Blogue
My story from A to Z
When I was five years old, my parents found me 5 km from home, in the streets of Paris, walking straight ahead. When they asked me what I was doing there, I looked at them with my huge smile, my freckles and my long curly hair and simply answered: I'm exploring the world!
Whether it was my name, my particular sensibility or my different way of seeing the world, I often had the feeling of being apart, or different.
Then life caught up with me. I lost touch in many ways with that part of me that knew neither fear nor limits. I conformed. I listened to those who didn't want me to step out of line and explore other spaces.
At the age of 22, I left the small island in Brittany where I lived to settle in Quebec City. A burst of pride to prove to everyone, but especially to my father, that I was up to the task.
I climbed the rungs of the ladder to glossy success and outside recognition. A Master's degree in Public Communications from Laval University, then at age 25, an advisor to the military staff in Paris, and soon after an advisory role for the CEO of one of Canada's most powerful companies. I wrote his speeches and official communications, facilitated the company's relations with environmental lobby groups while representing the company to economic groups.
During the same period, life accelerated on a personal level. Marriage, house, car and first child, travel. I was living a "normal" life. I felt like I was following the perfect instruction manual for being happy.
Yet... I felt a void. A weariness was settling in me. I had to fill this gaping hole in any way I could.
That's when the first warning signs appeared... First I had a burn-out, then my father, to whom I hardly spoke anymore, died quickly without us being able to put things straight and forgive ourselves. But I remained deaf to these first signals and continued, without knowing it, to betray my deepest values and to try to fill this gaping hole inside me. I was unconsciously looking for an external recognition of my value and did everything to not be rejected, and to be able to attract the most attention.
I redoubled my efforts and the social implications of prestige. I thought my life was going well and that it was just a slip-up. But in the end, I still wanted more. And the more I got, the more I felt like I didn't belong. This constant doubt was like a sword of Damocles. Then one day, my house of cards collapsed
Life sent me another even more painful signal: a divorce. I wasn't prepared for that, let alone being a father every other week with no family support around. Then came my 40th birthday, job changes and the death of my older brother at age 58. I was drained.
I went to Tunisia on assignment for Public Relations Without Borders and was selected by the US and Canadian governments to participate in elite leadership programs. I began a new chapter as a transformative nonprofit leader.
But the void was still there. It lacked meaning. I was disappointed again and again because I saw. The shenanigans, the political games, the backroom games. Even people I would have imagined to have a pure heart and conscience were caught in the trap of ego. I had the impression that the people around me did not see what I saw. I felt totally out of step. But deep down I was still trying to reclaim the same house of cards.
It was at this time that I hired my first coach and life put my first mentor in my path.
I then began a process of radical change. I started by changing my lifestyle habits by being inspired by what the most influential leaders on the planet were doing. I got up at the crack of dawn to integrate mindfulness meditation into my daily life, to read in the morning, at noon and at night, to observe myself more, to be curious about what others had to teach me, to go away on weekends, alone, in a closed and silent retreat. I started setting yearly goals for my life not for others, wondering about my dream life, imagining how I wanted to feel when I was about to die.
At the end of 2016, I had to close the doors of a nonprofit I had been running for 18 months. Accompanying my team to the end to tame and embrace this drastic change confirmed how much I loved people and unique, complex challenges. But again, I felt this emptiness, as if a part of me was missing.
My mission is to help visionaries and conscious organizations make more positive impact, faster.
Once the dust settled, I had a realization. I realized that I didn't want to/couldn't go on like this. I realized that this thirst for external recognition was futile and endless.
I took the opportunity to take stock. I asked myself this essential question: "Morvan, for what and for whom are you running?
I gave myself the freedom to explore and fail. I finished a book and tried to sell it to publishers, without success. I tried to build a web platform to help companies better collaborate with their stakeholders, without success. I've tried public relations consulting, without much success. I even tried modeling.
After a retreat in a Buddhist temple where my soul was turned upside down, and where I solidified my mindfulness practice and learned self-healing techniques, I made the decision to start listening to the little voice that told me that :
- I was there to serve giants, people apart who wanted to make their lives unique and make a positive impact,
- I was there to deliver a powerful and inspiring message to get as many people as possible to make their lives a work of art,
- I was there to explore the world, and make the most beautiful journeys, inside and outside!
I trained in New York at the prestigious Coaches Training Institute (CTI), an International Coaching Federation (ICF) accredited training school to become a Certified Professional Coach (CPCC). I also started to give professional conferences on my vision of ultimate leadership & team performance.
From France to Quebec, through Tunisia, the United States, the Yukon and British Columbia, I have never stopped exploring my potential and my limits with only one idea in mind: to learn and make a difference everywhere I go. This ambition is still alive and well!
But today, I understood that I could not change myself to want to reclaim a castle that was no longer mine. I understood that life sends us exactly what we need to learn and grow. It is up to us to make the choice between discovery and ignorance, like the phoenix that lights its own fire to rise from its ashes, more beautiful, bigger, stronger..
In 2019, I accelerated once again my process of change. My various realizations have led me to get rid of all my possessions and to live in a minimalist way. After returning from a trip to Costa Rica to identify places to hold personal development retreats, the message was clear: where life was calling me, I would no longer need all of this. I jumped into the void!
Now an executive coach, nomad and inspirational speaker, I travel the world to explore the human soul, my own and others. Since 2019, I have lived and worked from the Laurentians, North of Montreal, France, Montreal, Hawaii (Moloka'i, Mau'i, Big Island), Texas, Nicaragua and Mexico.
My mission is to help visionaries and conscious organizations make more positive impact, faster. The world needs leaders who inspire from the heart and take action now to build a more just, respectful, and conscious world.
The increase and acceleration of drastic global change requires a new paradigm. Everything that has been built on lies will soon fall apart. It's time to stand up and build anew.
Do you have questions about how I can accompany you and help you build this better world? All you have to do is grab the outstretched hand.
The time for cynicism is over: get up!