#34 - Practical Spirituality w/ Phil Drolet

Phil Drolet

Trusting you'll be ready when it's time.

But for now, let yourself drop into the breath, drop into this beautiful, sacred moment.

And let yourself shift gears from a mode of doing to one of curiosity, wonder, maybe even a little bit of magic.

Allow yourself to be open to all the beauty this conversation brings to your mind, to your heart, to your spirit.

and open yourself to the possibility that something you hear or feel today might just change your life.

Breathe deeply into that. Open yourself. Let yourself be excited.

So with that, let's complete this little meditation with three deep breaths all together. So let's empty out the lungs to start.

Take a big inhale through your nose.

Exhale through the mouth.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Last one with a big smile for some extra serotonin. So big smile, big inhale.

Jeff Albaum

you

Phil Drolet

Hold the breath, hold the smile.

in Excel.

Jeff Albaum

you

Phil Drolet

Slowly you can move your body around, give yourself a stretch.

And let's come on back. All right, feeling good?

Jeff Albaum

you

Dude, you are magical. As it's actually a way of describing to people who asked, they're like, wait, so because full disclosure, like you've, you know, you've been my coach for a number of months and, yeah, we worked together like on professional stuff and everyone's like, what's, what's the deal with Phil? I'm like, you ever meet people, they're just magic.

Phil Drolet

Thank you.

Mmm.

Jeff Albaum

It's just that's who you are, man. You're just a magical, magical person. I feel like every time I'm with you and every time we're hanging out, it's just like, I don't know how else to describe it.

Phil Drolet

Well, thank you. I deeply appreciate that. And honestly, the magic comes out even stronger when I'm around you. So you play a little role in it. Yeah.

Jeff Albaum

Thank you, man. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Yeah, so man, with that beautiful meditation, give people just a little bit of a background. I know you can't put your life into a couple of sentences. It's crazy, but maybe tell people what you're thinking about and what you're into these days.

Phil Drolet

Mmm, yeah. Well, in this very present moment, as I'm looking over my screen, I see a beautiful lake covered with snow. And I'm in my hometown of Saint-Bruno in Quebec and really embracing like deep winter mode, which is new to me because I spent more than a decade escaping Canadian winter, chasing the eternal summer, that kind of thing. And last year came back and spent my first winter here. This is my second one.

Really opening myself to the gifts of winter and that each season has its own flavor, its own essence. And for me, winter is simplicity, it's slowness. It's kind of like a permission to chill, which feels like in our world is extra powerful. You know, when we, when we slow down and we simplify things, all of a sudden everything becomes clearer and more alive in a way more magical. So that's kind of.

my vibe and I can be a pretty intense guy. So this is like pretty radical for me, but it feels amazing right now, to be honest.

Jeff Albaum

And what are some ways you're embracing winter? Like what does that mean day to day?

Phil Drolet

Well, honestly, I'm really enjoying playing ice hockey at the local rink, like outdoor rink with the 12 year old kids from my town. That's probably my favorite thing. And they're so good at skating. I only learned to skate like later in life. I'm not very typically Canadian in that way, but I love hockey. So I'm this big awkward dude who's pretty strong with good cardio. And there are these like quick agile dudes, but they're small and they're weak.

Jeff Albaum

and

you

Phil Drolet

So it's like pretty even. It's a lot of fun to be honest. And honestly, like jokes aside, it's really fun because it's a form of play. It's a form of like healthy competition, but also this is one of the things in Canada that hasn't changed in the last hundred years. Like our grandfathers used to go to the local outdoor rink, throw the sticks in the middle. You throw the sticks on both sides, you make teams and you play. And like everything about society has changed.

but that hasn't. There's no technology involved. There's no, it's not complicated. It's just like simple and sweet and fun and nourishing. So really enjoying that a lot. I spend a lot of time with my family. My mom lives in the same building as me. So that's really sweet. My dad lives just across town, like five minutes from here and hanging out with my friends I grew up with. So a lot of like wholesomeness, I would say, like not chasing fancy, spectacular, crazy stories.

Just really a lot of sweetness and that feels good right now.

Jeff Albaum

Yeah, Well, and also it's cool because you've done so much of the chasing epic stories and you've like, you've really accomplished a lot of those epic stories. So it's really cool to kind of see the other side of like the, yeah, more, like you said, wholesome and more like, don't know, this side of it. So that's really cool.

