In this episode of Lykken on Lending, we explore The Quantum Mindset: Resilience Lessons That Redefine Success, featuring an extraordinary story of overcoming unimaginable beginnings and rising into purpose, gratitude, and impact. Through vivid examples—bees modeling sweetness, the observer effect, and collapsing the wave of possibility—our guest shows how leaders can transform their reality by shifting perspective, reframing challenges, and embracing responsibility. Whether you’re navigating market uncertainty, organizational change, or personal transition, this conversation reveals the practical and spiritual principles behind unshakable resilience and high performance.
[David] Rene, you came from a tiny village in Haiti with no running water or electricity. Can you share a little bit more about the early hardships that shaped you to where you’re at today?
[Rene] Yeah, David, uh it started in a tiny village in Haiti, as you already know, life was very primitive. There was nothing in the village, my mom left me when I was only a baby. I was only nine months old. Not because she was a bad mother, but she had to go to Port-au-Prince to go find a better way to provide for me. But right after she left, several deadly diseases pounded me and they vowed to end my existence. So much so, I thought maybe God brought me into this world and for had forgotten about me. And uh they told me my mom went to Port-au-Prince to find a better way. I didn’t want to buy that. When I became aware of my surroundings in the village, I was already climbing coconut trees and mango trees for survival because there was absolutely nothing in the village. I stayed with a lady, my mom left me with a neighbor, she didn’t really take care of me. She kept me because of the benefits, she thought my mom would send some soap or some sugar or something. And so I was practically on my own in the village. Yeah, life was very tough.
[David] From literally a few months old.
[Rene] Yes.
[David] And so it’s not even a family member that’s taking care of you. You’re you’re, I mean, that is I mean, there’s some there’s some unfortunate beginnings. Yours is one of the most pronounced I’ve seen. So you overcame a lot of that through there. But I mean when you talked at your keynote in Sales Mastery this year, which by the way was the best. There was everyone gave you a standing ovation. You did a fabulous job of telling your story in a way that just was inspirational yet kind of helping us all just recalibrate where things are at. But in your Sales Mastery speech, you mentioned modeling success is like bees going after sweetness. Can you explain what you’re talking about there, especially as it relates to plays to the role of success and transformation in your own life?
[Rene] Yes, that was when I was a kid in the village. I was by I was about six and a half, seven years old. And a man by the name of Raphael in the village, a very wise man, believe it or not, we have a lot of wise people in poor villages around the world. And I saw a bunch of bees flying, and I asked Mr. Raphael, what are the bees doing? And he told me that they are looking for sweetness, the flowers, and he told me that that’s how they create honey. But then he told me that there are also some rattlesnakes in the village, and the rattlesnakes do the opposite. They are just as busy as the bees, but they are looking for a bitterness, the bitter leaves to suck the bitterness and then to create the poison to kill other living creatures. Then he went on to tell me that a lot of people in our society they are, they behave just like the rattlesnakes. They are so negative, they are always finding what’s wrong with this, what’s wrong with this situation. Or they see a problem in every solution. But he also told me that the bees they don’t invent the sweetness, they learn the model, they go where it is and take the sweetness and model with model it to create honey. And so in our society, just the same, the clues are everywhere. We see them actually, we don’t really see them because we see what we focus on, Dave. You already know that, right, David? Whatever you focus on, that’s what you see.
[David] And so it’s also sometimes not only is it what you see, but it’s where you’re you naturally steer your career, your car. I mean, they always say it’s where you’re looking, it’s where you’re gonna drive your vehicle.
[Rene] Everything.
[David] So it’s so important that we be really cognizant about that. That’s really interesting.
[Rene] Yeah, and so if you model success, if you have that mindset of the bee, you’re gonna go where the sweetness is every time. The people who are crushing it in any economy when other people are complaining. By the way, what we focus on become the story we tell ourselves. And believe it or not, we are all living in a story or many stories, and we convince ourselves that the story is true, and we go around and tell other people this is the story, this is why I am not succeeding, why I’m not making sell, why life is tough for me, and we use those stories as excuses. The reality is we know those stories are not true, they are fiction. We created them in our heads because our reality, David, as you know, is not real. It’s not a reality, it’s only real to us. The story is only a true story to us. But when when we look at life, we look at we look at our circumstances, our situation, we are the creator of it all. Unfortunately, some people will say, Oh no, Renee, I didn’t create my situation. Yes, you did. Yes, either directly or indirectly, you have something to do with it. So what the moment we accept responsibility that we created this, then we have power to change the situation.
