Stop Living Like You Get A ‘Do-Over’ Life

We're back with yet another installment of Ask Me Anything — a twist on my normal format where we answer questions submitted by you, the listener. In addition to recapping our recent visit to Washington, D. C. and our upcoming trip to Frankfurt, Germany, this week Julie and I traverse a variety of subjects, including: * the release of “Proteinaholic” by Garth Davis, MD * ‘happy traveler' – my experiments in gratitude * the risk calculus of choosing security over passion * the persistent illusion of the “do-over” life * combating the “fundraising oxymoron” * the nexus (or lack thereof) between diet and addiction The show concludes with My Man, written and performed by Julie — aka SriMati – accompanied by our sons Tyler & Trapper Piatt. Special thanks to Scott, Lisa & Dallas for today’s questions, as well as everyone who submitted inquiries — keep ‘em coming! I sincerely hope you enjoy the conversation. Peace + Plants, Rich Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Rich Roll?

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• 0:44Rich Roll?

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• 1:17Rich Roll?

  Hey, everybody. Welcome to the podcast. My name is Rich Roll. I'm your host, and this is another episode of Ask Me Anything. Thanks so much for tuning in today, for giving us a review on iTunes, for subscribing on iTunes, for checking out my newsletter, and for always using the Amazon banner at richroll.com. We greatly appreciate it.

• 1:42Rich Roll?

  Hey, Julie.

• 1:43Speaker 01

  Hey, Rich.

• 1:44Rich Roll?

  How are you doing?

• 1:44Speaker 01

  Doing well. How are you doing?

• 1:46Rich Roll?

  Good. Before we get into the AMA part of this whole thing, a couple other really quick announcements. The first of which is our good buddy, Garth Davis, Dr. Garth Davis, from Houston, weight loss surgeon.

• 1:57Speaker 01

  Love Garth.

• 1:58Rich Roll?

  He's been on the podcast twice. His book came out today. We're recording this on Tuesday, October 6th. You're going to hear this on the 7th, or the 8th, or maybe a couple days after that. But yeah, you gotta check out his new book. It's called Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession With Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It. I love this guy. I love his message. And I strongly encourage all of you guys to go and check out his book, which actually, our friend Howard was a co-writer on.

• 2:28Speaker 01

  So cool. Howard Jacobson?

• 2:30Rich Roll?

  Yeah, Howard Jacobson.

• 2:31Speaker 01

  Awesome. And you can find out, finally, where you'll get enough protein on a vegan diet.

• 2:37Rich Roll?

  I know.

• 2:38Speaker 01

  And how you can be a compassionate person as well.

• 2:39Rich Roll?

  But basically, his whole message is kind of what I've been preaching lately, more and more, is that we're on this kick of like, high protein diets, and people are using protein for weight control, either to gain or lose pounds. And this idea that others believe that it gives them more energy, it's essential for a longer, healthier life. And Garth did this unbelievable amount of research to delve into what exactly is going on with protein in our body and in our diet. And the results and the answers that he delivers in this book is pretty conclusively that too much protein is actually making us sick, fat and tired.

• 3:20Speaker 01

  It's not a good thing.

• 3:21Rich Roll?

  And most of us are eating too much protein. So anyway, check out the book. I just wanted to make sure, I wanted to make sure you guys are aware of that. And the other thing is, we're getting a lot of emails and inquiries about what our schedule's going to be in Frankfurt. Julie and I are leaving this upcoming Sunday to go to Germany. We're going to be attending the Frankfurt Book Fair when we're there. And a lot of people have been reaching out and wanting to know how they can connect with us when we're there. And the answer is, I have these notes right here.

• 3:55Speaker 01

  We have a website, first of all, richroll.de, that has all the events.

• 3:59Rich Roll?

  So yeah, first of all, the reason that we're going to the Frankfurt Book Fair is because... The Plant Power Way is coming out in a German-language edition pretty soon by the same publisher that put out Finding Ultra in German-language edition. So we're kind of going there to promote the book. And this event, this book fair, is a gigantic international, you know, kind of a fair. It's on Friday, October 16th, but it's only open to journalists and bloggers and other kind of professional

• 4:29Speaker 01

  Publishers.

• 4:30Rich Roll?

  People in the publishing business. So it's not open for anybody who's just listening, who wants to come by and try to meet us. But the good news is, is that on the 18th, which is Sunday, at 3:30 in the afternoon, Julie and I are, mostly Julie, is going to be doing a 30-minute cooking demo at an event called the Heldenmarkt.

• 4:50Speaker 01

  That's it? They're giving me 30 minutes?

• 4:52Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 4:52Speaker 01

  I think I have to make like five recipes in 30 minutes.

• 4:55Rich Roll?

  Oh, really?

• 4:55Speaker 01

  So it'll be a speed, a speed feed as well.

• 4:58Rich Roll?

  Right. So, I don't know how that's gonna work. We should probably

• 5:01Speaker 01

  Quickly. It'll work fast.

• 5:02Rich Roll?

  But anyway, so that would be the place to try to connect with us. I think we're probably gonna be signing books and just kind of hanging around and making ourselves available to whoever wants to come up and say hi. And it's, it's like this fair for sustainable living. And I get, I think I get like five or 8,000 people that attend. It's only 7 euros to get into it. So that's the deal. There's information about it at richroll.de. If you speak German, you can find out more information there. And that's the scoop. Other than that, our obligation, I think we have like, we're kind of booked with a lot of different stuff that we have to do. Like, some people are emailing, "Hey, I want to take you out to dinner."

• 5:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:41Rich Roll?

  You know, it's like, I don't, we can't really do that, but we'd love to meet you and say hi. So if you can come to the Heldenmarkt, Helden, however you say that.

• 5:49Speaker 01

  They said, some, a listener said last time that you actually pronounced it perfectly last time.

• 5:53Rich Roll?

  I did, Heldenmarkt.

• 5:54Speaker 01

  Very good, honey. Now, I don't know if that's good or not, but...

• 5:57Rich Roll?

  All right. So, how are you, Julie?

• 5:59Speaker 01

  I'm well. I'm happy to be home from DC. We had an amazing trip out to the DC Veg Fest 2015. And we just got back last night, but it was a really, really amazing experience. And I have to say, I was quite surprised because when we left, we were flying into a Cat 4 hurricane warning.

• 6:21Speaker 01

  And Rich was pretty sure that that none of that was actually going to transpire.

• 6:27Rich Roll?

  Well, it hit.

• 6:27Speaker 01

  He grew up in there.

• 6:28Rich Roll?

  It hit South Carolina pretty, pretty, you know, in a pretty devastating way.

• 6:32Speaker 01

  That's not good.

• 6:33Rich Roll?

  Yeah. So, you know, thoughts and prayers and, and, you know, hearts and minds all go out to anybody who is caught up in that. That's, you know, looked like quite terrible. But yeah, we did have a moment of thinking like, maybe we shouldn't go. But, you know, it seemed like, you know, the event was on and my parents lived there. It was opportunity to bring our girls and have them, you know, connect with their grandparents. So I was like, you know, we're going. You were like, I don't, are you sure?

• 6:58Speaker 01

  We had, we had a little mini conference at like 4:00 AM as we were getting ready to leave for the airport. I also, I also wasn't feeling very well at all. So, but anyway, we went. I'm really glad that we did. The event ended up happening. It was raining and cold and so many people came out to support us and see us. And it was really, really meaningful and just really wonderful to meet everybody. So many podcast fans, so many people who own the Plant Power Way, who have been cooking out of it. And I just, I love the diversity. I love the complete individuality of our listeners and of, you know, humanity at large. But we, we really seemed to tap into quite a diverse population. And it's

• 7:43Speaker 01

  just, it's always so meaningful to meet everyone and hear, you know, your stories of transformation and, you know, how you've benefited or how you've, you know, expanded your life by connecting with Rich's podcast and also our books and our messages and my music. And it was just, it was really, really a love fest. And we stayed out there and we met everyone in a very long line for a long time.

• 8:09Rich Roll?

  Yeah, it was freezing. I mean, it was freezing cold for, you know, early October in DC and raining and, you know, just not exactly a hospitable environment for an outdoor vet fest.

• 8:19Speaker 01

  No.

• 8:19Rich Roll?

  It was outdoors near the, near the ballpark. They had tents up, but it was, you know, it was amazing actually how many people still showed up despite, you know, inclement weather. And we had, I don't know, 350, 400 people, you know. Who were in attendance to see us present. We went up right after our good buddy David Carter, the 300 pound vegan. It was great to see him. And then Gene Bauer, our friend from Farm Sanctuary, went on right after us, both podcast guests. So it was really great to kind of like see them. And it's just cool when you go to these events, they're like, oh yeah, he was on the pod. Like we're all, it's a community, you know what I mean? And then after our event, we really did, you know, hung around and talked to people for hours and hours afterwards. So it was meaningful and I got to rock my new Bonobos.

• 9:01Speaker 01

  You did. And they were quite a hit, I have to say. People really like them. And they seem to be sort of waterproof ish, right?

• 9:07Rich Roll?

  They wick.

• 9:09Speaker 01

  They wick? Is that a characteristic of golf pants?

• 9:11Rich Roll?

  I don't know. I wouldn't know.

• 9:12Speaker 01

  Really? Cause you're such a golfer.

• 9:13Rich Roll?

  That would imply that I've played golf before.

