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Cowspiracy: How Animal Agriculture Is Destroying The Planet & What You Can Do About It
14 september 2015 · 1 uur 46 min
A little over a year ago, I shared an amazing conversation with Kip Andersen & Keegan Kuhn, the dynamic filmmaking duo behind Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret. If you missed that episode, I encourage you to check it out here– it's one of my most popular episodes to date.
An Inconvenient Truth meets Blackfish, Cowspiracy is an incredibly sobering and powerful (yet also funny and entertaining) documentary that takes a hard, unflinching look at the incredibly negative impact of animal agriculture on the health, well being and sustainability of our planet and it's precious, dwindling resources. Lees meerWhether we are talking about carbon emissions, climate change, the blindingly rapid destruction of our rain forests, over consumption of water, species extinction, the depletion and destruction of our soil, the pollution of our rivers, lakes and oceans or the obliteration of natural wildlife habitats, you might be surprised to discover the very inconvenient and uncomfortable truth that animal agriculture is the industry by far most responsible for the global environmental catastrophe we currently face.
If this is true, then why aren't we talking about it more?
Cowspiracy is the rather shocking tale of what Kip and Keegan discovered trying to answer this very question.
The little indie film that could, Cowspiracy is a true grassroots phenomenon. Crowd-source funded, rejected by the film festival circuit and lacking distribution, Kip and Keegan spent the last year traveling the country in a van attending independently organized, homespun screenings. Getting the word out one screen at a time, one audience at a time.
Then something truly amazing happened. The film fell into the hands of Leonardo DiCaprio. The biggest movie star in the world didn't just fall in love with the movie, he came on board as Executive Producer with a mission: that Cowspiracy become required viewing for everyone and anyone who gives a slightest damn about the health of our planet.
This week that missio… -
How Adam Sud Lost 100 Pounds, Kicked Adderall, Reversed His Diabetes & Found A Life
10 september 2015 · 2 uur 6 min
I love the everyman stories.
Adam Sud isn't famous. He's not a world-class performer. And he's not schilling a book.
He's just an average dude living a pretty normal life.
But look deeper and you'll find a rather extraordinary story. The story of a guy who completely lost himself in the bleak darkness of drug and food addiction. Hopelessly hooked since high school on the superman rush provided by Adderall, Adam spent most of his twenties isolating and high — up all night playing video games and binging on fast food.
The heavier he got, the more he isolated, until he stopped caring altogether. Life shrank to a cycle of getting high, finding more Adderall, and repressing his increased depression and anger with more and more fast food — a lifestyle that left him over 300lbs with Type-2 diabetes on a crash course with an early grave. Out of cash, unemployable and alienated from friends and family, Adam finally faced a choice:
live on the street or reach out for help.
After extended stays in rehab and sober living facilities Adam found sobriety, peace of mind and a new lease on life.
Oh yeah — he also lost over 100 pounds, reversed his diabetes and repaired his physical health wholesale. How?
By adopting an active, plant-based lifestyle.
Today, Adam lives a conscious, purpose-driven life devoted to helping others achieve and maintain a holistic, healthy lifestyle.
Not surprisingly, this is a conversation about drug addiction, sobriety and nutrition. But it's also a conversation about cross-addiction, low self-esteem and an important issue rarely discussed — body dysmorphia and eating disorders in men.
I'm inspired by Adam's tale of everyman redemption and I think you will be too.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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Don’t Listen to Anyone: Casey Neistat on Trusting Your Instincts & The Principles That Guide A Creative Life
7 september 2015 · 59 min
Today marks my third conversation with the singular Casey Neistat.
Does a guy who has amassed over 100 million total views on his YouTube Channel — not to mention 1 million views daily — really need a formal introduction? Unlikely. But if for some reason this exciting filmmaker has eclipsed your radar, you can read my in depth thoughts on his extraordinary life and listen to our prior conversations HERE (RRP #73) and HERE (RRP #144).
If you're well on board the Casey train, you’ve witnessed quite an evolution in his recent trajectory. Since Casey began daily vlogging — posting a new movie on his YouTube Channel every single day since March 27, 2015 — his already incredibly popular YouTube Channel has exploded, growing from around 500,000 subscribers to well over 1.1 million in less than five months. On average, each vlog amasses around 500,000 views. This one tops out at 1.5 million (which incidentally has absolutely nothing to do with what occurs at the 4-minute mark): Lees meerA major network television show would kill for these numbers. But Casey has no interest in such matters. He's not making videos to capture the interest of the system he consciously placed in his rear view. For Casey, YouTube is the finish line — a juggernaut channel he built all by himself. DIY on the most democratic video platform in the world. And that is far more powerful and compelling than anything HBO, NBC, Disney or any other traditional mainstream outlet could ever offer him. Ever.
If you’re not yet hip to his channel, get on it. A unique voice delivered with expert filmmaking acuity, each and every movie hooks you emotionally and never fails to captivate. His movies are so popular in fact, crowds of people congregate daily outside his downtown New York City studio, pining for a mere glimpse of the populist artist.
And now thanks to the new social media video sharing platform he co-founded called Beme, Casey can add technology entrepreneur to his expanding resume.Intended to change how we…
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Shame Can’t Survive The Light
3 september 2015 · 1 uur 10 min
I'm terrified.
I don't want to post this episode.
But hiding in the dark never helped me. Neither repression nor denial ever helped anyone.
In order to grow, we need to honestly confront our past. Understand it. Then own it.
Because you can't save your ass if you're trying to save face.
Today I shine a light on an episode of my past that still causes me shame.
Because shame can't survive the light.
I'm terrified.
I feel fragile. I feel vulnerable. And that's why I must post this episode.
Because I need to walk my talk. Because embracing vulnerability ultimately leads to strength.
Because shame can't survive the light.
I can't say I look forward to your thoughts on this one. But go ahead. Post your comments anyway.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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Light Watkins on The Inner Gym: How Meditation Can Train Consciousness For Happiness
31 augustus 2015 · 2 uur 9 min
I want to be happy. Everybody wants to be happy.
So why is it so hard to just be happy?
Many self-help gurus present happiness as a choice. The idea that happiness can be produced whenever we want, irrespective of circumstance. Simply learn to flick a certain mental switch and voila!
It's an intoxicating idea. But is this axiom actually true?
Meet Light Watkins.
Friend, teacher and expert on mindfulness and meditation, Light proffers some interesting and perhaps somewhat controversial counterpoint perspectives on a question that deeply concerns all of us: how to best cultivate happiness?
First, let's get the obvious out of the way. Beyond his beguiling good looks, Light Watkins is pretty much the coolest name ever. Right?
On a more earnest note, I would characterize Light as a generous, highly accessible and contemplative entrepreneur of mindfulness — always convivial, impressively composed, and quick with a laugh. He has been operating in the meditation space for over 15 years and has been teaching Vedic Meditation since 2003. He's personally taught nearly 2,000 people to meditate, including bankers, artists, politicians, CEOs, care takers, educators, comedians, rock stars, students, and seekers of all kinds. He is the author of The Inner Gym: A 30-day Workout for Strengthening Happiness*, a frequent blogger, TEDx speaker and founder of The Shine Movement. A mashup of TED, Hotel Café & The Self-Realization Fellowship, The Shine is an all volunteer organization that hosts periodic gatherings that use music, film, philanthropy and storytelling to inspire people to do more, give more, and be more. Lees meerWe cover a lot of ground in this conversation, including:
* a primer on Vedic Meditation
* training consciousness like we train the body
* the importance of consistency in daily routines
* the distinction between knowledge & understanding
* Skepticism of new-age gurus & practices
* the image problem with meditation
* de-excitation of the mind through mantra
* the relation… -
Mishka Shubaly On Forgiveness, Authenticity & Life As a Sober Artist
27 augustus 2015 · 2 uur 1 min
If you're a long-time listener of the podcast, then you’ve treated yourself to several of my conversations with today's guest. You know this guy well as my gravelly voiced, eminently talented, always charming yet generally disheveled, periodically homeless co-host — now back for a record 6th appearance on the RRP.
Mishka Shubaly doesn’t care much for formalities. But if you need a resumé, his goes something like this:
A self-professed povertarian, Mishka writes true stories about drink, drugs, disasters, desire, deception, and their aftermath. He began drinking at 13 and college at 15. At 22, he received the Dean's Fellowship from the Master's Writing Program at Columbia University. Upon receiving his expensive MFA, he promptly moved into a Toyota minivan to tour the country nonstop as a singer-songwriter, sharing the stage with artists like The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Decemberists.
At 32, Mishka got sober and shortly thereafter began publishing a string of bestselling Kindle Singles – short non-fiction novellas — through Amazon. His writing has been praised for its grit, humor, fearlessness, and heart. The Long Run*, his mini-memoir detailing his transformation from alcoholic drug abuser to sober ultra-runner is one of the best-selling Kindle Singles in Amazon history.
Mishka's third solo album, Coward’s Path — the finest set of miserable and sad songs you might ever hear– will be released on October 2, 2015. His new book, I Swear I'll Make It Up To You: A Life on the Low Road* hits bookstores March 8, 2016. Lees meerIf you're new to this podcast, dig the Mishka vibe and want to hear more, check out RRP episodes 27,31,65,95 & 104. That's about 9 hours of Mishka to keep you busy.
Enjoy!
Rich
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Climber Conrad Anker on Suffering, Risk, Reward & The Allure of Meru
24 augustus 2015 · 2 uur 11 min
Imagine bivouacking in a portaledge — you and two other guys crammed into a small mountaineering tent pitched vertically and dangling on the side of a sheer Himalayan cliff 19,000 feet above solid ground with nothing but nothing below you. Then imagine staying put for 12 days straight to weather a ferocious storm, torrential winds and temperatures that dip into twenty below territory.
That’s just one harrowing peek into the life of today’s guest, Conrad Anker – a man widely considered to be the most accomplished high altitude climber in the world and one of the most respected adventure athletes of all time.
The team leader of The North Face climbing team as well as the subject of not one but several Outside Magazine cover profiles, Conrad is renown for specializing in not just the highest mountains but the most technically challenging ascents — conquering the trickiest peaks spread across the high Himalaya, Antarctica, Alaska and the big walls of Patagonia.
