That moment of reckoning led him to Peru, to plant medicine, and to a decade-long exploration of what he’d been missing: the feminine side of success. The intuition. The flow. The creativity. Phil spent the next seven years off social media entirely, diving deep into practices most entrepreneurs dismiss as “too woo” or impractical. What he discovered changed everything about how he approaches performance, business, and life itself.
In this episode of Sacred Business Stories, Phil shares what happens when you realize your greatest strength has become your biggest limitation. And how integrating the parts of yourself you’ve been ignoring might be the only path to sustainable success.
Show Notes
[00:03:30] The Work-Hard Mentality That Almost Broke Him
Phil grew up as an athlete in Quebec, Canada, with one core belief: he could work harder than anyone else. When he transitioned to entrepreneurship in his early 20s, he brought that same mindset with him.
Built a successful personal development company by age 28 using pure masculine energy: discipline, structure, effort, and push
Started waking up every morning with crippling anxiety and the thought “there’s so much to do today, how am I going to handle all this?”
Recognized the price of his approach: sacrificing his own health, sanity, and well-being for external success
This was 2013-2014, before mental health conversations were as mainstream as today
[00:05:00] The Plant Medicine Realization
A series of plant medicine journeys revealed what Phil had been missing. He’d learned to build success using only one type of energy.
Realized he’d been operating solely from masculine energy while completely ignoring the feminine side: intuition, flow, and creativity
Understood that sustainable success requires balancing both energies, not choosing one over the other
Made the decision to spend serious time learning “the other side” he’d been neglecting
This began a decade-long journey of integration that continues today
[00:05:45] Going Deep in Peru
Phil didn’t just dabble in this work. He committed fully, spending extended time in the Sacred Valley and other parts of Peru.
Used Cusco as a jumping-off point for deeper spiritual work in the region
Humbled himself to learn practices and ways of being that were completely foreign to his athlete mindset
Recognized that life invites (or forces) us to cultivate whichever side we’re lacking so we can become more balanced
Spent years off social media (seven to eight years) to focus on this internal work without distraction
[00:15:00] The Masculine/Feminine Balance in Business
Phil explains how this isn’t just spiritual theory. It directly impacts how you show up in your business and life.
Masculine energy: discipline, structure, systems, pushing forward, making things happen
Feminine energy: intuition, receptivity, allowing, flow states, creative expression
Most entrepreneurs default to one or the other, creating either burnout or lack of results
True peak performance comes from knowing when to push and when to allow
[00:30:00] Being “Too Spiritual” for Business People
Phil wrestled with a common challenge: how to bridge the gap between high performance and deep spirituality without alienating either audience.
Traditional business world sees spiritual practices as impractical or “woo-woo”
Spiritual communities sometimes view business success and money as “low consciousness”
The real work is integration: bringing both worlds together in a practical way
His approach: use spiritual principles to enhance performance, not escape from it
[00:44:00] Why He’s Coming Back to Social Media (Via Substack)
After nearly eight years off all social platforms, Phil is considering a return. But not to the places you’d expect.
Tried Instagram but his brain literally won’t let him stay on the platform
Discovering Substack feels different: calmer, more intentional, less posturing
Values long-form content and genuine community over algorithmic manipulation
Committing to “doubling down” on Substack rather than traditional social media
[00:47:00] Finding Your “Ojai” (The Right Platform for You)
Phil shares a powerful metaphor about trying different California cities before finding Ojai, the small mountain town that felt right.
Went to San Diego: “This is not it”
Tried LA: “Definitely not it”
Checked out Santa Barbara: “Hopefully it’s it... no, it’s not it”
Finally found Ojai and knew immediately: “Yes, this is it”
Same process with social platforms: Instagram no, Facebook no, TikTok definitely not... but Substack? “It actually feels good”
Key Quotes
“I had learned to build success solely using masculine energy: discipline, effort, pushing myself, structure. And there’s a whole other side to this equation, the feminine side. Intuition, flow, creativity. And right now I’m completely out of balance.” - Phil Drolet
“When we’re just doing good work and being ourselves, it genuinely touches people and changes lives.” - Phil Drolet
“I started to wake up every morning with this ball of anxiety in my stomach. Like literally from the moment I would open my eyes, just anxiety and this feeling of ‘oh shit, there’s so much to do today. How am I going to handle all this? It’s going too fast. It’s too much, but I can’t stop.’” - Phil Drolet
“I believe I can work harder than anybody and I can push myself further. Like that was my edge. So I did that and it worked. But after a few years... the price we pay is like our own health and sanity and just well-being.” - Phil Drolet
Where to Find Phil Drolet
Phil is just beginning his journey on Substack. Follow him here to be part of his community from day one as he shares insights on balancing high performance with spiritual depth.
The Pattern Behind Phil’s Breakthrough
Here’s what strikes me most about Phil’s story: his greatest strength became his greatest limitation.
The work-hard mentality that got him to success was the same pattern keeping him trapped in anxiety. The masculine energy that built his business was suffocating the other half of himself.
This is exactly what we see in the Business Harmony Map. Phil was operating at high frequency in Discipline (his masculine drive and structure). But his lowest frequencies? Likely Faith if I had to guess (trusting the process instead of forcing it) and Simplicity (knowing when to stop pushing).
Your breakthrough isn’t in doing more of what you’re already good at. It’s in developing what you’ve been avoiding.
Phil avoided flow for years because discipline was working. Until it wasn’t. He avoided intuition because structure felt safer. Until it became a prison.
The 9 Frequencies aren’t separate skills you master one at a time. They’re interconnected parts of a whole system. When one area drops too low, everything else suffers. When you strengthen your lowest frequency, everything else rises with it.
Want to discover which frequency is holding your entire business back?
Take the Business Harmony Map assessment. It reveals your breakthrough frequency in under 10 minutes. Not your strength. Your doorway to transformation.
The same place Phil was stuck might be where you’re stuck right now.
Take the Business Harmony Map →
Your lowest score isn’t a weakness to fix. It’s the pattern your business has been asking you to address all along.
Thank You
To everyone who joined us live on Substack:
, , , , and so many others who showed up in real time. Your presence made this conversation what it was. There’s something different about going live together versus just publishing content into the void.Carolina and I do these every week, and honestly, if a week goes by without one of these conversations, something feels missing. These aren’t just interviews. They’re the highlight of our week.
Special gratitude to Phil for being vulnerable enough to share his story. When leaders admit they were wrong about how success works, it gives everyone else permission to stop pretending.
And if you’re reading this now but couldn’t make it live? Join us next time. The energy is different when we’re all together. You’ll get an alert in the app when we go live again.
P.S.
This conversation is available as both audio and video for all Sacred Business Stories subscribers. We create detailed recaps like this one for every episode because we believe the insights deserve more than a quick listen and forget.
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