The Hidden Cost of Certainty (And Why It’s Breaking Us)

What if the thing you spend your life trying to avoid (uncertainty) is actually the skill that determines whether you thrive or collapse?

Before the success, before the book, before the impact — there was a moment where certainty disappeared, and Scott Stirrett had to decide whether to retreat… or step forward anyway.

Scott shares his journey from leaving a high-certainty career at Goldman Sachs to founding Venture for Canada, raising over $80M, and supporting nearly 15,000 young people across the country. The conversation goes deeper into Scott’s lived experience with uncertainty during his OCD diagnosis, the 4:00am walk that marked his lowest point, and how learning to stop seeking certainty transformed his relationship with fear, ambition, and identity.

Show Partners:

• Get your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here!
• A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas
• Personal Socrates: Better Question, Better Life

Get in Touch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthehuman

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-champagne-🧠💪-14767b17/

Website: https://www.mchampagne.com/

Timestamps:

00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?”

02:45 — Leaving certainty behind at Goldman Sachs

06:30 — The emotional paradox of excitement and anxiety

09:50 — Why uncertainty holds so many people back

13:20 — OCD, anxiety, and fear of the unknown

17:40 — The 4:00am walk and hitting rock bottom

21:30 — Exposure therapy and learning to stop certainty-seeking

26:10 — “The only way out is through”

30:45 — Relationships as a resilience system

35:20 — Strong ties vs. weak ties in an uncertain world

38:50 — Designing recovery after intense life sprints

42:10 — How Scott wants to feel in his next chapter

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Special props 👇

Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud

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