How to always be passionate about learning something new.

The Project Brief, Saturday, November 18 th, 3 min read.

Good Saturday everyone!

My last two articles, how to read someone while negociating and how to recognize the four colours of personalities, have been the most read so far, and I want to thank you.

Even after more than twenty years as a project manager, I still enjoy learning new skills that I apply at work and in my personal life as much as possible.

In other words, I also learn from the texts I write for you.

And honestly, I don't know if I'm doing it more for you than for myself. But I'm sure of one thing, when I write like I'm writing now, alone in this room, even though I still have almost no interaction with anyone on social networks, I'm sure as hell that I can help someone.

When I started this newsletter, after much hesitation (as I was running out of time and prioritizing my responsibilities as a father of young children), I set myself the goal of writing articles on project management that I would have liked to read in my twenties.

That was back when internet was in its infancy and a page took 10 minutes to download. Creators had other things to do than write articles about project management.

So I gleaned information that could help me in my work left and right, whether from my mentors, paper magazine articles and conferences, but above all, from practical experience.

The way in which we learn from the events we experience, whether at work or in our personal life, has a lot to do with our resilience.

It's about having the courage to look back on an experience, no matter how good or bad, to extract what's essential for us, whether it's a tiny part of existence that allows us to grow as humans, to build who we want to become as individuals, or to achieve something bigger than ourselves.

Without ever having heard the term "lessons learned" - and especially without knowing the concept behind it - the young man I was at that time was busy accumulating experience in all areas of life to be able to respond to a similar situation should it arise again.

I was in survival mode at the time, working in insecure, poorly paid jobs where I was criticized for my lack of experience on an almost daily basis.

This enraged me, just as can enrage a situation that you can't do anything about, or that you know is going to be there until you decide to take action and put in the time and effort.

So yes, I accumulated my professional experience in a kind of fury, with fire in my belly, repeating to myself daily that every day spent learning something brought me that much closer to the day when I'd reach the tipping point, the one that makes you lean towards "those who know" and give you access to the Holy Grail of professional credibility.

Isn't that exactly what most of us want? To know enough about a subject to emancipate ourselves? To know enough to be able to choose our own future?

I must confess that I'm aware that I could be part of your solution, but that I'm certainly not - and never will be - your only solution.

I'll keep writing to you, whether it's articles like the ones you may have already read, or texts like this one.

But hey, you've got to get out there.

Go to work, go to learn. Make mistakes, start over, refuse to do what is asked of you, demand that your ideas be followed.

Be the main character of your life. Be brave enough to give your life for this one.

And come back to tell me all about it. And rinse and repeat.

Yes, have a fire in your belly and an eye on the prize, but above all, love what you do.

Feel free to share this letter with those who could benefit from it.

Un jour ou l’autre tout gestionnaire de projet se voit dans la position délicate de dire non a son client ou a son employeur.