Influencer Michel Jourdain
Interview September 2019
Michel, could you share with us some information of your family life?
I am married to my soulmate “Muni”, I have one brother and 2 sisters. I have 2 children, Quijana Jourdain and Quishurean Jourdain that I am very proud of. My parents are still alive and these days especially, are very supportive about what I am doing now. In the past I was educated the traditional way, to focus on studying, although I was passionate about doing sports. After my studies in Holland, I was supposed to find myself a job and live happily ever after, like most of us were educated to do, right? Now, I am preparing myself to expand my business of lifestyle coaching and I am on my way to becoming a full time entrepreneur by starting my own business, just like my wife Muni is, who was born to be an entrepreneur. I have experienced a big mindset switch the last couple of years, which I am appreciating a lot.
Could you share with us some of your educational background and past professional experiences, as we know that you are an entrepreneur?
I have studied aircraft engineering in Holland, afterwards came to Curaçao and started at “Isla”, the local refinery in Curaçao, to study to become a plant technician. After passing my exams with honors (cum laude), I was fascinated by chemistry and looked for a chance to work in the laboratory, they offered me to continue to become a chemical laboratory technician, which was completely not what I studied for. Now I am working as a plant technician and focusing more and more to become a full time lifestyle coach. Our slogan is: “My health, my responsibility.” And this has become my biggest goal in life. As an entrepreneur in the wellness sector, that is partly educational and partly the health sector, I want to enable my clients to have a new lifestyle. I focus first in my approach on mindset, then the daily structure, the nutrition and last but not least the physical part with daily fitness exercises and ultimately a new lifestyle, aimed at maximizing the person’s wellbeing.
How do you know that you are successful?
I have a saying: “Be inspired, Be inspiring”, I want to inspire others, so that they can become the best version of themselves so they can inspire others around them (Circle of Influence). To achieve this, I diligently work on myself, so that I can become a role model for others. So, I live intentionally every single day and work diligently towards achieving my goals and bettering myself, so that others can be inspired to reach their goals.
We met at Mistica Fraay’s office the other day and she highly recommended you as an Influencer. Are you also involved in other projects in Curaçao?
Mistica works at SEHOS and I was a trainer in the SEHOS Fitness movement.
Yes, I am also involved in the Fundashon Alton Paas.
Can you give an example of how you work as lifestyle coach?
Well I make an appointment with the clients, I meet them virtually by video call or personal, and by asking questions, we can expose the root cause of the emotions and/or other issues that possibly are bothering them, I explain my process in which I help with changing their lifestyles, so that they come to gain a better understanding of themselves and understand the purpose of it. Afterwards, I answer any questions they might have.
What is the age group that you are targeting now?
Well my approach was, until recently, not directed towards a specific age group. Most people that approach me now, are older than 35 years old. But, I am deliberately focusing on reaching our youth, as I synchronically discovered, that this is a very important thing to do. Let me share with you an experience I had. As I have been involved in all sorts of sports during most of my life, competing even on the highest international levels, I was asked to give a presentation about nutrition at AV Sparta (a Track and Field Club in Curaçao) for some youth between the age of 6 – 18 years old and three of the best Track and Field athletes of Curaçao LeeMarvin Bonafasio, Terrence Agard and Prince Kwidama, they are competing internationally, were also invited at this event to give their experiences in the sport. These three athletes asked me more questions than the youth that was attending. You know, after this happened, I could understand why and resonate with them. As an athlete your focus is on training, training and training and you are not so much interested with your nutritional habits. We are not educated in this area until becoming professionals. This has inspired me, to start focusing especially on our youth, because of the total lack of education on nutrition for these youngsters, at this moment.
What is your BIG WHY or driving motivation to be whom you are right now?
I want to enhance the quality of life and change the world, starting in Curaçao, influencing people so that they can experience improved health and improved lifestyles.
What are the challenges that you are dealing with? And how are you dealing with these different challenges you confront? And what was a defining moment in your life?
I used to safe money in bottles of protein and those were small change as I never saved guilders. There was this moment that I had to go to this part of saving, as it was the only resort left to go for, I emptied these bottles on my kitchen table to count how much money I had to buy food for my us. This is when I decided that I could not go on further like this, I had to do things differently. This was my BIG AHA-moment, my epiphany that changed the course of my life. Now I am doing what I love to do and also I am taking care and supporting my family too.
I was and I am still at times my own biggest challenge. It is all about, how I handle myself. I have a mirror at home (my wife) that every day reminds me of who I am and where I want to be. Secondly my wife Muni, has been pushing me to become a better version of myself, and in the beginning this was triggering resistance in me, instead of using her feedback as a fuel to change and mend my ways. But 3 to 4 years ago in November 2016, I had a defining moment. My wife asked me what I wanted to achieve in life. I came to understand, that I was my biggest obstacle, standing in my own way. I have learned since then to absorb whatever I needed to learn and actively use it in my personal life, I started educating myself intensively. And I am now eternal grateful for my wife, for the role she played in whom I have become since then. I regularly post information on my Facebook page and I am happy with where I am now, compared to where I was some years ago and I am eager to become the person that I visualize that I will become, in the near future, especially as a role model for my children.
