Bill Reiss -- Congratulations on getting MVP once again!!! Bill is the Silverlight guy that's been posting all the game stuff... Well, ok, him and Andy Beaulieu (Hi Andy!). Bill's site is Silverlight Games 101, and he posted about his re-award here early this morning. Bill also talked a bit about what it takes to be an MVP and what it might mean.
I thought about Bill's post and thought I'd take the opportunity to add onto it.
There is a wide variety of MVPs as can be seen on the MVP Site. Becoming an MVP involves not only a dedication to one of those areas, but a dedication to the community of developers in those areas. I'm living proof that you don't have to be the brightest Silverlight in the sky to be an MVP. As Bill said, it takes a lot of work and time to build up that community presence. If you want to strive for MVP, and it's definitely an attainable effort, then IMHO the first thing to do is look at that list.
I'm a professional Jazz Guitarist, I did that for a living for a while, but I don't do it much any more because of life and time. The fact remains, however, that if I spent more time doing that than being involved with Silverlight, that would be fine, but there's no MVP award for Jazz Guitar. And there's not one for Halo3, MySpace, or Facebook either :)
Becoming an MVP was a kick in the Axx... I couldn't stop smiling about it every time I thought about it for at least a month! ... but being an MVP is somewhat like being 1st chair French Horn in the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. You win the position, you play the part, and then next year comes around and "what do you mean I have to try out again?"
Becoming an MVP means you will be one for 1 calendar year. They are awarded quarterly and although I don' t know this for a fact, I think it's done to avoid having to vet all the MVPs at once! So now that the April 1 (re-)awardees have been notified, they start looking at all of the July 1 awardees to see what they've all been up to the last 12 months, and have they been cruising along on the merits of BEING an MVP, or are they enjoying that notoriety while continuing to do what got them there in the first place? (oh crap... that includes ME!)
Balance in life is good, and keeping your professional tools sharp is also good. I believe my absolute all-time favorite quote is from former President of the United States Calvin Coolidge:
"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “Press On”, has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race."
Stay in the 'Light
-Dave