Welcome to the brand-new weekly (monthly? yearly?) series that you *need* here on Gray's Matter, the series that aims to help out all of you out there who are passionate like me about self-improvement.  Unfortunately there's a common misconception out there, at least in the development field, that the four steps to self-improvement are:

• locating a Asian word first referred to in North America by a Super NES game about 2 dudes in pajamas fighting with streamers
• tattooing it on your left buttock
• telling everyone else that you tattooed it on your left buttock
• attending a "conference" where you show your left buttock to a whole bunch of other dudes who are showing you their left buttock

I've got news for you - this isn't self-improvement, this is going to a bathhouse. 

As I have a responsibility as the guiding light of the software development and consulting industries, I've decided to show you all how to be really successful - and what better way to show you than by introducing you to the men, the women, and the pseudonyms that have influenced or motivated the most outstanding person you know?  Everyone featured in the "Winners At Life" series has been intensely vetted and scrutinized by the harshest judge of radness that there is - yours truly.  A person featured here is someone I know who I think *you* should know! 

And for our very first entry, let's chat about the "mystery blogger" I referred to in yesterday's post about design influence:  5x1llz!!

There are three reasons that 5x1llz was listed as a design influence for Gray's Matter:
a) 5x1llz has talent
b) 5x1llz has passion
c) more importantly, 5x1llz has style. 

 5x's blog is so awesome that even though it *should* get you to:

• think "Everything I've ever done online has been a total waste of time and bytes in comparison"
• throw your laptop under a bus
• start applying for jobs wiping up "spills" at the seniors home/next MVP summit (I'm just kidding about that last one, everyone knows you can't get a job cleaning up bodily fluids at the MVP summit unless you're a Hotmail MVP)

it has the reverse effect - I don't know whether it is the impeccable choices of imagery or the passion for learning evidenced in every post but there is *something* about 5x1llz' site that says to the reader:
a) this is fantastic
b) *you* are fantastic for reading it!


You will likely be shocked to find out that 5x1llz is not actually this blogger's real name.  "5x1llz" has obviously learned from observing my own experiences that being a global internet celebrity is not all its cracked up to be.  I can't tell you the number of times *I've* thought to myself, "If only I was ugly and unknown,  maybe I could buy this grapefruit without getting sexually harassed".   In the end, though, I simply tell myself that having to deal with the occasional bank teller who asks me to sign their chest is a worthwhile cross to bear in order to reshape the consulting and development industries forever.   I can see how this level of obsessive fandom might be enough to scare 5x1llz from standing revealed, or it might be that they simply don't want to be bombarded by people and companies asking 5x1llz to come and save them from themselves.  Unlike many of you however, I actually *am* lucky enough to know who 5x1llz is "in real life" and can say definitively that there are not too many people who can match 5x1llz' enthusiasm for learning or 5x1llz' raw ability.  Even if you're not a fan of passionate, knowledgable software development/consulting discussion, *everyone* is a fan of shining teeth and gold rims!

Now, obviously with great success comes great levels of potential professional jealousy- I would remind any haters out there that there is plenty of room for everyone in life to be awesome - that is, unless you code in VB or use WebForms.  Use 5x1llz (both blog and twitter) as an inspiration to take yourself to the next level!!