Do you use your inner voice to evaluate when dilemma’s show up?
Everybody has an inner voice. And I have to use my inner voice because if I don’t, I immediately will experience the consequences of not listening to it.
How does that work for you?
Well I go to presentations on entrepreneurship. I am involved in different projects. Nowadays I don’t fear anything anymore. Nowadays, I always believe that the project I am involved in, will be successful. As I put my mind on it, I just do it and go for it, all the way. By doing this, I learned and I am supported 100 % by my wife that surfs the internet and shares ideas with me and together this makes it all easier. She asked me 4 years ago: “Are you just going to “exist” till the end of your life? What are you investing your money in. What you are doing and what you are involved in, is it really what you want in life?” This was a defining moment. This is when I decided to change my life course and I started the process of improving my health and through this I started the movement of life style coaching and helping others.
How?
I asked myself what is my life’s purpose. I asked myself what makes me wake up every morning at 4 am (I wake up at 4 am every day and I work shifts) and do this with lots of passion. As anything else that is not my passion, would be just a 9 to 5 job, which I didn’t want anymore. I found my passion now and have experienced a paradigm shift. 4 years ago, my mindset was totally different. I was planning to end my career at Isla, where I work now. I was doing fitness and with all due respect just measuring the size of my biceps at the end of the day, nobody would be interested in knowing how big they are! I changed my life and that is giving me so much more satisfaction than what I used to do 4 years ago. I used to be very easily distracted, nowadays if I put my mind on something, I rid myself of distractions and focus. And this makes me happy, I feel a lot more accomplished. as I experience euphoria because I am influencing so many people positively.
How are you trying also to keep up with your personal knowledge and skills levels?
I study on-line, I am doing two courses at this moment, I google and search a lot, I attend courses of the NASHKO institute, I am a Neuro- Ex Certified Activity Based trainer, which enables me to help people with spinal cord injuries, stroke and MS to regain their muscle strength back, and creating new pathways for the nerves to reconnect with the muscles below injury. I am mentored by a lifestyle coach and I am working on getting certified in this and love educating myself.
What are your strengths?
I am consistent, I persevere and I am disciplined. I am working hard on the further improving of my communications skills. I am loyal to my work and I can work in a team. For example, me and my amazing wife complement one another very well in what I am doing now. I believe we have a brilliant future as we are also constantly looking for new ways to improve ourselves. I do visualizations where I believe in my mind eye that what we want is an intangible product, that already exists but it has not yet come to manifest itself. For example, when we got married in 2012 in Sint Maarten against all odds (too much to mention) and this was meant to be. She helps us, “believe in us.”
Do you have hobbies or interests that you are also passionate about?
I am very talented on the artistic spectrum of intelligence, which you might
not believe at first side. I love painting, I am very good with using my hands, so I am a barber and I am a good dancer.
How would you describe Michel in one word or one sentence?
I am determined to improve myself, I want to become the best human being I can be for everybody in the world. This is my biggest mission in life.
Who are the persons that have inspired you the most in your career?
My wife Muni, my mother as she has such a great and caring heart and my dad because he is straight. In hindsight whatever I was thinking, when he was disciplining me when I was young, that was the best thing that ever happened to me. I really learned to appreciate the value of life and the value of personal development.
Where do you want to be 15 years from now with your career?
I want to expand on what I am doing now, with the help of others, to markets outside of Curaçao. Creating a chain of wellness centers to help people, educate people and by doing this making the world a better place.
What would you want your Loved Ones, family, friends and others to say about you let’s say 20 years from now?
Michel is an inspiration that helped me improve myself and he is a role model to us.
What makes you stay optimistic about the future of Curaçao?
Curaçao is at the best place it can imagine itself to be, because when we are deep down in the gutter and there is nowhere else to go but up, we can create many great things and we will make Curaçao a much better place. We will succeed, as I firmly believe that you create what you are. We now have the chance to work on our intentions on how we want Curaçao to be. Because if you do something thinking you will get a good result and you didn’t, is because you didn’t do the right thing, analyze, adjust and improve it, so you can obtain the results that you want.
One of the 250 Influencers
Michel Jourdain is a representative of the educational and health sector as a lifestyle coach. The past 3 to 4 years he has transformed his love for sports and fitness into his new passion, to let people take more responsibility of their own health and therefore their wellness. Via his movement “My health, my responsibility” he aims at enabling people to have a new lifestyle, focusing first on mindset changes, then their daily structure, their nutrition and their physical part of their life with daily fitness exercises and ultimately creating a new lifestyle, aimed at maximizing the person’s wellbeing. His determination and dedication to “Be inspired, by inspiring” is gaining momentum and we consider him an awakening giant. We deeply respect and love Michel for the work he has been doing to improve the wellbeing of people in Curaçao and definitely consider him one of the 250 Influencers in our society.