Learning to drive

Learning new things is sometimes fun, and sometimes challenging. Often it’s both.

Do you remember learning to drive a car?

I'm now in the midst of teaching my child to drive — on a stick-shift.

It's been a long time since I was in her shoes, but I'm remembering now just how much of a mystery it was at first.

Steering, gas, clutch, shifter, and brake all have to be manipulated simultaneously for even the most basic driving.

And they're totally independent controls! You can twist and push each of them however you want. But if you don't do it exactly right, you can end up in a ditch or just go nowhere at all.

And that's not nearly enough to be safe and effective on the road.

Headlights, high beams, turn signals, mirrors, reverse gear, dashboard gauges, night driving, jerks on the road, gravel, rain, emergency vehicles ... it just seems endless.

Here's the thing:

CiviCRM (or any complex and powerful system) is a lot like that:

Dozens of completely independent settings, features, and configurations, which work together in ways that aren't immediately obvious.

A seemingly endless array of things to learn, options to implement, real-world conditions to navigate.

You can think of it as a burden if you want.

But my 15-year-old somehow doesn't think that way. She's just excited about the possibilities of being in control.

I hope you are too.

All the best,
A.