Quebec Podcast — Entrepreneurship, Alignment & Resilience
Sébastien Goulet
About this episode
In this episode of the MDC Alliance podcast — based in Quebec — we welcome Sébastien Goulet, a project entrepreneur turned business consultant. Former owner of Sky Spa and general manager in the restaurant industry, he had it all: a house in Stoneham, restaurants, easy success. Then the pandemic caused everything to unravel at once — a $600,000 project escalating to $2M, banks backing out, his father receiving a cancer diagnosis, and himself waking up at night vomiting.
The common thread: sustainable performance doesn't come from talent, but from alignment and application. We talk about "hitting the wall," the baseline state to find before making decisions, the role of mentors, humility after ego, and why his number one job today is putting people before business. A raw conversation about how to rebuild a life around one's dreams rather than chasing money.
Key Points
What we cover
- 01 Hitting the wall — the collapse experienced during the pandemic: major financial losses, sick father, working without pay, and the physical consequences of stress.
- 02 The red flags we see coming — why we push through anyway, and the difference between complementing and compensating for the wrong people.
- 03 The baseline state — returning to calm before making a decision: an overworked mind cannot align itself.
- 04 Choosing and finding mentors — truly wanting to change, setting aside ego, raising your hand and asking for help before knowing everything.
- 05 Humility after ego — disarming by example rather than by lesson, and acknowledging what you don't yet know.
- 06 "Guys want results without doing anything" — why application and rigor beat talent, and what makes a person truly coachable.
- 07 People before business — his consultant's approach: for the business to do well, the person must first do well.
- 08 Becoming a father at 42 — Léo, returning to the present moment, and the priority we neglect for too long.
- 09 Building your life around your dreams — choosing where to live first, thermotherapy as an anchor, and an inn project by the river.
Listen to the episode
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Structured Transcript
Chapters
Introduction — 3.5 hours drive, a project guy
Sébastien introduces himself: police tech studies, son of a police officer, traveled forty countries, then hospitality and thermal spas. A passionate, charismatic, unifying journey — but not always aligned.
Key takeaway — Charisma opens doors; alignment decides if you should walk through them.
The Trigger — The Pandemic That Brought Everything Down
In the middle of constructing a restaurant at the top of the Jules-Dallaire complex, construction halted. An approved $600,000 project climbed to $2M. Banks no longer supported it. Everything happened at once.
Key takeaway — A crisis doesn't create the problem, it reveals what was already misaligned.
Hitting the Wall — Vomiting at Night, Father Sick
Financial stress, a bad relationship, his father learning he has cancer, six months without pay, using credit lines to pay employees. His body gave out: he woke up vomiting.
Key takeaway — Some need to hit a wall; his was physical.
Red Flags — Knowing and Still Pushing Through
He had seen the signs: the wrong people, a misaligned project. The greatest pain is not betrayal, it's knowing and still pushing through. In business, you complement, you don't compensate.
Key takeaway — The worst blind spot is the one you choose to ignore.
Selling Everything — A Year of Self-Discovery
He separated from his partners, moved cities, sold his projects. For almost a year, he was barely able to work, rebuilding himself, relying heavily on mentors and help.
Key takeaway — Starting over requires a different energy than the one that brought you up.
The Baseline State — Calm Before Decision
Before asking if he's aligned, one must return to a healthy state: sleep well, eat well, move. Most of his clients are overworked and want to make decisions under stress — impossible.
Key takeaway — Overworked, you always make bad decisions.
Mentors — Raising Your Hand, Setting Aside Ego
Two rules: truly want to change, then accept being guided. He recounts getting on his knees and asking Louis Massicotte for help. Start, do a first 3 months, adjust along the way.
Key takeaway — The humility to ask for help is the true starting point.
Ego and Humility — Disarming by Example
Faced with an overly ego-driven client, he doesn't confront: he shares his own experiences so that the realization comes from the other person. He first works on lifestyle and enjoyment, not the business.
Key takeaway — You rarely change someone by correcting them; you change them by sharing your own story.
Application — "Guys want results without doing anything"
His observation after 15 years: most get stuck due to lack of application, not talent. He notices a clear difference in coachability and rigor, and insists: get a plan, apply it, learn by doing.
Key takeaway — Application beats talent every time.
Becoming a Father at 42 — Léo and the Present Moment
His son Léo, born prematurely, brings him back to the present. He recounts having postponed the priority of becoming a father for too long because he wasn't prioritizing himself.
Key takeaway — What matters most is often what we postpone the most.
Building Life Around Dreams — La Tuque, the Inn, Thermotherapy
He first chooses where to live, then builds the rest: online coaching for time, an inn project by the river with a sauna and cold plunges. Thermotherapy becomes his anchor and his work tool.
Key takeaway — Decide your life first, then let work fit in.
Africa — Happy with Nothing
Three months in Africa: people who have little but smile, a two-hour walk to share a moment. The contrast with our constant stress and our obsession with what we don't have.
Key takeaway — We work to buy back what was already free: presence.
Screens, Presence and Final Words — Love and Time
Phones numb us and fracture our presence. At home, he emphasizes play and connection. If he had five minutes left to live, he wouldn't think about money — but about love and time.
Key takeaway — We lead by example; presence is the real currency.
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