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Exactly, exactly. And I think, you know, we all kind of gravitate more towards one or the other. Like some people are always chasing the big adventures, the big epic stories. And I would kind of put myself more in that box or that category. So for me then to just embrace simplicity and just kind of be a normal guy doing simple things, but doing it with a lot of love and gratitude is so amazing. Just the same way that if someone's been living a more kind of wholesome, simple life.

and they choose to step outside their comfort zone and do epic stuff, it's going to be really energizing. But yeah, I think in this day and age, simplicity is really like underrated and extremely powerful. And I was actually thinking about it this morning. Like to me, simplicity is the precursor to magic because when we're overwhelmed and everything feels too complicated, the magic goes away. But when things are simple, it's like all of a sudden there's space for the magic to come. And I'm in that mode.

Jeff Albaum

Hmm.

I know you mentioned that it was literally the season of winter. So that's maybe some of the, some of like the, the impetus for starting this, but was there anything else in your life that like, what garnered the change in season, so to speak above and beyond being at winter?

Phil Drolet

Well, well, I mean, like the fact that it's like minus 15 Celsius and snowy outside is like, it's very real. But also like the last few weeks, there's been, yeah, I've had like some pretty epic things happen in different domains. like, it was really seasonal expansion and expanding my consciousness and what's possible in relationship and what's possible with

Jeff Albaum

you

Phil Drolet

when playing with energy and connection and like, I kind of blew my own mind like several times in the last few months. And then there was a moment where it's like, okay, like now let's just kind of come back and like, I don't know, the same way that if you've just had an amazing meal and you're like so full and it was so good and you've had all these flavors, you just want to go lay on the couch and just kind of digest and just like maybe watch some football on TV. Like that's kind of where I'm at. Like I need a period of like digestion.

Jeff Albaum

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. And so kind of with that, as part of your, last, I think it's like been 10 years or so, you've primarily been off social media, right? Like you haven't really had much of a presence online. And so now you're kind of stepping into like going back into social media. what's, what was the change about and walk me through what that looks like?

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, well, there's a nuance I need to add because I went back into social media and then I left again. But the nuance is this. So, yeah, years ago, I realized, you know, I guess in the name of simplicity and inner peace that social media wasn't for me, even though I built my first business using it a lot of site, man, it's just too noisy, too stimulating. And I want my life to be more grounded and calm, to be honest. So.

Jeff Albaum

Okay, okay.

Phil Drolet

left social media, I was offered for many, years. And then like sometime last year, started to get this call from the universe that I have more to share with the world and that I can't just be like in stealth mode forever and ever. Because, the coaching business didn't have social media, didn't have marketing, and even have a website. It was all worth the mouth, all referrals, which is kind of an amazing business model, to be honest. Like it's really great.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Phil Drolet

And it worked for years and years, but yeah, spirits start to show me like, hey, you have cultivated some really unique and valuable gifts and it's like, don't hoard it, like share it with the world. Like, okay. And you know, when, when, when God tells you something, it's, I found it's better to listen than to argue with God. So I, I leaned in, but it was very much like experimental, like, okay, I don't even know what social media is like nowadays. And it's crazy. It's so fast paced and it's so, you know, like.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

to me there's natural pace to things. Like right now we're having a conversation that has a organic pace, right? It feels good, it feels grounded. Then I go on Instagram and my brain's like, my God, what is this? Like it makes me feel the same way when I step into a casino in Vegas and I see all the lights and like ding, ding, ding. It's that kind of feeling. And for my nervous system doesn't feel good. So I posted a little bit experimented, realized I don't feel good here. So I stepped back out and now I'm gonna really focus on YouTube.

Jeff Albaum

and

Yeah.

Phil Drolet

which for me is kind of the sweet spot. It's a platform I use a lot. I enjoy it. I don't know if you would call YouTube a social media platform.

Jeff Albaum

Probably not actually.

Phil Drolet

Probably not. I mean, it has a little bit of social elements, but it feels, I don't more sane. So I'm really leaning into YouTube now, and that's gonna be a big focus for this year, and realizing I can do everything on that platform, and I don't need to spread myself on all the other ones.

Jeff Albaum

Okay. Well, dude, I'm, I'm selfishly very excited for this because I've gotten a chance to check out a couple of your videos from a couple of months ago and, they're awesome. Like you have some meditations on there. You have some amazing like talks when you're giving and like you and these beautiful forests, which I now know is right down the street from where you live, which is really cool. Um, and so yeah, I'm, very excited selfishly to be able to consume some of your content. So thank you in advance for, starting that back up.

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

You

You're very welcome. It feels exciting. Last year felt like, oh my God, like, I don't know, kind of really stressful to like step back. I kind of made it a bigger deal. I did. They like, it's not like everybody's like waiting eagerly. Like people are like, oh, you're doing YouTube. Cool. All right, nice. But for me, I made it like a bigger deal that it needed to be. And then I took a little break over the holidays and now I'm stepping back. Be like, no, it's just an extension of who I am. Like don't making it to some big deal. Just share from the heart.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Hmm

Phil Drolet

things you're passionate about, things that have been impactful, tell good stories, and let it be what it is. So I feel way more relaxed than I did three months ago around it.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Dude, that's awesome. I mean, you've shared with me a lot that like the best work you can do is like something that feels like an extension of you, right? So like, you don't want to be doing stuff that doesn't feel inauthentic, but you want it to be like, this is just me in work output, you know?

