We were all born with an ingrained idea that through learning and a touch of encouragement, we are empowered to accomplish anything. This profound belief is a testament to the enduring human spirit. But somewhere along the journey of life, we lose sight of this and need people to remind us of who we are, what’re made of and capable of doing. One individual who has dedicated herself to teaching the value of encouragement and self-belief is Alison Publisher, Diondra Filicetti, of Driven By… Co. We spoke to her to learn more about what drives her.
Getting to Know Diondra
Alison: Please introduce yourself to the Alison audience.
Diondra: Hey, Alison community! My name is Diondra Filicetti, and I am a course creator and Founder of the company Driven By… Co. I am a very passionate educator and truly believe that through learning and a little bit of encouragement, we are empowered to accomplish anything!
Alison: What is Driven By… Co.?
Diondra: Driven By… Co. is a company dedicated to building engaged and motivated teams and individuals through our personal and professional development workshops, courses, and team-building programmes.
Our mission is simple yet profound: to inspire, educate, and empower individuals and teams to discover their true potential and thrive in both their personal and professional lives. We believe that every journey to success is unique, and our role is to guide, facilitate, and support you on that path.
Alison: What inspired you to create Driven By… Co.?
Diondra: In 2017, I found myself unhappy in a job that stifled creativity and had strict procedures that left no room for innovation. When I finally decided I needed a change, I had an important realisation: I had never been taught how to make the right decisions to achieve my potential.
What was I supposed to look for? How was it supposed to feel? How was I supposed to use my skills? What was I capable of? What was I driven by? With so many questions and no answers, I realised that these were the important questions that everyone needed to answer to lead a truly fulfilling life.
So, it became my mission to ignite the engagement and motivation in people for them to achieve their full potential. I wanted to build courses and resources that are accessible regardless of one’s background, abilities, or circumstances
Being a Publisher with Alison
Alison: Tell us about your courses on Alison.
Diondra: I currently have 4 courses on Alison:
- Professional Resume Writing: This course is designed to help individuals craft compelling resumes, enhancing their chances of landing their desired jobs and advancing in their careers. It equips learners with the tools to effectively communicate their qualifications and experiences to potential employers.
- Building Habits That Stick: Your Guide to Transforming Your Habits: This course focuses on the critical skill of habit formation and transformation. It provides learners with insights and strategies to build positive habits, break unproductive ones, and maintain long-term behavioural changes, which can significantly impact personal and professional success.
- Business Planning: How to Write Your Business Plan (Canada): For aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners in Canada, this course offers guidance on creating a comprehensive business plan. A well-structured business plan is essential for securing financing, setting clear goals, and ensuring the success and sustainability of a business venture.
- Goal Setting: The Ultimate Guide to Set, Plan & Achieve Your Goals: Goal setting is a fundamental skill for personal and professional growth. This course empowers learners with effective goal-setting techniques, planning strategies, and actionable steps to achieve their aspirations. Whether it’s career advancement, personal development, or life aspirations, this course can help individuals chart a path toward success. These courses cover a spectrum of personal and professional development needs that can allow learners to learn about and address areas such as job search and career development, habit formation, entrepreneurship, and effective goal setting.
Alison: What made you decide to create and share the courses with Alison?
Diondra: Someone from the Alison team reached out to me and introduced me to the Alison platform. I admired Alison’s mission of making education accessible by providing quality courses for free. Instead of registration revenue, publishers were compensated based on ad revenue and certificate revenue. It was a win-win, and I was excited to be an Alison publisher.
Alison: What do you enjoy most about publishing on this platform?
Diondra: I enjoy the structure that Alison provides. Alison helps you elevate your instructional design skills by keeping key learning principles top of mind. The result is a course that supports the learning journey as best as possible and something that is searchable through the Alison SEO efforts. Plus, you are assigned to a member of the Alison team as your designated go-to person if you have any questions or need help. I LOVE being able to contact a real person instead of starting a chat with a robot to initiate a “help ticket”.
Alison: What inspired you to start a company that emphasises the importance of personal growth and professional success?
Diondra: Personal growth and professional development are highly interconnected. In your professional development, you will lean on your personal growth and expand on it by sharpening the skills that will help you achieve your personal and professional goals. In my opinion, there are two types of people: those who are unfulfilled and wish they had chosen a different path, and those who choose the right path for themselves. I recognised that there were so many miserable people in the first category. They truly needed personal growth and empowerment to choose the right path for themselves and find more satisfaction in life. I wanted to be the person to provide the tools and resources to give people the confidence to make these decisions.
Understanding Personal Growth and Development
Alison: What are the most significant obstacles people face when trying to balance personal and professional development?
Diondra: I think the biggest obstacle when trying to balance personal and professional development is the belief that they are unrelated. When you see them as two separate journeys, they will often conflict or pull you in different directions. Instead of trying to balance the two, they must coexist. Although the first steps of personal growth may not seem to have much relevance to professional development, it will become clear later in the process if you stick to it!
Alison: How do you define personal growth, and why is it essential for individuals to work on?
Diondra: Personal growth is making a conscious effort to improve your skills, knowledge, abilities, or character in such a way that helps you become the best version of yourself and helps you fulfil your potential. The process of personal growth leads to more happiness and more satisfaction in life because you are actively improving your emotional, intellectual, physical and/or social well-being.
Alison: What are the main challenges individuals have in investing in their personal growth?
Diondra: I think the biggest challenge individuals have in investing in their personal growth is related to identity. Who you believe you are determines what you are willing to do for your growth. Many times, I will hear people say things like, “I’m not really a reader.” “I’m not a good public speaker.” “That’s not really me.” The whole purpose of development is to change and grow your skills! So, when these limiting beliefs prevent people from even working on their development, it can be a major obstacle.
Alison: Which skills should one prioritise when it comes to personal growth and professional development?
Diondra: I truly think that personal growth must begin with self-awareness. It is about facing the difficult truths about your behaviour, your attitudes, and your personality. Our unconscious habits, behaviours and attitudes are dictating our lives, and it is imperative that we become aware of what they are, so that we can decide if they need to change, and then change them!
To help with this, I wrote a self-awareness journal that includes personality quizzes, writing prompts and assessments that will guide you through the process of becoming aware of those behaviours and attitudes.
Last Thoughts
Alison: What words of advice would you give someone who would like to become a publisher on Alison?
Diondra: Go for it! Embrace the learning process, because I think you will be more than satisfied with how it turns out. Plus, the Alison team is very helpful and very invested in your growth.
Alison: What can Alison and its learners look forward to from you in the coming year or two?
Diondra: In the coming months, I will be outlining two new professional development courses! So, look out for those! In the meantime, feel free to connect with me online:
Website: drivenbyco.com
Social Media: @drivenbyco
In closing, let’s try and remember that within each of us lies the potential for greatness, which is simply waiting to be nurtured by knowledge and kind words. Let’s continue to embrace the journey of self-improvement because we recognise its value and know that with every lesson learned and every word of encouragement received or given, we not only empower ourselves but also enrich the world around us.
