Infinite Possibilities with Sylvain Renaud
Sylvain and his wife Caroline are incredible people and I am very lucky to call them my friends! They are the type of people that you can sit for hours with having real, deep, thought-provoking and inspiring conversations. I first met Syl at a networking event when I was doing my event planning business full time. It was a natural connection because he is a very talented videographer so we were in the same industry. We worked together a few times and it didn’t take long for me to become great friends with him and his beautiful wife. Anyone that knows these two, know they are pretty much the sweetest couple ever! I adore them.
I remember the day Caro told me Syl was diagnosed with cancer (we were actually about to go into a hot yoga class that we did together) and my heart sank. I remember feeling helpless and wanting to do something so that my friend didn’t have to go through this horrible disease. I guess it is a natural reaction when you hear the word cancer. I have to tell you though, watching him go through everything he went through and come out even stronger is amazing. I never heard him complain once throughout the process, which I know had many ups and downs. Thankfully he is now cancer free and is back working and creating beautiful videos. I am blessed to have him in my life because to me he is the epitome of strength. No matter what comes his way, he faces it head first with a positive mindset and sees infinite possibilities. I really don’t think there is anything he could be faced with that he couldn’t handle with grace. I have learned so much about approaching any life situation with multiple lenses and perceptions because of the many conversations I have had with Syl and Caro and I am eternally grateful for my friendships with both of them.
I know you will enjoy his insights as my feature for this post! Make sure you also checkout his amazing work through his website or social media links at the end of this post.
Your Name:
Sylvain Renaud
What do you do for a living:
Cinematographer, editor, producer and part owner of Reno Video Productions with my wife Caroline here in Ottawa. We specialize in cinematic, storytelling wedding films, we create a timeless expression of the couples special day. We’ve done some interesting corporate work as well.
What inspires you:
Real emotions, good or bad. I need to feel something, if I ever flatline emotionally that would be the kiss of death for me. That’s why I prefer shooting, weddings or documentaries, telling a story instead of just selling a product or business.
I am also inspired by my wife, friends, family, and in the past three years I’ve been enormously inspired by the “The Joe Rogan Experience” a podcast you can find for free on the internet. I gave up on cable TV after my son Chris suggested I check out Rogan and other podcasts online. Now it’s become part of my weekly rituals. I’ve seen and listened to well over 400 episodes now and it is a completely different experience than regular TV talk shows. Whether Joe’s guests are artists, scientists, athletes, psychonauts or anything in between, famous or not, the subject matter might not be what I’m interested in but the experience is always real and very informative or entertaining. Joe’s idea is to have a conversation with guests just like you would at home on the couch talking with friends, usually they are three hours long. If someone is being dishonest or as Joe says “full of shit” or “full of wisdom” it will come out inside of the three hour conversation. The whole experience takes place in real time with no editing. All the faults, mistake, errors, and vulnerabilities are exposed. My favourite episodes are the ones with Joe and Duncan Trussell (both are also stand up comedians) they just go off on amazing rants about everything you can think of. This inspires me to be as real as possible in my own life. If everything is always on the table, then there is no pretending to myself or others about who I really am.
How do you stay balanced in your busy life:
It’s still and always will be a work in progress but right now, anything that has to do with being in the moment, count me in.
What piece of advice would you give your 20-year-old self:
A flip of the coin really. Be careful with your EGO ! It can help you and it can also kill you. Ideologies and a false sense of self can be fatal to your happiness. But on the other hand the JOURNEY is what’s important including you figuring it out for yourself.