Phil Drolet

Yep.

Exactly. And not performative. That's the whole thing. And for me, that's something I'm completely continuing to unravel. It's like, we don't need to perform to be light, to help others, to add value. In fact, the greatest service we can do is just to be authentically ourselves, which ironically is like the simplest thing in the world, but it's like kind of hard because we've conditioned ourselves to not be that, or at least some of us.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

And so for me, it's just like remembering, like, no, I can just turn it on, share, and that's it. Like, don't need to put on a show, just be me. And I think a lot of people around the world are learning this right now.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

And so how did you start January 1st? Was that kind of when you started to take it? Because there are some videos that are a couple of like four or three or four months old.

Phil Drolet

Yeah, so there's like stuff from before then I took a break. I mean, it was on like a solo retreat for all November I was in the hills of Tennessee like kind of downloading like, okay, what do I want this to be because before I was just creating random stuff like just throwing stuff at the wall in November was like, all right, what am I actually doing here? And during that month received a lot of clarity. Then December came back here, but it was the holidays didn't feel like the right time to to to go. And then

now that the new year started. I recorded my first video yesterday, haven't published it yet, but kind of giving myself grace of like, you know, let's lean in, like don't need to force anything, like be gentle with myself as I step back into creator mode, which I think is an interesting balance. And you know, this as a creator, it's like, we don't wanna be too gentle with ourselves, cause then we'll never do anything, but we don't wanna be too hard on ourselves.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

because then it can kind of dim our creative process. So try to find the happy middle.

Jeff Albaum

And so how did it feel to record the first video?

Phil Drolet

awkward for the first three minutes and delightful for the next 11. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I gave myself permission. It was gonna be like a practice video. So I already knew I wasn't gonna publish that one, but let's just kind of go through. mean, talking to someone to me is so easy, because I connect with you and this feels real normal. Talking in front of a crowd.

Jeff Albaum

Hmm, okay, sweet. That seems like a good balance.

Okay.

Phil Drolet

Amazing. There's humans, there's energy I can see, but talking to a camera alone in a room is still a little bit weird. Like it's not a very natural thing for humans to do. I think we can train ourselves. So for me, it's like, how do I be authentically my full human self when I'm talking to a piece of plastic in a room by myself? Okay.

Jeff Albaum

Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I get that. I get that. It's honestly probably a good thing that you feel that way. I feel like you make better content if you do feel that way versus if you're too comfortable, it's almost like, I don't know, there's some inverse relationship there, I feel like.

Phil Drolet

Hmm.

Okay, I'll take that to heart because it definitely does feel a little bit funny, but I'll trust that. I mean, it's like anything, right? It's a skill, like everything in life. You know, I'm such a big believer in like having growth mindset and nothing about us is fixed. Everything is developed, can be developed, can be improved. And so, okay, my skill level is here. I want it to be there. Well, let's get to work and let's...

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

Let's get 1 % better. I saw a guy who posted that the other day. If you know, they say like get 1 % better every day. And he said like mathematically, if you get 1 % every day over 365 days, by the end of the year, you're 38 times better than when you started. Because it compounds, right? So was like, Oh my God, I can totally get 1 % better every day. That seems completely reasonable. And I'm going to be incredibly so much better a year from now.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm

Yeah.

Phil Drolet

Cool, let's get to work.

Jeff Albaum

Yeah, that's I love that. They say compounding is the eighth wonder of the world.

Phil Drolet

Yeah, yeah, we often think about in terms of money. And obviously that applies there. But in terms of skill development, it's true as well. Just consistent a little bit every day. And to me, that's one of qualities I really try to embody and something I appreciate in others is consistency. It's not a sexy quality. It's not instant grab and bowl. But if we can be consistent and not like big spike of motivation, get like lost for three weeks, no, just like.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

show up, do the work, behind the scenes, no one knows about it, but just falling in love with that process of just improving ourselves a little bit every day. Amazing things happen and people are like, wow, how'd you do that? It's like, well, I just worked on it like a little bit every day. And to me in a world that can sometimes feel confusing, that's something that's like very grounding. It's like, okay, this, can wrap my head around. Cool, I'm gonna do it.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm

Dude, I love that. I love that. And so the topic, correct me if I'm wrong, of the channel, like the overarching theme is like practical spirituality, right? So.

