The Rich Roll Podcast

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

Between 1982 and 1988, Mark Allen launched six attempts to claim the title of Ironman World Champion.Each year he was squarely defeated by his arch rival, the legendary Dave Scott.In 1989, the two titans of triathlon once again descended upon the white hot lava fields of Hawaii to reprise their annual duel in a spectacular showdown that would make history as the greatest race Ironman had ever seen. Dubbed The Iron War, Allen & Scott raced neck and neck at blistering speeds for 8 hours and would cross the finish line less than one minute apart — decimating the previous world record and redefining the limits of human endurance in the process.When the dust settled, Mark Allen finally emerged victorious. And over the next several years the man they call The Grip would become arguably the most successful triathlete in the sport's history with six Hawaii Ironman World Championship titles, 10 Nice International Triathlon titles and countless other victories across distances, terrains and fields of every variety.So how did Mark Allen go from perennial also-ran to an athlete ESPN dubbed “The Greatest Endurance Athlete of All Time”? The answer might surprise you. Because it has nothing to do with fitness, nutrition or gear.Instead, it has everything to do with spirituality.Without a doubt, Mark's embrace of shamanism unlocked hidden reservoirs of human potential. It's a devotion that broke the glass ceiling on his mindset and plateaued career and ultimately propelled him to staggering heights of athletic success.But how? And what does it all means to him now?I needed to know. So I jumped in my truck, drove to his house Santa Cruz and put a microphone in front of him.This conversation is the result. It's a conversation about Mark's remarkable life and his ongoing quest for expansion. It's about the importance of aligning yourself with nature's rhythms. It's about investing in yourself, cultivating self-understanding and honing a positive mindset. And it's about the crucial role humility — detaching from ego — plays in manifesting personal potential.Bottom line? If you really want to soar, look within. Deep within.It was an absolute honor to speak with Mark. I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich

We are all innately gifted with something called body intelligence — an intuitive sense of what best serves our mental, physical and emotional well-being.However, most of us disconnect from our bodies' persistent efforts to communicate, muting it out to favor the breakneck pace of our modern lives. Left unchecked, this leaves us at serious risk of what this week's guest calls chronic body depletion – a crisis of mind, body and spirit that can lead to everything from weight gain and chronic pain to high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, autoimmune disease and more.This week Rachel Carlton Abrams, MD, MHS, ABIHM joins the podcast to help us better cultivate our body intelligence, so that we can begin to properly treat the cause of what ails us and set a better trajectory for optimum healing and lifelong health.Dr. Abrams is a board-certified primary care, family practice physician, integrative health expert and author with over two decades of experience in preventive and comprehensive care medicine. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University, received her medical degree from UC San Francisco, earned her master’s degree in Holistic Health and Medical Sciences from UC Berkeley, and has been voted the “Best Doctor” in Santa Cruz County every year from 2010 to 2016.In the scope of her dynamic practice, she works with many of the world’s most influential people, from CEOs to billionaire entrepreneurs to Nobel Peace laureates, and has spent countless hours addressing everyday patients with chronic health conditions.The author of several books on holistic health, relationships and sexuality, her latest offering, BodyWise: Discovering Your Body’s Intelligence for Lifelong Health and Healing*, skillfully and accessibly guides the reader on a journey of discovery towards creating the vibrant, balanced, healthy life you have always deserved.This is a fun and super informative conversation packed with knowledge nuggets and practical wisdom takeaways all designed to cultivate your own body intelligence. An intelligence that will help you take better responsibility for yourself, your environment, your behaviors, your relationships, and your health so that you can fuel your body’s natural predisposition to heal and thrive.Specific topics covered include:* the concept of chronic body depletion* reconnecting with our bodies/nature* mind, body & spirit connection* taking responsibility for yourself* the business of healthcare* sense, feel & discernment* the body’s natural predisposition to heal* the benefits of integrative medicine* link inflammation and disease* the importance of positive feedback loops* adaptogenic herbs & essential oilsIt was an absolute joy talking to Dr. Abrams and I'm delighted to bring you our conversation. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.Peace + Plants,Rich

Rich Roll and Marco Borges discuss topics like practicing non-judgment in the vegan lifestyle, managing perfectionism in business, and living in alignment with core values. They also touch on conscious consumerism, growth, and plant-based living at one's own pace.

Casey Wasserman, Chairman and CEO of Wasserman, shares his insights on sports, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. He dives into the significance of mentorship, influenced by his legendary grandfather, and discusses the challenges of leading LA's 2024 Olympic bid. Casey emphasizes the lasting impact of sobriety on leadership and highlights the connection between a strong community and successful sports representation. He also reflects on the importance of resilience in the gradual journey to success, providing a rich tapestry of personal and professional experiences.

