Motivation to Achieve a Personal Goal Version 1

Please give details of a time when you have had to motivate yourself to achieve a personal goal.

What were you working to achieve?

While working as a foreign oral English teacher in China, I used my free time to work on some technical projects. One of the goals I have had for a while has been to set up a personal website at a domain name related to my own name and to host personalised domain email.

One of the major hurdles was overcoming the problems associated with living and working as an English teacher in China. I was away from a technical work environment and without the support of many similarly minded friends.

The level of internet connectivity available to me was also a problem as China employs various internet censorship technologies not least of which is the “Great Firewall of China”. There was also the problem of time management between handling my job, keeping fit and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

How did you motivate yourself?

I focused on my need to keep active in my major field of study and the potential benefits to increased knowledge and skill in the area of web technology. I felt that if I wanted to do well with technology in the future, I had to make time for it in my daily life.

I met and discussed problems with others in Dalian, both foreigners and local Chinese people. This allowed me to be not only inspired by them but also to achieve something valuable. A stable relationship was useful for supporting my out of work goals as time was a precious commodity.

I particularly relished and gained much satisfaction from solving problems particular to living here, as this was a time-limited situation, and I probably wouldn’t see similar ones when I return home. It provided me with a great opportunity to learn.

What was the outcome?

The task in itself is fundamentally quite simple as there are a number of automated – integrated systems available, but my aim wasn’t just implementation, but understanding how it all works, deciding my needs and finding the right solution. At first I attained a core understanding by setting up a WAMP environment (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP). As my understanding developed, the system that I decided was the best fit was a Linux based VPS (Virtualised Private Server) located in America.

My general knowledge of the web has really grown in different areas such as domains and DNS, and server maintenance, support and backup. I learnt much about pursuing personal goals in less than propitious circumstances, and prioritising various aspects of life that support my future aspirations.

Answer Offcuts

I’ve learnt about domains, DNS, Apache virtual hosts, Apache re-write rules, email hosting and routing, SSH, ftp, server authentication and access control, server maintenance (i.e. backups, package and system updates, firewall rules and monitoring logs), MySQL backups, and proxy servers.

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