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. And I think what I'm gonna dive into is like helping people master the art of transformation in this idea that information is more available than it's ever been. Like, know, a hundred years ago, if you wanted to like learn something, have to go find some like sage or, you know, somehow go to acquire a book, which was like really difficult at the time. Nowadays,

We have all the information we could ever want. And yet it's not like people are walking around like fully blissed out and enlightened. So information doesn't equate transformation. There's a whole process in between. And I feel like that part doesn't get talked about. There's like all the information and then there's like, but I'm still stuck in the same patterns. I'm still struggling. I want to talk about that middle part. Like, how do you take these, these, these teachings, this knowledge and implement it, embody it, master it.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

day in and day out. And I think that's the missing piece in something that I think I'm pretty good at.

Jeff Albaum

Dude, I think it's so cool that that is what you associate with spirituality. Like when you're talking, I almost don't think about spirituality, but I love the application of that. Like you can apply that to anything, right?

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, exactly. mean, it's the, know, to become an amazing triathlete is a process of transformation. You start, you're not very good. You're not very fast. then fast forward a few years later, you're amazing. It's like, was, that was physical and mental transformation. And I'm realizing in athletics, we've mastered the game of transformation because that's literally what it is. And we've broken it down into like steps and a process and a system that you just repeat day after day and then you get better. But in spirituality.

Jeff Albaum

Sure.

Hmm.

Phil Drolet

that's kind of missing. There's a lot of amazing spiritual notions floating around, like that's everywhere. But the percentage of people here and then apply and then master is so small. And that's a little bit tragic, but somehow that doesn't really get talked about. And that's where I feel I can really add value to the space.

Jeff Albaum

Do you remember where or how old you were when you were aware that you became interested in this? Because I think you've always been an athlete, so that's probably since you were young. I think you've always probably had some head for business of some sort. When did you know that you were into spirituality, that this was really resonating with you?

Phil Drolet

Yeah.

Well, spirituality came later, but at 10 years old, something really interesting happened where I made a very clear connection in my mind. Like I started swimming when I was five. I was pretty hyperactive. So my parents kind of like threw me into the pool and were like, swim, tire yourself. So you want to be so much to deal with. And it worked. It was actually a great decision on their side. And like, you know, when you're six, seven, whatever, you go to swim practice because you have to, but.

When I was 10, I really made this connection that like, wow, what I do every day in practice has a a direct correlation to what happens at the competition in two months from now. And that has a correlation to if I win medals and I get to go on like cool higher level competitions and like, so I was able to connect the choices I make every day to the quality of my life a little bit down the road.

Jeff Albaum

at 10 years old. Wow.

Phil Drolet

at 10 years old. And it became very clear, my God. And once you understand that, then going to practice is not some chore or something. It's exciting, because I'm investing in my future quality of life. And cool, the return will be super positive. I didn't think about it in those words, but that was the idea. And when that clicked, I was like, my God, this is so fun. And then I was never the same after that. And I've always looked at life through this light.

Jeff Albaum

Yeah, yeah.

Phil Drolet

What I do now directly impacts how good my life will be tomorrow and the days after. But if I do it now to the best I can, it brings me instant gratification. Not like instant gratification the same way if I go eat a hot dog, but a satisfaction of like giving my best, showing up, feeling I'm getting better. And to me, that's like the best addiction in the world, really.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

That's so cool. So every day when you're practicing whatever your craft is, like you have that almost like the, you feel the benefit of the future benefit in the moment that you're practicing.

Phil Drolet

Exactly, exactly. To this day, every time I finish a training session, I pat myself on the shoulder and I'm like, yo, that was fun. And I was just really alive for the next hour, but I just put money in the bank and that will open open doors for me. it's like, yeah, and it's not just like winning medals, but it's like just I'll be able to experience myself at a higher level and hey, maybe I'll get to go to travel to the world championships and do these cool things. And like,

Jeff Albaum

Yeah

Phil Drolet

Life can be infinite if we just kind of rise to the level of skill that opens those doors and it's like super fun. It's like, I get to like experience all this cool stuff as long as I'm to put in the work today. But that work can be fun and enjoyable if you know that it's paving the way to like the life of your dreams.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm

Hmm, so, okay. So let's let's connect the dots a little bit because with with the because we have that that knowledge of like okay this I'm gonna do something today that I know is for the benefit of my life. Let's I don't know take eating better, right? Like I want to eat more cleanly. I know that eating healthier foods is gonna lead to a life of health and Well-being and I want that But man, I love potato chips or like insert of I love hot dogs. So like

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Okay. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Jeff Albaum

how do we think about or how should I think about bridging that gap?

