16 Sep 2013
Marie Lefebvre on the Power of Getting Organised
In the second winning entry from our “The Course That Changed My Life” competition, Marie Lefebvre shares her experience of a course in Project Management that led her to look at achieving her goals in a very different way.
“Last June, I completed a course in Project Management. The course was in my diary since April. For some reasons as June came and my life was in a bit of a tumble, it was what I desperately needed. I can clearly say that the course changed my life. I have learnt two things from the course:
- First, when you have an issue, focus on finding a solution.
- Secondly, the solution is never far, most of the time it is inside you.
They gave me two pieces of paper with the Project Management process and a matrix to prioritise my goals. It was the best gift that I could receive. I came out refreshed with the world in front of me. That day, I made the personal commitment to become a master in Project Management. I made the commitment to design my life.
The goal entailed understanding better who I am, what I want to achieve and why I failed to achieve my goals so far. Using the tool, I laid out all the things that I wanted to achieve in the nearer time and in the longer term. I recognised that I was bombarded by social commitments but actually my real aspirations were to develop myself as an individual, learning new skills and abilities to lead a more self-sufficient and sustainable life and help people in return in this path.
I developed a plan for each of my goals and priced them out. It led to the development of a financial budget tool. My financial analysis confirmed that I was giving to others more that I had. Worse, it was not in line with my values and hopes for a more sustainable lifestyle. I knew that for real change to occur I needed to de-clutter my life and clean my soul. I developed a number of tools helping me going through with those endeavours. What stroked me after few weeks gathering my notes together is how much I have evolved and how it translated in tangible changes too. I am calmer, more in phase with what is happening in the now. I am more aware of what triggers my feelings. I also recognised that I am a visual and creative person.
I repainted my house and reorganised it throughout, whilst upcycling items and giving many away. Now I am working away to start sharing with others that change is possible. In this path, I am looking for a solution to do it full-time whilst remaining financially stable. Whilst I volunteer with Transition Leicester to help my community reduce their carbon footprint, and focus my attention on starting a group of interest on the local economy in Leicester, volunteering in my spare time is no more aligned with my inspiration. I know from my Project Management course that the solution is not far. Could a training with Transition Network unleash my full potential?
Marie wins a place on the Transition Training of her choice, so we hope that she will share with us the answer to her question once she has done the training!