Dubbed one of the “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time” by Rolling Stone, Travis Barker rose from blue collar roots to become one of the world's most talented, prolific and hard working rock stars — a multi-hyphenate musician-producer-entrepreneur who initially made his mark as the drummer for Blink-182, the influential, multi-platinum punk-rock band that earned it's very first Grammy nomination this week for it's latest release, California.Today, Travis is celebrated for his unique percussive acumen; a rare ability to collaborate with a diversity of musical giants — people like Eminem, Lil Wayne, Slash, Mary J. Blige, RZA, Tom Morello and Steve Aoki — across a swath of genres that reach past rock to country, jazz, hip hop and everything in between.Extending his entrepreneurial flair beyond music, Travis is also the founder of accessory/apparel company Famous Stars and Straps as well as LaSalle Records and is an investor in a variety of ventures including Crossroads Kitchen – one of Los Angeles' best restaurants and perhaps the most acclaimed vegan restaurant in the world.Travis bares his soul in Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums* — a deeply personal and brutally honest memoir chronicling the highlights and lowlights of the renowned drummer’s art and life, including the harrowing plane crash that nearly killed him and his traumatic road to recovery. Ultimately, it's a book about personal survival. Constant reinvention. Musical salvation. And fatherhood.Travis Barker is a great rock star. But behind the tattoos, sold out arenas and dope rides lives a quiet, soulful artist with a prodigious work ethic. A sober consciousness birthed from pain. Etched from hardship, Travis Barker has survived some serious shit. But it's our wounds that make us human. And it's that humanity that interests me the most.This is a conversation about a remarkable life. The pivotal moments that forged it. The premonitions that foretold it. The intuitions that directed it. The humanity behind it. And the heart that animates it.Open, humble and present, I absolutely loved spending time with Travis. I sincerely hope you enjoy the first of what I hope will be many future exchanges.Peace + Plants,Rich

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.One of the most popular guests of 2015, this week my friend Darin Olien (@superlifeliving) returns to the podcast to delve deep on the next level nutrition insights he's gleaned from his extraordinary adventure-based experiences as a widely recognized exotic superfoods hunter, wellness advocate, supplement formulator & environmental activist.Over the last twenty plus years, Darin has explored every imaginable port of call across the developing world questing for better, more natural pathways to ultimate wellness. 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 exotic, high-quality, fair-trade superfoods and indigenous herbal commodities to market.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 and expertise in Superlife: The 5 Simple Fixes That Will Make You Healthy, Fit & Eternally Awesome* (just released in paperback), 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.Plant-based, ripped, and bearing more than a passing resemblance to his workout buddy Laird Hamilton, what is most intriguing to me about Darin isn't just that he is a respected authority on the healing potential of food. And it isn't just that he has been instrumental in introducing these so called superfoods to western consumers. What is most interesting is his commitment to do it right. A deep rooted responsibility to fairly, sustainably and transparently support the long-term interests of indigenous grower communities against the industrialized threat posed by the well-funded, politically powerful agricultural interests responsible for decimating the planet's precious rainforests at an unfathomable rate.An inspiration to me personally, this is a guy who walks his talk. From the foods he consumes to the lifestyle habits he practices, Darin is the thriving embodiment of what it means to truly own and take responsibility for your health, your life and the planet we collectively enjoy.But what exactly is a superfood? Are these foods truly “super” or is it all just exaggerated marketing hype?Our first conversation tracked Darin’s life story. Packed with takeaways, today's exchange deep dives into the efficacy of exotic fruits, herbs, adaptogens and mushrooms. Parsing fact from hyperbole, it's a conversation about the most important superfoods you should be incorporating into your daily routine and why. It's a mind-blowing discourse on the importance of water quality and next-level hydration. It's an exploration of Darin’s pre-workout routine and nutrition essentials.Enjoy!Rich

Inspiration. We crave it. We need it. We love it.But inspiration alone is a salve that does not cure. Because it rarely translates into positive lifestyle adaptations sustained over time.For that you need something called purpose.Purpose derives from a keen awareness of self. An awareness that cannot be found in externalities but instead emanates from the deep recesses of your soul — a place far removed from the dopamine-inducing inspiration hits we restlessly seek outside ourselves.Indeed, purpose is an inside job.So this week, we turn inward. A conversation designed to cultivate that awareness, amplify intuition, and enliven the soul so that we can more deeply connect with our unique purpose and awaken to our highest, most authentic selves.I can think of no better steward to ignite this process than master spiritual teacher and celebrated Kundalini yoga wizard Guru Singh (@gurusinghyogi).Imagine a modern-day rock star Gandalf dropping mad guitar licks between pearls of timeless wisdom that beautifully fuse of Eastern mysticism with Western pragmatism and you start to get the picture.Named “Best Guru in LA” by Los Angeles magazine, for the last 40 years Guru Singh has been studying and teaching Kundalini Yoga – a 5,000 year old ancient science and school of yoga focused on awakening the primal energy known as shakti for the purpose of spiritual enlightenment. He is the author of several books (enumerated below) and a powerful lecturer uplifting thousands worldwide. An extraordinary teacher, he also serves as a behind-the-scenes guide to many a luminary, including Fortune 500 CEOs, athletes, artists and even Tony Robbins.A peer of rock legends like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead, Guru Singh is also a supremely talented musician who began his recording career on Warner Bros' Sire label in the 1960s. When he isn't recording tracks with people like Seal, he's bringing down the house on the daily at Yoga West, his Los Angeles home base.Simply put, Guru Singh is one of the coolest people I have ever met — a huge, beautiful consciousness I'm proud to call friend.It's an honor to share his story and wisdom with you today.My hope is that that this conversation will catalyze your desire to peer more deeply inward. That it will spark a yearning to more thoroughly cultivate your latent intuition. And ultimately that it helps set a trajectory for your journey towards the ultimate superpower — unlimited awareness.To rise up, you gotta lay down. It is there that you will find purpose.Peace + Plants,Rich