[David] So when you when we start recognizing, first of all, you have to recognize you’re going after bitterness or you know the bitter, which the rattlesnake’s I had no idea that’s how they create their venom. I had no idea about that. They were they’re attracted to things that will you know build their venom versus bees, which are gonna attracted to the things which are gonna create the honey. That’s fascinating. A lot of metaphors there we can play with forever. But how does someone begin to change if they find themselves in a place where they’re heading towards bitterness? They were born in the bitterness, they just go that direction. Is it predisposed that you will always go in that direction, or can you change it? That we that’s a rhetorical question because we know we can change as humans, but it’s more difficult for some to change, make that change.
[Rene] I love the word David, predisposed. Let’s talk about, let’s talk about before you were born. The scripture says, before you were born, God already knew every hair. I think it’s the book of Jeremiah, is that right? So he already knew everything about you, which which means you are predisposed to live the life you are living. Right. People have the wrong interpretation of that. It is not because we are predisposed, every version of ourselves, past, future, present, every version is already in existence, out there in the field. And we’ll talk about quantum mechanics in a little bit, is already out there in the field, which means, yeah, it’s we are predisposed to be any version that we want to be. Okay. he already knew the story we are living now, right? But there’s another story that he also knows all the stories at the same time. We choose this version we are living in by our belief system. By if we I was just talking to with my brother-in-law uh this morning, and I was telling him, do you ever wake up and have a million-dollar idea or thinking about how can I make a million dollars and he drives Uber? Or do you wake up and say, I’m going to go uh on the street to make $150 or $200? I said, that’s how we create our reality. So you do you think somebody like Elon Musk wakes up and think about how to make $200 driving an Uber? See? Yeah. But it’s the same mind. The field that has all the versions of ourselves, okay, has like the Bible says, the sun rises for everybody. He is not a respecter of person, he doesn’t know this is Elon Musk, this is Renee Gardevoir, this is David. It’s just like it’s our mind, whatever we project out there, and that’s what it is. That’s the key. Um, so the first thing we need to do is to is to change our story, the story we are telling ourselves.
[David] And you don’t want to needed to do that more than you. You started out with being left as an infant with a neighbor. And if anyone that’s what I love about your story, if any, and that’s why I wanted you on here, because there’s so many people that are arguing I can’t because of this, and they have all these excuses of why they can’t change behavior. And you are a living example of coming from some of the most unbelievable circumstances of life, started out. And look at where you’re at today. It’s I mean, I just I know we don’t have time to tell your whole story, but I want to cover as much of it as we can.
[Rene] See, here’s the thing when I was a poor kid in Haiti, um, when after I left the village, uh, I moved to Port-au-Prince to be with my mom, who was living in a little shock, like a little dungeon infested with stripes.
[David] Because I mean that that’s it’s a quantum leap from being left, and then now you’ve you went and found your mom, and that that was in itself quite a journey.
[Rene] Exactly. So I was I was on that one little room, it’s like a dungeon, always dark. The rats and the witches crushing me over all night.
[David] Sometimes some more slept in a bedroom which was in a dark, like dungeon, yeah, like a prison cell.
[Rene] Okay, and so the rats used to nibble the bottom of my feet. That’s why I say today I’m one of the most grateful human beings on the face of this planet because I’m living in these United States of America.
[David] Right.
[Rene] The point is, when I was that kid sleeping on that floor, the motivational speaker who is speaking on stages all over North America today was already in existence. It was a version of myself. I just didn’t know how to step into that version because of my programming, because of my story.
[David That is yeah, I mean listeners. This is I wish you could we could encapsulate and just put in you right away what Renee shared from the stage here. So let’s go back to now. You you are how how how old were you when you reconnect with your mom?
[Rene] I was about seven years old when I left the village.
[David] So you left a village that you had had only I mean the community raised you basically.
[Rene] Correct, correct, yes.
[David] And you had a heart and desire to go reconnect with your mom.
