Close your eyes and imagine yourself running a trail ultramarathon in the beautiful Australian outback. You're enjoying the experience when suddenly you find yourself trapped in a gorge, surrounded by a raging brushfire.The flames quickly close in until you're surrounded on all sides.No escape.This is how it ends, you think.Then darkness.Against all odds, death is averted. Instead, you lie comatose. Months pass in dormancy. Finally your eyes open, awakening to discover you're miraculously alive, yet somehow less than whole. A glance at your left hand reveals several fingers missing. On the right? No thumb. And the reason you can't move? 65% of your body is covered in life threatening burns. Overwhelmed, you allow your eyes once again close, welcoming the comfort of darkness.200 operations follow. Over the next two years, you will die three times during surgery.Miraculously, you somehow survive. Not as a victim, but as a hero.This is the powerful story of Turia Pitt – humanitarian, athlete, and beacon of inspiration and female empowerment to millions across the world.One of Australia’s most admired and widely recognized people, Turia has been profiled everywhere from 60 Minutes to Women's Weekly. She has scaled the Great Wall of China, competed in the Ironman World Championships and walked the Kokoda Track. A sought-after public speaker, Turia has mentored thousands through her online programs, raised funds and awareness for a variety of philanthropic concerns and authored two books — the recently released Unmasked* (available in the US in audiobook format* only) and Everything To Live For*.This is a conversation about turning tragedy into opportunity. Adversity into advocacy. And experience into service. It's a conversation about the importance of putting others before yourself and serving those less fortunate.But most of all, this is a powerful conversation about facing life head on — about taking risks, facing your fears and believing in yourself.It was an honor to spend a couple hours with Turia and her fiancé Michael during my recent visit to Sydney. My hope is that our exchange will leave you feeling inspired, empowered and grateful.Or as Turia says, no whinging!Peace + Plants,Rich

7.5 billion people currently share this spinning blue planet we call Earth. By 2050, that number will escalate to 9.7 billion. By 2100? 11 billion.How can we possibly feed 11 billion people sustainably?To answer that question we must turn our gaze to the industrialization of animal agriculture. On the surface, what we commonly call factory farming appears incredibly efficient, creating massive economies of scale. But peer just below the surface and you'll discover a vast operation of mass suffering that is irreparably polluting the environment, eviscerating our dwindling natural resources and destroying human health to boot.Beyond wasteful. Utterly unsustainable. Indefensibly cruel.Ladies and gentlemen, our food system is in dire need of innovation.So let's talk about it. This week I sit down with Bruce Friedrich, a man who has devoted his life to reforming animal agriculture and innovating the future of food and food systems.Bruce is the executive director of The Good Food Institute and founding partner of New Crop Capital, organizations focused on replacing animal products with plant and culture-based alternatives. He graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law and Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College, holds additional degrees from Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Economics and was inducted into the United States Animal Rights Hall of Fame in 2004.A popular speaker on college campuses — including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT — Bruce has appeared on NBC's Today Show, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and Court TV.As compelling as it gets, this is an extraordinary conversation about animal agriculture, planetary health and human well being. It's about the politics of agriculture and the subsidies, corporations, representatives and lobbyists that support it.But mostly, this is an optimistic forecast of food system innovation — how technology, urgency and popular demand are rapidly converging to create healthy, sustainable and compassionate solutions to help solve our current food, health and environmental crises.Incredibly intelligent, considerate and measured, it was an honor to sit down with Bruce. May our exchange leave you inspired to invest more deeply in where your food comes from and how it impacts the precious world we share.Peace + Plants,Rich