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Well, I think we have to get like really excited about what that will create. So it's like, I will be more healthy. Like that might or might not really hit the spot, right? Like, that's nice. Yeah, being healthy is better than not being healthy. We have to frame it in a way that's like, yes. Like, so for me, it's like,

Jeff Albaum

Hmm

You

Phil Drolet

I wanna have vibrant, amazing energy every day to do all the things that I want and show up as my best. That really matters to me, because why would it not? So that really fires me up. So it's not just like, I wanna be healthy. No, no, I wanna be like vibrantly alive and fully myself in every moment. And the fuel I put in my body has a direct correlation to how I feel today and how I feel tomorrow.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

and

Phil Drolet

If I eat a bag of chips, sure, might kind of feel nice in my mouth in a very temporary way, but then I'll have a belly ache and my quality of energy will degrade over time. Like, no, that sounds terrible. But if I have a smoothie, and also like, that's the other thing too. It's like, we have to make sure that the things we do today, if you have to do something you hate today in order to have something you like tomorrow, that's tough. That's a tough sell.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

and

Phil Drolet

But for me, I eat super healthy. But if you follow me around all day every day, you'd see me excited about the thing I'm about to eat, because I make it taste good. So my smoothie is freaking delicious, and it has 12 super foods in it. So I'm like, yay, I'm going to drink my smoothie. It's going be so delicious. And also, it happens to be the same thing that's going to make me feel good today, and tomorrow, and the month after. So I think that's the way we connect all these things. I go to the gym sometimes.

Jeff Albaum

Yeah.

and

Phil Drolet

and I walk in and I see people running on the treadmill and they look just completely miserable. I'm like, well, yo, why are you doing that? Like that just looks horrible. And like, I'm sure they have to fight a battle to get themselves to do it too. And they're like, well, it'll be good for me. So what can we do today that is enjoyable and like lights us up in the moment that's gonna make us feel good today and that aligns with our goals and our dreams? That's what we're trying to figure out.

Jeff Albaum

You

Phil Drolet

So back to the original thing, yeah, eating healthy, like, yeah, chips are pretty good, but like an amazing salad with like amazing homemade dressing and maybe like some grilled salmon on top of that, you know, that's even way better than chips. Like that actually tastes better if you enjoy like good flavors. So yeah, how do you make the thing good today that connects with your future?

Jeff Albaum

Got it.

Right, right.

Dude, that's awesome. I feel like that I've never, at least with food, I've never thought about it like that, but that resonates. Yeah, I would, I'd buy that. I'd buy that.

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, and the same applies to, you know, like working out, like find a thing that lights you up. Like, okay, maybe going to Threadmill doesn't light you up, but going to a Zumba class, maybe that's your jam. And you're like, yo, I love to do Zumba. And you finish your Zumba class and you feel more alive than when you started, not like, my God, this was the worst 30 minutes of my life on that freaking treadmill.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So how do you think about because like obviously some things are inherently or maybe this is an assumption but some things are inherently kind of boring or like they don't let you out. Taking out the trash, right? You got to do it. It's part of life. So how do you think about those kinds of things? Is that like, okay, not everything lights me up and like that's okay. Or like when you're taking out the trash are you like stoked like, oh, I get to walk outside.

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Let me tell you my strategy about joyfully taking the trash never shared this publicly, but it's No, man, there's there's like a small percentage of things that we just got it We just got to do but even then right like for me, I don't like cleaning. I don't like doing the dishes So I save it all like just dishes just pile up in my sink all day long And then at night I get in a mode I put some some like nice relaxing music

And I'm like, cool, let's clean up the space. And I know that one, it's kind of boring, so it helps me fall asleep faster. Like I do it before bed. So that helps. And then two, I really love the feeling of going to bed with a clean space and waking up with a clean space. And I'm just going to batch it. So it's just like, okay, was like a pair of pants, like lying on the floor over there, we're to pick that up. Like just get in a mode and just get it all done. So I think, yeah, for those more

Jeff Albaum

You

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

boring tasks, like every Friday I have like admin time where I'm gonna do like two, three hours of like cleaning out my inbox, doing all these like life maintenance thing, just like put on some good music, get it done. And then for like stuff around the house, same thing. And I think, I don't know if it's the same for you, it's hard for me to get into it. Like I'm never gonna like get me pumped about doing the dishes or take out the trash, but when I'm doing it, I mean, it's not a big deal.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

So it's hard to get into it once you're doing it. Once you're cleaning, you're like, let's keep cleaning. Let's make this place look good. So I think it's like getting in a mode, getting as much of it done and then yeah, moving on with your day or going to sleep in my case. Yeah.

Jeff Albaum

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, help yourself go to bed. Dude, what is a day in the life look like for you these days? What is a Wednesday? What does a Thursday look like? A day where you're not traveling, you're at home.

Phil Drolet

Mmm.