“When you think you're done, you're only at 40% of your total potential.”David GogginsThis week's guest is incontrovertibly the most inspirational person I have ever met — a man that will catapult you into 2017 with the inspiration and tools to chase huge dreams, shatter limits, and actualize your best, most authentic self.Often referred to as the toughest athlete on the planet, David Goggins (@davidgoggins) is the only member of the US Armed Forces to complete SEAL training (including THREE Hell Weeks), the U.S. Army Ranger School (where he graduated as Enlisted Honor Man) and Air Force tactical air controller training.But David is perhaps best known for his superhuman feats of strength and ultra-endurance.After several of his friends died in a 2005 helicopter crash while deployed in Afghanistan, David honored their memory by tackling the 10 most difficult endurance challenges on Earth to raise funds and awareness for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides college scholarships and grants to the children of fallen special ops soldiers.Hence began a most unexpected yet remarkably storied athletic career as one of the world's most accomplished endurance athletes. Highlights include:* 2013: world record for most pullups in a 24 hour period (4,030);* 2007: 3rd place — Badwater 135 – a 135 mile ultramarathon across Death Valley widely considered to be the world’s most difficult foot race;* 2006: 2nd place — Ultraman World Championships, a double-ironman distance race widely considered to be the world's most difficult triathlon;* 2007: 1st place — 48-Hour National Championship endurance foot race, where he ran 203.5 miles, beating the previous record by 20 miles; and* 2007 – 2016 — additional top finishes at dozens of the world's most grueling endurance races, including The HURT 100, Leadville 100, Western States & more.But perhaps David’s greatest accomplishment is that throughout his life, he has faced and overcome a concatenation of seemingly insurmountable obstacles to become the man he is today – obstacles like asthma, sickle cell anemia, psychological and physical abuse, obesity, academic struggles, and even a congenital heart defect that often left him competing — and winning — on a mere fraction of his actual physical capabilities.In addition to being one of the most remarkable people I have ever met, David has had a profound impact on me personally. It was his singular example that ignited my passion for ultra-endurance and fueled the self-belief required to pursue a new life. In truth, I’m not sure I would have achieved my athletic and life goals had he not blazed the path before me. I simply cannot ever repay the debt of gratitude I have for this man.One of the most powerful podcasts I have ever produced, this a conversation about the primacy of purpose to cultivate your inner voice. It's about passion and self-accountability. It's about the limiting beliefs that hold us back and the importance of mindset to overcome them. And it's about the embrace of suffering as a crucible for growth and self-knowledge.But ultimately, this is a conversation about what it means to be truly alive.Welcome to 2017 people. It's time to check your excuses at the door. It's time to stop talking yourselves out of being great. It's time to get comfortable being uncomfortable. It's time to wake up. Because your life is not some future event. Your life is now.Peace + Plants,Rich

Welcome to Part II of our fourth annual Best of the RRP Anthology series. If you haven’t already, I suggest listening to The Best of 2016 — Part I first.This is a compendium of excerpts from some of my favorite conversations of 2016. It's our way of saying thanks, giving back, expressing gratitude and catapulting you into the new year with the information and inspiration required to make 2017 your best year yet.I appreciate you. Here’s to an absolutely extraordinary 2017. Enjoy the listen.Peace + Plants,Rich* RRP #242: Neal Barnard, M.D. On The Power Of Nutrition To Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease, Diabetes & Alzheimer’s* RRP #248: From Crack Addict To Running The Sahara To Prison Hero — Charlie Engle’s Third Act* RRP #252: Dr. Michael Gervais On Elite Performance & The Psychology Of Self-Mastery* RRP #262: Kerri Walsh Jennings: Lessons On Mindset From One Of The Most Dominant Olympic Athletes Of All Time* RRP #256: Chris Hauth: Building Better Athletes, Training For Optimal Performance & Achieving Fitness For Life* RRP #254: Julie Piatt On How To Build An Authentic Brand* RRP #223: John Joseph Wants You To Wake The F*ck Up* RRP #217: Gary Vaynerchuk Works Harder Than You Do* RRP #209: Rhonda Patrick On Longevity, Epigenetics & Microbiome Health* RRP #243: Coach George Raveling Is The Mentor You Wish You Had* RRP #226: Moby On Transforming Electronic Music, Elevating Consciousness & Saving The Planet* RRP #236: Andrew Morgan On The True Cost Of Fast Fashion: The Ethical & Environmental Price Of Clothing* RRP #244: Alexis Fox & Micah Risk Are Igniting A Social Movement To Help The World Eat Better* RRP #253: How To Be A Minimalist: Joshua Fields Millburn On The Power Of Living Deliberately