Yitzchok Willroth at php[world]

I had been waiting all day for this talk and at 2:50 p.m. I rushed into a room filled with six long tables. I took a seat on the front row so I wouldn’t miss anything.

Waiting to greet me was an index card, a pen, and a sticker. All branded with the speakers avatar. It was an impressive first impression!

I have followed Yitzchok Willroth, @coderabbi, over the past year on social media. We’ve had enough interactions that I consider him a friend, although never meeting in person. Anytime one of my friends are about to give a presentation I am nervous for them. I want more than anything for their talk to go well.

As I looked up to a small black and grey stage, I seen Yitz standing behind the podium. He was performing pre-talk preperations and getting his computer hooked up and microphone wired in.

He was dressed in a white button up shirt, black dress pants, and he looked a little nervous. As he wiped the sweat from his forehead, I knew the presentation was about to begin.

To be honest I wasn’t exactly sure what the next 45 minutes was going to be like. The title of the talk was “Talmudic Maxims to Maximize Your Growth as a Software Developer” which are foreign words to my vocabulary.

Less than two minutes into the talk, my anxiousness was quickly put aside. It was the best talk of the conference and it had everything a speaker needs. A story line, stage presence, and he kept the attendees listening intently to all the guidance.

The talk was not only for software development but for life itself. I believe the big takeaway is going to be different for each person, so I will not cover the presentation content. I am hoping this talk becomes the keynote at the next conference you attend. It was that good.

I feel like I got to see a rookie throw a touchdown on the first play of the first game. He gets it.