Salesforce coding lessons for the 99%Finally, Apex tutorials for point-and-click admins! Written by a self-taught Google engineer.
Salesforce coding lessons for the 99%
What does it feel like to fail your dream?
I know this feeling well. I’ve felt it many times before. It always hurts.
I remember this feeling when I was rejected by Google. This happened ten times.
I remember this feeling when I failed in my new job. I resigned after 3 mos in front of my colleagues.
I remember this feeling as I hoped to become a Salesforce MVP. I failed each cycle.
I remember this feeling during so many points in my life, and today I am remembering it again, fully.
But I also remember what it feels like to overcome my demons.
I remember getting a job offer from Google, after pouring my soul into my 11th application.
I remember coming back to the Salesforce industry and living the magic of Dreamforce once again.
I remember winning the MVP award for the first time – that moment is still a dream to me.
Today, it hurts so much. But I know from experience that the only thing that hurts more is giving up.
CTA dragon – you win today. But I know better than to let that get to me. I’ll be back. I’m going to work so hard, and even if you beat me 100 more times, I’ll be back again until I pass.
And then I’ll help you pass too =)
David
P.S. I’ll go into more detail on why I failed and what I can do to improve in a future post.
Fo now, this video sums up all my emotions right now really well.
Andy Murray, the best British tennis player of our generation, is interviewed after he loses to Roger Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon final. Wimbledon, a British tournament – the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, hasn’t been won by a British tennis player in 70 years.
Andy Murray won Wimbledon the next year, achieving his destiny and finally breaking Great Britain’s 70 year home title drought.
Hi David,
it’s a very inspirational story. I went through your Apex Academy the other night and the real value of this course, which lasts much longer that the knowledge about classes and triggers, is your story of overcoming frustration with code at the beginning of your career. It left me with a feeling, that if David had struggles with some aspects of Salesforce at the beginning – then I am not alone in my journey.
One missing piece of your Architect journey is the success story. Are you going to share it with us?
I wish you good luck in finishing your RoadToCTA!
Ha ha ha thank you Tsezarii!
I’ve been pretty lazy on this to be honest, but, it is still on my life’s goals =)
https://www.sfdc99.com/about-me/
Good luck to you too!! Maybe we’ll study together someday, ha ha ha.
David
Hi David,
You are an inspiration.I completed the System Architect and Application Architect and will go for review board in near future. I need your valuable suggestion.Please share me few guidelines.
Hi David,
I am one of those ton of guys who are inspired by your story and all the effort in providing the detailed info for everyone to learn and pass Salesforce exams. I was a no one in Salesforce in the beginning of this year(Jan 2017) with 11 years of I.T. experience in Mainframes. As of this Saturday, I am 2X salesforce certified professional. As the guy inspired by you, I believe the ‘Salesforce Technical Architect’ certification is going to be joining your list of achievement really soon!!!
Wish you all the very best!!! :)
Regards
Amar
Thank you Amar!!
David,
You’re still an inspiration!!! Have a great 4th of July :-)
Orquidea
Thanks Orquidea =P
As the quote goes, “nothing good comes easy”. This will just make it that much better when you pass!
Thanks for all you do,
Matt
David,
“Winners never Quit, Quitters never win!!”
this saying has helped me endure whenever i fail something and need to study more in my next attempt to pass!
It’s important to see what were the comments given, so that you can work on and zoom in on the key areas of focus for the retake. A lot of it also comes down to how you dissect the information and present the solution in a clear concise manner.
So, you have the chance to study more on this beautiful journey of yours! #congratulations. I love learning for life. Exams are like train stations. They just lead you to more places. just enjoy the beauty of staying on the same place for a while … you might find more beautiful things to see there. #thatsMYviewofTheWorld
Wow, What a post. Sorry for your misfortune. This just inspired me more..going for my adv admin on July 2. That video killed me. Good luck next time.
Hats off sharing the failure too, only the greatest teachers does it! I assume we sum up the same amount of supporters behind you as Andy Murray’s had in the Wimbledon final.
“If you know you’re worth then go out get what you’re worth”
Hey David,
An arrow is pulled backward before its gonna be shot forward, so that it can hit the target intensely. Take this one same way, who knows!! you may hit the ground with your next success :) Everything in life happens for a reason and I learned from you how to make every such event to mould as the best me.
Sometimes we win and sometimes we LEARN =)
Yours Ekalavya
Hey David,
An arrow is pulled backward before its gonna be shot forward, so that it can hit the target intensely. Take this one same way, who knows!! you will hit the ground with your next success :) Everything in life happens for a reason and I learned from you how to make every such event to mould as the best me.
Sometimes we win and sometimes we LEARN =)
Yours,
Ekalavya
Beautiful and encouraging words, thank you my Ekalavya!
You have reached a level of knowledge and respect at such young age, that the majority of people could never dream of it. You did not fail. you just did not pass, quite different.
Take from somebody that has done IT since 1978 while still in high school in Brazil, couldn’t finish college, had to learn English in USA, worked all over USA (Including NASA) and the world, and finally decided to switch to Salesforce at end of 2015. While is not exactly “start all over”, it has being peaks/valleys, sometimes working with people half my age and 10% of my experience. Keep moving, you are almost there.
