Exactly 2 weeks from this moment i'd have got my exam results (inshAllah). Only 2 weeks away from the exam result , and the result of more than 1.5 years of reading and studying ... gosh looking back it's been a hell of a journey and as the quote says "It's always about the journey not the destination" so looking back at myself at this moment , i do admit that the CCIE journey by far has been one of the most beneficial learning experiences in my life. I do admit that i'm now a way better Cisco engineer than i was before , i do admit that my practical background helped me alot in my studies but the whole CCIE experience adds much more to just experience , it adds knowledge on areas you never expected to learn about. The main thing i gained from CCIE now is confidence, am really confident with my knowledge and skills at this point (el7mdolilah) am proud of my skills level whatever the result of the exam is.
So what remains is only one thing , the journey prize. I do believe in quotes and it's all about the journey etc. but i really can't imagine not getting my number after 2 weeks ... So what remains is for me is to go and get it (inshAllah) remember me in your prayers only few days left.
Today is the 27th of Feb 2014 and when i started this blog the plan was to make sure that today is my exam day , but i was coward and i changed plans before i pay the money transfer and i gave my self another 1 month. So now am exactly 28 days away from my CCIE lab exam date. I don't know if i did the right choice or not by postponing the exam, but seems i still got good time to be more focused on my studies , many interruptions took place on my life and it was necessary really to not be stressed out at those days.
I'm off work starting this weekend , so basically i have nothing planed in my life but to sit there and nail those labs down and study as much as i can for 3 consecutive weeks. And to be honest for the first time today , i do really fear to fail the exam more than anything ... And the fear of failure is so over me to the extent that i want this to be over by any means, i was watching a TED talk yesterday about stress and how you can change it to a positive feeling , it's a really good talk but am more fearful now to be honest than a talk to change how i feel.
At this exact moment i was planning to get my CCIE number 90 days ago and here i am , i need to wait for another 28 days and few hours , dreams and nightmares as i set really high hopes on passing this exam ... i do pray i do ... pray for me :)
The TED talk about stress
One of the toughest things in your life is the fact that you have to face it with the fact that you're preparing for your CCIE exam. And to be able to do this, you have to let everybody know why you're up so late and why you seem sleepless at work. Excuses to leave a friends meetup and all comes down to the fact that you're preparing for your CCIE exam, you're making for yourself a good excuse to go there hit the books and the labs and no one to bother you.
This kind of behavior has lead to the fact that everybody i know now nearly know about my exam schedule and it gives you some-kind of relief but at the same time you see the expectations in their eyes , that you're definitely going to pass and those people gives me great motive to carry on and keep studying. There are many people i expect to get up and start studying CCIE if i pass and show them that it's doable. So here i am spot lights on me as i prepare for the last 70 days of the exam , including 30 days off work holiday and all eyes set on the target the magic numbers.
And the dark thoughts start spreading there's still a pretty good chance that i don't pass , and more than my disappointment with myself , i'll be really disappointed that i'd have let to be honest a great bunch of people disappointed in me. People who has been always encouraging me to actually go there and get it.
I hope their expectations meet the reality and i do hope to not let myself down and more important those who are behind my back.
So yesterday i had finally booked my CCIE exam , Money transfer is done and i booked my flight only will have to wait for my Visa application form.
I thought once i book the exam i'd be so excited and start studying like a donkey , but i absolutely feel nothing. There are two important facts here that this will be the last V4 exam available which means if i don't pass the exam the only way would be to prepare for V5 and am not planning to do that. The second fact is that there's no way to refund back the money i paid.
Am i ready to go to the exam or not , did i do the right thing. I hope i am right this time.
Today while checking the internet , i read about the all new GNS3 and i felt fascinated about how huge their product will be. We're talking about switching at last on GNS3 and we're talking about lab materials and most importantly we're talking about multi-vendor support. GNS3 will no longer be only a Cisco thing but it'll be able to support multiple vendors.
GNS3 has always been 1 of my all time favorite softwares and i owe it alot. But CISCO is now working on it's 1 big project which is Cisco VIRL ( Virtual Internet Routing Lab) This project will allow Cisco to use several hardware support specially with IOS versions like XR. The project is said that it'd be for free and i believe GNS3 people started their multi-vendor support features to avoid what Cisco is preparing.
But to conclude we have to realize the fact that we'll get a new generation of network engineers equipped with a 10,000 $ equipment virtual environment free on their laptops and with a push of a button they'd load all the configuration they need. The CCIE candidates won't have to worry about Hardware anymore as all equipment they need will be available and this will lead to a larger number of highly skilled engineers. I believe 2 years from now the whole map of how we simulate our networks will be changed and we'll be facing more tougher challenges with our networks expansion more than about how we'll use it.
Admit it or not , the biggest enemy to any CCIE candidate is life distractions and things that take place in our life while we should be focused only on studying. Distractions are your worst enemy , things that just pop out of no where to kill your focus zone and studying mode. My number 1 life problem is that i can never focus on 2 things at the same time , so i divide my life into periods ... This period of my life is called CCIE and any other thing that takes place can be neglected but sometimes we have to stop and focus on those important distractions because at the end of the day we're humans ... Aren't we ?
I decided to reschedule the exam 1 month later, this decision is both making me feel comfortable but on the other side so depressed. Yes, i was the one who was struggling everyday to keep his exam day un-changed as mentioned in my previous blog post and now i just re-scheduled it 1 day before the 90 days payment notice.
There are few mistakes and lessons learnt from my rescheduling experience.
1st is that it's not always rainbows and butterflies you can keep telling yourself you'll make this and that topic then you end up realizing the fact that this and that is actually a big topic that would take you 1 week instead of 1 day
2nd My plan was really bad and i couldn't comply to it , it was having a very wide scope and not well defined with topics and a time plan strict to the topic. I underestimated VOL2 of INE as well , i decided i won't book the exam until i take at least one of those 20 labs to the test.
3rd Stress : I was so stressed to the extent that i started messing my life up , my whole life turned about the exam and i talk about nothing but it. And that was the mistake , if my plan was well planned then i shouldn't be thinking about the exam all day but i should only stick to the plan which indicate i should be studying at certain time intervals. This stress made me hate the exam and the topics am studying. Now to clear something i should be loving what am doing ain't i ?
4th Social Media distractions can mess your whole life really not just your exam
Few decisions :
1st : My deadline for the exam is 28-th March 2014 inshAllah unless something catastrophic takes place in my life like being attacked by a dinosaur in the backyard or something.
2nd: Divide topics to small chunks , and i mean really small chunks. I'd like to stress on some chunk topics that i know very well that i fear and tackle them wisely
3rd : A very well organized detailed time plan that should include day offs and fun stuff to do, also i need to re-shape my work schedule to accelerate my studying
4th : Stop over-reacting to what the exam is and how am going to do in it when am not studying
5th : All what comes will be good inshAllah
95 days left to the exam still facing some trouble booking the exam , i won't feel relieved until i get my Visa and my exam booked and my airplane ticket on my desk, but that's not all. Fear of time overcomes all this.
Time pass by so fast those days more than i expected and am afraid to start dropping topics for the sake of passing the exam or taking the short route towards the certificate. I wish i could make passing the certificate the last thing on my mind but too much pressure is around specially from my self and the fact this is going to be one of the toughest exams in my life.
I started to feel pressure as the clock keeps ticking and it leads for me to focus only on studying friends family etc... are not part of my thoughts only the exam that's the only thing that's on my mind ...... 95 days left i hope i make the most of it and it's always about the journey anyway (only words)
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