Conrad has summited Everest 3 times, including a successful 2012 ascent without the aid of supplemental oxygen — a feat reserved for only the most elite mountaineers. In a 1999 Everest expedition, Conrad famously located the remains of George Mallory– the legendary British climber who disappeared in the midst of his historic 1924 attempt to be the first to summit the world's highest peak. Last seen about 800 vertical feet from the summit, speculation as to whether Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine had reached the summit before dying has been a subject of much dispute. But Conrad's discovery shed much light on the mystery of this and other pioneering climbs of early expeditions.
On a personal level, in 1999 Conrad survived an avalanche in Tibet — a massive wall of snow and ice that tossed his body 100 feet, beat him up badly and took the life of his best friend and climbing companion Alex Lowe. Conrad would later marry Alex's widow Jennifer and raise his three sons, Max, Sam and Isaac.
A few years ag… Lees meer -
The Process of Process Is Process
21 augustus 2015 · 1 uur 10 min
Julie and I are back with yet another installment of Ask Me Anything, a twist on my typical long-form interview format where Julie and I engage you — the listener — by addressing the topics and questions you want discussed.
This week's AMA explores: Lees meer* the employment of passion
* engaging in process over results
* reconciling spiritual detachment with the law of attraction
* releasing old ideas & changing your story; and
* self-acceptance: embracing dark and lightSpecial thanks to Steven Simpson and Jeff Warrington for today's questions, as well as everyone who submitted inquiries — keep ‘em coming!
The show concludes with My Man, written and performed by Julie — aka SriMati– accompanied by our sons Tyler & Trapper Piatt.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the conversation.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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Turning Adversity To Advantage: Ryan Holiday on Why The Obstacle Is The Way
17 augustus 2015 · 1 uur 55 min
I love talking to smart people. Today's guest is certainly that — and so much more. Lees meer
Contravening millennial stereotypes, Ryan Holiday is a prolific, rising literary talent. A maverick media strategist. Not to mention a philosopher of sorts — a guy with big ideas often at odds with the status quo.
An autodidact, Ryan dropped out of college at nineteen to apprentice under acclaimed author Robert Greene, author of (among many other great books) The 48 Laws of Power*, later graduating to advise many New York Times bestselling authors like Tim Ferriss and RRP #154 alum Tucker Max, multiplatinum musicians like Linkin Park and startups like Casey Neistat's ( RRP 73 & RRP 144 ) recently launched social media platform Beme.
By the time he was legally allowed to drink (21!) Ryan had already ascended to director of marketing duties at American Apparel, where his iconoclastic campaigns and tactics have been used as case studies by Twitter, YouTube, and Google and written about in places like AdAge, the New York Times, and Fast Company.
Ryan is also the bestselling author of 3 books, including Trust Me I’m Lying* – a highly entertaining and admittedly disturbing first hand look at the machinations behind digital media's dark underbelly — and The Obstacle Is The Way* – a modern and practical reframing of stoicism, the ancient Roman philosophy originated by guys like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus, with a focus on functional applicability of stoic principles for turning modern day obstacles into opportunities and adversity to advantage.
If you think philosophy is purely academic — a useless waste of time reserved for the arrogant intellectual elite — Ryan has a message for you:
think again.
I really love this book. I found it to be eminently practical. An incredibly insightful and utilitarian tool box for navigating crises, strengthening character and maximizing excellence in any situation, irrespective of circumstance.
On RyanHoliday.net and places like Thought Catalog a… -
Stop Asking For Permission
13 augustus 2015 · 1 uur 19 min
Julie and I are back with yet another installment of Ask Me Anything, a twist on my typical long-form interview format where Julie and I engage you — the listener — by addressing the topics and questions you want discussed.
This week's AMA explores: Lees meer* releasing the need for permission to live your life
* empowerment via “choosing yourself”
* practicing creativity in all things
* confronting your fear through action
* removing fear-based stimuli from your life
* managing criticism
* overcoming judgment and resentment
* combating addiction by prioritizing sobrietySpecial thanks to Farmer Diddly, Nathan & everyone who contributed to this week’s questions!
The show concludes with Beloved, written and performed by Julie — aka SriMati– accompanied by our sons Tyler & Trapper Piatt.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the conversation.
Are you waiting for permission to chase a dream? Why? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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The Iron Cowboy Did It! How James Lawrence Completed 50 Ironmans In 50 States In 50 Days
10 augustus 2015 · 2 uur 20 min
I'm exploding with excitement about this week's hotly anticipated show.
Today I sit down with James Lawrence — aka The Iron Cowboy — fresh on the heels of completing an absolutely unprecedented and mind-boggling 50 ironman-distance triathlons in 50 states in just 50 days.
I honestly believe this is one of the greatest achievements in the history of (voluntary) human endurance.
For the uninitiated, consider swimming 2.4 miles, pedaling your bike 112 miles and then running a marathon, 26.2 miles. After quickly eating and bathing, you enjoy anywhere from two to four hours of shut eye, usually in the back of a Subaru as it drives through the night to meet dawn in an adjoining state. Then you heave your weary bones up, eat, get dressed and do it all over again. Every single day. 50 days in row, across each and every one of the 50 states — including Hawaii and Alaska — without one single day off.
Just think about that for a moment. Let it sink in.
During James' initial appearance on the podcast (RRP 149) just prior to his 50/50/50 attempt, I went on record here and on various media outlets like Triathlete.com voicing my concern that James just might have aimed a bit too high.
As someone who did 5 ironman-distance triathlons in a row on each of the 5 Hawaiian Islands, I happen to have a little experience in this arena. Admittedly my accomplishments now seem paltry (almost embarrassing) by comparison, the fact remains that I happen to be one of the few people on the planet who can truly understand, appreciate and deeply empathize with the abyss James would inevitably face, battle, endure and be forced to overcome in order to complete his extraordinary journey intact.
I know what it's like to meet unforeseen obstacles that threaten to imperil the mission. I know what it's like to fall asleep on your bike. I know what it's like to have saddle sores so painful you can't sit down. I know what it's like to run through the night, hallucinating. And I know what it's like when tha… Lees meer -
James & Claudia Altucher Choose Themselves: Musings On Relationships, The Power of Vulnerability & Creating Success Doing What You Love
6 augustus 2015 · 1 uur 55 min
I'm so intimidated.
This week Julie and I are joined by the dynamic duo of the Choose Yourself era themselves, James and Claudia Altucher — a prolific couple changing the world with insights that are empowering millions to live more dynamic, authentic lives.
When someone fires off a long list of occupations in conversation, my instinct tells me that person probably isn't great at any of them. James is not that guy. Abundant in talent. A true polymath with just the right amount of self-deprecation and pitch perfect comedic timing. Blogger, bestselling author, podcaster, public speaker, investor, entrepreneur, columnist, and humorist, he seemingly does it all.
Oh yeah, he's also a nationally ranked chess master.
James had made millions, lost millions and made millions again. Maybe he'll lose it again. I don't know. He’s started and run something like 20 companies. Then there's a slew of venture capital, hedge, angel and sundry other funds he ran. Maybe he still runs them. I don't know that either. In fact, I don't understand any of it.
James' Altucher Confidential is one of the most widely read blogs on the internet, amassing over 15 million readers since its 2010 inception.
The James Altucher Show debuted as the #1 podcast on all of iTunes last year.
I think he's written 13 books. It could be 16. I can't keep track. He writes faster than I can read.
My favorite is the Wall Street Journal Best Seller Choose Yourself. A primer for anyone seeking firmer control of destiny, it's a prescient and highly entertaining look at how new and unprecedented tools, technology and economic forces have suddenly emerged to make it possible for individuals to create art, careers, success, fulfillment and change the world without permission from the gatekeepers of yore.
When you finish that book, then read The Power of No — also a Wall Street Journal Best Seller. Two things you need to know about this book: (1) it's really great; and (2) learning how and when to say no is, like, really… Lees meer -
How Chef Seamus Mullen Leveraged Holistic Lifestyle Medicine To Heal Himself
3 augustus 2015 · 1 uur 52 min
Imagine yourself so debilitated by a battery of chronic ailments you can barely get out of bed. Merely walking down a simple flight of stairs or lifting a a book is excruciating. Knife-like pains cause you to scream so loudly, your neighbor calls 911. Then one day you collapse at work and awake in the hospital to discover you have suffered 36 embolisms that are filling your lungs with blood so quickly, drowning is a very real possibility.
Now imagine yourself a couple years later in a tropical jungle competing in La Ruta Del Conquistadores. Widely considered one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet, La Ruta is a 3-day, 161-mile mountain bike race with over 29,000 feet of climbing that traverses Costa Rica from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea.
This is the incredible arc of today's guest, Seamus Mullen.
An award-winning New York City chef, restaurateur and cookbook author known for his inventive yet approachable Spanish cuisine, Seamus is the proprietor of several restaurants, including Tertulia (a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for “Best New Restaurant”), El Colmado, a Spanish tapas and wine bar at Gotham West Market, and Sea Containers at Mondrian London.
A semi-finalist for Best Chef NYC by the James Beard Foundation 3 years in a row, Seamus was also one of 3 finalists on the Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef. He frequents the popular Food Network series Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay as a featured judge and is a recurring guest on programs such as The Today Show, The Martha Stewart Show, and CBS This Morning.
But the important things in life snapped into focus for Seamus in 2007 when he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that precipitated a near death experience and quite literally brought him to his knees.
A once avid cyclist who raced competitively in his twenties, Seamus suddenly found himself unable to properly function.
Pedal a bike? A pipe dream.
Seamus was faced with a choice. Either live out the… Lees meer -
The Fiction of Moderation: Thoughts on The Iron Cowboy, How To Discover Your Passion & Raising “Out of the Box” Kids
30 juli 2015 · 1 uur 16 min
We're back with yet another installment of Ask Me Anything, a twist on my typical long-form interview format where Julie and I engage you — the listener — by addressing the topics and questions you want discussed.
As a person prone to extremes, I have been spending quite a bit of time lately pondering the importance of balance and moderation in living an optimally fulfilling life.
What is the role of balance when you are pursuing your best self? Is moderation in all things truly an aspirational path?
In short, I am starting to question the premise.
This week Julie and I discuss this personal conundrum at length. Our conversation also explores: Lees meer* my experience with Iron Cowboy as he completed his historic 50/50/50
* Julie's perspective on crewing for me at Ultraman
* stoicism & overcoming obstacles
* how to best serve the needs of “out of the box” children
* the exploration required to discover your passion
* how distractions negatively impact our life path; and
* how to meet the social challenges of living plant-basedSpecial thanks to Nanette, Doug & David for this week’s questions!
The show concludes with Beloved, written and performed by Julie, aka SriMati, accompanied by Mark Schultz and our sons Tyler & Trapper Piatt.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the conversation.
How do you define balance? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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Prevent Disease & Thrive: Michelle McMacken, MD on Holistic Lifestyle Medicine & Promoting Optimal Wellness Through Plant-Based Nutrition
27 juli 2015 · 1 uur 51 min
We need more doctors like Michelle McMacken, MD.
Board certified in internal medicine, Dr. McMacken is an assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine, an attending primary care physician at New York City's Bellevue Hospital Center and director of the Bellevue Adult Weight Management Clinic, where she specializes in plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine.
Interestingly, Dr. McMacken wasn't always all that intrigued by nutrition. Not surprisingly, her medical school experience was woefully lacking in this regard. But after eight years of medical practice, she was becoming progressively distressed by her obesity clinic patients' general inability to get — and stay — healthy.
Determined to find better, more sustainable solutions for her patients led to a search engine result for “lifestyle change” that prompted Michelle to attend the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Conference– a game-changing experience that enlightened her to a holistic, disease preventive perspective on patient care that ultimately reinvigorated and forever altered her medical practice.
Beyond her one on one work with patients, many of which are underprivileged, what is uniquely inspiring about Dr. McMacken is her grant-funded commitment to study evidence-based nutritional protocols and apply the practical knowledge to faculty, colleagues & resident doctors. In other words, she is devoted to educating not only her patients about healthy nutrition, but her fellow medical professionals as well — filling the much needed gap in our current system of medical education.
This is an enlightening and highly informative conversation that explores: Lees meer* the state of medical education with respect to nutrition
* the responsibility of doctors to practice holistic, preventive medicine
* the significance of a plant-based diet in promoting optimal wellness
* Dr. McMacken's personal & professional path to plant-based nutrition
* the health impact of high protein diets, ketosis & glycogen depletion
* … -
Combating Depression Through Ultra-Endurance: Luke Tyburski’s Ultimate Triathlon
23 juli 2015 · 2 uur 14 min
Aussie born, UK-dwelling adventure athlete Luke Tyburski isn’t superman. He’s not famous nor is he a world champion. And he’s the first to say he’s just not that talented. In most ways Luke is a normal bloke. An everyman who decided to face his debilitating battle with clinical depression through the lens of adventure and ultra-endurance sports.
Soccer obsessed as a young boy, from the get go Luke realized he lacked the God-given athletic gifts enjoyed by his teammates. Nonetheless, perseverance prevailed and Luke achieved his life-long dream of traveling the world as a professional footballer.
Unfortunately, that career was cut short by significant, chronic & persistent injuries. What followed was an unexpected yet quite severe bout with acute, clinical depression — a back hole of desperation that often left him bedridden and teetering on hopelessness.
To escape this prison, Luke dug deep. Through sheer force of will matched with equal parts faith, he compelled his mutinying body, mind and spirit to simply get up, get outside and begin exploring again — one step at a time.
Having never ran more than 10 kilometers at any one time, and with only six months to prepare, in 2012 Luke conquered the infamous Marathon des Sables, a 250 kilometer, six stage self-sufficient running race across the treacherous and unrelenting sand dunes of the Moroccan Sahara.
Since then he has competed in a variety of adventure races, including the Mt. Everest Ultra Marathon. His first ever triathlon? The double ironman distance Double Brutal Extreme Triathlon.
My kind of guy.
Currently, Luke's sights are set on achieving the truly extraordinary — a self-styled 12-day, 2000 kilometer adventure he calls The Ultimate Triathlon that kicks off in Morocco with a swim across the Straight of Gibraltar before cycling and running the coastline all the way to Monaco. Lees meerIt’s easy to admire the feats of the truly touched. It’s inspirational. But I cherish sharing stories like Luke's because they are asp…
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The NFL’s David Carter On How A Plant-Based Diet Made Him A Better Player & A Better Human
20 juli 2015 · 1 uur 55 min
It’s one thing to thrive on a plant-based diet as a skinny endurance athlete. But what about sports that place a premium on size, speed, agility, power, quickness and just plain brute force?
Is it possible to compete at the highest level of the NFL not as a punt returner, not as a quarterback or even a running back, but as a defensive lineman – a position where only the absolute biggest, baddest, strongest and fastest survive?
Meet David Carter — aka The 300 Pound Vegan.
Introduced to the game at age 5, David began his football career playing Pop Warner. He made waves at Fontana's Kaiser High School in Southern California and went on to become a star player at UCLA. In 2011, he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the 6th round and has since been a bit of a journeyman defensive linebacker, playing for the Dallas Cowboys, the Oakland Raiders and most recently the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Like most athletes, David grew up eating tons of meat, fully adhering to the conventional mythology that in order to become muscle you must consume muscle – the more the better.
But as his career matured, David became plagued by a variety of persistent, chronic injuries including arthritis, tendonitis, nerve damage and chronic muscle fatigue. Not surprising given the nature of his job, but nonetheless devastating — ailments he simply could not overcome that left him sidelined despite the best sports medicine and rehabilitative resources of the NFL at his disposal.
David soon realized that in order to continue playing, something had to change. He began researching the cause of his conditions, as well as alternative remedies to resolve them at the source. Heavily influenced by a series of documentaries that included Forks Over Knives and the holistic lifestyle habits practiced by his wife Paige, David arrived at a rather counter-intuitive conclusion for an athlete whose professional career relies entirely upon physical prowess and sheer brute force:
all the nutrition he had been relyi… Lees meer -
How To Cultivate Extraordinary Relationships & The Power of Neutrality In Navigating Conflict
16 juli 2015 · 1 uur 54 min
I don't how long we've been together — 17 years? 16? — but I do know that Julie and I just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. It's been a wild, and at times astonishing ride.
So suffice it to say, the subject of relationships is on my mind.
So how does one attract, cultivate, nurture and sustain a relationship that isn't just healthy and intimate but is in fact extraordinary?
This week's installment of Ask Me Anything is devoted to just this issue.
This conversation explores: Lees meer* the transformational aspects of relationships
* destiny & fate in selecting a mate
* human love versus divine love
* prioritizing self-development
* the primacy of commitment
* the significance of complementary core values
* the power of neutral compassion & observance
* the practice of taking contrary actionSpecial thanks to Jeremy Bell for this week’s questions and Jason for his fan letter.
The show concludes with I'm Here Now, written and performed by Julie (aka SriMati), accompanied by our sons Tyler & Trapper Piatt.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the conversation.
How do you define an extraordinary relationship? Let me know in the comment section below.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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Stephen Ritz On Transforming The Bronx & Generations of Kids By Turning His Classroom Into A Farm
13 juli 2015 · 1 uur 44 min
Insurgent educator Stephen Ritz is truly one of the most inspiring game changers I have ever met. A South Bronx elementary school teacher and administrator, he has faced and overcome tremendous bureaucratic, political, and socio-economic odds to catapult generations of young, underprivileged at-risk students to unimaginable academic success and upwardly mobile employment — all while simultaneously reclaiming and rebuilding the Bronx from the inside out.
The modality leveraged to serve this end? Food. Specifically, growing food.
The personification of triple bottom line values and a staunch advocate of project-based, experiential learning, it all began when Stephen accidentally began growing plants in his classroom. The unexpected result was a level of student engagement even this maverick educator could not have predicted. So what began by fluke soon became Stephen's passion. It wasn't long before his Bronx classroom featured the first indoor edible wall in the entire New York City Department of Education — a wall that routinely generates enough produce to feed healthy meals to 450 students while also training the youngest nationally certified workforce in America.
Stephen's classroom farm would soon expand, both in the classroom and out, spreading across a community in desperate need for healthy food options. Under his spirited leadership and the tireless efforts of his student and community growers, vacant lots and rooftops across the Bronx — fairly characterized as an urban food desert — have been literally transformed, now boasting bountiful gardens that have produced more than 30,000 pounds of vegetables. Food that feeds his students and the greater borough at large.
In the Bronx public school system, student attendance and graduation rates are historically abysmal. But Stephen's passion and engagement with his students resulted in attendance skyrocketing from a mere 40 percent to 93 percent daily. Not to mention it helped create 2,200 youth jobs. And now he i… Lees meer -
How Do You Define True Health? Plus: Ruminations On Aging, Death & The Importance of Open Communication
9 juli 2015 · 1 uur 25 min
I'm hitting a groove.
Although I definitely have some sustainability concerns about posting two weekly editions of the show (have I said how much work this is?), I'm keeping my promise. So here we are again with another installment of Ask Me Anything — a twist on my typical guest interview format where we answer questions submitted by you, the listener.
But this week it's a twist on that twist.
In addition to entertaining a few listener inquiries, I gave Julie the latitude to raise a few issues and themes currently on her mind. I think the recipe worked — it's quite a revelatory exchange.
This conversation explores: Lees meer* Appreciating Diversity Among RRP Guests
* How To Define True Health
* What It Means To Live In Balance
* Eating In Harmony With Nature
* Perspectives On Aging
* Mindful Ruminations on Death
* Cultural Objectification Of Women
* Successful Marriage & Open CommunicationThe show concludes with Mother of Mine, written and performed by Julie (aka SriMati), accompanied by our sons Tyler & Trapper Piatt.
I sincerely hope you enjoy our discussion.
How Do YOU define ‘True Health”? Let me know in the comments section below.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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How Eating Raw Repaired My Health and Gave My Life Purpose With Fully Raw Kristina
6 juli 2015 · 1 uur 44 min
For most of her young adult life, Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram was in and out of hospitals. Constantly sick, hyperglycemic, low on energy and losing hope that she could ever feel normal.
Little did Kristina know that a chance encounter with a strange man at the grocery store would soon change everything, radically and permanently altering the trajectory of her life.
This week I am delighted to sit down with the effervescent and passionate Fully Raw Kristina — as she is now popularly known on the internet – to hear all about how a raw vegan diet not only healed her body, but gave her life purpose.
Boasting over 600,000 subscribers, many of you may know Kristina from her wildly popular YouTube Channel. For most, this would be an all consuming full time gig. But making videos is subservient to Kristina's first passion, which is running Rawfully Organic – the food cooperative she founded in 2007 at age 20. What began in her living room is now the largest raw organic produce co-op in the United States, providing affordable, healthy raw produce to over 6000 members across the Houston area weekly.
Although I would not label myself as fully raw, it's fair to say that I eat tremendous amounts of raw plant foods every day and can personally attest to the importance of prioritizing a large variety of fresh raw produce on your plate at every meal.
Nonetheless, I can hear you muttering under your breath: eating fully raw sounds so extreme! Is it possible to be healthy, vibrant and happy on raw plant foods alone? Won't I suffer nutrition deficiencies? To quell these questions, Kristina visited 2-time RRP alumnus Garth Davis, M.D. for a checkup. Here's how it went down: Lees meerForefront in today's conversation is of course diet and nutrition. A fun exchange that probes:
* how eating raw resolved Kristina's hyperglycemia and repaired her health
* the pros & cons of ‘mono-mealing'
* how cultural traditions can lead us astray
* why fruit is unfairly vilified
* why we should support local, o… -
How To Be ‘Self-Full': Co-Dependency, Navigating Fear & Connecting With Who You Really Are
2 juli 2015 · 1 uur 29 min
Time to step it up.
I am excited to announce that today marks my commitment to henceforth deliver two episodes of the RPP per week. Each week, from today forward I will post the show every Sunday night (as usual) plus every Wednesday night (late night Pacific Standard Time). Like today, sometimes it will be a Q&A episode; other times it will be the typical one-on-one guest format. Perhaps some of them will be topic-specific mini-sodes. Time will tell.
To kick off this new and exciting growth phase, Julie and I are back with another installment of Ask Me Anything — a twist on my typical format where we answer questions submitted by you, the listener. I absolutely love this format, primarily because it connects me more deeply and authentically with the global community of people who enjoy the show. Because community is truly what it's all about.
It's been an exciting time for us. In the last few months we launched The Plantpower Way and have been on the road spreading the word. Recently returned from an incredibly fruitful trip to New York City, Julie and I share a little behind the scenes and catch up on where things are headed with the podcast and our commitment to wellness advocacy.
Then the conversation turns to listener submitted inquiries. A conversation that explores: Lees meer* Substance Abuse, Co-Dependency in Relationships
* The ‘Self-Full’ Mandate
* Our perspective on Plant Medicine Ceremonies
* Strategies to Uncover, Address & Conquer Fear
* Connecting With The Authentic Self Within
* Adding Site Resources & Community Forum
* The Importance of Good DeedsThe show concludes with I'm Here Now, written and performed by Julie (aka SriMati), accompanied by our sons Tyler & Trapper Piatt.
Thank you everyone who submitted the 100's of questions we reviewed. If we didn't get to yours (obviously chances are we didn't), don't be shy & keep them coming. Until we settle on a web-based means of collecting and organizing listener submitted inquiries (if you have ideas on the … -
Tucker Max Grows Up: How To Own Your Emotional Truth, Redefine Your Story & Find Happiness
29 juni 2015 · 2 uur 29 min
This week I'm going out on a limb.
When the opportunity arose to sit down with Tucker Max, I admit to a little discomfort and trepidation. On the one, hand, I was genuinely honored he was interested in doing the show. On the other hand, I wasn't convinced he was the right fit for what I do.
To be sure, Tucker Max is a high performing super-achiever. He is incredibly bright. He is insanely accomplished. And he has millions of fans the world over. Nominated to TIME magazine's “100 Most Influential List” of 2009, Tucker's first book I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell* was a #1 New York Times Bestseller, spent 5 years on the list and ultimately sold over 2 million copies. He followed it up with two more books, both of which were also New York Times Bestsellers. Perhaps most impressive? Tucker is one of only three writers — along with Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Lewis — to ever have three books on the New York Times Non-Fiction Bestseller List at the same time.
Tucker Max is a publishing juggernaut.
Irrespective of whatever opinion you may hold about the content of those books, you cannot deny that is a towering achievement.
However, it's these very books, the fratire genre he singlehandedly birthed, and Tucker’s very public persona as America’s foremost bro — well known for his healthy ego, brash opinions and candid chronicling of his outlandish partying exploits – that gave me considered pause.
Do I really want to talk to a guy who wrote a book called Assholes Finish First?* It’s just not my scene. It's not what I’m about. I don’t support those ideas. I'm not interested in that guy. It’s not me.
But what is interesting, and why I ultimately decided to go forward with this interview, is that's not Tucker either. At least not any more.
The Tucker Max of today is not the same hard drinking, hard partying, womanizing Tucker Max that made him famous and rich.
In the wake of his staggering success, Tucker woke up to realize that all the material benefits he worked so hard to a… Lees meer -
Superfoods For Superlife: Traipsing the Globe In Search of Optimal Nutrition & Longevity With Darin Olien
22 juni 2015 · 2 uur 18 min
What's it like to traipse the far outreaches of the globe in search of the the world’s greatest edible food sources for optimal health?
Meet the Indiana Jones of Superfoods.
This week my friend Darin Olien joins me to share insights and wisdom from his extraordinary adventure-based experiences as a widely recognized exotic superfoods hunter, wellness advocate & environmental activist.
Darin's passion was seeded early. Attending his father’s lectures on agricultural business at the University of Minnesota birthed an early appreciation of whole food nutrition. But it wasn't until a football injury sidelined a frustrated young Darin that his curiosity in the relationship between food and health begin to truly take root. A curiosity that began with a simple question:
There must be a better way to heal myself.
The intrigue that evolved from that initial query has been an ongoing, twenty-year plus quest for better, more natural pathways to ultimate wellness. A journey that led Darin to study exotic, indigenous herbs and superfoods from every imaginable port of call across the developing world. Communing with thousands of rural farmers, growers and manufacturers in remote communities across Peru, Bhutan, the Amazon, the Himalayas, the South Pacific, Latin America and Asia, Darin now shepherds high-quality, fair-trade superfoods and herbal commodities to market through his company, Darin’s Naturals.
Perhaps best known for his work with fitness company Beachbody, Darin was instrumental in the development and ongoing formulation of the wildly successful whole-food supplement, Shakeology. He chronicles his experience in his new book Superlife: The 5 Forces That Will Make You healthy, Fit & Eternally Awesome – as well as on his website Superlife.com – where he demystifies health, fitness, nutrition, and longevity into simple daily actions designed to promote life-long wellness.
What is most intriguing to me isn’t just that Darin is a respected authority on the healing potentia… Lees meer -
How Josh LaJaunie Lost 200 Pounds, Ran An Ultramarathon, Transformed His Life Wholesale & Inspired His Community To Embrace Healthy Living
15 juni 2015 · 2 uur 6 min
Josh LaJaunie is perhaps the most inspirational everyman example of healthy, transformative living I have ever met.
After 151 episodes of the podcast, our first initial conversation back in December of 2013 (RRP 63) is to this day one of the most popular, most downloaded episodes in the history of the show. If you missed it, please make a point of listening to this amazing exchange here.
That conversation transpired on Skype. We had never actually met. Now we have. At Healthfest in Marshall, TX a few months back I had the opportunity to spend an entire weekend with Josh. It was a memorable experience that left me more impressed than ever with this fine young man. Not just because he has overcome tremendous obstacles to restore and maintain his health. Not just because he continues to impressively evolve as an athlete and runner. But because of the exemplary human being he has become. A big spirit who continues to grow. A giant heart and shining example of service — constantly educating and inspiring his loved ones and community at large.
The story — as laid out in his self-penned manifesto “Free Josh LaJaunie”– goes like this:
In November of 2013, this guy I had never heard of called Josh LaJaunie tweeted me his before and after pictures. The change was so astonishing, my first thought was, can this be real? The 400+ pound guy on the left bore almost no resemblance to the guy on the right, a super fit, handsome young man running with a big smile on his face.
Chris Farley had morphed into Bradley Cooper. But how?
On a lark, I invited him on the podcast. I had no idea his story — more importantly his ability to own and tell his story — would be so extraordinary. The experience left me and everyone who tuned in indelibly changed. Ever since, I have felt inexplicably bonded to a guy I never actually met.
In short, Josh accomplished what some would deem impossible, dropping over 200 pounds and a life-long addiction to unhealthy foods & lifestyle habits to discover a pas… Lees meer -
The Zen of WuDe — Meditations on Buddhist Philosophy, Gratitude & The Art of Being
8 juni 2015 · 1 uur 45 min
Today my friend WuDe returns to the show to drop some mad Zen Buddhist wisdom.
In case you missed it, I strongly encourage you to dial up our first conversation. RRP #87: Art & The Importance of Living Tea is a fascinating deep dive into the world, history, and ancient teachings of tea as a means to glean broader truths about health, healing, community, the environment, and oneness – the universal interconnectedness of everything.
During that initial conversation, we barely scratched the surface with respect to the extensive knowledge and wisdom brimming from WuDe's soul. So when he returned for recent visit to Los Angeles, I jumped on the chance to have him back on the show. A rare opportunity to more fully mine the philosophy and the traditions of Zen Buddhism to help us better navigate our modern lives.
Born in the United States as Aaron Daniel Fisher, Wude was drawn to the East from a very early age. After studying philosophy in college, he traveled the world and ultimately settled in Taiwan, where he has since become a Buddhist monk. A tea master. And the founder of Global Tea Hut– a school and center that harvests tea, educates all comers on the traditions surrounding tea, and welcomes people from all over the world to study the Dao of Tea as a method of spiritual cultivation.
I said it in reference to our first conversation. I'll say it again.
This just might be the most fascinating and soul expanding conversation you will hear all week.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the conversation.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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Our Misplaced Obsession With Protein: Garth Davis, MD On High Fat, Low Carb Diets, Bad Science & How To Separate Nutritional Fact From Popular Fiction
1 juni 2015 · 1 uur 49 min
This week marks the return of Garth Davis, MD — a veteran weight loss surgeon who took it upon himself to determine exactly why so many people are plagued by obesity. A quest that led him down a deep research hole to identify the ultimate human diet to maximize and maintain weight loss; optimize human health; and prevent (and even reverse) lifestyle disease — both for himself and his patients (tune in to RRP 50 for our first conversation).
About 7 years ago, the good doctor became his own patient. At the time, he was suffering from high cholesterol, high blood pressure and a fatty liver. In other words, he was downright sick; headed towards a future plagued by obesity and chronic illness. Ironic, yes. But not surprising given the demanding hours of the surgeon lifestyle, lack of exercise, a preference for salty, fatty foods, and the convenience of fast food options in the hospital cafeteria. In fact, there was a Wendy's in the University of Michigan hospital where Garth did his internship and residency, resulting in a daily dose of double cheeseburgers — a habit he maintained for years.
Let's just say I can relate.
Current conventional wisdom in his field is that overweight patients should adopt a very low carb, low to no fruit, high protein diet — hop on board the ketosis bandwagon. Like many, and without inquiring further, Garth simply bought into this idea as truth. He even wrote a book in 2007 advocating this approach to food, called The Experts Guide To Weight Loss Surgery*.
The only problem? This approach to diet failed him and many other friends, colleagues and patients. He knew there had to be a better solution. And his patients needed help beyond knee-jerk surgery. Finally ready for a personal change, he took it upon himself to research — truly research — nutrition for the first time.
His study became an obsession. The more he delved into the peer reviewed work, the more convinced he became that there is absolutely no legitimate science to back the long-te… Lees meer -
50 Ironmans. 50 Days. 50 States: The Iron Cowboy’s Assault on Impossible — Musings on Limits, Conviction, Family & Service
25 mei 2015 · 1 uur 48 min
\UPDATE: July 26, 2015. He did it. Yesterday I had the great honor and privilege of running the final marathon with James, and watching him cross the finish line on his 50th ironman in 50 states in 50 days to the deafening cheers of over 1,000 fans in attendance. What James has accomplished isn't just stunning — it's truly one of the greatest achievements in the history of (voluntary) human endurance. We made plans to do a follow up podcast today, but alas he lost his voice taking the time to talk to all his fans late into the evening last night. However, I promise we will reconvene very soon so I can bring you the full story, pillar to post. Until then, please enjoy this prefatory conversation.
People roll their eyes in incredulity when I tell them about my experience completing 5 ironman-distance triathlons on five Hawaiian Islands in under a week. If you are one of those people, brace yourself. This week's guest will blow the lid off everything you thought you knew about human potential. The capacity to suffer. And the will to endure. Lees meerJames Lawrence — aka the Iron Cowboy — is a husband. A proud father of five kids. And an athlete with two Guinness World Records in triathlon: most 70.3 races in a calendar year (22 in 30 weeks) and most Ironman triathlons in a calendar year (30).
Nonetheless, James is restless. He knows he is capable of so much more.
So just two weeks from today, on June 6, 2015 the Iron Cowboy will strive for the seemingly impossible when he attempts a challenge so mind numbing I get delirious just thinking about it:
50 Ironman courses, 50 consecutive days, through all 50 States.You read it correctly. James' impending adventure is literally 10x the magnitude and degree of difficulty of anything I have personally experienced — a challenge that will test James' mind, body and soul beyond anything I can personally fathom.
The best part? He is inviting everyone to join with him.
This week I sit down with James to sort it all out:* what inspired …
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The Mind of Daniel Pinchbeck: Evolving Consciousness To Reimagine Commerce, Community, Political Systems & The Environment
21 mei 2015 · 1 uur 30 min
Philosopher. Author. Futurist. Counter culture provocateur.
Described as a mashup of James Merrill, H. P. Lovecraft, and Carlos Castaneda, I was first introduced to Daniel Pinchbeck through his rather fascinating metaphysical study of prophesy in 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl*– a book that explored humanity's precarious balance between greater self-potential and environmental disaster.
Raised by Beat generation parents — his mother dated Jack Kerouac around the time On The Road exploded on the scene – Daniel’s roots in the New York counterculture movement run deep. Throughout the 1990s, Pinchbeck matured into a member of New York's literary select. He wrote for publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Rolling Stone and Harper's Bazaar.
But slowly something happened. As he approached his late twenties, he describes falling into a deep spiritual crisis fueled by a frustration with the inherent shortcomings of mainstream media and a friend's sudden passing due to a heroin overdose. Despair ultimately led him to an investigation of shamanism. Embracing metaphysical belief systems, his psyche and body began to open to the mystical. His first book, Breaking Open the Head*, chronicled these experiences and observations from a first hand perspective and was heralded as the most significant on psychedelic experimentation since the work of Terence McKenna. Lees meerToday, everything Mayan, shamanistic and post-modern psychedelia seems to always point to this uniquely perspicacious, probing mind. And I think it's fair to say that Daniel is considered a leading pioneer of the post-modern psychedelic movement, advocating a measured, responsible exploration of shamanistic cultural rites and the substances they employ to expand consciousness.
If Daniel is anything, he is a maverick, persistently challenging social, political, economic and cultural paradigms. A man searching for answers both personal and global, his insights are both provocative and fascinating, and m… -
The Need For Speed: NASCAR Driver Landon Cassill’s Plant-Based, Triathlon Fueled Success Equation
18 mei 2015 · 2 uur 18 min
It's time to explore what it takes to be competitive in one of the most popular professional sports in the United States — NASCAR.
Meet Landon Cassill.
Driver. Triathlete. Husband. Plant-based.
Racing as far back as he can remember, at just 19 years of age Landon burst onto the national scene as the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year. In 2013, he broke the track record at the famous Gresham Motorsports Park track. Now 25, Landon pilots the #40 Chevrolet SS for the Hillman-Circle Sport LLC team and the #01 Flex Seal Chevrolet for JDMotorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Beyond Will Ferrell's turn in Talledega Nights, NASCAR (make that auto racing in general) is a world I know close to nothing about. So it was really fun to sit down with Charlotte-based Landon to explore his personal story; the very specific and peculiar culture of NASCAR; what it really takes to professionally toe the line at prestigious races like the Daytona 500; and how diet and triathlon have come to play a crucial role in Landon’s daily success equation.
Extremely likable and humble beyond expectation, I think it's fair to say this Iowa-bred young man is a fine living example of solid midwestern values and what can transpire when lifelong passion meets true drive, keen focus and a Malcolm Gladwell-esque 10,000+ hours of very hard work, sweat and determination.
This is a great conversation that explores: Lees meer* the athleticism, skill, technology and funding required to excel as a professional driver;
* myth & reality behind NASCAR stereotypes;
* the nexus between mindfulness and driving;
* how triathlon informs driving performance;
* swim training with Olympians Ryan Lochte, Cullen Jones & Tyler Clary;
* his decision to go plant-based;
* plant-based fueling for athletic performance;
* strategies for optimal nutrition when traveling; and
* what he drives when not racing (the answer will surprise you)On May 24, Landon will be racing the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. …
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The Plight of “Tipper X”: How Tom Hardin Became The Most Notorious FBI Informant in the Biggest Insider Trading Case in Decades — And The Long Run To Redemption
11 mei 2015 · 2 uur 9 min
This week we explore some very new terrain.
Let's kick it off with the Greek myth of Icarus.
As the story goes, Daedalus — a master craftsman best known for building King Minos' labyrinth to trap the Minotaur — plied his talent to construct a pair of wax and feather wings to help him and his son Icarus escape from Minos' vendetta (it's a long story) and Crete altogether.
Being the good father he was, Daedalus pled with his son not to fly too close to the sun for fear that the heat would melt the wings. But as sons are wont to do, Icarus ignored his father’s advice.
The rest is history. The heat indeed melted Icarus' wings, sending him into a deathly free fall collision with the sea which today bears his name, the Ikarian Sea near Ikaria — ironically one of the Blue Zones as described in my recent podcast conversation with Dan Buettner.
As most know, this is an age-old remonstration about ambition. A tragic allegory about the perils of hubris, particularly when fueled by a sense of entitlement, and perhaps sprinkled with a light dusting of denial.
These are all very human traits of course. And if today's guest is anything, he is quite human indeed.
Tom Hardin was a highly motivated young guy with a big bright future and Wall Street aspirations. After graduating from the prestigious Wharton School of Business, he was on track to achieve his dream when he landed in the fast paced hedge fund world and quickly rose through the ranks.
But it wasn’t long before Tom felt he was falling behind – lacking that mysterious competitive ‘edge’ so many others seemed to freely enjoy (without repercussion) to their reward in untold millions.
What was that edge? If you ask Tom, he will tell you the not so secret to success within the insular hedge fund world meant having a network of inside sources willing to share reliable confidential information about companies they worked for or with.
Everybody's doing it. Nobody's getting caught. I'm falling behind.
Then one day Tom got a call f… Lees meer -
The Spirit of Timothy Shieff — Freerunning, The Practice of Being & Living Transparently
4 mei 2015 · 1 uur 39 min
When the question turns to living your truth, this first line from Timothy Shieff's self-authored bio says it all:
I'm a Human practicing Being.
Widely considered one of the world’s best Freerunners (more commonly referred to as parkour), Timothy — aka Livewire — specializes in a death and gravity defying skill set that leaves mere mortals agape. Scaling buildings and leaping off rooftops with effortless grace, Tim is a perfect physical manifestation of focus, coordination, strength, agility and fearlessness. Lees meerIndeed, this proper and polite young English lad can do things you can’t. And yet his expression is fueled not by competitive drive, but by something deeper. Tim's particular brand of parkour is subversive. Reframing the inanimate building, rooftop, curb or railing, Tim inverts the human relationship between human and object. Truly a social and political performance artist, Tim leaves me inspired to live more harmoniously with our ever-changing environment.
Despite captaining Team Europe to a world championship on American Ninja Warrior (and setting records along the way), Tim's athleticism runs a distant second to his passion for advocacy. A powerful young voice in the vegan movement, Tim wakes up every morning enthusiastic to not only expand his own horizons, but inspire others to do the same.