Thank you =)
Every ‘no’ gets you closer to that ‘yes.’ Keep at it David because from my perspective, you’re doing everything right. Talk soon.
Hey thanks Nick!!
David… you continue to inspire me every step of the way. Your path is clear, so continue on your journey!!
Thank you Sophie!
Sorry to hear, but glad to hear you’re keepin’ on! You encourage so many people by sharing your stories of perseverance. All the best to you on your journey to CTA!
Thank you Michelle!
“Jumping from failure to failure with undiminished enthusiasm is the big secret to success.” Savas Dimopoulos
Much admiration for you and all that you do!
Cheers to that Anja!
Sorry to hear this, but remember you didn’t fail, you learned! ;-) Remember that 1% every day you taught us, that 1% will add up to slay the CTA dragon!
1% every day!!
As you have conquered and overcome many failed attempts before, we all have faith in you David you will be a CTA someday! Your determination is truly inspiring!
Thank you Andrew =)
Thanks for sharing this, CTA is definitely hard but that doesn’t mean you cannot pass it . It’s just some bits left, you definitely gonna nail it next time. I have learnt quite a lot from you, you are truly deserving architect
Thank you Pranay!
You are such an inspiration – that video made me cry. I have no doubt you will pass this in future.
hahaha great video! I’m gonna watch it again!
David…thanks for providing such a human ecosystem to all of us striving to get into SF. I promise that when I get my first cert, I will also help people interested in learning and making SF their career. Best to you and all!
=) =) =)
“The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches, that we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time, and eternally press forward for what is yet to get” – Thomas Jefferson
Keep at it David, you have an army of people to support you, but most importantly your wife and baby. You have done so much for the community, each step you take inspires more and more and more people.
Congratulations on your success, now get back to work :-)
Back to work Bill!!
Hi David,
Thank you for your posts and this site. Like many other, I too am inspired by your site and committed myself to completing Salesforce certifications (though not in 3 months ). Your Salesforce knowledge and wisdom is vast! Hang in there and I am looking forward to soon read your post about your success.
Yogesh
Thank you Yogesh!!!
Stay strong David. You are amazing.
I will be strong!
Matt Morris (also fellow MVP) also failed and did a nice write up: https://technologyflows.com/2017/06/05/salesforce-cta-review-board-lessons/
Thanks Francis! That was a great post!
Hi David,
I, too, took the board last week and failed. The worst part about it is knowing exactly what you did wrong and should have said immediately after finishing. I do like how now, if you fail, they tell you which domains you passed and which you didn’t. (This isn’t my first time). Now I know exactly what I need to focus on so that my next attempt will be successful.
Best of luck to you, and if you ever want to try doing a remote review session, drop me a line.
Cheers Gustavo we’re in this together!
Wishes of all your fans and supporters are behind you.Hope to see you succeed soon.
Thank you Abhishek!
Hay David
It requires courage to accept the fact and move ahead. And you are the person who is fully loaded with it. So its just a pass away.
You are and have been inspirational person like me n many more around the word. So I guess just a short break will help you revamp yourself to crack it. And You will do it…. !!
Soon we all we see
David Liu – Salesforce Certified Technical Architect..
Good Luck
Cheers
Sandeep
Thank you Sandeep I can’t wait for that to happen!
Dear David,
thanks for sharing this with us. I found your website to become a developer just like you. I don’t know you in real person but within 3/4 weeks your charme and your story has succeeded to build up a strong relationship with me. Thanks for inspiring people. This guy helps me a lot when I struggle with life: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GrzLS9FgOgc. It’s not like the other posted videos, but I can assure that sometimes it’s necessary to “relax” in life or to turn the chess table to get a new perspective on things.
Sincerely
Daniel K from Berlin,Germany
Thank you Daniel!!
Man, that’s some deep stuff. Is my goal to learn something or prove something? I do feel good about what I’ve learned already!
Fine. So no need to feel sad or uncomfortable about the result :)
this is just a postponed success David. Don’t give up!
Yes!
Hi David,you are the inspiration for all.Next time you definately pass the exam.
Thank you Himanshu!
David, your honesty, transparency, and humility remain strong and steady in this post as well as all of your posts. Thank you for continuing to represent the 99% of us by showing you are truly one of us.
Like Thomas Edison and his various attempts at making light bulbs, you didn’t fail the CTA exam — just found a way not to pass it (this time)! You will surely get it next time!
Ha ha ha thank you!
Hi David,
Thanks for the reminder that we are all human.
You may have already seen this but here is Elon on failure/giving up.
https://youtu.be/qOFikM1pqZA
Thanks for sharing that one Rigley, one of my favs!!
I am sure you are gonna pass it next time David. Please don’t give up & keep working hard for your goal. You are the best!!
Thanks Faisal!!
Thanks for posting this, just a reminder to never give up and go after what you set your mind to. Inspiring!
Cheers Violet!!
Sorry to hear David. Once you are ready to admit the failure then the next step is nothing but success. You will clear it next time for sure and you would remember me that time.
Thank you Sundararaman!