Tag Archives: ccie motivation

Sleepy thoughts of CCIE motivation

Posted by on March 11, 2010 1 comment

I’ve gotten 2 hours of sleep in a 44 hr time period, and have a minimum of 5 hours until I can go to bed. Long story..no, it’s not by choice. I’m ready to sleep. Anyway..that’s your forewarning.

I like these posts. I like writing up something that I truly believe, thinking that maybe, just maybe, whether it be tomorrow, or next week, or five years from now- that someone will be motivated or inspired by my words. So here goes.

Getting the CCIE for me isn’t an option. I have to. No, I mean, I really have to. It’s a curse sometimes. Why? I’m not the best engineer. I’m not the smartest guy. I wasn’t blessed with a family that was well off. At times, my life has been rough. I’ve worked hard to earn what I have. I make up for my lack of brilliance with cisco equipment by hard work, and perserverence. It can be a pain in the ass, knowing that I have mounds of documentation and various cisco books to read, in addition to videos and labbing..just to get on the same level as some of those Cisco guru’s out there.  I’ve decided to quit before, because of personal reasons. I came back. I will always come back, until I get the CCIE. Why? You’re going to think I’m insane, stupid, or maybe a combination…but it’s almost biological. My brain is wired in such a way that I have tunnel vision in regards to the CCIE. If I quit studying today, I would get the CCIE 10 years from now. Maybe 15. It’s really not a choice. That’s great, but it sucks sometimes too. I literally am unable to sit at home and do nothing most of the time..just ask my wife. If I’m at the doctors office waiting for an appointment, or eating lunch alone, I’m probably looking at cisco blogs on my iphone. I get home and briefly read some cisco docs or lab something real quick before dinner..THEN I study after dinner. Again, I might not be the brightest, but once I get my number, I promise that nobody will doubt whether or not I put in the work.


Where it started

As a child, I used to constantly say “I’m going to be rich”, “I’m going to do this, do that” etc. Everyone laughed..they knew it wouldn’t happen. One of my fondest memories is of my grandmother who passed away years ago- I was probably 14 years old, and said “I’m going to be a millionaire”. The laughing began in the room. My grandmother silenced everyone, looked at me in the eyes, and said “Mikey..you will do whatever you set your mind to. I promise“. That moment feels like it happened yesterday. Infact, that is the last memory I have of my grandmother.

Fast forward, I haven’t been OK with the idea of not attaining goals that I decide on. What are my goals? Well, yeah, the CCIE is a goal. I think a lot of the CCIE for me is not only the certificate, or the status, or the money- it’s kind of the validation that I can always do bigger and better things. And the CCIE is just the beginning. As I started studying the CCIE exam cert guide for the written, I already started telling myself “after I pass, which track is next?”, and by the way, it’s looking like SP. I imagine once I pass the R&S lab whenever that is, I’ll probably have a third in mind. I don’t know.

The thing is, it’s not just a cisco thing. I love what I do, and I love the technology, but I might not always be in this industry. In 10 years, I could be a double or triple CCIE, and decide that I want to get into real estate development (something I’ve thought about for a while), or try to do something even bigger than I can imagine now..I don’t know. 

The whole point I hope to pass on is, regardless of what you do, you absolutely can do it..if you want to. You have to have the passion, and the drive, and the rest will fall in place. It might not happen as soon as you’d like it, but it will happen.

CCIE Motivation

Posted by on February 5, 2010 2 comments

  I love the internet. Not because of social networking sites, viral videos, or the latest updates on tiger woods’ infidelity. I love it because it’s the only place that I can see (well, read) about others who are just as motivated as myself, if not more. In the real world, I know about 200 people who aspire to be a CCNA. I literally know zero who are working on the CCNP. I know one who is working on the CCIE, but has pretty much given up at this point..after two attempts at the v 3.0 lab. I go online, and I read about 20 people off of techexams who are studying for the R&S written. Granted, out of those 20, I wholeheartedly believe 1-3 will become CCIE’s..maybe.

I’m a huge fan of Donald Trump. Many people know this. I’m always reading something about him, I loved The Apprentice, and I always quote him. In one of his books, he mentions the fact that most people earn within 10% of their friends. The idea is, if you make a lot of money, you socialize with people who also make a lot of money. If you hang with low-lifes, you’ll be a low-life…etc. Fair enough..I believe it. Anyway, the same is true for motivation. If you place yourself around highly motivated people, you will be more likely to be motivated. Look at the top colleges in the country. Why are they the top? Because of the price? Maybe. I’d venture to say the students that go there are so high of a caliber, and motivated, that they push each other to become better. Why can’t the Cisco world be the same way? I don’t want to talk to people who are “thinking” about the CCNA for 2 yrs. I want to talk to those who are scheduling exams, and putting in the lab and book time..because THOSE are the people who motivate me. I’m not saying I dislike or don’t enjoy talking to cisco “hopefuls”, on the contrary- I love helping others. I just don’t look to that crowd for motivation.

I’m not really the type who gets super amped up about something and lets the fire die. I’d say I’m more like what you might call a “true believer”. I get a goal in my heart, and believe in it so much that I absolutely know it will happen..it’s just a matter of finding out the how to get to that point.

Anyway, at the end of the day, yes, the CCIE, and all other exams, are just that- exams. However, without motivation, you won’t go far. Maybe the CCIE is more than just knowing the technologies. Maybe it’s just as much of a test of personality as it is skills.