Isabelle Racicot has had an impressive professional career: after a career spanning more than 20 years, she is now one of Quebec’s most prominent television and radio presenters. She is also known as the Mistress of Ceremonies at prestigious events across Canada, but she is also a successful entrepreneur! I had the opportunity to speak with her about the ups and downs of her amazing career and discuss the philosophy behind her success.
• Read more: Julie Le Breton recently had a shooting experience that changed her
• Read more: Isabelle Racicot shared adorable photos of her vacation in Greece with her boys
Isabelle, you are a very confident person; You believe that the best is always ahead and that through failures, there will always be good things in life for you. Did you already have this philosophy when you started in the art world?
I wanted to do my job since I was 12 years old and I never gave myself any other option. My father, a lawyer, tried to convince me to go to law school, but I wasn’t interested. I already believed that my way was communication. There was a bit of naïveté there, but it worked, so glad you listened to me! So I’ve always been very positive in nature, but I’m more zen now than when I started.
Photo: Jean Langevin / TVA Pub
How were you when you started?
I was very ambitious, I wanted to succeed, I was looking for a job, and every time I lost something, I thought it was the end of the world. However, I learned along the way that I can always manage and if I lose one deal, another one is going to pop up!
Did starting out as a researcher help you see the work with a certain perspective?
Yes, after all I worked behind the camera so I know I can always go back. I know how it works and I love it!
In fact, the primary driver of your career as an animator is your passion for content…
Yes, always! Explaining it is my desire to learn all the time. Being a facilitator leads me to share the knowledge I need to learn and discover myself. This is what makes my job so interesting to me!
When you started, did you imagine where you would be today 20 years from now?
I had a five-year plan from the beginning. I said to myself: in five years, I would like to have done such a thing … but in 20 years, I have never looked ahead!
Photo: Frédéric Auclair / DVA
I notice that many successful people set five-year goals. Sounds like a powerful tool for success…
For me, it worked well. I did a lot of visualization and most importantly, I named my goals out loud. I have a feeling that if we say what we want out loud, it will one day reach the ears of good people in the industry who will think of us for projects. It also allows guidance to make the right choices among the offers that arise. I always incorporate new challenges into my projects.
So are challenges a great source of professional motivation for you?
Yes, I need it! I’m a big dreamer and I need to have something in front of me that motivates me. Now, for the first time in my life, I have to tell you that I don’t have a five-year plan. In recent years, I no longer want to carry myself in life and want to surprise myself. Also, a lot of opportunities have come up recently. Did I create them? Am I the one who laid the foundation stone? Yes, but now my plan is not a professional goal, it’s a health goal.
Photo: Frédéric Auclair / DVA
Does it come from a need to slow down and think more about yourself?
Yes, follow my guidance and choose the things that nourish me. I also want to do things that do good and bring others into the light. This is my guideline, but it’s still open to others. Over the past few years, many people around me have been talking about not letting life get you down. I’ve never done that, so I thought: why not give it a try! Also, over the years, during times when I’ve lost jobs and had nothing going on for a while, I’ve developed a certain detachment from my work. It allowed me to discover that I could fulfill myself differently and that I could believe in life.
Is that how you ended up at Rhythm 105.7?
Yes! About two years ago, I replaced Marie-Eve Janvier on maternity leave. I have to do nine weeks. It’s been a few years since I’ve done radio by then and I thought it would be fun! I came to have fun and had no other expectations. Three weeks later, management offered to give me a spot on the team, and it was on!
Julien Faguere
You said you went through tough professional times. Which one is most trying?
That was in 2013. I don’t understand why I was changed The week ends well; I was there from the beginning. I even wondered if this would be the end of my television career. I had been working non-stop for 14 years; So it created a vacuum. It forced me to change myself and it opened many doors for me. I started working in English, among other things in radio. I started my fashion business Picoum. Initially, I experienced this passage as a failure, but it quickly turned into an important motivation for me.
Julien Faguere
This is the most prosperous period of your life, indeed!
Yes indeed! It allowed me to develop my creativity and realize that I could fulfill myself in many ways beyond my work as a television presenter. I believe these moments can be very enriching, but it depends on our attitude. There are always options, always opportunities.
See also: 9 TV Characters We Loved to Hate in 2022:
