Rebe de la Paz

As if heading west of the Mississippi for the first time in my life and escalating the intensity factor of my Salesforce career weren’t enough, the mind-blowing splendor that is Dreamforce has my creative meter off the charts.

Today is the third of the four day conference and I write now because the first two days are jammed with everything and anything. From sessions, hands-on-training, keynotes, parties, lunches, breakfast, new people, old friends to an assortment and variety of events my brain is still trying to process.

With everything that has occurred after I took ownership of my career, I have been extremely privileged and I appreciate all of it. I’ve worked so hard and spent so many extra hours (meant for sleep) learning all I can, while trying to put it into the context of how I want to live this new phase of my life. It is because of my crooked path to today that I take the time to talk to all of the workers I see standing with a sign or checking my ID as well as the people of San Francisco.

So for my first Dreamforce and my first writing reflection upon this major moment in my life, I want to summarize with something equivalent to how I feel.

Before the maze that is Dreamforce, I met a man. It was on Sunday as I walked with my colleague down a street filled with all sorts of homeless men and I pondered the huge contrast in the dynamic of the society that exists in this land I’ve never seen.

As we walked towards a street crossing, a man approached us and I made eye contact with one of these lost souls wandering the streets. He nodded his head and said, “Hi.” We often take for granted the simple things in life such as common courtesy. As he marched quickly to a tune he’d probably marched for a long time, I made it a point to say, “Hi, how ya doin!” To my surprise he turned and said, “Thank you, most people don’t even bother to respond.”

It was then that I recognized how important it is to recognize someone and to be recognized as someone who exists. As humans we are born craving acknowledgement of our existence, so we cry the announcement of our birth.

Here at Dreamforce there are so many stages available for talented people to cry the announcement of their existence and we attendees supply that need; however, Dreamforce is also about the people of San Francisco. Most people I know would say, “They get paid.” I used to be one of those people that get paid and most times it sucks. So….

For all the people in blue shirts standing in wind, drizzle and crowds all day long. For all the people in white hats standing through out different venues repeating the same directions over and over. For all those workers who stayed up all night to put this massive event together. For all of the port and cruise people who had to make things work. For all of the people who have to clean up after. For this Dreamforce attendee, I just want to say thank you and how ya doin to the people of San Francisco.