[Rene] Yeah, it was the thing that I longed for. Every day I was look, I was like, I was sending messages to her when people would come to the village, say, please tell my mom I’m suffering in the village. I don’t want to be here anymore. Please, please, please. And eventually somebody took the message and she got the message. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to bring me, she just couldn’t afford the 50 cents to bring me to Port-au-Prince to be with her. But when we united, it was it was like it was like we’re bunded to this day. As you know, I’m the caretaker for my mom, and that was a promise I made to her. We bonded, and we’ve been together ever since.
[David] That’s such a wonderful story. You know, share some practical steps and daily habits that you learn that you recommend for leaders today and individuals who want to cultivate an unshakable resilience that you somehow miraculously developed and created such a positive outlook and high performing you help people perform at the highest levels.
[Rene] Yeah, the the first thing is to learn to reframe your situation, reframe it because it’s all the there’s a saying, the way we look at anything changes the very thing we are looking at.
[David] So the way you are again one more time, repeat that one more time.
[Rene] The way it was Max Planck, the father of quantum mechanics, who said the way we look at anything changes the very thing we are looking at. Which means in an instant, you can change your situation. In an instant, like literally now, you can make whatever is bothering you, you can make it mean something differently by changing the way you are thinking about it, the way you are looking out, in quantum mechanics. That’s called the observer effect. The moment you choose to observe a thing, a situation with a different frame, you change the situation. You can go from sad to happy. You can start laughing at your situation right now. And somebody says, you know, one day I will look back and laugh at it. Why don’t you look at it now and laugh at it? Because every time you face a situation, a mountain to climb, it’s an opportunity. Look at it as an opportunity. What is gone for me is first I learn how to reframe. Second, I learn to associate myself with winners. Basically, I go where there is the sweetness. I don’t really spend time with negative people. Okay, people who are talking about, I don’t know, maybe your microphone. Were you saying something, David?
[David] Oh, I’m so sorry. I just I I I I caught some coughs. I said, cut my mic off. I’m gonna get a drink of water. Hold on, real quick. Sure. Because I’m going like something happened. Then I realized I didn’t turn my mic on.
[David] So, so, so that is so you know, it’s like there’s it’s like Satan doesn’t want this to get uh published because I mean like I don’t have these kind of issues. So it’s all of a sudden like what’s going on here? Hold on a second. I had something neat just before coming out here. So it could be something I can get stuck in my thought. Okay, we got my mic on back. Okay, let’s get it. We’re back on. You touched on something we say at that. You touched on quantum mechanics. I’m fascinated with the topic, and we’re learning so much about how this aligns actually with biblical principles. It’s what we look at, what we observe. And you talked about the observer effect. Get into that a little bit more.
[Rene] Well, the quantum mechanics says everything exists as a wave of possibility, it’s not a reality until you collapse the wave into one reality, one reality that is real to you, and then that becomes your story, the story you tell yourself. So when you what quantum physics says they have the something they call entanglement in quantum physics, you can entangle yourself with whatever you want in in life because in the field, the quantum field, and some people call it the Akashic Records or whatever it is, but like the Bible said there’s nothing new under the sun, which means everything is already in existence, right? Right. You can learn, according to quantum mechanics, which is the marriage of spirituality and science, that’s what quantum mechanics is. You can observe a thing and collapse the wave to the reality that you want to live, the reality that you want to experience. So that’s called entanglement. And we are entangled with a lot of things, a lot of people. Like when you are madly in love or your children, your family, you are entangled with them. It’s literally they are thinking just like you are thinking, they can finish your sentence. That is from a distance. That’s the entanglement, right? So whatever you want to happen to you in 2026, you can entangle with it by focusing on it, not just like some people the when it comes to visualization and manifestation, they do it for like 10 minutes a day or five minutes, and then the rest of the day, they are thinking of the opposite of what they want. They are thinking of lack. So, quantum mechanics, what quantum mechanics is the entanglement to collapse the wave, it you have to focus on what you want throughout the day. That’s why you are supposed to pray unceasingly. That’s what it means. You are always thinking about abundance, right? Because if you pray for abundance, then after you pray for abundance, you are thinking about lack. Or you get let’s say let’s say Dave, David, you get a rejection in the field, or okay, you keep focusing on that one rejection, how that one no, you’ll never get to the yeses. That’s what it is. You collapse the wave.
[David] So explain the collapsing the wave concept. When you say collapse the wave, without getting into um oh quantum physics lesson, what is the what is the principle that you’re talking about there practically?
[Rene] What I’m saying is just like for every the probability is, for example, this microphone can mean uh probably a billion things to a billion people. So what it means to me, probably a person in my village that has never seen a microphone before, it would not mean the same thing to that person who’s looking at this thing here. So, me, I collapse the wave now because I believe I know this is a microphone, I see it. But that person in my village, that microphone is still a wave of probability. So I see what you’re saying. Now it’s collapsing it into something that you understand, a context of that I believe that I know it’s a microphone, but that person who has never seen a microphone before is purpose of it. Yeah, it’s still a wave of probability, right? in in the field. So when I collapse this into the microphone, if I explain to the person in my village what is a microphone, I show the person the microphone. Now, instantly that person collapses the wave. Now be careful. I dictate, I can determine how this person is going to think about the microphone, which is what social media is all about, right? The algorithm is all about. They dictate every move, like you know, our belief system and everything, right? So basically, they are collapsing the wave for us in a way that they want to. What about we collapse it in a way that we want to? That’s what Quantum mechanics is all about. The observer effect is the way I observe it versus somebody determines how I’m going to observe it.
[David] Yeah. What’s really interesting is I was just listening to another podcast on this topic, and they say that there’s now theory that this nothing is really moving until it gets observed, and then all of a sudden it wakes up and starts being observed. We’re learning so much no new information, and we it’s the merging of spiritual principles with science. It’s so fascinating. But equate this to practical steps and daily habits that you recommend for leaders. So when you it’s circumstances that someone’s looking at is what I’m assuming, whether it be a business transaction, a sales opportunity, a difficult conversation with a family member or something like that.
[Rene] Yeah, for example, let’s say if you are a leader in a company, the same principle applies when it comes to quantum mechanics. You are entangled with everyone in the company. Okay? Your name is mentioned anywhere in the company. A group of employees are talking about you, or your entanglement. Yeah, that’s right. That’s the entanglement, okay? And then you get to collapse the wave, and your company has is a wave of probability. It can be a billion-dollar company, it can be a million-dollar company, it can be a trillion-dollar, but all the possibilities, probability of what your company can be depends on you, the leader or the CEO or the founder of the company. You get to collapse that wave into a billion-dollar company, even though all the employees they don’t see that it’s a billion-dollar company. Now, as the leader, your job is to persuade and convince them and collapse the wave so that they too can begin to see the company as a billion-dollar company. Right. Totally up to you as the leader.
[David] And when you understand this, that’s what gives you the unshakable part of your ability to execute, is you just are absolutely knowing, because you know that you know is the expression I’ve heard for so many years.
[Rene] And some people might think this is rural. They might think this is rural, right? But somebody has I just use Elon Musk, right? As an example, he would colonize Mars.
[David] I know.
[Rene] Okay, he is collapsing a wave of probability right now. Mars is a wave of probability. Nobody knows Mars, nobody has lived on there, right? It’s he collapses it into what he wants, and he wants to colonize it. So you can do the same thing for your market. You can colonize your entire market. You can take over, you can grab market share after market share. It’s not woo-woo. Let’s talk about in the Bible, right? What did Jesus do? He just kept collapsing the wave of probability. Water can be anything, it can be whiskey, it can be champagne, it can be wine, it can be anything. It’s a wave of probability. He just collapsed that wave into wine. That’s all there is to it. Now, he doesn’t really believe. They talk about believing. If you believe that the water can be wine, you’re not gonna do it, right? You have to know, you have to see it. You have to the it’s the there’s a difference between knowing and believing. He never really, he never really looked at a dead person. He said, I believe I can raise Lazarus. That didn’t happen. He just said Lazarus, because he knew he already knows, he knows the code, that how it works, how it operates in the invisible world. That’s what he does. So if you’re going to say, Well, I believe one day I’ll be rich, no, you have to know for certain that is what is going that’s that is what is going to be for you, which means you literally collapse the wave into the possibility you want, the probability, whatever it is. Now remember, he said, the least amongst you, right, into all that I do, and greater works shall you do. Now, I don’t want to be, I’m not really religious, you know what I mean. I’m just talking about some of the principles that real good principles from the good book. If we pay attention to them, that’s what is happening. And by the way, like I said, the sun rises for everybody. You can be a criminal, right? You still can collapse the wave to anything you want, which means you would not be a criminal if you learn how to collapse the wave. You can be a voodoo priest, you can be whatever religion, whatever you are, right? No respecter of person. Everybody, I know there are so many different religions within even Christianity or whatever it is, but they are all using the same, the exact same principle that we were taught.
