On the way to our goals there are many diversions which can throw us off. Some are external such as:

Family
Nagging wife/girlfriend
Time consuming job
etc

They all have to be handed delicately of course but if you explain why you are studying now and the benefits then you should be okay.

The most insidious are the internal ones. These are the ones which I see IT people (informational people) get hung up on. Here are some real life examples of people I can see are pissing valuable hours away on self generated rubbish:

Who decided which commands get dashes in the IOS?

Can I get away with cables 101 meters instead of 100?

I've been stuck for weeks trying to token ring working.

I've been playing around with this old 827 router...

Can I configure my router to forward all broadcasts?

Sure, one day, somehow, maybe - you might need to get the answer to that. Meanwhile days have turned into weeks into months. You still haven't passed your exam and your kids and wife have given up on you ever passing.

IT is a MASSIVE area and you can find yourself going down any number of blind alleys if you are not careful.

I even have people almost screaming at me, justifying why it is important that you know all the unclassified Cisco IOS commands or how to get into Rommon mode for a 1601 router. The truth is that if it came to it, you could easily Google the answer and move on. If you needed to get some weird problem fixed then you can get the answer so why bother stewing over it now when you could be studying?

What is your core reason for joining the site and buying books, routers, videos etc? I know you want to pass your exam but what difference will it make to your career and your family's lifestyle?

I am working my butt off to provide for my family, pay for the twins when they come and ensure we have a decent standard of living. I grew up living in a cramped two bedroom house when there were six of us. I don't have time for pet projects. I'm up at 0530 and have two companies to work on, keep my fitness up, eat healthily and be done by 1800 so I can play with my little girl for an hour, bath her and put her to bed.

You can easily get to the end of the day and have had the appearance of being busy but were you really effective? Who do you think will be hired first - they guy who can do all the core stuff a Cisco engineer needs to do or the guy who knows all the weird and wonderful fixed for problems which may never happen.

Stay on track. 2 hours per day on the theory, labs, cram guide and exams. Fart around with the other stuff if you have a geeky side AFTER the exam.

Paul Browning

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Focus - Keep your eyes on the prize!, March 3, 2010

By eeb2 - See all my comment or reviews

I agree that you need to maintain your focus and how the internal diversions will take you off course and take your eyes off of the prize - in this case attaining your CCNA.

Your question - What is your core reason for joining the site? - really made me think, re-evaluate, and contemplate what my real goal is and what I should be focusing on.

I initially joined this site to earn my CCNA Certification (so I could put it on my business card and resume- period) and I am more than confident that I will be ready by April 15, 2010 (My D-Day). But the knowledge and skills I have gained and what I will learn in the future from the content , coaching, and community on HTN has caused me to re-evaluate the reason for my membership at HTN and how this site can contribute to my long term career growth.

In my case as a network security analyst/linux sys analyst, the networking knowledge and skills I have already gained on my CCNA journey have already exceeded my expectations of this site and have been very beneficial (financially) to me career wise. My focus has changed from just getting a CCNA to earning a CCSP. The knowledge and skills I am learning on my journey to passing my CCNA/CCSP certifications are truly proving to be a golden key to even more success in my life...

My advice to you is to stay focused, keep your eyes on the prize, and most of all know why you are focusing on the prize....

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