For today's #ThankYouTuesday, I want to express my gratitude to someone I will refer to only by his first name, Gabriele. Many years ago, I was stuck in a job where I was exploited by my employer—the only one I had ever had. Gabriele, who attended one of my Linux courses about 20 years ago, saw my potential and offered me life-changing advice: 'You have a passion for what you do. Don't waste your time on someone who uses it only for their own profit. Start your own business, I'll help by introducing you to some of my clients, and we can offer the Open Source solutions that excite you so much. You're young enough to try.' I took the leap. It wasn't easy, but ultimately, I succeeded in doing the work I love and choosing the technical solutions I prefer. I'm not a great salesman and often charge too little, feeling almost guilty for asking people to pay for something I enjoy so much. But tonight, I want to say thank you to Gabriele. He might not read this, but my gratitude remains.

#OpenSource #ThankYou #Gratitude