• 9:15Speaker 01

  Do they make them like water resistant? So you can like lie down in the dewy grass on the green? Is that the reason?

• 9:22Rich Roll?

  I'm getting the impression. Is that what golf players do?

• 9:24Speaker 01

  Would somebody let us know? Somebody write in?

• 9:26Rich Roll?

  Is that what you do? You lay down in the dewy grass?

• 9:28Speaker 01

  I don't know. I don't know why else they wouldn't be waterproof.

• 9:32Rich Roll?

  I don't know. Anyway.

• 9:33Speaker 01

  You could though. They'd be great pants for a picnic.

• 9:36Rich Roll?

  But they're stretchy, you know?

• 9:37Speaker 01

  They are. They're pretty cool. I actually liked them on you. They look good. People like them.

• 9:42Rich Roll?

  So, yeah, so that was great. And it's funny because I posted a couple Instagram pictures or just on Facebook and there were a bunch of comments saying, taking a tip from our last Ask Me Anything last week about this experiment in practicing gratitude that I was going to be embarking upon. And if you haven't listened to that episode, maybe dial that up. But basically, what came up was that I had heard an interview with the film producer Brian Grazer and he was being asked a question about, you know, why he thought he was able to maintain his level of success, or I can't remember exactly what the question was, but essentially his answer was that he thought it was because he was really good at gratitude. And that like, that like hit me. I was like, wow, that's an interesting answer. Like.

• 10:27Rich Roll?

  He's really good at gratitude. I was like, I want to be good at gratitude. And so we had a conversation about that. And so Julie challenged me to practice a few habits during our travel excursion to Washington DC to see if I could, you know, increase the volume on my gratitude quotient, because gratitude is not a default setting for me. It's something that I have to like work at. And so I was like, yeah, well, I'm going to focus on that because I think it would be quite amazing and transformative. If I just focused on one thing, like, I'm going to get really good at gratitude and like, see what happens. I bet it would be like wild, right? So I did like, so how did I do?

• 11:03Speaker 01

  You did actually pretty well. It was kind of amazing. Well, I wasn't feeling well. So I kind of made this deal with you that if I did go to Washington, that you needed to sort of be shifting your focus in service of me and you needed to be cheerful and pleasant because I couldn't handle anymore.

• 11:19Rich Roll?

  You have to set the stage for what I'm usually like?

• 11:21Speaker 01

  What he's usually like is very resentful. Somebody, one of the girls asked, Daddy, what do you, or something like, Daddy, what are you resentful for? And I, and he says, everything, and I say, anything at the same time. So it's kind of anything and everything, actually.

• 11:39Rich Roll?

  I get grumpy. I get grumpy with travel. I get frustrated with like, long lines and like, sort of service people that are gatekeepers that prevent you from, you know, accessing your, your, your goal.

• 11:53Speaker 01

  And so inevitably, you always get shut down.

• 11:56Rich Roll?

  Yeah. Cause you know, people like

• 11:57Speaker 01

  Cause you resist it.

• 11:58Rich Roll?

  Security lines or checking your bags, all that kind of stuff. So it just grinds me down. And I usually get, you know, and it's, it's bad because I don't want to be like that. And I realize like, that's not a good mindset to be. It's just, it's a lazy default mindset that I'd known for a long time. Like, I really need to like, work on this. So I did. I made a very conscious effort. Like, I'm going to have a different experience. I'm traveling with my wife and our daughters. My wife doesn't feel well. How can I approach this differently and see if I can have a different experience so that everybody could have a different experience?

• 12:29Speaker 01

  And everybody did have a very different experience.

• 12:31Rich Roll?

  I didn't do it. I had a couple lapses.

• 12:33Speaker 01

  You had one lapse in the, in the airplane when there was no space above your seat for your backpack.

• 12:39Rich Roll?

  Yeah. The thing that drives me crazy is you get to, we were sitting in the very last row of the plane, first of all. And, you know, and, and basically the overhead bins going up like nine rows forward from there were all completely full and not that many people had gotten on the plane yet. I was like, How does that work? Like, how does that make sense? It should be that you're, you're, you, you could put your bags above your seat, but you can't just choose anywhere to put your bag. Like, I'm like, there's nowhere for me to put my stuff. So I had a little mo-, I had a momentary

• 13:08Speaker 01

  Relapse.

• 13:08Rich Roll?

  And I kind of like caught myself.

• 13:10Speaker 01

  Pulled it together. And then, but it was okay because you got to recalibrate. It was good. What you didn't take into account is that we were flying on Virgin and, you know, they, they're into fashion on the airline. So I'm sure that their flight attendants have much bigger suitcases than on any other airline. No, I'm kidding.

• 13:26Rich Roll?

  Yeah, the thing is like, I would much rather like dispense with the purple mood lighting if I could just have like space above my seat to put my bag.

