We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ramsey Bergeron a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ramsey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Viewing setbacks with curiosity, not contempt. When I deliver keynotes and workshops, I share a story about a wedding cake that crashed to the floor during a reception when the bride attempted to cut it. Everyone assumes the bride started crying, but in reality, she started laughing, and then the whole room joined her. I think that is such a powerful mindset to have when things don’t go the way we want. It’s not about what happens to us but how we choose to respond that will ultimately determine our success and our legacy. I tell my students that there is always “cake on the floor.” There will always be things out of our control that we would have preferred not to happen. Ok, well, it did happen. How do you want to respond to it? View the unknown with curiosity, not contempt, and you will always end up being successful in the long run.

Ramsey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Ramsey Bergeron, and I help leaders and teams shift their perspective on themselves so they can lead with greater clarity, energy, and purpose. I run a company called Bergeron Well-Being, where I offer executive coaching, leadership workshops, and keynotes that focus on resilience, mindset, and emotional intelligence.

I didn’t set out to do this work in the beginning. I started in the fitness world, coaching clients to push past physical limitations. But after two back surgeries and finishing eight Ironman races, including walking two full marathons during recovery, I realized that mindset matters even more than physical strength. That lesson stayed with me and eventually pulled me toward deeper work with people who were struggling not just with performance, but with pressure, identity, and how they show up every day. I shifted into leadership and mindset development, and that’s where I’ve stayed.

Today, I work with companies that want to build strong, people-focused cultures. I coach senior leaders and their teams to better understand their blind spots, lead with intention, and manage stress more effectively. I use tools like the Energy Leadership Index to help people recognize how they’re showing up, especially in challenging moments. Once they can see it, they can change it.

What I’m most proud of are the moments that happen after the session ends. I’ve had people reach out weeks or months later to say the work didn’t just make them a better leader, it made them a better spouse, a better parent, or just a better version of themselves. One moment that stands out was when I visited a company’s headquarters after coaching many of their leaders remotely. One manager I had worked with walked up, gave me a huge bear hug, lifted me off the ground, and thanked me for the work we had done together. That kind of connection and transformation is what drives me.

If there’s one thing I want people to know, it’s this: you don’t have to wait until something falls apart to start showing up differently. Sometimes the biggest shifts happen when you simply stop, take a breath, and look at things from a new perspective.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One story that really shaped how I think about resilience goes back to when I was 19. I ruptured three discs in my back and lost the ability to walk. It was brutal, both physically and mentally. I went from being active and athletic to needing surgery just to stand upright again. At the time, I honestly thought that part of my life was over.

But I kept going. Slowly. I worked through years of rehab, setbacks, and pain. It took a long time, but I eventually got strong enough to start competing again. In 2010, I finished my first Ironman. Since then, I’ve done eight. Two of those were during recovery periods when I couldn’t run, so I walked the marathon. Every single one was hard. Every single one was worth it.

That experience taught me that resilience doesn’t mean bouncing back perfectly or quickly. It means continuing to show up, even when the path forward looks different from what you expected. That lesson shows up in almost everything I do now, especially in the work I do with leaders. Whether someone is facing burnout, self-doubt, or just feeling stuck, the question I always come back to is this: What’s the next step you can take from where you are, right now?

You don’t have to be at your best to begin. You just have to be willing to start. It’s all about the process.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think what’s helped me build my reputation is that I actually live the work I teach. I didn’t read a few leadership books and decide to become a coach. I had to do the work on myself first, deeply and consistently. I’ve faced burnout, dealt with physical and emotional setbacks, questioned my own direction, and had to rebuild more than once. Every framework I share with clients has been tested in my own life. I don’t just talk about resilience, I’ve had to practice it. I don’t just teach mindset work, I rely on it daily.

That’s what people respond to. They can tell I’m not showing up with a script. I’m showing up with lived experience, tools that work, and a willingness to be real about the hard stuff. Whether I’m coaching a CEO or speaking to a room full of managers, I meet people where they are without judgment. And I think that honesty and relatability have helped me build real trust in a space that can sometimes feel a little too polished or performative.

At the end of the day, people want to grow, but they also want to feel seen and understood. I’ve been there, and I think that’s what makes the connection stick.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bergeronwellbeing.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramseybergeron
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bergeronwellbeing/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramsey-bergeron/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bergeronwellbeing

Image Credits

Bridget Breier