But more than any of this, it's Tim's spirit that moves me, and why I'm so proud to introduce his return to the RRP. In case you missed it, be sure to check out my first conversation with Tim — RRP #86.
Intelligent and articulate beyond his years, my hope is that this conversation leaves you with a new mindfulness and perspective on your path and priorities; pondering the impact of our consumer choices on the planet; and questioning culturally entrenched assumptions about the relationship between nutrition and extraordinary athletic performance.
I genuinely hope you enjoy the conversation.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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Casey Neistat’s Absolute Disregard For Failure — And the Imperative to Define Your Own Path
27 april 2015 · 1 uur 12 min
This week marks the return of my friend Casey Neistat to the podcast.
Where to even begin…
As a filmmaker credentialed with co-creating an HBO series and laurels from prestigious outlets like Cannes, Sundance and the Independent Spirit Awards, one would expect an artist of his pedigree to be directing feature films, documentaries and television shows for mainstream media. And yet sometime around 2010, Casey opted for the road less travelled, putting the traditional filmmaker path in his rearview to blaze a different and quite surprising path more in alignment with his DIY sensibilities:
YouTube.
The great irony is that in embracing the most democratic of platforms as his primary artistic outlet, Casey has indeed become one of the most compelling and culturally relevant voices of his generation.
From his sensational “Make It Count” (my fave) to his poignant “What Would You Do with $25,000?” to his gleeful “Snowboard NYC”, Casey has logged over 129 million YouTube views, compelling Wired Magazine to remark, “Casey Neistat’s bite-size Internet movies have so much viral potential they make influenza jealous.” Let's not even get into his continent-sized following on Snapchat (check out his ancillary Snap Stories YouTube Channel ), or the fact that he recently began posting a daily vlog so stellar, suddenly every other vlogger looks remedial.
Putting out a volume of content that would rival a major network, Casey Neistat is truly a do-it-yourself triumph — famed and fêted for unceasingly documenting his life, globe-trotting adventures and myriad curiosities with boundless perspicacity and bootstrapping panache. Lees meerSo what is it exactly that makes Casey's work so irresistible? Maybe it's simply because he knows how to tell insanely great personal stories. Perhaps it's his rapier-like knack for tapping the zeitgeist pulse. His fidelity to authenticity. Or his expertise when it comes to connecting emotionally with a signature style that always leaves you yearning for more.
If… -
The Warrior Path, Finding The Love in Competition & What it Means To Live The Plantpower Way
23 april 2015 · 59 min
I have some serious sustainability concerns about doing two podcasts a week. It's just an absurd amount of work. But I'm keeping my promise. Plus, I'm having fun. So here we go with another round of Ask Me Anything — a twist on my typical long-form interview format where we speak to the issues you want addressed.
This is my way of deepening my connection with the global community of people who enjoy the show. And community is the very thing that carries the potential energy to truly shift cultural paradigms across the globe, one listener at a time.
Today marks one week until our new book The Plantpower Way* hits stores all across North America. It's been quite a mind blowing journey to arrive at this quite privileged place, so Julie and I check in on where things currently stand in our Herculean attempt to launch a plant-based lifestyle primer into the mainstream.
Long story short? Everything is going great. To be totally transparent, today we eclipsed 4,000 books pre-sold and over 1.5 million in social reach on our Thunderclap campaign. Unbelievable!
This is because of you. The support you have given us is beyond what we could have ever imagined, so please know that our appreciation runs deep. Very deep.
And yet much work remains to be done. If we want to hit the NY Times Bestseller List and catapult the book — and the plant-based movement — into the cultural zeitgeist, we need to sell at least 7,000 books before May 1.
We simply cannot do this alone. So far the TODAY Show hasn't called. We're getting no love from Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, John Stewart or any other major national news outlet. So when I say we are relying on you — the community — to step up and help get the word out and make this happen, I f*$ing mean it.
If you are a fan of the podcast and all the content I work tirelessly to provide free each week, this is your moment of reckoning. The fact that our amazing pre-order gift bundles expire on April 28 should be enough self-serving motivation to … Lees meer -
From Monk To Entrepreneur: How Andy Puddicombe Became the Modern Voice of Meditation & Mindfulness
20 april 2015 · 1 uur 33 min
I was first introduced to meditation and mindfulness principles 17 years ago during my 100-day voluntary incarceration in what is more amiably referred to as rehab.
Initially, I balked at the concept. How can stillness possibly improve my life?
Intellectually, I attributed every decent personal achievement not to innate talent, let alone some intangible force of the Universe. Instead I credited my prodigious work ethic — a huge capacity to grind harder and longer than my peers. Get up early. Stay late. Put in the extra mile. Repeat. Never stop.
Do more.
At best, stillness meant stasis. Mostly I wrote it off as regressive — wasted time lost. The purview of flaky, new-age hippies who couldn't begin to fathom my logic-based intellect, understand my terminally unique life problems, nor comprehend how I successfully navigated the world.
Always good for a solid re-sizing, my rehab counselor — let's call him Hugh because that's his name — reminded me of one simple, powerful fact:
My best thinking landed me in a mental institution.
That blast of truth and humility fell on my head like a ton of bricks. In recovery, they call it self-will run riot. And that was me, in a nutshell — a desperate hope to die alcoholic. A broken young man who had squandered promise and destroyed his life, literally tightrope walking the divide that separates life and death.
Hardly a vision for you, It was time to try something different.
Surrender.
At the time, I perceived this concept as synonymous with defeat. Anathema to my core idea of who I was. But Hugh was right. I was out of options, with only one saving grace — willingness. So I (quite reluctantly) released my resistance. I let go of logic. I opened myself to possibilities beyond the rational, to something perhaps entirely unknowable. And in so doing, my life didn't just change, it transformed wholesale — dramatically and irrevocably improving every aspect of my mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well being.
I wish I could tell yo… Lees meer -
Plant-Based On A Budget, Unleashing Your Inner Mentor & Tips For Raising Healthy Teens (Plus Win a SOMA!)
16 april 2015 · 1 uur 17 min
It's been a while, but Julie and I are finally back with another installment of Ask Me Anything — a twist on my typical format where we answer questions submitted by you, the listener. I absolutely love this format, primarily because it connects me more deeply and authentically with the global community of people who enjoy the show. Because community is truly what it's all about.
This is an exciting time for us. We have been working super hard getting everything ready for the impending release of The Plantpower Way, so we thought it would be fun to share a little behind the scenes on why we wrote the book; the collaborative and often intense two-year process undertaken to create it; the insane amount of effort and diligence required to launch a book into the mainstream; and our ultimate aspirations for the work.
Then the conversation turns to listener submitted inquiries. A conversation that explores: Lees meerparenting tips for temperamental teenagers;
the nutritional needs of athletic plant-based kids;
the journey towards service & mentorship;
tips for starting a podcast based on Rich's experience;
gender challenges faced in the wellness lifestyle;
pursuing a plant-based lifestyle on a budget;
the impact of increasing nutrient density on appetite & cravings; and culminates with
In the Sun- an original song by SriMati (aka Julie)It was really fun to once again sit down with Julie — my wife and co-collaborator — to engage with the audience first hand, hashing out free-form the subjects you care about most. Thank you everyone who submitted the 100's of questions we reviewed. If we didn't get to yours (obviously chances are we didn't), nonetheless please keep them coming. I plan on doing many more supplemental Q&A focused editions of the show (both with Julie and surprise guest hosts), so don't be shy. Fire your queries off to info@richroll.com and we'll do our best to answer!
I sincerely hope you enjoy the offering.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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Eradicating Lifestyle Disease with Cardiologist Robert Ostfeld, MD
13 april 2015 · 2 uur 5 min
Newsflash: heart disease is still America’s #1 killer.
Despite groundswell interest in all things wellness, the incidence of atherosclerotic disease is at an all-time high. One out of every two people in the United States will suffer some form of cardiac ailment. And one out of every three people will actually die of heart disease. Meanwhile, we are exporting the standard American diet overseas like it's the next blockbuster installment of The Avengers. The result? The developing world is now facing rates of lifestyle-related illness unprecedented in the history of humankind.
This is a disaster.
The great irony of course is that 80-90% of chronic illnesses like atherosclerosis, type-2 diabetes and obesity are preventible and oftentimes even reversible via simple diet and lifestyle alterations.
I can preach all day, but to truly capture the attention of the mainstream, catalyze seismic cultural change and put an end to avoidable disease, we desperately need more highly qualified medical professionals who understand the complicated mechanisms that lead to these diseases and are compelled to implement the preventive measures required to combat and avoid them.
This is where cardiologist Robert Ostfeld, MD comes in.
A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a medical degree from Yale and a Masters in Epidemiology from Harvard, Dr. Ostfeld did his internship and residency at prestigious Massachusetts General Hospital and his cardiology fellowship and research fellowship in Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital – both teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School.
An insanely smart dude with mad skills and a bulletproof resume, Robert had his pick of the litter when it came to choosing where to hang his professional hat. Most would have chosen the highest paying, most coveted cardiology department in the country. But this guy had different plans. Instead, Robert headed north of Manhattan to The Bronx to work with underprivileged popula… Lees meer -
How To Live To Be 100+ (And Why You Should Invest in Adventure)
8 april 2015 · 1 uur 32 min
Somewhere along the way, you've likely heard of something called the Blue Zones — a term coined in reference to five hidden slivers of the world that boast the highest per capita populations of centenarians – people who thrive to 100 and beyond. Unlikely locales were people not only live inordinately long, but also seem resoundingly happier than their fellow western world equals.
Places where people forgot to die.
This is the work of my friend Dan Buettner.
A renaissance man in the truest sense, Dan transcends categorization. Global adventurer. Three-time Guinness Book world record holding endurance cyclist. National Geographic Fellow. Multiple New York Times bestselling author. A wellness and longevity superhero, Dan has keynoted speeches for Bill Clinton’s Health Matters Initiative, Google Zeitgeist, and TEDMED. He's appeared on Oprah twice and his TED Talk “How to live to be 100+” has been viewed over 2 million times.
Without mincing words, Dan is my hero. A man who exudes life. A man with huge vision. And a man whose life work has positively, permanently and quite unequivocally improved the well being of millions.
You might have caught Dan on The TODAY Show (which is featuring segments on Dan and his work throughout the week), read about him in last Sunday's PARADE magazine, seen him on NBC News or caught him on CNN's The Wonder List a few weeks ago. The common theme of these stories? Grappling with the lifestyle tenets that govern Blue Zone cultures as a means to help the rest of us live longer and better. Lees meerAccording to Dan, Blue Zone cultures extending wellness into Ponce De Leon territory all live in accordance with 9 identifiable, convergent lifestyle principles (listed in the show notes below). Principles that are replicable on both the individual and civic level, as demonstrated by Dan's Blue Zones Project– a community well-being improvement initiative that has wholly transformed 20 cities and municipalities to date by implementing permanent changes to en…
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How To Live More In Alignment With Your Values With Gene Baur
6 april 2015 · 1 uur 42 min
We are all born compassionate. And we carry this powerful, inherent trait through adulthood. But often this deeply ingrained impulse becomes repressed — quelled by childhood trauma; eroded by social constraints; overwhelmed by the harried gestalt of daily life and the denial that accompanies our compulsion for convenience and immediate gratification.
Today's guest is a powerful reminder of who we really are. A call to action to better align this core value of compassion with the countless choices we make daily that dictate how we live our lives. To be more mindful about not only what we what eat, but what we do; the hows and whys behind our behavior; and the implications of personal choice on both ourselves and the world at large.
How to describe my friend Gene Baur? Hailed as the “conscience of the food movement” by TIME magazine, this is a guy who has spent the last 25 years traveling extensively around the country, campaigning to raise awareness about the abuses of industrialized factory farming and our current food system. Humanitarian, environmentalist, activist, undercover investigator and best-selling author, Gene is most well known as the president & co-founder of Farm Sanctuary. The first animal rescue organization dedicated to farmed animals, Farm Sanctuary shelters in New York and California provide rescue, refuge, and adoption for hundreds of farm animals each year, enabling visitors to connect with farm animals as emotional, intelligent individuals. Gene believes these animals stand as ambassadors for the billions on factory farms who have no voice, and he has dedicated his career to advocating on their behalf.
He's so handsome it makes me jealous, yet I can't help but love everything about this guy. He's a beautiful soul. And he's a darn good plant-based marathon runner & ironman athlete to boot.
Now for some context. This show is no stranger to people with strong points of view. But Gene was the first true animal rights activist I interviewed (in cas… Lees meer -
Do Epic Sh*t! Robin Arzón on The Power of Sacred Moments and Embracing Failure
27 maart 2015 · 1 uur 51 min
I'm really excited to have Robin Arzón back on the show this week. From corporate lawyer to ambassador of sweat and swagger, Robin brings the heat with unique personal style and an unwavering confidence that is matched only by her unlimited vivaciousness. In the event you missed it, I highly recommend going back and listening to our first conversation, RRP #99. You also might want to go back and read (or re-read) the blog post I wrote for that one, because it's kind of awesome.
Longtime listeners know Robin is all about story. The power of story. How to properly own your story. How to properly tell your story. The capacity for story to catalyze positive change in others. And the capability we all inherently have to let go of whatever negative story we tell ourselves about ourselves — and instead form an entirely new one.
To recap, only three years ago Robin was living a completely different life — toiling away as a corporate lawyer at one of the world’s most prestigious law firms. But a near-death experience being held hostage at gunpoint several years prior gave her the courage to not only begin a new chapter of her life, but to — you guessed it — tell an entirely new story about herself.
Robin jumped out on her secure career without a parachute, soared on faith arms spread wide and glided down to a graceful landing on the downtown streets of lower Manhattan like a glorious bird of prey clad in blinding color and a pair of chartreuse running shoes.
How do you describe someone who defies definition itself? Robin is so many things I struggle to find words to capture a spirit that can only be properly understood by experiencing her first hand. Nonetheless, I'll give it a shot. Today Robin is a NYC-based urban, bridge-running force of nature; an accomplished ultramarathoner (she once ran 5 marathons in 5 days across Utah); a running coach; a cycling instructor; and a consultant to some of the biggest brands in the world, like Nike, Adidas and Puma. Not enough? She's a… Lees meer -
Reinventing How To Feed The World
23 maart 2015 · 1 uur 43 min
Right now this spinning land mass we call Earth is host to over 7 billion hungry human mouths to feed. Our current set up for handling this relentless, growing need isn't just problematic, it's broken, outdated technology that is making us sick and decimating the planet at an unfathomable rate.
If we want to preserve a vibrant planet for future generations, it is imperative we find better, more innovative, more economic, more compassionate, more sustainable ways to sate the population.
This is a long way of saying it's high time for a paradigm shift.
If you listened to my podcast with Kip Anderson and Keegan Kuhn – the guys behind the highly compelling documentary Cowspiracy (I implore you to check out both the podcast and the film if you haven't already), then you already know that industrialized animal agriculture is our #1 environmental threat — far more deleterious to planetary health than transportation or fracking and the current leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution and habitat destruction.
Adopting a plant-based diet is the single most powerful thing we can do as consumers to take a stand against this insanity. But to truly solve this problem we need to first acknowledge that we have a serious protein fixation. Facilitating a mass cultural shift away from our strong preference towards an animal-centric diet requires more than a simple plea to go vegan. To truly break the paradigm we need phenomenal food alternatives with mainstream appeal. Products that aren't just more sustainable and consciously harvested, but inventive products that rival, if not altogether outdo our appetite for beef, chicken, fish and eggs in not just nutritional content, but in flavor, taste and texture as well.
The good news is that there are super intelligent, highly motivated people hard at work on just this — innovating brand new ways to improve human health, positively impact climate change, address global resource constraints and improve animal w… Lees meer -
Reimagining Fashion As Environmentally & Ethically Sound
16 maart 2015 · 2 uur 3 min
We talk quite often about food on this podcast — particularly the health, environmental and ethical implications our collective dietary choices and the global impact of the industrialized food industry on the same.
But you might be less consciously aware of the massive extent to which the garment industry impacts a wide range of concerns from global climate change to animal welfare to ethics and beyond.
Fashion is a world that desperately needs an environmentally consci tion. Joshua and his work is part of that solution — leveraging forward-thinking, modern textiles and progressive, business practices that embrace fashion and aesthetics to bring consumers beautiful, better and quite honestly, more ethically imagined and manufactured garments for us to enjoy.
This is a really interesting talk about: Lees meer* the complex intersection of ethics, aesthetics and fashion;
* the social norms and parameters that define masculinity;
* why fur is the furthest thing from cool;
* what really goes into creating garments from wool;
* the environmental impact of raising animals for clothing;
* the advent of more sustainable and ethically manufactured materials for garments; and
* the realities behind what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in the garment industry.Highly intelligent, hyper-articulate and of course always bespoke, Joshua is an outstanding ambassador and aesthete of modern fashion modalities, not to mention badass at CrossFit to boot. It's my honor to share my friend Joshua's message and experience with you and my hope is that you will come away from this conversation more enlightened and educated when it comes to aligning your consumerism with your values. I did.
Even if fashion is not your thing, trust me. This compelling exchange just might surprise you. I sincerely hope you enjoy the offering.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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Why You Should Love Louder
9 maart 2015 · 1 uur 51 min
From a young, troubled gang member facing an almost certain future of jails and institutions to becoming one of today's freshest voices in the conscious media movement, the life arc of Preston Smiles is something to behold. So it's a pleasure to welcome my friend back to the podcast.
Inspirational speaker. Motivational messenger. Fount of creative positivity. All around solid, loving dude.
If you are relatively new to the RRP, I strongly suggest rewinding the podcast back to my first sit down with today's guest (RRP #103) for the full Preston Smiles lowdown and origin story — a conversation that ranks right up there amongst some of the most popular and downloaded episodes in the history of the show.
I am proud to share this powerful conversation with you today. A conversation that traverses a tapestry of mental, emotional and spiritual topics and truisms, including healthy strategies for: Lees meer* navigating relationship pitfalls;
* overcoming the scarcity mentality;
* learning how to access, attract and accept abundance into your life; and
* why none of us should be afraid to love loudly in our quest to embrace our highest self.I'm a better dude for having Preston in my life. I truly enjoyed this conversation and sincerely hope you do too.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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The Ultimate Test of Human Endurance: Conquering the 4 Deserts Race Series
6 maart 2015 · 1 uur 53 min
Futurist and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke famously said, the only way to find the limits of the possible is by going beyond them to the impossible. An apropos theme for my conversation with Jennifer Steinman, a documentary filmmaker who spent well over a year following four seemingly normal, far from professional athletes as they prepare for and undertake one of the most grueling, backbreaking endurance challenges on the planet — a collection of ultra-distance adventure footraces teetering on the absurd dubbed the 4 Desert Series.
WHAT IS THE 4 DESERTS?
Named by TIME magazine as one of the world's Top 10 Endurance Competitions, the 4 Deserts is the world's leading rough-country endurance footrace series. A unique collection of world-class events that take place over 7 days and 250 kilometers in the largest and most forbidding deserts on the planet.
Jennifer has a more poetic take on this lunatic fringe:
Imagine you’ve been dropped off in the middle of one of the largest, driest deserts in the World. Over the next six days you will have to run, jog, walk or crawl 155 miles through incessant heat, across soft sand and hard-packed gravel, over sand dunes multiple stories high and down razor-sharp rocky cliffs. You must do this carrying everything you need to survive — clothes, food, sunscreen, emergency medical supplies, sleeping bag — in a 20-pound pack on your back.
Now imagine doing this not just once, but four times in one calendar year, through the driest, windiest, hottest, coldest and ultimately the most treacherous four deserts in the world: the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China, the Sahara in Egypt … and then, the final stage, a 150-mile footrace across the single most inhospitable landscape in the world: The Last Desert in Antarctica.
Any single race in RacingThePlanet’s 4Desert Ultramarathon Series is an extraordinary, life-threatening challenge– something we would only expect the most accomplished, elite athletes on the planet to… Lees meer -
How Can I Get My Kids To Eat Healthier? (Plus $300K+ in Giveaways!)
