Live like a Heroine with Bénédicte Burguet Journé
For this new chapter of our Live like a Heroine series, we sat down with Bénédicte Burguet Journé, former French journalist, now independent, and newly author of her own voice. What unfolds here is career shifts but also inner calibration: finally experiencing meritocracy, learning how to decide, protecting energy while building more, and finding pride in what you create yourself. A conversation about alignment, discipline, and the strength of doing things on your own terms.
What has changed for you since becoming independent?
What changed first is something very concrete: I finally experienced what meritocracy actually feels like. When you’re in a company, the equation isn’t always fair. You can give 150% and still be told at the end of the year: “thank you, here’s your 5% raise…” if you’re lucky. There’s often a disconnect between what you give and what you get back. As an independent, the dynamic is radically different. When you work well and you work hard, people call you back. Your name circulates. Word of mouth does its job. You work and you see the results of your work. It sounds simple and obvious, but for me it was a revelation. I could finally experience a system where effort and outcome are directly connected. And beyond that very tangible shift, something deeper changed in me. For the first time in my life, I think I felt genuinely proud of myself. Not in a social or external way, but in a very intimate, almost physical way. I often think of my daughter, she’s currently obsessed with learning how to do a cartwheel. It’s hard. She has to coordinate everything, stretch her legs, try again and again. And when she finally gets it right, when she lands a beautiful cartwheel, she’s in this almost ecstatic state. It’s more than pride, it’s a rush, a surge of joy, like a wave of endorphins. That’s exactly what I’ve experienced in my work. Those moments where you overcome something, where you push through, where you suddenly realize: I did it. I’m capable of this. There’s something incredibly energizing, almost addictive, in that feeling. And that kind of energy, that inner fire, I find it much harder to access within a company. Because even when you want to build something ambitious, you often have to pull others along who aren’t equally invested. You end up carrying the momentum on your own, and at some point, you start wondering why.
What about the decision-making, main subject in your book, can you tell us more?
In my book, I talk about decision-making through a four-step methodology. The idea is really to bring alignment back into the decisions we make. I actually begin the foreword by saying that we don’t have to become a machine of war. Simply staying still, not moving, is already a decision in itself. What matters most is being fully at peace with what you choose to do or not do. For example, it took me five years to leave my job. For five years, I was in a form of complete stillness, but I was aware that I wasn’t ready yet. I was preparing, like someone going on a hike, slowly building their backpack. So the real question is: how do you activate your decision-making power? And once you decide to go, you go.
What are you obsessed with right now, in terms of wellbeing or beauty?
Not losing my health. Because the flip side of all this is that when you find something that works, you don’t want to stop. And there are two voices inside you. One says: “this is amazing, let’s keep going, let’s do more.” The other says: “this could stop tomorrow, so take everything, do more, go faster.” You’re constantly driven by both. What I want to protect above all is my health, my sleep. I don’t want to end up exhausted, marked, or sick. I also have personal responsibilities: a family, a husband, children. I need to be present. I can’t afford to be depleted. So right now, what occupies me is really taking care of my energy, my physical condition, my skin, my supplements, my sleep… everything that allows me to sustain this over time.
What’s one underrated wellness habit that changed your energy?
Water. We don’t drink enough. I drink two liters a day. And it’s a game changer in terms of energy, skin, sleep, everything.
“Simply staying still, not moving, is already a decision in itself. What matters most is being fully at peace with what you choose to do or not do.”
What is your non-negotiable ritual?
I do a lot of LED, almost all the time. But beyond that, I grew up with a very simple idea passed down by my mother: the keys to aging well are hair, teeth, skin, and body shape. So my rituals are mostly maintenance rituals. I’m doing Invisalign to widen my smile, I take care of my hair, my hands… simple things, but done consistently. It’s not obsession, it’s about maintaining a certain standard. And also because I sell my image.
Any supplements you can’t live without?
Collagen, absolutely. It’s essential. Right now, I’m also very interested in omega-3s because they’re important for both skin and brain health. I’m doing a strong course at the moment.
A practice people might find surprising?
Teeth. I’m really obsessed. I’m on my third orthodontic treatment. I also do bonding, reshaping the teeth millimeter by millimeter with composite. And in reality, one millimeter can change everything in a smile.
Where do you go to reset?
To our countryside house in the south. I go every six weeks, during school holidays.
“My rituals are mostly maintenance rituals”
A beauty or wellness address you love?
What I really love are lymphatic drainage massages. I go to Linda Benmiloud at The Aesthetic Club. I also love Martine de Richeville, and I recently discovered Lucas Bagnara.
A place you return to often?
51 Iéna. I go there often because it’s calm and beautiful. I hate crowded places. I prefer spaces where there’s room, silence. For me, that’s luxury: space and calm. I actually remember a Renault ad from when I was a child, it said, “What if true luxury was space?” And that sentence really stayed with me. If you tell me “you have to go there because everyone is going,” I can guarantee I won’t go.
What from your younger self still guides you today?
The desire not to have a life like everyone else. I’ve always dreamed big, and I’ve never seen myself in a conventional framework. I grew up in a family where culture was very important, with strong intellectual expectations, a brilliant mother whose thoughts move incredibly fast. And very early on, I told myself I wouldn’t follow the same path as others.
When do you feel most aligned?
When I’m sitting at a table negotiating great deals. That’s when I feel powerful and aligned. Many women answer motherhood, and that’s wonderful for them. But for me, where I truly thrive is when I manage to generate growth. It’s often defined as something very masculine, but that’s exactly where I feel aligned.
“I’ve always dreamed big, and I’ve never seen myself in a conventional framework”
Our three life rules?
Humility, first. Because without humility, you can lose everything. You always have to remember that what you see today can change tomorrow. Then, work. For me, it’s a real value. And finally, joy. I can’t stand complaining, especially when we know how lucky we are in so many ways. I’m deeply attached to gratitude, to simple moments, to being happy. Life is too short to live any other way.