I write this blog mainly for myself.

I write about topics that are of interest to me, mainly because they’re interesting to me but also because there doesn’t seem to be anyone in the Power BI community covering them. There are dozens of blogs and YouTube channels^[1] covering topics like data visualization, data modeling, DAX, and Power Query – but I haven’t found any other source that covers the less-tangible side of being a data professional that is so compelling to me.

I write on my own chaotic schedule. Some months I might post every other day, or I might go weeks or months without posting anything^[2]. These days I try to post once per week, but that’s definitely a stretch goal rather than something to which I will commit. Sometimes my creativity flows freely, but sometimes writing comes from the same budget of emotion and energy that I need for work and life… and blogging typically ends up near the bottom of my priority list.

And yet, here we are, 40 months and 200 blog posts later. In the past few weeks I’ve seen dozens of people reference Roche’s Maxim of Data Transformation, which started out as a tongue-in-cheek self-deprecating joke and then took on a life of its own. Earlier this week I spent time with another team at Microsoft that has organized been collectively reading and discussing my recent series on problems and solutions, and looking for ways to change how their team works to deliver greater impact. More and more often I talk with customers who mention how they’re using some information or advice from this blog… and it’s still weird every single time.

In these dark days it’s easy to feel isolated and alone. It’s easy to dismiss and downplay online interactions and social media as superficial or unimportant. It’s easy to feel like no one notices, like no one cares, and like nothing I’m doing really makes a difference^[3].

So for this 200th post, I wanted to take the time to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to let me know that I’m not alone, and that someone is listening. It makes a big difference to me, even if I don’t always know how to show it.

Let’s keep doing this. Together.

^[1] I recently discovered that two of my co-workers have their own little YouTube channel. Who knew?

^[2] Please don’t even get me started on how long it’s been since I posted a new video.

^[3] This is a reminder that Talking About Mental Health is Important. I have good days and bad days. Although I make a real effort to downplay the bad and to amplify the good, there’s always a voice inside my head questioning and criticizing everything I do. It’s important to talk about mental health because this is a voice that many people have, and not everyone knows that it’s not just them. Not everyone knows that the voice is lying.