore their potential.

On Technorati: happiness, purpose, friends, video

Tags: friends, happiness, purpose, video by Sacha Chua
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The Labour Day weekend gave me an excellent opportunity to reflect on what I can do with my life, and I really appreciated being able to bounce ideas off Simon.

I have a lot of options ahead of me, and I want to think about this carefully. My first job doesn't have to be perfect, but it would be good to understand what my values and priorities are. I want to be extraordinary. I know, I'm 23 and my direction in life will change as I discover more about myself and about others. =) But it's good to think about it every now and then...

So here's where I stand, so far:

Technical: Social systems: Improving a social system such as LinkedIn or OpenBC would probably be the best fit for me in terms of technical work. I would enjoy listening to users and figuring out things that can make the tools easier to use or more powerful. I'm more interested in systems that help people connect in real life or in one-to-one relationships than in things like social bookmarking, where the social aspect is often secondary. I'm also more interested in facilitating introductions than I am in supporting groupware, although I can do that as well. I would love to help build systems that make it easier for people to keep in touch with lots and lots of people (attention-based aggregators, etc?), introduce people to others, move online connections into the real world and vice versa, and so on. Management: Outsourcing: The Philippines has a lot of talent, and there are plenty of opportunities to outsource. I want to learn how to help people set up outsourcing relationships, specify and manage projects, and manage and train people.

These are the two prospects I feel most passionate about, and I may be able to pursue them both. I don't want to be so heads-down in tech that I serve a narrow audience—only the users of my system—nor do I want to be so heads-down in management that I lose touch with my technical side. I think I can make this happen, though.

So, how can I go about doing that?

For social systems, there are all sorts of little things that I would like to build for myself or suggest to other people. I can learn good design through exposure and experience. I can write about features and systems I would like to see. I can even prototype them. I should spend some time learning how to make better user interfaces (a proper mouse may help!) and prototyping things on Rails or some other quick platform. Easy enough for me to get into.

For outsourcing, there might be a good opportunity to help set up a relationship between Direct Leap and either QSR or Exist. I know a few people who want to help me learn how to do this. I'm all for it!

My master's degree can help me with both. My research is related to the former, and my coursework is related to the latter.

Hmm. Sounds like a good plan. I've got other plans, just in case, but these are the two best plans at the moment.

On Technorati: purpose, reflection, career, business, outsourcing

Tags: business, career, outsourcing, purpose, reflection by Sacha Chua
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