Taking a Chance on Learning and Giving Back.

This image may not look like much and to you, well, I understand why. But for me it marks something special that happened over 15 years ago. This image represents the first live presentation I witnessed for the Revit software. Yes, I wasn't even a Revit novice back then and people knew me as the AutoCAD guy instead of the Revit guy. It was before my first instructional video or I taught my first class. I was one of the co-founders of the local Autodesk user group and this was part of the crowd from one of our meetings. But the image contains the person that showed the software that day (Aaron Rumple), the person that eventually helped hire me to teach my first class and ultimately learn Revit (Pat Stack) and myself (the three of us are in front of the black, rectangular shape on the wall, slightly to the right of the image). Not in the photo because she was taking the picture, Melanie Stone, who co-founded the group with me and also had a great impact on my life's direction.

The lesson to be taken from the image beyond a trip down my own memory lane? There are times in your life where your life is about to change through a confluence of influences, but you'll only get those opportunities if you put yourself out there to experience them. We get better by sharing experiences and bringing people into our lives. Step out of your comfort zone and learn, talk, and take a chance. Don't give expecting to get something back, but know the more you give and take time to improve the more opportunities that will come your way to realize your own dreams. This photo just happens to capture a place in time where that came true. How cool is that?

For those that don't know me that well, this represents the early part of the road that ultimately lead to me becoming an Autodesk University instructor; a well known video author; the person that runs a 190,000 member Revit group on LinkedIn, I began to learn that teaching would be enjoyable, and thrust me from being a residential designer to a Sr BIM manager for one of the largest architecture and engineering firms in the world. How 15+ years flies and how the circumstances you allow yourself to be a part of can change your life. Thank you to everyone that have allowed me to have this journey and I'm hopefully a small part of other people's journey's as they move through life. It's part of the enjoyment I get out of all these activities.