After scaling multiple companies, including a 70-person video agency working with clients like Coca-Cola and Disney, Korneel Desmet hit a wall.

Not once. But twice.

From penthouses in London to a van in the Spanish mountains, this episode is the story of a founder who lost himself in the hustle and built his way back through presence, breathwork, and building retreats that actually rewire the nervous system.

Today, Korneel is the co-founder of Re-Treated, a high-touch retreat company that’s helped over 500 founders and executives shift from burnout to balance. In this conversation, he and Josh get brutally honest about what it really feels like when the success metrics say “you’ve made it” but your body says “you’re done.”

This episode of “Founders & Empanadas” is just two founders talking about what breaks us and how to rebuild a life worth living.

What we cover:

• What burnout actually feels like on the inside (and why we hide it)
• The habits that separate successful founders from fulfilled ones
• How to use altered states to find clarity (without psychedelics)
• Why apathy is more dangerous than anxiety and how to escape it
• The myth of founder discipline and what to focus on instead
• What happens when 12 strangers go 7 days without phones

If you’re scaling a company, holding it all together, or quietly wondering “what’s the point?”, this episode is for you.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

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