Yeah, well, I'll tell you I'll tell you about my day today because it's kind of like a typical date. So today's what's Thursday. So woke up at 630. The first two hours of my day are always some sort of spiritual practice. So pretty robust. So a little bit of meditation, then some some spiritual reading, then I go for a walk around the lake. And as I'm walking, I'm kind of breathing and doing some some like mental exercises. Come back, journal a little bit.

Jeff Albaum

Thursday.

Phil Drolet

do a longer meditation. like pretty substantial amount of spiritual practice. But for me, everything I do in the morning, like I enjoy it. None of it is like, ugh, I gotta do this. It's like, no, I love meditating. I love journaling. I love reading. Love walking. And by the time it's 8.30, I've done all these things. I jump into cold shower. That's kind of the on switch for more external facing Phil. And yeah, by the time I finish this,

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

I feel amazing. And of course, you for someone listening at home, you don't need to do two hours. Like that's, that's on the higher end, but even taking like 30 minutes of intentional time in the morning to do things that like nourish us, that make us feel centered. Like to me, it's the best time we can invest because it changes the whole complexion of the day. Then after that, had a call with a client for an hour. Now we're talking for an hour and I'm to go run for an hour. Today's a recovery day. just 60 minutes, easy run.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

out in the snow just, I don't know, just taking in the fresh air, the fresh cold Canadian air. Then I'm gonna take a little nap, do a little bit of admin work, have another client call at the end of the afternoon. So that's kinda like my work day. And tonight, in a very Canadian fashion, I'm gonna go play some ice hockey at the local rink with the kids, and then I'm gonna watch the Montreal Canadiens kick some ass, and then I'm gonna go to sleep. So that's it.

Jeff Albaum

I'll do the dishes first and then go to sleep. Yeah.

Phil Drolet

Yeah, watch the game and I'll be too excited from the game so I'll need to calm myself down so I'll do the dishes as a way to wind down, clean up the place and then go to sleep.

Jeff Albaum

Hahaha

That sounds like a great day. That's a pretty kick-ass Thursday.

Phil Drolet

Yeah. Yeah. And for me, that's an example. For me, that's a simple day. Like there's nothing crazy fancy. I do my spiritual practice. I have a few work calls with people I enjoy, people I love working with, where I get to be fully myself, get to work out, take a nap, play a little bit of hockey, watch some hockey. Like all simple, wholesome things that really work for me. And what's most important is like,

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

It doesn't feel overwhelming. I used to try to fit as much in a day as I humanly could, like this idea of like, you only get one life to live. You got to like make it count. And I realized it's better to do less with more presence, with more, yeah, just presence, than try to do more, but feel rushed and like hurry through life, you know?

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm Yeah, a thousand percent a thousand percent I'm gonna ask you a big question so you can you can marinate on if you like When you say spirituality when you say the universe you've mentioned the universe you mentioned God like What is that to you? Do you believe in God? Do you believe in the universe? What how do you do? How do you think about those concepts?

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

You know, when you said, I'm going to ask you a big question. was like, yeah, try me. And then you asked this. I'm like, damn, that is a big question. What is God? Oh my goodness. That is a big question. All right. Well, I'm going to go meditate for 20 minutes and then I'll come back and we'll pick it back up. Is that worth it? Well, obviously I've thought about this and I'll start by saying it's one of those things that's hard to put into words.

Jeff Albaum

Hahaha

Mm-hmm

Phil Drolet

like language is limiting but I'll do my best because it's what we have. To me God or the universe I kind of use that interchangeably. In my mind I think more about God but that word can be charged so in certain contexts I'll use the universe because it's a little bit more like in French we say passe partout it means like it can fit in any situation. But God the universe to me it's a field of loving intelligence that organizes all things.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Sure.

Phil Drolet

and creates all things. So it's not some bearded guy in the sky. It's literally just a field of loving intelligence of which we are a part of and that literally we emerge from and go back to. And yeah, it organizes things that we can't, it's like there's things we can control, but there's so much going on at all times. It's like this field of loving intelligence is just kind of keeping the whole thing running and.

ensuring that every morning the sun rises and that your heart keeps beating and that somehow your hair keeps growing. mean, mine a little bit less than yours, but you know, like, and most importantly, like without getting too theoretical about it, because it's like, what is God? It's more like, okay, what is my relationship with God? Like, what does that mean for me personally? I think that's a more important question.

Jeff Albaum

Hmm.

Phil Drolet

To me, it's like this field of loving intelligence is always guiding me. It's always supporting me. It's always putting the right situations in front of me, whether they'd be like these beautiful, delightful moments like this one, or more challenging ones that are like uniquely created for me to learn a lesson, to evolve in some way. And so it's like, I'm in this, almost like this simulation, but it's like designed perfectly for me. And it's like stacked in my favor, even...

