Lessons from Startups and Military Leadership

I've got nothing but love for stories of personal metamorphosis, perhaps the most predominant theme of this show.

We call it the hero’s journey.

Archetypal and totemic, it’s a most powerful narrative that unites, connecting with something indelible and universal within us all.

Over the years, I’ve hosted many flavors of physical triumph. From Olympic medalists to arctic explorers, I celebrate the arc of the athletic warrior.

But life’s greatest passage isn’t physical. It’s not free-soloing El Capitan, crossing Antarctica, or running ultramarathons in Patagonia.

Our most challenging voyage is learning how to love ourselves.

No one embodies this genus of the hero’s journey better than Kamal Ravikant.

To be clear, Kamal has more than earned his spot as a respected adventurer living beyond convention. From modest beginnings, he’s trekked to one of the highest base camps in the Himalayas, earned his US Army Infantry patch, walked 550 miles across Spain, and meditated with Tibetan monks in the Dalai Lama’s monastery.

Professionally, he’s done it all too, founding a company with the guy who wrote the first browser. From launching startups to managing venture capital funds, Kamal has spent the better part of his career working alongside some of the smartest investors and engineers in Silicon Valley, writing books in his free time.

But Kamal's most transformative experience has been the simple act of learning how to love himself.

Why is it so hard for us?

I first heard about Kamal by way of his frequent appearances on our mutual and beloved friend James Altucher’s podcast.

Compelled by his honesty and vulnerability, I felt myself holding space with someone who embodied an important wisdom. A wisdom I lacked. Reflexively, I picked up Kamal's latest book, Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It.

Spiritual and emotional growth is my jam and yer I never thought much about self-love. So I freely admit I met Kamal's book with a healthy dose of initial skepticism.

However, the read ignited a realization that I continue to harbor unhealed wounds. Simple, straightforward and profound, I discovered practices not just helpful, but truly transformative. I wanted to know more.

Today we unpack Kamal's heroic journey of the heart.

It’s a conversation about his trials and his triumphs. His divine moment. The path of self-discovery that followed. And what he learned surviving a recent near death experience.

It’s about how he learned to love himself. The simple routine he deploys to maintain it. And why this practice is essential to living an examined, self-actualized life of presence, purpose and contentment.

For the stoics and skeptics, I implore you to set aside whatever resistance you may be feeling right now. And give this one a shot with an open mind and heart.

Note: This conversation was recorded pre-pandemic (February 12, 2020), thus there is no coronavirus reference. Nonetheless, Kamal's wisdom is timeless. Moreover, the practices we discuss are powerful tools of self-discovery than can prove transformative as we navigate this challenging time.

The visually inclined can watch it all go down on YouTube. And as always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Kamal’s vulnerability is refreshing. I love this conversation and the friendship it has birthed. I hope it serves you as it did me.

Peace + Plants,

Rich