Successful Rule Breakers: Peggy Van de Plassche Of The Microdose Diet On How To Succeed By Doing Things Differently
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Surround yourself with true supporters. People who sincerely want you to be successful are rare. Don’t listen to naysayers and devil’s advocates. Over the years, I have had to clean house and learned to share very limited information with ill-intended people I can’t completely avoid.
In the world of business and within every industry, there are forward-thinking leaders who go against the status quo and find success. Their courage to take risks, embrace innovation, and inspire collaboration separates them from the competition. Until 2002, Apple’s famous slogan was “Think Different”. This attitude likely helped them become one of the most successful organizations in history. This interview series aims to showcase visionary leaders and their “status quo-breaking” approach to doing business. As part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Peggy Van de Plassche.
Peggy Van de Plassche spent 20 years in the financial services and technology industries as an executive, venture capitalist, board member, advisor, entrepreneur and public speaker.
After discovering the magic of mushrooms for her own mental wellness and performance, Peggy realized how powerful psilocybin could be for personal and professional transformation. She then developed her own microdosing product “The Brain Power Microdose”, as well as a strategic and mindful 90-day protocol to help others reach their goals: “The Microdose Diet”.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up with my older brother and mother in sponsored housing in a small industrial town in Northern France. My parents split when I was two years old, and we rarely saw my father. My childhood was challenging and generated quite a bit of trauma and dissociation. On the bright side, these experiences drove me to want more out of life. (MORE! is the title of my book.) Ultimately, this desire led me to integrate psychedelics into my wellness and healing routine.
Can you give us a glimpse into your journey into this industry and share a story about one of the most significant challenges you faced when you first started out? How did you end up resolving that challenge?
I spent 20 years in the financial services industry before transitioning to the health and wellness sector with The Microdose Diet. The biggest challenge for me was letting go of my previous identity as a successful finance executive and venture capitalist to start over in a completely different field. Being a newbie after being an expert for so long was humbling. The protocol of The Microdose Diet helped me immensely with this challenge; I was my first psychedelic-powered transformation client!
Who has been the most significant influence in your business journey, and what is the most significant lesson or insight you have learned from them?
The most significant influence on my business journey has been my team of healers. I used to suffer greatly from C-PTSD, with a range of symptoms including anxiety, chronic stress, and depression. I was constantly blushing, afraid of public speaking, unable to regulate my emotions, and hyper-vigilant, to name just a few of my past challenges.
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that to achieve business success, you must first heal your traumas and tame your personal demons. No one can see the success they deserve over a sustainable period if their internal personal life is in turmoil. Personal healing precedes professional success.
And believe me, everyone has something to heal, something that is slowing them down. In the best-case scenario, it may not be massive, but based on my experience, most of us have quite a bit of internal work to do!
Can you share a story about something specific that happened early on that you would consider a failure but ended up being a blessing in disguise or ended up being one of the most valuable lessons you had to learn on your own?
Before starting The Microdose Diet, I wrote a memoir (think “Bridget Jones meets Eat, Pray, Love, with a Microdosing Twist”) that was rejected by dozens of literary agents. A few months later, while I was still working on improving my manuscript in hopes of finding representation, my current literary agent “found me” on the internet. He suggested that I write The Microdose Diet first before publishing “Paris, Mushrooms, and Me.”
This led me to formalize the protocol, launch my own microdosing product and online course, start coaching clients, and speak on this topic at conferences such as Wonderland and the Open: Minds Expo. My entire business came to be because no literary agents wanted to represent my first book!
The lesson was not a new one: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I had to pivot and once again change my self-concept from an author to a coach and entrepreneur in the psychedelic-powered self-development space.
Leading anything is hard, especially when grappling with a difficult situation where it seems that no matter what you decide, it will have a negative impact on those around you. Can you share a story about a situation you faced that required making a “hard call” or a tough decision between two paths?
Deciding to leave finance to dedicate myself to the world of personal development was not an easy decision. On one hand, I could stay in finance where I had a track record and reputation, but I was no longer happy, and my business had been hit hard at the beginning of the pandemic. On the other hand, I could leave the industry to pursue something I was passionate about, but with no visibility on potential success and while starting from scratch with the risks and investments that this choice required.
It was truly a difficult choice for my husband and me, with no “easy button” to press.
Let’s shift our focus to the core of this interview about ‘Successful Rule Breakers’. Why did you decide to “break the rules”? Early on, did you identify a particular problem or issue in how businesses in your industry generally operated? What specifically compelled you to address this and want to do things differently? Please share how you went about implementing those changes and the impact they had.
I have been a rule breaker since I was born! I was destined for a small life in France, but I refused that path. I studied hard to build a bigger life and left the country for North America in my twenties to follow my dreams. I have always questioned the status quo, not because I wanted to, but because it did not support my vision and goals.
Being a rule-breaker means looking at a situation and refusing to accept a sub-par outcome just because “it’s the way things are done here.”