[David] Yeah, such a good point. Such a good point. You know, I can go on and on. I love quantum physics, especially as it comes to leadership. And I don’t know that I’ve had met anybody else that really explains it as or draws the correlation between quantum physics and leadership as you do. You in your speech did such a powerful job of creating a patriotic theme. It was you walked out on stage with literally the suitcase that you came to America in. It was such a strong observation, and you held in that suitcase the patriotic flag that you were given when you became a citizen. It was so moving. When you talk about patriotism, is it because of where you came from, or has is it even more so based on the experiences you’ve had since you’ve arrived here?
[Rene] Yeah, some people talk about some people say I am a patriotic keynote speaker. The thing is, is exactly what you are.
[David] Certainly you are, because that we all were we were all ready to stand up and salute, and the flag was yeah, thank you, thank you.
[Rene] I show up with my flag. With the when I became a US citizen, a man gave me a flag and he told me it stands for everything. America is about freedom, the American dream, resilience. So I always travel with my flag to show, first of all, to show Americans the kind of country they are living in and sometimes they tend to forget because it’s easy to take something for granted when we are so used to it, right? So I’m there to remind them that they are living in the greatest country in the world. but it did it started for me in Haiti when I was a kid, I had this vision because America was the promised land for me. I would when I was in poverty, I thought if I ever make an American couple in came to Haiti and they gave me a dime when I was walking with an extended hand back behind them in a place called Shadow Marsh. But the lady touched me so compassionately. As a result of that, David, a dream was born in my heart. I said, one day I want to go to America to eat lots of rice and chickens, right? But you know, I’m about sick of rice and chickens now. That’s another story. And then so I started collecting little American flags. Wherever I would see one, I would start having visualized myself in America. So I had this affinity for the US flag ever since I was a kid in Haiti. It’s not something that is happening today. I remember when I went to New Orleans when they had the whole the left when the levy broke and they had this flooding and stuff. And a friend took me and I was visiting right after, and I was seeing all those things on the streets, and I saw a flag, and that’s the only thing I took. I still have it right here with me. I said, this flag doesn’t deserve to be in this disaster. I took the flag and I brought it and I put it by my desk.
[David] That’s a way it’s so amazing.
[Rene] Whenever I see a flag flying, and the flag is beaten and is all torn out, and I’m like, no, they need to change this flag.
[David] Yeah. And there is there’s your story about when you came to America and how you succeeded. Talk about that story. When you first arrived here, what was it that brought you to America? And what was the big step that allowed that to happen?
[Rene] I came to America with well, not with a theater company, but I went to Montreal first with Montreal.
[David] You went to Montreal with because you were it was a dance or something of that nature?
[Rene] Yeah, a theater, a theater group performing, right? to perform. But the dream was to be in America. I realized I was next door to America. The founder of the group, they thought I was going back to Haiti, kind of crazy, because I’m already here in Montreal, Canada. The next step for me is America. So that was over 42 years ago. I paid a truck driver to smuggle me into this country. And please know that I’m a U.S. citizen today, a proud US citizen. And 42 years ago, it was a different world, right? Come into this, everybody would open their arms and welcome you because no ill intention. It was like very safe, it was a much safer world, right? But I entered this country wedge underneath an 18-wheeler covered with ashes, dust, and smoke between the re tires. Very dangerous, right? I made my prayer. I said, God, I promise you, if you help me make it to America, my promised land, safe, I will not waste my life. I will do something meaningful with my life. And I kept my promise. Now, was it easy starting in a country? People talk about change, a lot of change in the companies today. And I’m always telling the teams, let’s have a conversation about change. Let’s talk about you in a country. You don’t speak the language, like the food, everything, the whole culture is so different, and you have to make it, you have to succeed in a country like the United States. We can talk about we can talk about change. The first thing is to accept the change, accept it, don’t fight it, embrace it, which is what I did. I accept the fact that I’m going to struggle at first. I don’t know who gave us the memo. Life is going to be so rosy, so easy. No, at first, there must be a struggle because without the struggle, without the change, you can’t, it’s like the butterfly or the caterpillar, right? Without the struggle inside that cocoon, without the change, you can’t transform to be the butterfly that you were meant to be. And I realized my when I first came to the United States, I didn’t speak English, didn’t know anything. I was like learning English, David, was the highest mountain I had to climb in America. It was very, very hard, really.
