I want a good to life for my kids.
say money can't buy you happiness,
it can buy you some time with your kids,
and that's pretty darn close. (chuckles)
My grandparents were survivors of the Great Depression,
and it was always communicated to me
to consider work a blessing.
it was a great place to grow up.
Low crime rate, good people, salt of the earth.
I mean, just hardworking with Midwesterners. (chuckles)
Here's my little house I used to live in right there.
A lot of the businesses in town closed down
Started to have the life drained out of it a little bit.
Most of my family worked labor jobs.
My dad's a factory worker, been his whole career.
And that was always what I thought I would do. (chuckles)
I was homeschooled my entire way through school.
I never went to public school a day of my life.
Basically dropped out at 16.
I started my first job the day after my 16th birthday
because I wanted to make a living.
Kept working from 16 to, from 16 on basically.
I never really stopped working.
Changed jobs a few times.
I worked fast food in different restaurants,
and I ended up in a manufacturing position
slicing deli meat, processing deli meat.
The facility was in a man-made cave underground
And the sunlight would kind of fade behind you,
and you'd get out of your car and you're in a cavern
under the earth and you go inside and start working.
It was a job, and a lot of people were losing their jobs
and losing their homes and losing everything else.
I felt lucky to have a job at all.
I felt lucky to be working.
I mean, he dropped, like, 30 some odd pounds
in a month or two. (chuckles)
Yeah, if I wasn't at work,
I was sitting somewhere nodding off to sleep
because I couldn't stay awake.
I was just working constantly,
burning the candle at both ends trying to provide.
I was donating my plasma.
for a lot of years that I could buy groceries.
The thing that was the most sobering was probably
And realizing that I had to have more
of a structured plan in place.
At some point I knew there had to be
something I could learn to do to provide a better future.
Before I started my journey with Salesforce,
I'd never used Excel. (laughs)
I'd never used any standard technology
apart from internet browser and an email. (chuckles)
I have a cousin that comes from a similar background
that I do, and he landed in a job as a developer
And he said, "Well, you'd probably be okay to be an admin."
I knew someone that was launching a successful career
doing this that was no more qualified than I was.
There were these online videos that were hands-on training,
and essentially what I did was I took those videos
and just listened to the audio on a loop all day long.
The facility we were in was always wet.
It had to be sanitized constantly
because we were manufacturing a product
I remember distinctly drawing on the wall a rainbow
of the levels of security and access settings in Salesforce
because that's what I was listening to that day.
That was how I learned it.
Once the pieces all clicked,
then the bulb was on nice and bright. (chuckles)
I had some really great advice to get connected
with the local user groups.
So I put on the only suit that I own,
and I went to user group.
You're going to not forget Zac coming into a room.
What I noticed first was somebody in,
without even saying anything said, I need a place,
I need help, I need a resource.
Well, having that mentorship, it was very foreign,
but very extraordinary at the same time.
a lady from my user group said,
"Hey, my admin just put in his two weeks notice.
You're certified, right?"
And I'm like, "Yeah, I'm absolutely certified,"
and had an interview, the biggest interview of my life.
I was 30 years old and had never have done
Yes, I was scared to death.
I looked him square in the face and I said,
"You will not interview anyone else for this position
that is nearly as excited about this as I am." (laughs)
I can guarantee you that.
He probably didn't know it at the time,
but he was an easy choice.
And the biggest impact is his passion for Salesforce
He's really built a name for himself.
That's just an account page in Salesforce.
It was from the factory floor to dealing with
some of the most advanced technology in the world.
I actually pulled it off.
You see, it doesn't just affect his work life,
it affects his home life, you know?
I'm just really proud of him.
You know, I always have been, so. (giggles)
My American dream is providing for my family
and having enough time to spend with them.
So you're pulling down each object individually
and linking them together.
Blazing a trail means leaving a trail.
A trail that can be followed,
and now I need to turn around and build a highway
behind me to pass it on, to pay it forward.
When I see people in less than ideal situations,
I want to tell people on the street, the jobs are out there.
The security for your family, it can be had.
People need a way to connect an old job to a new job,
and to change, to make that shift to pivot their career.
Trailhead is the front door
of the new economy to change your life. (chuckles)
You can start learning today the things
that will get you a job tomorrow.
I'm living proof that there's a place
for anyone in the new economy.
You just have to reach for it.
I'm Zac Otero, and I'm a Trailblazer.
