When the boss called me into his office on Tuesday morning, I fully expected to be fired. I had failed. To my surprise, he shook my hand and told me that he appreciated the fact that I'd dug in my feet, returned to the closet day after day, stayed late, and even came in over the weekend to work with him -- while the rest of the staff was waiting for me to quit. And no, while I hadn't solved the problem, I hadn't run away either.

That was three years ago, and currently (after completing quite a few certification classes) I'm director of IT at Paper Trail. People still kid me about my first week, and the more I think about the lesson I learned, the more it makes me grin. Sure, technical skills count for a lot, but hanging in there and not giving up is what makes a true IT professional. Luck has nothing to do with it.