When it comes to The Microdose Diet, I am breaking the rules big time, considering that in most geographies, microdosing psilocybin is illegal. But I refuse to accept lower mental and emotional wellness, as well as lower performance, just because of outdated laws! We know that mental health is a massive challenge worldwide and that the treatments offered (mainly therapy and antidepressants) have had very limited results. We also know, thanks to clinical studies and anecdotal evidence, that psychedelics have a lot to offer for those seeking better mental and emotional states. But should we quietly wait for an authority figure to give us permission to lead a better life? Absolutely not! I strongly believe in civil disobedience; this is the only way to move the lines.
We have to think for ourselves and understand who benefits from the status quo and recognize the inconsistencies in the system. Why would Big Pharma support plant medicine that actually heals patients when they have billions of dollars in recurring revenues with drugs managing symptoms? Why would politicians support plant medicine when they are lobbied by Big Pharma and have more to lose personally by doing so? How is it that alcohol and tobacco, which have no health benefits, are not outlawed, but plant medicine is?
Today, I am an outspoken advocate of microdosing psilocybin for a better life. I joined the board of MAPS Canada, issue free weekly content, published a book and online course, offer high-quality microdosing products, and coach. I have also been interviewed in multiple publications. For me, The Microdose Diet is as much a business as it is a passion and a change agent. I sincerely believe that the better people are emotionally and mentally, the better our world will be.
In the ever-changing business landscape, how exactly do you decide when to adhere to industry norms versus “breaking the rules” and forging your own way? Can you share an example?
Social media is the first thing that comes to my mind. Industry norms dictate constantly posting “stuff” to grow and engage your following. Personally, I am not a fan of social media, at least not at all costs. I do post weekly content to educate and entertain my audience, but I don’t spend my time developing content solely to capture attention. I believe the way businesses are supposed to manage social media is unhealthy and unauthentic. Similarly, I am totally misaligned with the hustle culture and the mindset of winning at all costs, regardless of the consequences for others. I believe one can be successful with integrity and respect.
What guidance or insight can you offer to new entrepreneurs trying to follow existing and accepted industry norms while at the same time trying to differentiate themselves in the marketplace?
Do what is good for you and what resonates with your values, not what you are supposed to do or be. This is how people get conned by the Madoffs of this world — they don’t question, they don’t follow their intuition, they just follow others.
You can absolutely follow the rules of business — high client satisfaction, profitability, return on investment — while getting there on your own terms.
There are many ways to bake a cake, even with the same ingredients!
Here is the main question of our interview. To make an impact, you have to champion change, get creative, and take risks. Please think back about the decisions you’ve made that have helped your business get to where it is today, and share your top 5 strategies or decisions that helped you succeed by doing things differently. If you can, please share a story or example for each.
Focus first on personal healing versus hustling. Limiting beliefs such as “people like me don’t build a successful business,” fears like the fear of failure (or success), and resistance, such as blocks when it comes to marketing yourself, selling your product, or managing staff, will make you fail 100% of the time. Spend resources first on removing what stands in your way of success. This is the most important step. I had to deal with many limiting beliefs, fears, and resistance to see traction in my business. And I still work on myself constantly.
Surround yourself with true supporters. People who sincerely want you to be successful are rare. Don’t listen to naysayers and devil’s advocates. Over the years, I have had to clean house and learned to share very limited information with ill-intended people I can’t completely avoid.
It will take more time, effort, and money. That is a basic fact of business!
Be your own rule-breaker; listen to your intuition and protect your energy. Success requires a great internal guidance system and high-quality energy. Anything and anyone that is polluting or parasitizing your body, mind, and spirit needs to be limited.
When in doubt, wait and rest. When I can’t seem to make a decision or none of the options are attractive, I know it is urgent to take a step back. My magic trick is to go to the movie theater. I usually come back feeling rejuvenated and creative.
As a leader, how do you rally others to align with your vision? Also, how do you identify those who may not be fully committed or even silently sabotaging or undermining your efforts? What steps do you take to address these situations?
I am not in the business of convincing people. I expose the facts and share my opinions. People are either interested or not. For some, it takes longer to align with my vision, while others will never agree. And that is fine! It is a better allocation of my energy, time, and resources to focus on people who are already interested in what I have to say than to exhaust myself trying to convince everyone.
With The Microdose Diet, I have had my share of people undermining me. This is their problem, not mine. I don’t allocate any time, energy, or resources to those who don’t support me.
A good way to deal with this situation is to frankly ask someone to do something for you (something reasonable, like writing a review of your product or service). You will quickly see if the person does it or not. Then you can decide whether to speak with them to understand their resistance.
I have had “friends” who can’t seem to write a 5-minute review of my book but expect free coaching whenever they need it. It became obvious to me that I should just cut them out of my life.
Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?
That is an interesting question. I am not planning on developing new offerings at this point. For me, it is all about growing revenue exponentially from the products and services I already offer. More media visibility would be nice too!
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
The mindful and strategic use of psychedelics as developed in The Microdose Diet protocol.
How can our readers continue to follow you or your company online?
You can find me and my products & services on my website, The Microdose Diet.
You can access free content on Substack, Linkedin, YouTube, and Apple Podcast.
You can also follow me on IG & Li.
Thank you so much for sharing all of these insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com
Successful Rule Breakers: Peggy Van de Plassche Of The Microdose Diet On How To Succeed By Doing… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.