Ever wonder what it would be like to get paid to travel the world, jetting from one exotic port of call to the next in search of adventure?Now imagine sharing these experiences with millions of people all over the world on the daily.Few could pull this off. But if you feel the allure, then you're in for a treat with this week's guest — because Louis Cole is the master.With almost 2 million subscribers on his Fun For Louis YouTube channel (plus 1.5 million on Instagram), this British-born dreadlocked globetrotter was one of the first (if not the very first) daily travel vloggers to break out — an internet personality so sensational, YouTube crown prince Casey Neistat (RRP 73, 144 & 174) dubbed Louis the godfather of daily vlogging.Louis has crossed India on a rickshaw and skydived high above Dubai. He has skateboarded along Sydney Harbor and sailed a hot air balloon in Kenya. From kayaking in New Zealand to salsa dancing in Cuba, it's just another day of fun for Louis — a guy committed to sucking the marrow out of life.But the true allure of Louis isn't travel. And it isn't vlogging.No, Louis' greatest talent is his ability to inspire wonder. Imbued with a rare enthusiasm for embracing all that life delivers, he has an infectious touch when it comes to encouraging his followers to pursue big dreams while he enjoys his own.After a brief training progress report with my coach Chris Hauth, this week I sit down with Louis to find out exactly how he created such an extraordinary life.This is a conversation about cultivating imagination, then translating that imagination into reality. It's about the mindset, tools and practices required to craft the trajectory of your wildest dreams. And to embrace the life you deserve.An old soul with a big heart, Louis is a truly beautiful guy. I sincerely hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.Peace + Plants,Rich

Leo Babauta, advocate of minimalism and mindfulness, shares insights on ending human struggle through simplicity and mindfulness. Topics include self-mastery, saying no, embracing discomfort, breaking self-destructive behavior, and transforming through lifestyle changes. The conversation also touches on authenticity in content creation, Zen philosophy, influential spiritual figures, unschooling, veganism, and the Sea Change course and retreat.

From fire walks to ice baths and juice cleanses to intermittent fasting, silent retreats, talk therapy and everything in between, the world of personal development is limitless. And that's not counting all the podcasts, audiobooks, online courses, weekend seminars, weeklong symposiums, webinar tutorials and mastermind intensives that can occupy a well-intentioned seeker dawn to dusk for the next 10,000 years.Beyond the overwhelm, the self-help universe is fraught with snake oil slinging charlatans obfuscating truth from fiction — and all too often salvation from predation.Efforts to divine truth from bullshit render imperfect results. Anxiety ensues. To cope, we double down on improving upon our self-improvement until we wake up one day and realize what began as a laudable quest for growth has suddenly become an obsessive malignancy — a sort of spiritual eating disorder gnawing away on our very soul.Danielle LaPorte has been there. And she's got a message for you:You're the answer to your question.Named to Oprah’s inaugural SuperSoul 100, Entrepreneur magazine calls Danielle equal parts poet and entrepreneurial badass. I call her a powerful force of nature — a teacher, a leader and a mom who also happens to be a lauded public speaker, multiple bestselling author and doyenne of blogging for millions at DanielleLaPorte.com, which Forbes calls the best place online for kickass spirituality.Honest, accessible and authentic to the core, Danielle's books include The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms* and The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul*. Her newest book, which hits shelves everywhere May 16 and is available for pre-order now, is entitled White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another*. A high recommend, it's a fun and accessible rollercoaster ride through the machinations of personal growth, the pitfalls of spiritual glamour and the self-criticism that too often accompanies self-help to deliver a powerful edict: you are your own guru.A beacon of compassion, Danielle is an extraordinary human. A woman devoted to helping people transcend their limitations, access their potential, and truly self-actualize. It was an honor to finally sit down with her and talk it all out.This is a fun, deep and deeply fun dive into Danielle’s divine path. It's an exploration of self-help adventures gone wrong and the breakthroughs that make it all worth it. It's about what happens when spirituality becomes a to do list. And why sometimes we have to fall for lies in order to discover our truth.Ultimately, it's not how you seek spiritual growth, it's why you seek it. Answer this, and you are on the path to becoming your own guru.Enjoy!Rich