2 maart 2015 · 1 uur 26 min
Let's talk about food. Despite all the diet and nutrition content I consistently and freely generate, Julie and I are still inundated daily with inquiries like:
So what exactly do you guys eat?
How can I get my kids to make healthier choices?
Is it possible to eat healthy on a budget?
How can I overcome my cravings for unhealthy foods?
And of course…Where do you get your protein?
It's questions like these that led to an epiphany: I think it's time for the next book.
A cookbook.
However, there is is no shortage of amazing plant-based cookbooks already available. What could Julie and I possibly bring to this conversation that hasn't already been said?
After pouring through all the cookbooks at our local Barnes & Noble, we made a rather shocking discovery — not a single plant-based cookbook seemed to speak directly to the primary concerns of the typical modern family.
So we started to think about how we could fill this gap by providing real, tangible guidance for the soccer moms and softball playing dads with young kids just looking to live a little healthier. Normal people searching for a simple, solid roadmap to make better choices at the market and in the kitchen. A book that would really address the true needs of everyday, budget-conscious folks too busy to study nutrition yet seeking easy-to-implement answers. A book that would guide, educate and inspire people to adopt healthier eating and lifestyle habits and instill such habits in their children.
Visualizing such a book was easy. Because it's just a natural, authentic extension of our every day family lifestyle. A lifestyle we call The Plantpower Way. Lees meerIt's taken more than two years of solid focused work to get this book right. So this week Julie and I thought it would be fun sit down and learn more about her personal journey in food while rehashing the long journey undertaken to finally birth this book to life.
WHAT IS THE PLANTPOWER WAY?
Everybody deserves optimal health. And wellness begins with what we put… -
From Crash Victim To Elite Athlete: A NYC Firefighter’s Long Run to Wholeness
21 februari 2015 · 1 uur 43 min
In 2005, New York City firefighter, avid marathoner and ironman athlete Matt Long hopped onto his bike to do what he did every day — ride from his East side Manhattan apartment north to the Randall's Island fire academy where he helped train the city’s bravest. As he crossed 52nd Street, a 20-ton bus made a right turn from the middle lane. The bus didn't just hit him, it dragged his body completely underneath, where Matt was then quite literally impaled by his bike.
After receiving 68 units of blood in the first 40 hours post-accident, Matt spent the next month in a coma.
When he woke up, the doctors told him he was facing a one percent chance of survival.
Matt had other plans.
After a 5-month hospital stint and 40 surgeries in under two years, he did more than survive. He finally came alive.
The story of Matt’s accident and his comeback quest to tackle the 2008 NYC marathon just 3 years after his accident was first chronicled in an extraordinary story in Runner's World by Charles Butler entitled A Second Life. That story was later adapted and expanded into Matt's exceptionally inspiring memoir, The Long Run* , a work of co-authorship by Long and Butler (not to be confused with my buddy and RRP favorite Mishka Shubaly's equally compelling Kindle Single, also entitled The Long Run*).
Today Matt will tell you not only does he not regret the accident, it is the one thing that has made him whole. Lees meerThere are many words that can be used to describe Matt — firefighter, 9/11 first responder, ironman athlete, accomplished marathoner, advocate, bon vivant, husband and father. But one word will suffice: hero.
Matt is a man I hold in high regard as an incredible example of the resiliency not just of the physical body, but of the emotional body — the indomitable, boundless strength of the human spirit in selfless service to others.
Great guy. Great talk.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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‘American Sniper’ Screenwriter Jason Hall: Finding Purpose in Tragedy
16 februari 2015 · 1 uur 48 min
Jason Hall is having a moment. The country is having a moment.
Although hardly an overnight success story, it's fair to say American Sniper is this talented screenwriter's big break. A break so big he just might win his first Oscar a few days from today. But the celebratory mood is tempered by one inescapable fact: it is constructed from the tragic demise of a man named Chris Kyle. The soldier who not only serves as this contentious movie's protagonist, but was also a man Jason called friend.
In an era when studios shy away from war movies as box office poison, American Sniper is an unsuspecting juggernaut. Breaking records left and right, the Bradley Cooper starrer seems to have touched a national nerve, packing theatres across the U.S. to the tune of over $300 million domestically and a fast approaching $400 million worldwide gross. Not only is American Sniper Clint Eastwood's most successful film to date, it's the highest grossing war film of all time.
And yet the film is not without its critics and controversy. Propaganda or protest movie? War polemic or character study? The glorification of a highly skilled killer or the tragic tale of one man's demise?
Let the pundits pontificate, Jason Hall would say. The important thing is that people are now talking about things that need talking about.
Irrespective of your personal feelings about this film, you cannot deny that it is a work that demands to be reckoned with. A reckoning that has catalyzed a productive dialog around a litany of important issues such as: Lees meer* the incidence and treatment of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in today’s soldiers;
* the physical, mental and emotional impact of multiple deployments on soldiers, their families and society; and
* how to systemically improve the much needed care and support we provide our troops.This is the dialog that interests Jason – a guy with his feet on the ground who really gets that the success of this movie is not about …
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How We Can Change The Food Industry with “Food Babe” Activist Vani Hari
9 februari 2015 · 1 uur 24 min
Remember that big deal about how the bread at Subway contains chemicals found in yoga mats?
Then there was the story about how fast food French fries contain a chemical used in Silly Putty. And the whole to-do about how there’s actually no pumpkin in the Starbucks pumpkin latte.
The person behind these semi-salacious, headline grabbing campaigns is this week’s guest, Vani Hari – aka Food Babe – the outspoken and often divisive food activist behind the wildly popular FoodBabe.com blog.
I met Vani at a dinner party this past summer and found her not only delightful but also razor sharp, fiercely passionate and tenacious when the subject turned to food — particularly what big food manufacturers don’t want you to know about what’s in our food. Her message? To empower the typical soccer mom with the information to feed her family right and the courage to stand up for greater transparency and accountability from companies that produce what ends up on our plates.
FoodBabe.com, which exceeds an astounding 2.5 million unique visitors per month, along with the mobilization of Vani’s passionate Food Babe Army following, has been incredibly successful in getting gigantic companies like Subway, Kraft, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, and even Anheuser-Busch to not only remove certain harmful ingredients from their food but also steer them toward more healthful policies. Lees meerTherefore, it should come as no surprise that food companies are terrified of her. Her voice and legion of supporters pose a significant threat to corporate profits and business as usual. This makes her a target. Attacked daily, it’s not uncommon for her to receive death threats. But that’s what happens when you really put yourself out there, on the front lines.
The fact that she soldiers on is super ballsy. She is a warrior. Totally punk rock. The Erin Brockovitch of food.
Congressman Tim Ryan calls her Vani “a one woman consumer protection agency.” And I for one have tremendous respect for anyone who demonstrates her l… -
Is Butter Really Back? Heart to Heart with Cardiologist Joel Kahn
2 februari 2015 · 1 uur 40 min
America's #1 killer, heart disease currently kills 1 out of every 3 Americans; 70% of Americans are obese and getting fatter; and Studies forecast that by 2030, 50% of Americans will be diabetic or pre-diabetic.
The great irony in all of this is that, as Dr. Kahn so astutely points out, 80-90% of all chronic health problems can be resolved via pretty simple diet and lifestyle alternations.
The tricky part is translating these lifestyle alterations from theory to practice. I understand that it can be difficult for many, particularly when there is so much confusing information out there concerning about heath, nutrition and diet. So confusing in fact, that it becomes incredibly challenging for even the most savvy consumer to separate fact from fiction and truth from hyperbole.
Just because good news about bad habits makes for tempting clickbait doesn't mean the information is reliable — its usually not.
To help sift through all of this, I once again sit down for a heart to heart (pun intended) with cardiologist Joel Kahn, MD — you can listen to our first conversation (RRP #44) here.
A Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Michigan's prestigious Inteflex program (a 6-year undergraduate / graduate program that developed doctors fresh out of high school), Joel has served as Clinical Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Wayne State University School of Medicine since 1993. He's authored over 130 articles on heart disease, is a frequent lecturer on heart disease and its prevention, has performed thousands of cardiac procedures, and has been advising patients on heart healthy programs for over 20 years.
Not only does Dr. Kahn know what he is talking about, his basic message is elementary: if you want to experience true long-term wellness, then you must focus on implementing sustainable long-term preventive protocols into your lifestyle. This starts and ends with diet and active lifestyle.
The specific thrust of this conversation focuses on separating truth from ma… Lees meer -
Turning Your Passion Into Your Profession
26 januari 2015 · 2 uur 18 min
What can mined from the abyss that separates ordinary from extraordinary?
Although he's never pedaled a single stage of the Tour de France as a professional cyclist, Mike Cotty has done things on the bike that would make even Jens Voigt (the consensus hard man of the pro peloton) cringe.
Here's a taste. Last summer Mike rode his bike 1000 kilometers non-stop across 21 mountains in the Dolomites, Eastern Alps and Swiss Alps, from Conegliano, Italy, to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France. That's over 21,000 meters in elevation gain. That's 54 hours of riding without sleep. That's like riding 8 to 10 stages of the Tour de France without stopping.
How is that even humanly possible?
Mike also rode 684 kilometers for 30 hours straight across the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. A feat rivaled only by his 33-hour, 677 kilometer ride that ascended 16,000 meters of elevation gain across the Alps. Lees meerObviously I wouldn't characterize Mike as normal. Far from it. But there is a very relatable everyman aspect to Mike's story that captured my fancy.
Mike's path has hardly been linear, but today he is not only an extraordinarily accomplished athlete, he is a respected filmmaker, brand ambassador, media & marketing consultant and entrepreneur. Through his company Media-24, Mike creates compelling content and develops marketing strategy for top tier organizations like Mavic, Cannondale and the Cannondale-Garmin professional cycling team. Mike's latest passion project is The Col Collective, a high quality online video resource dedicated to helping inspire and educate cyclists to reach the summit of the most spectacular mountain passes in the world.Mike's is also a path without ego, well grounded in a true desire to educate, positively impact and inspire people to overcome their own barriers. All these elements make for great conversation about passion. About pushing past that voice in your head that wants you to quit. About what is required to break through seemingly insurm…