The Rich Roll Podcast

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

There are leaders and then there are followers. The best leaders engender devotion to a big, new idea. But only a few successfully grow their conceit into a thriving a enterprise that withstands the test of time. Fewer still scale to mainstream cultural impact.Then there are the charmed select who simply see the world differently. Not how it is, but how it could be. How it should be. The rare figure who infuses his or her vision with a contagion of enthusiasm and connectivity so infectious and powerful, it ignites a revolution – catalyzing a movement that penetrates the mainstream, hypnotizes the masses and forever alters the perspective and behavior of all who fall under its spell.This is the story of Brogan Graham — an irreverent, way-outside-the-box fitness fanatic who, along with partner-in-crime Bojan Mandaric decided to flip the fitness industry on its head and make the world a better place with a creation dubbed November Project. No gyms or machines. No fees or dues. Just two dudes, wide open public space and a fervent, gung-ho tribe of thousands taking over not just urban landscapes but the world, one city at a time.If you’re into fitness and live in a metropolis, chances are you've already caught wind of NP. Maybe you've even attended one of their infamous morning workouts.But for those unfamiliar, November Project started as a simple month-long workout pact between Brogan and Bojan, two former rowers who wanted to stay fit through the cold New England months. One by one, a burgeoning community of fitness freaks joined the party. And before long, the few morphed into a fanatical multitude, bonding around NP's free, open-to-anyone, frentic sweat revivals – the more ice, sleet, snow, and rain the better.Dubbed “the ‘Fight Club' of running clubs”, November Project has matured into a flashmob fitness revolution that now dominates the pre-dawn urban landscape of cities all across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom and even parts of Asia. Thoroughly grassroots and populist to the core, it's a category-defying movement that is redefining how we think about and practice fitness by leveraging community, a simple sense of accountability and open public spaces to motivate and encourage people of all ages, shapes, sizes and levels — welcoming everyone from Olympic medalists and professional athletes all the way to complete fitness rookies and recent couch potatoes.The idea: use movement to turn strangers into friends and connect everyone to the city in which they live.The goal: world domination.This week I sit down Brogan — one-half of the beautiful high-energy, charismatic superhero duo that birthed it all — to find out how he did it, and why.I was super stoked to meet up with Brogan. From the minute he pulled into my driveway and gave me a bear hug (he's a big dude), I knew it was a bromance in the making. I have a strong feeling this is but the first of many future collaborations.This is an amazing conversation about the power of community and storytelling to drive positive cultural change. It's about the audacity to dream big, think different, and act outside the box. It's about the freedom and power of being you. And it's a conversation about unlocking untapped reservoirs of human potential to step into your best, most fully actualized self.I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich

Julie Piatt joins me for another mid-week installment of the podcast — a twist on my normal format where we go deep on a specific topic.This is a conversation about how to best bridge the emotional landmines of our expanding cultural divide. It's about how to be insistent rather than resistant. It's about the power of devotion over emotion. And it's about inner strength and the importance of cultivating your inner Jedi warrior.I hope you enjoy the offering. #StayJedi!Peace + Plants,Rich

Close your eyes and imagine yourself 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco, swimming in the freezing cold, shark-infested waters famously dubbed the Red Triangle. No wetsuit. In the middle of the night.Most would call this lunacy.Kimberley Chambers calls this home.This week's guest is one of the most accomplished record-setting marathon open water swimmers in the world. Her story is incredibly inspiring, but not for the reasons you might imagine. Her story is inspiring because just nine years ago, Kim was not a swimmer at all, suffering a life-threatening accident that nearly claimed her leg and her overall enthusiasm for life.The morning started out like every other morning. The New Zealand born former ballerina and rower turned software executive left her San Francisco apartment and accidentally tripped, toppling down a treacherous flight of stairs.We saved your leg. But it’s unlikely you will walk again.The doctor's verdict presented Kim with a choice: accept permanent disability. Or prove them wrong.Needless to say, she chose the latter.After countless surgeries and an excruciatingly prolonged rehabilitation, a friend encouraged her to try swimming. Although foreign to the water, she immediately took to it. A ticket to freedom. But the real turning point came the moment she first jumped into the frigid San Francisco Bay. In an instant, she had found sanctuary. To this day, it's a love affair with cold water and the tight-knit community of like-minded souls who embrace it that changed everything about her life and how she lives it.An inner fire ignited, Kim began to channel her newfound passion into a series of death-defying, envelope-pushing open-water marathon challenges that have redefined the limits of human potential and transformed her into the elite athlete she is today.Among Kim's many accomplishments:* In 2014, she became the 6th person (and 3rd woman) in history to complete the Oceans Seven – the marathon swimming equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge, with each of the 7 swims chosen for their treacherous water conditions and potential wildlife risks;* In 2015, she set a new world record becoming the first woman to swim 30 miles from the shark-infested Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco;* In September 2016, Kim attempted a non-stop 93 mile swim from Sacramento to Tiburon. However after swimming over 24 hours and 54 miles, sustained 30 knot winds rendered it unsafe for her to continue;* And just two months later, Kim led an international team of swimmers to complete an unprecedented historic swim across the Dead Sea to raise global awareness around the environmental deterioration of that critical body of water.This is a conversation about the boundaries of human potential. It's about the capacity to turn tremendous adversity into boundless opportunity. It's about finding joy and adventure outside the comfort zone. It's a conversation about reframing identity to step into and own — really own — our most authentic, fully actualized selves.And I suppose it's about how to not get eaten by a shark.Delightfully engaging, ever humble, and beautifully human, Kim embodies everything you seek in a modern day female super hero.It was a pleasure to spend time with her and it is my hope that our conversation will leave you deeply reconsidering the limits of your own potential.I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich

Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have both survived more than fifty years of exile. Both have endured the soul-crushing violence of oppression. And yet despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet.How is this possible? And what can we learn from their example to cultivate more joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering?To answer this question, in 2015 Douglas Abrams united the two spiritual giants in Dharamsala, India on the occasion of the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday. During the course of what became a rare, five-day conversation on the nature of human happiness and suffering, the two Nobel Peace Prize recipients traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy.A beautiful synthesis of this transcendent union, it's no surprise that Abrams' The Book of Joy* became an instant New York Times bestseller. It's a book that deeply humanizes an Archbishop who has never claimed sainthood and a Dalai Lama who considers himself a simple monk. It's a book that transports you deep within the intimate friendship that binds these two incredible souls. And it's a book that vividly probes the very nature of joy itself — the illusions that eclipse it, the obstacles that obscure it, the practices that cultivate it, and the pillars that sustain it.In addition to being a celebrated author, editor and literary agent, Doug is the founder and president of the creative book and media agency Idea Architects, where he works with true visionaries to create a wiser, healthier, and more just world. He is also the co-founder with Pam Omidyar and Bishop Desmond Tutu of HumanJourney.com, a public benefit company working to share life-changing and world-changing ideas. Doug has worked with Desmond Tutu as his co-writer and editor for over a decade, and before founding his own literary agency, he was a senior editor at HarperCollins and also served for nine years as the religion editor at the University of California Press.I wanted to know more about what my Stanford classmate learned spending so much intimate time with two of the planet's most conscious and revered spiritual leaders. What was his biggest takeaway? How did he synthesize their wisdom into such an extraordinary book? And what impact has the experience had on how he lives his life today?This conversation is the result. It's everything I was hoping for, and then some.I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich