CERTIFICATION
TestOut’s new ethical hacker
training incorporates key
principles of successrowing up there was a steep
road around the corner
from my house. Next to
the road was a vacant lot full of thick
shrubs. For my brothers and I, the
combination of the hill and vacant lot
meant endless possibilities for fun.
One of our favorite things to do was
hike up the road with our scooters
and get going as fast as possible down
the hill towards the lot. At just the
right moment we would yank our
handlebar sideways, which sent us
flying through the air to a soft, pillowy
landing in the shrubs.
My early career followed the pat-
tern of those scooter rides, of floating
along and ending up wherever I land-
ed. There was no real direction, and
therefore no real progress, financially
or otherwise. I had heard all my life
that if I went to college I could get a
good job. What a shock when I found
out it was not that simple for someonewith no direction. Every employer
wants people who have good commu-
nication skills, but it turns out there
is not a specific job for someone who
majored in speech communication.
After I had been out of college for
a few years and was still struggling to
find my “dream job,” I realized that
something needed to change. I knew
I was doing something wrong, but
did not know what, or where to look
for answers. I started to read success
books, hoping I would find some
answers.
I read a ton of books and seemed to
see the same three themes repeating
themselves over and over again: work
smart, use systems to increase effec-
tiveness, and get to work. After seeing
the same principles enough times, I
dubbed them the “three keys to suc-
cess.” Here’s what I’ve since learned
about putting into practice each of the
three keys.Work smartI recently planted some trees in my
backyard. Shortly after getting started,
I discovered a seemingly endless patch
of rocks beneath the grass. Every-
where I stuck my shovel I would be
greeted with the “clank” of metal to
rock. I managed to remove the layer of
sod, but anything below that was next
to impossible. After hacking away for
10 minutes with my shovel I had only
managed to remove about another
inch of dirt and rocks.
I didn’t have any other tools to
break up the rocky soil, so I shut
things down for the night. The next
day I purchased a pick and a hand
tiller. Before long, I was ready to
actually put trees in the ground. I was
able to complete a job that would have
taken me hours without proper tools
in a fraction of that time.G
Justin Moss is an
account development
manager for TestOut
Corporation.BY JUSTIN MOSS