Sometimes I imagine I'm like the mythical cowboy or a lone wolf. You know, able to take on the daily trials with inner strength and cunning. But when I look back, rare is the time I've stood alone.
That is especially true when it comes to blogging. Over a year ago, my boss encouraged me to blog. I had no idea what blogging was, let alone where to find them. Before that, another boss had encouraged me to write a book. In both cases, my idea bucket was empty. There's nothing I could imagine writing about.
As it turned out, I had the opportunity to work with Julian Bucknall for a short while. He suggested I download FeedDemon (I did) and he sent me his opml file chock full of Microsoft blogging goodness.
That was back in January of this year. In the months since, I've subscribed to and diligently read a number of blogs. Robert Scoble showed me that blogs matter and it's okay to write about what I enjoy. Hugh MacLeod gave me the freedom to call bulls**t what it is. He, along with Seth Godin, challenged me to question the norm and my own thinking.
Those guys helped me find a voice. Even though they have no idea of my existence and we'll never meet, they have my gratitude.
So who am I?
My name is Sean Winstead. I was a socially immature dweeb up through college. Now I'm a less immature geek who won an incredible wife (one-finger salute to all you good looking, got-it-together boyfriends that lost) and fathers four terrific kids. I hadn't known joy until they were around.
Since high school, my years have been spent helping people solve business problems through the use of computer software. It's my passion and I can't believe somebody pays me to do it. I also hate having a boss. So a portion of my time has been spent starting a couple of software companies. Nothing big and nothing successful. But it's been a good time.