December 4, 2024

The year was 1992. December the 3rd and a 22-year old made history. Neil Papworth sent the first SMS text message using a computer. "Merry Christmas," was the message sent through the Vodafone network, to the mobile phone of Richard Jarvis, the director of Vodafone.

Papworth was an engineer working with a team in the development of a "short message service centre" (SMSC) for the than, British telecom company-

When asked about this technological breakthrough, Papworth responded, "it didn't feel momentous at all. For me it was just getting my job done on the day and ensuring that our software that we'd been developing for a good year was working OK."

That's what it takes for us all. To just do our job.

Show up everyday, perform the needed tasks and on the other end, so much can happen. When Papworth sent this text, phones then did not have the ability to recieve them.

As he figured out how, the recipient, Richard Jarvis had no way of responding. So he called Papworth to confirm the message. One year later Nokia developed the tech to allow for mobile phones on the same network to text.

Keep showing up. Keep dotting "I's" and crossing "t's." Keep working the muscle. Continue doing your reps. On purpose or by pleasant accident, you can change so much.