We all want what's best for our kids.So we roll up our sleeves and insert ourselves in their education, pitching in on homework and managing school projects. We stimulate them with an endless revolving door of activities. We do what we can to foster good grades, college application-worthy experiences and self-esteem. Along the way, we celebrate victories as if they were our own. And swoop in to protect when things go south.The instinct is laudable: set up our children for success, by any means necessary.But what if we have it all wrong? What if all this hyper-competitive, overly-protective micro-management is doing more harm than good?As a parent of young girls, I desperately want to do everything I can to serve their long-term interests. To learn more, I sat down with educator, writer and speaker Jessica Lahey (@jesslahey). A graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a J.D. concentrating on juvenile and education law from the University of North Carolina School of Law, Jessica is an an English and writing teacher, correspondent for the Atlantic, commentator for Vermont Public Radio, and writes the “Parent-Teacher Conference” column for the New York Times.She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed* (highly recommend for parents) and if that's not enough, she also explores writing and creativity on #AmWriting, a podcast she co-hosts with KJ Dell'Antonia, a columnist and contributing editor for the New York Times' Well Family.Specific topics discussed include:* the critical difference between grades and learning* differentiating between confidence vs. competence* the perils of “fixed mindsets”* the nature of what motivates true learning* the negative implications of over-parenting, rescuing, enmeshment & hovering; and* effective strategies to cultivate your child's long-term interests* ultimately its about how to best parent your child to maximize their learning and set them up for long term success.If you are a parent, this episode is a must listen. If you don't have kids, you will nonetheless find Jessica's powerful insights on the psychology of motivation and the mechanisms that promote learning absolutely invaluable and applicable to each and every one of us.I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich

It’s no secret that aspects of our current education system are at best antiquated, at worst broken. Whether it's quality education in the developing world, properly training people to meet our rapidly changing workforce needs or the crippling student loan debt that onerously burdens millions of young people, we're long overdue for some systemic upgrades.This week's guest has devoted his life to tackling these problems.A young man with a bright future, Adam Braun graduated from Brown and threw himself headfirst into a burgeoning career in finance when an extended backpacking trip across the developing world forever changed his perspective. Inspired by a sense of purpose and a call to service, in 2008 Adam walked away from Wall Street to launch Pencils of Promise – a for purpose philanthropic endeavor with the mission of building schools in countries across the world. A massive success, Pencils of Promise is responsible for over 400 new schools to date, distinguishing itself as one of a handful of charitable organizations that has fundamentally changed how we think about and practice philanthropy and giving.Named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 List, Business Insider's 40 Under 40 List, and Wired's Smart List of 50 People Changing the World, Adam chronicles his remarkable journey in The Promise of a Pencil*, a powerful story of awakening and action that demonstrates how one person can make a huge difference in a short period of time. Debuting at #2 on the New York Times Bestseller list and going on to becoming a #1 national bestseller, it's a favored read among business leaders and can even be found on many a college syllabus.Today finds Adam embarking a new chapter, taking on higher education with an ambitious new start up called MissionU – a for-profit for purpose, venture-backed organization that presents a compelling alternative to traditional college by sending students into the workforce debt-free.This is a great conversation about Adam’s journey to entrepreneurial success. It's about the current state of education, the business of education, and the innovative path forward. It’s a conversation about self-awareness, integrity and lightning moments. But mostly, this is a conversation about the transformative power of leading a meaningful life of service fueled by purpose.I applaud Adam's commitment to dream big and solve huge problems. A special human, I promise you will be captivated by the extraordinary story behind it all.I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich

This mid-week episode of the podcast is a fun, dynamic Q&A session from our recent Plantpower Way event at Paddington Town Hall in Sydney, Australia.Some of the topics covered include:* raising vegan kids* incorporating podcast guest wisdom into your life* becoming your own self-sustaining ecosystem* carving a career out of your passion* pushing through when discipline wavers* the benefits of mutual partner support* effective advocacy methodsI hope you enjoy the offering. #StayJedi!Peace + Plants,Rich

