We Want to Hear Your Cool Stories!
Unprompted Confirmation
In last week’s post I explained why I now “kick off” my training sessions with the bold promise of “Power Pivot will change not only your career, but also your LIFE.” (Please go back and read that, briefly, if you have not – because this post won’t make as much sense otherwise).
Well, a funny thing has been happening lately – I’ve been getting emails from people saying that it HAS changed their life. Literally in those words.
Are these people just being nice to me, confirming my bold statement?
Nope, because none of them has heard me say it before – these are people I have never met in person!
In fact, this pattern of emails was the reason why I got started writing last week’s post. I actually intended to JUST write THIS post, the “has it changed your life” post, but along the way I realized I needed to add the background, so this got split into part two.
Please Share Your Stories!
If you’ve experienced life change as a result of Power Pivot, please leave a comment at the end of this post!
Or if you’re a bit shy about that, drop me an email. My address isn’t hard to find or guess.
Take it Away, Rob’s Inbox!
These are real emails from real readers, slightly edited to maintain their privacy. In all cases, I am bolding the “life changing” portion of the quote:
Really looking forward to seeing you in person at your class next month. PowerPivot is kind of changing my life and I’m psyched to learn more.
Simple and direct. Now, here’s one where I have to use the bold button three times:
I am sending this email to you for expressing my gratefulness to you and acknowledgements to you for little things that are beyond your scope when you write with such enthusiasm about PowerPivot.
These little things are sometime life changing for some of us …
I was always an advanced user in Excel (go to person) in the job positions that I worked & loved pivot tables. Nothing fancy so far.
Suddenly I came across powerpivot and then your site/blog. Your love about powerpivot convinced and excited me for the revolution of it. After reading your book and enrolling in your online University I became a hero in my work. Some close friends with companies ask for help to design some solutions & they felt amazed by the outcome . It was life saving for them.
I started freelancing designing simple powerpivot solutions.
And now here I am, starting my personal trip to unknown, quitting my day job and start my own company here in Europe, doing what I love most – Data & Excel. So I wanted to thank you from my heart for the motivation, confidence and belief in PowerPivot Revolution. You are a life changer…..
BIG step! Not for everyone, for sure. Also note that I think he is doing it the smart way – line up clients first. It’s one thing to know Power Pivot, and to know its potential. But neither of those is a guarantee of getting sufficient work. So please folks, be careful if you are considering following the Matt Allington route.
PP is doing two things I’ve noticed internally.
Firstly better solid choices… info, things we can see now, etc….anomalies shine out…way too much to be bracketed. It has set us on edge a bit but, there is a sense of vision and clarity in the murkiness…
Secondly a bit of initial ramping up lines in the sand between the two major departments. The info has clearly pointed out a huge lack of initiative in one of the two departments… Email mortars aren’t just blowing smoke anymore. Now we can really own up to things from either end.
The transparency is going to shake some things up but, in the long run, the two parties will be married by the power of information and that large amount of lost money will float into our pockets, instead of others’…
Keep up the good fight and thanks for helping change my life.
That one saved the “money quote” for last, heh heh. One of our other clients calls Power Pivot a “bullshit killer” – and that theme was reflected above as well. (Hrm… must… resist… creating… “bullshit killer” custom clip art.)
The ability to manage data has really skyrocketed my career in ways I never thought it would.
OK, that one doesn’t use the verbatim words. But it’s close! And even better – it’s from someone whose career is sports science and athletic conditioning. Yep, everyone has data.
Share Your Story!
Let’s treat the comments thread on this post as an open invitation to share your stories. I think it’s good for everyone else to hear, plus of course I am naturally curious.
And if you haven’t quite reached life change yet, don’t despair! These things often take time, and usually also a dose of good fortune – the right confluence of timing and opportunity.