Jeff Albaum

Hmm

Phil Drolet

when it feels challenging in the moment. But I'm never alone. I'm not just like this little entity floating on a piece of rock in space. Like, no, no, I'm connected to this whole field of intelligence and it's got my back at all times. So, okay, now we can play the game.

Jeff Albaum

Yeah, dude, that's awesome. That's such a beautiful way of phrasing it. And I love what you said, like the tips are stacked in my favor. Like what a beautiful way to live, like go through your day and go through life is just like, dude, I like, I haven't like someone has my back, you know?

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, 100%. And the crazy thing, once you kind of combine that with quantum physics, like the more we're understanding the quantum world, the expectations we have and kind of what we believe about reality creates that reality. And this is not just some like positive thinking stuff. This is like, like the double slit experiment is literally that the expectation of the observer affects the observer, affects what actually happens. So in concrete terms, what this means is like,

Jeff Albaum

and

Phil Drolet

If we believe that the universe is this hostile place, then we create that, we see that, and that's the world we exist in. If we believe it's neutral, it's not good, it's not bad, there's just the laws of physics, and it is what it is, then that's a reality. But the more I choose to believe that the world is, that the universe, that God is supporting me, is guiding me, is loving me, the more I experience that. And that's actually the reality I step into.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm

Phil Drolet

So, you know, Einstein once said the most important question in the universe is do we live in a friendly universe or not? And our answer to that question dictates what is actually true for us, you know?

Jeff Albaum

Hmm. Einstein said that?

Phil Drolet

So it's said, that's attributed. The most important question is do we live in a friendly universe or not? Because literally everything else in our life is downstream from that.

Jeff Albaum

I didn't know that. That's really cool.

Wow.

Yeah, wow, I'm gonna have to think about that a lot.

Phil Drolet

Yeah, I'm curious for you, do you sense that the universe is hostile, neutral, stacked in your favor? What's your orientation towards that?

Jeff Albaum

I've never thought about stact in my favor. I feel like I'm an optimist by nature. I feel like I generally see like the good in things and the good in situations. and so I, I tend to believe that like, like I want to be, I want to be as open-minded as I can, but I heard this great quote. It was like, you don't want to be so open-minded that your brain falls out. So like, I feel like I am very optimistic. And then I also believe that like, there is some hostility in the world and

Phil Drolet

Mmm.

Jeff Albaum

that also people are inherently good. I think if I had to break it down, I think there, people are inherently good, there is hostility in the world and like I go through my life primarily focusing on like the people are good. I think if I had to sum it up.

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Fair. Yeah. And it's...

Jeff Albaum

because it's hard for me to look at history and be like, the world is so, the universe is beautiful. On the other hand, it is easy to look at history and be like, the universe is beautiful, because look at how far we've come and all this stuff. But I don't know, that's a fun.

Phil Drolet

Yeah, I mean we could go deep into this one and ultimately something I'm coming back to again again is like I Don't think about the world. I think about my world Because there's no the world there's Lily as many worlds as there are humans on this planet because we all Live and create our own reality. So I don't watch the news. I'm not on social media like Frankly, I don't know what's going on in the world and I don't really care but in my world

Jeff Albaum

Mmm. Mmm, mhm.

Sure.

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

There's a lot of beauty, there's a lot of love, there's a lot of grace, there's a lot of positivity, and that's the world that I choose to live in. And that's how I get to influence the larger world as well. And so, yeah, I've realized, and that orientation might not work for everybody. Like some people feel a necessity to know what's going on. But for me, I'm like, I do better when I kind of bring it back to like my world, my reality, and...

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

let that be as beautiful as it can be, and let it operate with its own laws of physics, so to speak. And if I do that, that's when I feel best, and that's when I feel like I'm actually having the greatest contribution that I can by kind of beaming out that energy out.

Jeff Albaum

Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, to your point, right? Like how many people go through their day pissed off of what they read on the news and then are mean to everyone they interact with, right? Versus if you're focusing on yourself and like, okay, I'm going to just be a nice person to everybody I meet. Yeah.

Phil Drolet

Exactly.

That's it. That's it. And to me that that kind of goes back to that simplicity. It's like, man, to track everything that's going on in the world and oh my god, it gets so overwhelming, so quick and takes us away from the thing we control, which is like how we show up, you know, for ourselves and the people around us. Like that's really our leverage point. And whatever takes us away from that and makes us feel out of sorts and disconnected from love.

Jeff Albaum

overwhelming. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

probably not helping. And for me to have kind of my blinders on and to simplify my life and be very deliberate with like what I let in and how I cultivate the garden in my mind, I found to be the best strategy. And once again, might not be the same for everyone, but I get the sense that most people would benefit from like paying a little bit less attention to what's out there and a little bit more attention to what's in here and what we can impact moment to moment by just our presence, our energy, our care.