I know what you’re thinking. It's rather convenient for any Olympic athlete to say that hard work trumps talent.For perspective, take a glance at the palmarès of this week's guest:* 2012 London Olympics: Gold in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay* 2016 Rio Olympics: Gold in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay* 2016 Rio Olympics: Bronze in the 200 meter freestyleIn total, Conor Dwyer has won seventeen medals in major international swimming competitions: nine gold, six silver, and two bronze. I could geek out on his statistics forever but you get the picture. The dude is super fast in the pool; one of the fastest swimmers of all time.An extraordinary athlete, Conor is obviously immensely talented. So this idea that hard work beats talent can't possibly apply to him, right?Not so fast. Conor was the furthest thing from a natural talent right out of the gate. His performances out of high school were so mediocre in fact, he couldn't even get the attention of college coaches let alone a swimming scholarship. I simply cannot overstate how rare it is in competitive swimming that an athlete of his current caliber had yet to distinguish himself by 18. It just doesn't happen.But Conor refused to give up. Through persistence and a robust work ethic relentlessly applied, a series of circumstances slowly aligned. A believing coach appeared to mentor him, followed by training partners to push him to new levels of possibility and further fuel his self-belief in potential. Over time, all the important ingredients alchemized to bake the cake that is the superstar athlete we know today as Conor Dwyer.This week Conor shares his extraordinary story from bench warmer to Olympic champion. A story that lays bare a simple core truth I have experienced myself:when the heart is pure and fueled by self-belief, extreme faith, unwavering patience and an unabating work ethic, the universe conspires to support the dream.One of the good guys, Conor lives it with every breath. A recipe for success that has fueled his accomplishments and will support anyone — irrespective of talent level — in the pursuit of an audacious dream.I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich

Imagine four commercial airliners crashing every single hour of every single day of every single year.It's unfathomable. And yet that is how many Americans die from heart disease annually. In fact, an unbelievable 1 out of every 3 people in the U.S. will perish from this one disease.Meanwhile, 70% of Americans are obese or overweight. In the coming decade, 50% of Americans will be diagnosed diabetic or pre-diabetic. An economic disaster, 75% of all health care costs in America are attributable to these and a few other chronic lifestyle illnesses.It's devastating. And yet the most heartbreaking aspect of this crisis is that 80-90% of these illnesses are very easily preventable and often entirely reversible via some rather simple diet and lifestyle alternations.It's the food, stupid.This week I'm joined by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, the filmmaking dynamic duo behind the groundbreaking documentary Cowspiracy, to talk about their brand new follow up. Equally groundbreaking, What The Health explores the relationship between our food systems and big business, exposing the collusion and corruption that is making us sick, keeping us sick and costing us trillions in healthcare dollars.Whereas Cowspiracy explores the impact of animal agriculture on environmental health, What The Health focuses on human health. Perhaps the most important documentary you will ever see, it's a film about the power of special interest groups to drive unhealthy consumer spending habits. It's about environmental racism and the impact of animal agriculture on community health. And it's about why you need to rethink for yourself everything you've ever been told about the relationship between business and food, the impact of food choice on personal health, and your body's incredible, innate power to prevent, fight and even reverse the chronic lifestyle illnesses that are unnecessarily killing people by the millions.Starting March 16, the film will be available to watch worldwide at whatthehealthfilm.com – where you can also pre-order the DVD and cookbook as well as set up a screening in your town (I'm hosting one on March 29). In addition, for the first four days of the film's release (between March 16 – 20), Keegan and Kip will be donating half of all proceeds to Food Not Bombs – an amazing, for-purpose organization that feeds thousands of people free vegan meals across North America and the world.Kip and Keegan are truly breaking paradigms. Making the world a better place. And changing lives with what I think is the most important film of the year. A film that just might save your life or that of a loved one. I aspire to their level of courage and advocacy. And I sincerely hope you enjoy this exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich