The SuperHuman Academy Podcast

Today, we are joined by Dr. Greg Wells, a physiologist, scientist, broadcaster, and author. Dr. Wells has dedicated his career to understanding human performance and how the human body responds to extreme conditions. Throughout his career, Dr. Wells has coached, trained and inspired dozens of elite athletes to win medals at World Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. He has studied athletic performance in some of the most severe conditions on the planet, like the Andes Mountains and the Sahara Desert. Dr. Wells is also the author of Superbodies: Peak Performance Secrets from the World’s Best Athletes, which explores how genetics and DNA, the brain, muscles, lungs, heart and blood work together in extreme conditions, and, he has a new book coming out soon called The Ripple Effect In this episode, we talk about a really wide range of fascinating topics, from sleep and nutrition to exercise and peak performance habits. We uncover some surprising things that you may not realize are influencing your overall physical and mental performance, and even go into some cool tools and strategies you can implement right away. I really, really enjoyed this conversation, and I think you will, too.

Today, we’re joined by a very special guest - but one that I’m not even sure how to describe… He’s a serial entrepreneur, author, podcaster, internet marketer, eclectic, business expect, and taco lover. He was employee #30 at Facebook and #4 at Mint. He’s the entrepreneur behind such successes as Sumo and AppSumo. He’s regularly seen with and compared to greats like Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, Ramit Sethi, and more. Oh, and he just paid $1.5M for a domain name - what?   I was so excited to do this episode because although Noah and I have been in contact by email for years, we’ve never actually had the chance to sit down and have a real mind-meld. I really love him and his work, and I think you’re going to understand why immediately.   In this episode, we talk about… well, all kinds of stuff. Noah was his interesting, quirky, and insightful self right out of the gate, diving into his unique and effective learning philosophy. He managed to be SO interesting, that I got through less than half of the questions I had prepared… and yet, I think that the interview is actually better for it. On my end, I learned about a ton of interesting skills, habits, and ideas that I want to try out in my own life, and I think you will too.

Today, we are joined by Kevin Horsley, a GrandMaster of Memory, world record holder, bestselling author, and public speaker who hails from South Africa. For the past 25 years, Kevin has been working to better understand the mind and memory - overcoming his own difficult learning disabilities and going on to win the world record for the matrix memorization of 10,000 digits of pi - often referred to as the “Everest” of memory tests. In this episode, we talk about… you guessed it… memory and learning. Just a warning: we go very deep very fast into the nitty gritty of many of the techniques, and how Kevin is innovatively using them. If you haven’t heard our past episodes on memory and learning with Anthony Metivier, Mattias Ribbing, Ron White, and a few more, you might want to listen to those ones first, because we do assume in this interview that you kind of understand basic mnemonic techniques by now. We talk about speed reading, methods for reviewing and retaining what you learn, memory palaces, and a lot more. Kevin holds nothing back and shares a ton of super valuable tips and ideas, and so I think you’re really going to enjoy it.

Today we have a very special treat, as we’re happy to invite back one of my favorite thought leaders, podcasters, and authors for a second time on the show. The guest is Robb Wolf, and he’s the NYT bestselling author of The Paleo Solution, the host of the Paleo Solution Podcast, and widely regarded as one of the absolute top authorities in the world of diet and nutrition. Robb joins us today to talk to us about his latest, much-anticipated book, Wired to Eat: Turn Off Cravings, Rewire Your Appetite For Weight Loss, And Determine The Foods That Work For You. You guys, I have to say, that I so enjoyed Robb’s previous book, that I quite nearly broke my own rule about not reading advance copies before the interviews. In this episode, we talk about… understanding variance, a framework for diagnosing what works for you, blood glucose monitoring, how much carbohydrate is too much… we went really deep into the nitty gritty, and yet once again, we only scratched the surface of Robb’s tremendous knowledge. I now really understand why writing this book was so necessary.

Greetings, SuperFriends, and welcome to a very special episode of The Becoming SuperHuman Podcast. Why is it special, you ask? Well, it's not every week that I turn 30 years old! To mark this milestone (which happens on March 18th), I wanted to do something special. To commemorate the very blessed and very unique life I've lead up until this point, and to reflect back on just what the heck I've learned over the last 30 years. Years ago, I was greatly inspired by Ryan Allis, who, on his 30th birthday, published a 1,284 slide presentation aptly named Lessons From My 20's. I very strongly recommend you check it out (at http://hive.org/20s) if you haven't already. In it, Ryan shares just about everything he learned over the period of 10 years as an entrepreneur, thought leader, and human being.  I'm also deeply grateful to Gretchen Rubin, who, in her fantastic and pragmatic book on becoming a better human being, Better Than Before, shares a wonderfully catchy concept she calls "Secrets of Adulthood." Basically, a Secret of Adulthood is a powerful and simple lesson that can only be learned by, well, growing up and maturing. They range from the fanciful and fun, like "Try not to let yourself get too hungry," to the very serious and inspiring: "What you do EVERY DAY matters more than what you do ONCE IN A WHILE." Immediately after reading her book, I began collecting a list of my own - and that list is what you'll be hearing today. Some of them might be strange. Some of them controversial. Many were learned in deeply cherished books, yet still many in passing conversations with complete strangers. Some learned at the highest of highs, and others at the most harrowing and horrific of lows. Some are completely unique, and others simply build on those before them. But from my perspective, each of them is, unquestionably, true - at least in my experience. With that said, I invite you to let me know what you think? Has life taught you some of these same lessons? Or perhaps others that I have yet to learn? We are each so unique shaped by the paths that we travel on, and I find it most fascinating just how much those paths often converge.

This week, we are joined by Elaina Love from Pure Joy Planet, and the Pure Joy Culinary School, and one of the pioneers in the growing “raw, plant based diet” movement. Like so many of the nutrition experts we’ve had on the show, Elaina focuses on a low carb, higher-fat diet free from artificial junk and processed foods. What makes Elaina unique is that she is known as one of the more respected authorities both in the raw and in the vegan communities, though as we found out in the interview, her diet isn’t as black-and-white as you might expect. Because we’ve never done a show about veganism, much less about raw food, I wanted to understand that side of the story a little bit better, and challenge some of my own assumptions and long-held beliefs about diet and nutrition.   In this episode, we talk about dietary suggestions, the benefits of raw food, and a whole entire new world of enzymes and why you should consider taking them. I really expected to find her much more extreme, but was surprised to find that we agreed on just about everything! I also learned a great deal in this episode, which was surprising given how many episodes we’ve done on diet and nutrition. I came away with a long shopping list of new products and supplements to try out, and a bunch of new ideas to test in my own life. I think you guys are going to LOVE this episode!

Today, we’re joined by Jared Kleinert - a 21 year old entrepreneur and author best known for his bestselling book, 2 Billion Under 20, and more recently, 3 Billion Under 30. Starting out at a very young age, Jared has built one of the world’s most valuable networks, and regularly rubs elbows with some of the world’s most influential people - and in doing so, has become quite the influencer himself. You’ve probably seen Jared on TED.com, Forbes, and more… Pretty impressive! The goal of this interview was to understand just how Jared has achieved so much success at such a young age, but also, to see what tips he can share with us from his time with the world’s top thought leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, and more. Throughout the episode, we talk about a LOT… we talk about relationship building skills, networking, craaaazy stories that come from Jared’s network, what he’s learned from some of the world’s top performers, how he learned what he learned and got to where he is, and much, much more. It was so inspiring to talk to Jared and see what he’s been able to do at such a young age, and I think you’re going to learn a lot from him - I certainly did!

So, I know this is confusing, but today, we are joined by Jon Levy - with a Y instead of an I - the author of The 2AM Principle: Discover The Science Of Adventure. Once a self-described nerd, today, he runs with the bulls in Pamplona, crashes million dollar weddings, takes a flight on average every 3 days, and is widely considered one of the top experts in adventure, with endorsements from many of the industry’s biggest names like Lewis Howes and Chris Bailey. In this episode, we talk about Jon’s framework for seeking out and experiencing jaw-dropping adventures. As someone who considers “adventure” to be one of the 8 criteria for a balanced and happy life, and an avid adventurer myself, I was eager to figure out how Jon finds and chooses various adventure opportunities, and how he has turned something so seemingly random into a well-thought-out methodology. We talk about how to systematically create and find adventure, the difference between those two things, suggestions for building an incredibly exciting lifestyle, and much, much more. This was a really incredible episode, guys. I learned a TON - and I know you will, too.

Today, we are joined by author, neuroscientific researcher, therapist, and the world’s leading expert on spirituality and the brain, Mark Robert Waldman. Mark is faculty at Loyola Marymount University and author of 13 books, including Words Can Change Your Brain and How God Changes Your Brain, the latter of which was nominated as a “must read” by Oprah Winfrey. He’s also just published a new book on January 31st, called Neurowisdom. Mark’s body of work is a formidable cornucopia of knowledge on the brain, and how we can influence it’s development and behavior with something as simple as thoughts and beliefs. But don’t worry, this isn’t going to be another episode where I go off into energies and woo-woo… Mark is a very respected researcher in the field of neuroscience, having had his work published in peer-reviewed journals worldwide, and publications ranging from Time Magazine to Forbes and The New York Times. In this episode, we talk about… god, neuroscience, psychedelics, spirituality, yawning, communications, guided meditations.

Today, we are joined by Edmund John, founder and CEO of Flag Theory… Flag Theory is a company that specializes in, well… turning people into Jason Bourne. International bank accounts, offshore corporations, multiple passports… you name it. This episode reflects my ongoing curiosity around and passion for disaster planning. What happens when economies collapse? When countries go to war? I don’t know about you, but I want to be prepared, just in case. In this episode, we talk about everything from weathering political instability to legally avoiding taxes and everything in between. Though you might think you need to be a multimillionaire to worry about this kind of stuff, but as Edmund explained, you really don’t… In fact, after meeting Edmund and his team a month or so ago, I promptly signed up for their services and started protecting myself. Just a quick heads up and disclaimer. I do use and do recommend Flag Theory and their services, but it’s important that you know that I earn a small commission if any of you guys choose to work with them. It’s also important that you understand that nothing in this episode constitutes financial or investment advice, so, even though I’m now protected by redundant corporate entities in two countries… please don’t sue me!