“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” — Albert Einstein

“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” — Zora Neale Hurston

“Curiosity is the lust of the mind.” — Thomas Hobbes

I’ve been in the Salesforce ecosystem for just over 18 years. Before that I went from college drop-out to factory floor worker. In the factory I went from the general floor to inspection to shipping to continuous improvement, then left the factory to be an Executive Assistant. From there I went on to Director of Client Support to Director of Marketing Support to Director of Special Projects and where I was tasked with learning Salesforce along the way.

Once I learned Salesforce I moved through the roles of Admin, BA, Architect, Consultant with variations in between. I’ve worked in small companies, large companies, worked through (and on) acquisitions and mergers, gone from working client-side to partner-side across various industries.

The thing that has gotten me where I am is curiosity.

It was the root of dropping out of college (I wanted to learn all the things and couldn’t pick a major), but it was also why I kept progressing through roles.

I am insanely curious! I love learning new things and going through the process of trying to really peel back the layers and understand the what and why and how and when and work on the what if scenarios together!

This Salesforce space demands curiosity to thrive. You can survive without it. But you won’t thrive.

Because your colleagues and bosses and clients can tell when you are curious and when you aren’t. It shows in every interaction. If it’s not something you can muster up curiosity about, then what’s the point?

Are you inherently curious by nature or is it something you have to push yourself towards? How has your curiosity helped your career?