The moment I decided it was time for a change hit me out of the blue. I had spent three years dealing with my own health issues as well as caring for my aging parents. I felt like I was just going through the motions — both personally and professionally. Deep down, I knew that I wanted to do something that would make a difference in other people's lives. That time was now.

Making the change

Making the decision to change and actually changing are two very different things. I was stuck and didn't really know how to move forward. One of my friends had just started a life coaching business called “Become the CEO of Your Life,” and suggested that I sign up for a few sessions. I thought, “Why not?” I knew I needed guidance and also someone to hold me accountable.

My personality type results.

I started with a series of personality tests and writing out my personal and professional goals. I'm quite a conservative person at heart, so I was also conservative with my goals. I made statements like, “In three years, I want to speak at Dreamforce” (but had no clue about which topic or how to prepare) and, “I want to be healthier, really listen to my doctors, and be willing to try that gluten-free, dairy-free, no sugar lifestyle” (but did I really think I could follow such a strict diet?). 

I started getting busy putting my personal goals into action, but put the professional ones on the back burner as I didn't want to start anything until I felt 100% prepared. Well, life had other ideas!

Life happens when you're busy making other plans

Changes at work immediately started happening! I found myself working on Team Trailhead, a team that personifies giving back. I quickly achieved Ranger status to become more familiar with the learning platform and to understand the educational opportunities it provides to our communities. I must admit, I was instantly hooked! 

I would encourage my friends, family, doctors, and basically anyone who asked me about my job to check out Trailhead. I even mentioned Trailhead to my eyebrow threader after she told me one of her friends was interested in learning more about Salesforce. On my next visit, she told me that she and her friend were now both blazing trails to learn all about Salesforce. 

I was then given the opportunity to volunteer at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Among other things, I shared details of how to skill-up on Trailhead with physicians and residents who had clients who would benefit from our programs. And they looked to me for help. Me! Not only was I skilling up and bettering myself, I was giving back by sharing my knowledge with others.

Pop-up market, anyone? UCSF's pop-up markets are a program that provides fresh produce and "food prescriptions" to families.

Making a difference

This was the change I'd been looking for. I was in the zone (so to speak!). But I wanted to do more. I looked for people and programs that would inspire me as well as help me make a real difference. In an ecosystem that's growing exponentially, I discovered that 48% of Salesforce Admins are women. This was it, where I wanted to be! I started looking at the organizations that were doing amazing things to empower Women in Tech (WIT). 

Take RAD (Radical Apex Developers) Women, whose goal is to provide a supportive and collaborative environment to help women Salesforce Admins build on their existing click-based administration skills and learn to program on the Salesforce platform. By the end of 2018, over 300 women will have graduated from the RAD women program (check out their RAD Women Rock sessions from Dreamforce '18) — impressive stuff! 

I was also inspired by people like Allison Park from our Trailblazer Community, who wanted to give back and volunteered as an instructor, helping many women learn the skills they needed to become Salesforce-certified. 

WIT was where it was at, and I was “all in”. I wanted to get involved. But before I could even think about what my next step was going to be, I was “voluntold” to lead a WIT session at Dreamforce. I gasped and said, “Speaking at Dreamforce? But this isn't supposed to happen for another three years!” But it would happen, and Dreamforce was in just three months' time. Yet somehow, I wasn't scared at all. I was calm and a little excited (this was a movement I wanted to be more involved with after all), even though I wasn’t sure exactly what to do next. 

I realized that even though things don’t always go as planned, you should just JUMP in and do them anyway. And so I did.

I started my research on leading panel discussions, chatted with Senior Admin Evangelist Gillian Bruce (who had facilitated many sessions like this in the past and had helpful tips and tricks to share), and interviewed the panelists. And guess what? It didn’t take years to prepare for, and it went off without a hitch.

BAM! Joining the movement

In May 2018, Trailhead launched the Be A Multiplier (BAM) program to help bring education and opportunity to everyone. A multiplier is someone who amplifies and empowers those around them. “That's me!” I thought. I was always sharing the opportunities the Salesforce ecosystem could bring and how easy it is to skill up with Trailhead. 

After my Dreamforce success, I was asked to help drive the BAM program. This was the perfect fit for me as I am passionate about helping drive the message that anyone can be a multiplier. I am so excited to see how BAM will continue to grow and ...multiply (get it?).

Self-care and achievable goals

Through my journey (so far!), I've learned the importance of practicing self-care, writing out realistic goals, and being held accountable to them. I also learned to be open to new opportunities whenever they come my way, and how valuable it is to share my knowledge with others. You just never know who might need encouragement to skill-up and make a change in their own lives.

During my last session with my life coach, her parting words were, “What’s next for you, Phyllis? Maybe you should start writing a blog or something.” My knee-jerk reaction? No way! Then I had another meeting at work and was told I should write a blog — I didn’t gasp this time! I just grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

If you only do one thing today...

If you only take one thing away from my story, let it be this. Do something that makes you happy, inspires you, and gives you the chance to give back. Skilling-up with Trailhead and sharing these skills with others does all of these things for me. Why not try it for yourself? 


If you’re looking to get started with Trailhead (there’s a trailmix for that!), want to be BAM-tastic, or you're a Trailhead-fan chasing all the badges, be sure to share your story with us.