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm

Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Totally dude. It's like you read my mind. What's what's okay. Speaking of the, of the garden of your mind. So I think you've explained this topic is like, yeah, your, your, mind is a garden. So be really careful with what you let in and what you cultivate because what you let in, what you plant, so to speak, will grow. Right. So

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Jeff Albaum

What do you, you know, day to day let in? Like what is the stuff that you do consume, that you do, you you mentioned spiritual books, you know, are there other books you like to read? Do you read fiction? Do you listen to podcasts? You mentioned music, of course, Montreal Canadiens. You know, what is the stuff you do let in?

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm. Yep.

Yeah, yeah. So, well, first of all, a lot of silence. So a lot of time where there's nothing I'm letting in, I'm using that time to cultivate my direct connection with God or with Source. And to me, that's the most important thing I can do. So lots of time where there's no stimulation, there's no conversation, there's no noise, there's just like, yeah, this internal cultivation, which I think we all know deep down is useful.

but a little bit radical. So even like in practical terms, like when I'm in my car, yes, I can turn on the radio. Yes, I can listen to podcasts or I can just practice presence and just driving and like breathing and just being with the experience of driving. And I'm trying to do more of that, which once again, as the world becomes more noisy, silence becomes more valuable in my experience. Now,

Jeff Albaum

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

Back to your question, okay, I still do. I'm not just like silently in a cave all day. So there's still some input that comes in. But yeah, so every morning I read some sort of spiritual book and just let myself kind of immerse in this beautiful wisdom. And then I'll take this and I'll go for a walk and I'll meditate on what I just read. So I don't wanna just read and forget it. I'll read and then go walk for 15, 20 minutes and just either think about it or take one notion.

Jeff Albaum

you

Phil Drolet

and turn into a mantra. like, so this morning I was walking and with each inhale I like, I accept, and on the exhale, the love of God. I accept the love of God. I accept, and just repeating that, I don't know, like 300 times, and feeling that. So it's like, what I'm letting in my garden, what I'm watering is just this one idea of like, really accepting the love of God, and now I'm planting that seed more and more, you know, with each breath, with each step on my morning.

Jeff Albaum

Hmm

Phil Drolet

And that really goes a long way. And like, when I'm making my smoothie, I'll always put on some sort of like spiritual thing from YouTube. Like I have a few different teachers I really like and they have these like 10 minute things. So just while making my smoothie, receiving 10 minutes of just amazing wisdom and not just the wisdom, but the energy that they emanate. Getting ready to go to India pretty soon. So I'm listening to some like amazing

Jeff Albaum

Hmm

Mm-hmm

Phil Drolet

Indian teachers and like living saints and that's like a new exploration but I'm like wow how amazing is it that I can go on YouTube click and receive like the energy of these amazing beings like what a time to be alive but the really important thing is like I try to not consume too much of it but really receive it because it's not a game of just like how much information can we let in and I think that's something we have to be mindful of even if

we're consuming like positive stuff. It's like if you listen to a podcast for an hour and a half, that's a lot. And maybe it's better to consume less, but receive it more deeply. Yeah, and you know, music, I really love hand-penned music these days. like, or classic piano, just like nice instruments with no lyrics are very calm. Like, yeah, I think I...

Jeff Albaum

Mm-hmm.

Phil Drolet

Realizing this, I try not to let into too much and then with conversations, like steer it with the kind of conversation we're having right now. And it doesn't mean that we can't talk about challenges and difficulties because they're part of the human experience, but always from this frame of like, let's feel what's going on, let's honor what's going on and let's see how we can transcend it. So a meaningful, beautiful conversation.

Jeff Albaum

Hmm, dude, I love that. I love that. And I feel like there's a million things I could ask you and we could talk about. you know, I really much, I very much appreciate you coming on and, and yeah, taking the time to share some of your wisdom as the, as the YouTube channel grows. do you want to share, share it with people? Where can people find it and, yeah, what's it called and how can they get more of you?

Phil Drolet

Mm-hmm.

It's yes, so it's called Phil Drolet just like me. yeah, if you're interested in topics that we explored and really bridging the gap between like all the amazing information that's out there, but be able to implement it, to live it, to be it, and do it in a joyful way, that's really what I'm feeling inspired to share these days and what I'm focused on in my everyday life. Yeah, we'd be happy to share more.

Jeff Albaum

Thank you so much, Phil. You're the best. You're a freaking beast all around and I'm so honored that I get to call you a friend, man. So thank you.

Phil Drolet

you

Thank you, brother. Appreciate the conversation.

Jeff Albaum

Back at you. All righty. Bye, everybody.