[David] Really? Yeah, I can believe. Yes, it’s a difficult language to learn, especially what’s the what’s the language in in Haiti again?
[Rene] We speak uh Creole and we speak French. Supposedly, French is the official language, but the majority of the people in the country they don’t speak French. You have to go to school to learn French. So Creole is the dominant language in Haiti. So I consider myself, yeah, I don’t speak any language. I speak some Spanish because you know, in Miami, that’s where I landed first, right? everybody in high hail, if you know where Miami is, yes, everybody spoke Spanish. So I didn’t have a choice but to learn Spanish before I even learned English. So some Spanish, some English, some French, some Creole, some a little bit of those four languages.
[David] And so fascinating that whole journey. So you came to America and you got a job as a doorman.
[Rene] Yes, yes, yes, yes.
[David] Now going from doorman to highly sought-after public speaker, as you are, it’s quite a there’s a lot happening between those two.
[Rene] No, first I was a janitor in Miami.
[David] You were started a janitor, okay.
[Rene] Yeah. In fact, my first mentor in America was a trash can. When I would empty the trash can, I would see letters. I begin to collect the letters. I would go home and rewrite them in my own handwriting because I wanted to learn English. And then I would learn how to format letters. I always tell people the trash can was my actually first mentor in America.
[David] How old are you?
[Rene] I was 21 years old when I first came to this country. If you anybody who knows Miami, the mall is 163rd mall in Miami, I was very skinny, pre-rice and chickens, right? With the mop, the mop was so tall. I had this big uniform, and I was on the food court mopping the floor. I was really surprised that adults get they were eating like kids, dropping food all over. I was like, you know, those are my adults. Why are they creating such a mess for me to clean on the floor? But yeah, that’s why then I had I started a business in the parking lot of a bank, total bank. I was washing cars. Three dollars a car. And I felt like I was rich in the parking lot. You know, I was like, I remember the first car. The first, here’s what I said, David. Every time you are delivering your product or service, you are actually auditioning. Now, I don’t want anybody listening to me right now, especially if you are on a founder, if you own a business. I want you to look, when you are delivering your product or service, look at it as an audition for the next business. Because when I went to that parking lot, I was asking people in my broken English to wash their cars. I kept hearing no and no and no, but I knew in America there’s always a yes behind the no’s. So I kept asking until this one guy said yes. And I did a spectacular job on his car, as if the car belonged to a showroom. When he came out, he was shocked. He said, How much? I really didn’t know how much. I said, two, and it is, and then he gave me five dollars. And in my mind, I said, Oh, now I know the price. It’s gonna be five dollars. He said, are you gonna be here for the next few minutes? I said, Oh, yeah, yeah, yes, yes. And then another guy from the bank, that was my referral. Remember, I was auditioning, right? That’s why I did such a spectacular job cleaning that car, and that’s what even when I was a doorman, I was always auditioning. When I took care of Mr. Horovitz, I was his companion, he passed away. He was a very wealthy man in Atlanta. I took excellent care of him, the family, they were fighting after he passed away. They wanted me to come work for this, work for that. Oh, so many offers. Why? Because I was auditioning. I’m always when I’m on the on the stage, as you notice uh at the Sales Mastery Conference, I was auditioning, which is kind of crazy. They pay you to audition. If you are closing a deal right now, which is like you are opening a relationship, that’s what it is. You are not closing the deal, right? You are literally auditioning for more business. The client is paying you to audition. That’s ridiculous. If you can only look at it this way, you would go above and beyond the call of duty. You would exceed, exceed expectations, you would anticipate expectations, which is the key anticipation. To anticip and that’s the one of the words I can’t pronounce, right? To anticipate what you will need next.
[David] Very interesting.
[Rene] Just to blow them away.
[David] Very interesting, very, very fascinating. So we I mean, I listened to your story and I want to just go on and on and on, but we’ve already been talking for 40 minutes, so we got to get a bow on this thing. You now do public speaking for a living. That’s your primary means by making a really good income. Love to connect the story with our listeners, but you just gotta go grab the book, folks. We’re gonna talk about that in a minute and hear his journey where he went. Or if there’s any way you can afford to bring Rene in to speak to your organization to do so. It is gonna have people standing on their feet to be inspired, not only because of the story and a great storyteller that he is, but also to overcome circumstances that I guarantee you most people in your company have not had anything close to the circumstances they’ve had overcome to get to where they’re they need to be or where you want them to be. And this is why I recommend having Renee come in. Talk a little bit about how people can get a hold of you, Rene, to book you for speaking, and anything you can share with them. I want you out speaking as much as possible. I know you’re busy already, but let’s fill up your schedule.
[Rene] Very easy to get a hold of me. I’m everywhere, like omnipresence everywhere, wherever you go on social media, you will find me. I have an account there. I spend a lot more time on LinkedIn than any other place. But I’m on Instagram, I’m on TikTok. I’ve I blew up on TikTok so many times. I went viral with about 162,000 followers, but if you really want to go, because I don’t really on TikTok, I don’t really talk to the people. I don’t really, really you know, check my messages, it’s too crazy. But on LinkedIn, you go to LinkedIn, you will find me there. Just send a request for connection, mention where you actually heard me or where you saw me, and I will accept your connection and we will connect there, my website is my name. If you are watching on the screen, it’s my name.com. But if you are not, let me make it easy for you. Go to abcmotivation.com. Just in case you are driving in your car listening to this podcast. Yeah, abcmotivation.com.
[David] Very good. Rene, I am so blessed and fortunate to have got gotten to know you and gonna you’re my new best friend. I just can’t wait to just spend more time with you. You’re you know, when you associate with winners, people that are overcome. I like what Booker T. Washington said. I’m not so impressed by the man where a man arrived, but it’s what he overcame to the point where he achieved whatever level of success he had. You’ve overcome so much, Rene and I encourage people that want to have a dynamic speaker come to motivate you, talk about quantum physics, a very hot topic right now. AI, all of that. They could not get a better speaker than you, Rene. It’s just powerful. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast.
[Rene] Thank you, David, for the option.
[David] Oh, the book. We got to talk about your book. The most important part. The book is such a good book. Yes, I love it. Tell us about the book and how they can get a copy.
[Rene] We have a lot of excuses. And uh, yeah, on Amazon. Just go to Amazon and you got the book.
[David] I’ve started reading it. I took it with me over Thanksgiving. It is such a good book, it’s such a motivator. I’m so excited about spending more time with you. We’re gonna have you back again as we continue to do more. I’m gonna be starting another new podcast. If listeners are starting to hear about it on these last couple podcasts, and it’s called Lykken on Life. And we’re gonna spend some time with you doing that conversation. Thank you so much, Rene, for coming on, friend.
[Rene] Thank you. Thank you.
Important Links
Rene Godefroy is proof that no condition is permanent. His story inspires audiences to rise above challenges, take personal responsibility, and embrace change as a gift. Born in a tiny village in Haiti with no running water, electricity, or medical care, Rene spent his early years fighting for survival. After his mother left to find work when he was only nine months old, he battled disease and ridicule from villagers who believed he would not live. They called him “kokobay,” meaning crippled, and he spent his days on a dirt floor fanning flies from his face.
At seven, he moved to Port-au-Prince to reunite with his mother, brother, and sister. The family lived in a small basement filled with rats and roaches, but Rene refused to let hardship define him. When an American couple gave him a dime and treated him with kindness, a dream was born. He promised himself he would one day go to the United States.
At 21, Rene arrived in America with one pair of pants, two shirts, five dollars, and no English. When no one would hire him, he created his own opportunity. With three dollars, he bought two towels, a bucket, and soap and began washing cars in Miami until he got his first yes. Later in Atlanta, he worked as a warehouse laborer, caretaker, and finally a hotel doorman. While parking cars, he noticed business books in the back seats, wrote down the titles, and studied them all. Self-education became his turning point.
Today, Rene is a sought-after keynote speaker and the award-winning author of Kick Your Excuses Goodbye. He has spoken for AT&T, Aflac, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Hyatt, and many others. Featured on CBS 60 Minutes and honored with a Key to the City, Rene now inspires leaders to innovate, do more with less, and see change as a doorway to greater possibilities.