• 13:34Speaker 01

  Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

• 13:35Rich Roll?

  We don't want that, right?

• 13:36Speaker 01

  No, I want the mood lighting.

• 13:37Rich Roll?

  You want like

• 13:38Speaker 01

  The mood lighting makes a big difference to me.

• 13:40Rich Roll?

  Disco music in the bathroom and the purple light, right? It's all about the purple lighting.

• 13:43Speaker 01

  No, but you corrected, which was great. And, um, and actually you, you proved, uh, the pa-, that the power of gratitude is accessible and that it is a choice and that is, it is simply a choice of perspective, of how you choose to meet something. And the truth of the matter is that, uh, your emotions are not in, in control of you, the higher self. You are in control of your emotions. But until yesterday, you were of the belief system that your default setting is resentment. And so in a way, your ego had given yourself permission to kick around in that dirt and had sort of convinced yourself that that is how you are, but

• 14:22Rich Roll?

  Well, I would say, in honesty, you know, I think that it is, it is my default in the sense that if I take my foot off the gas or I'm not like focused or attentive to my mental state, that I will just lazily lapse into, uh, you know, a mindset of, you know, resentment. Like that will be where I will naturally gravitate. You know, it's sort of like that state of the, like, uh, you know, irritable, discontent, tired, you know, hungry, hun-, it's halt, hungry, angry, lonely, tired, uh, irritable, you know, all those sorts of moods are what happens when I'm not like really vigilant or attentive to taking care of myself.

• 15:01Speaker 01

  Is that like an AA acronym?

• 15:02Rich Roll?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Halt, hungry, angry, lonely, tired.

• 15:05Speaker 01

  Right? Halt?

• 15:06Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 15:06Speaker 01

  Should I just use that?

• 15:07Rich Roll?

  You should be like halt.

• 15:08Speaker 01

  Should I just tell you halt? How come I'm just learning about this? This could have been helpful in past situations.

• 15:14Rich Roll?

  Because I'm always hungry, I'm always angry, I'm always lonely, and I'm always tired. So what do we do with that?

• 15:19Speaker 01

  What do we do with that?

• 15:20Rich Roll?

  Obviously, I need to double down on my recovery program.

• 15:22Speaker 01

  That's so funny. No, but you proved, okay, so what you're describing, basically allowing yourself to be ruled by your emotions or by your state. And, you know, you've spoken also a lot about acting as if or stepping into a different, you know, experience. And so you used your will, you applied a certain intent, and you shifted your experience very viscerally and very physically. And it was felt not only by you, but it was felt by all of us and surely the people that you came into contact with. And it was kind of hilarious because by the end of the trip, I had nicknamed you the happy traveler.

• 15:59Rich Roll?

  Now I'm the happy traveler. Hey, how's it going? This is awesome. You know, it's like that act as if thing. So, you know, what we talked about last week was, you know, after I said, you know, that's awesome, I'd love to get good at gratitude. How do I do that? Well, you know, it's a practice. You know, you have to practice acting as if. Like, why don't you just try, you know, throughout this experience of traveling to and from Washington, to, you know, look each person in the eye that you have to engage and be present with them and try to be, you know, thankful and gracious. And you just tiny little things that add up. And so I really did, like, I made an effort. I was like, you know, I'm really annoyed, but I'm gonna like be present, I'm gonna like treat this person like a, you know, with compassion and, you know, an added level

• 16:43Rich Roll?

  of compassion that wouldn't naturally just come naturally to me. And it was, it was effective, you know, it worked. And it made my experience better, and it made your experience better, it made the experience of my daughters better. And it certainly was, you know, a more positive experience for the, you know, the gatekeepers that I'm constantly sort of, you know, doing battle with traditionally. And now I feel like there's a momentum behind it, like, okay, now I have like some energy behind that. So it makes it easier to kind of self-propel through that, like, okay, I can continue to do this. And I think a big part of it also is, you know, it's not like, hey, put on a fake happy smiley face. I mean, part of it, part of acting as if is to like say, you know, for me, it's like

• 17:27Rich Roll?

  if I'm not feeling that way, I was like, what would a normal human being do in this circumstance? You know, like, what would a rational person do? You know, like trying to imagine, like, you know, and just doing that instead of what I feel like doing.

• 17:40Rich Roll?

  But a lot, I think what comes with that is a conscious awareness of trying to remain neutral, especially in scenarios where, you know, things aren't going the way that you would like them to go, or they're not happening as quickly enough, or, you know, whether it's like, somebody cuts you off in line, or, or in the car, or, you know, whatever it is, little stuff that like, tends to aggravate, at least me. Cultivating a habit and a practice of like, not being ruffled by that, like, you're always talking about the Jedi mind state, you know, like, not being rattled by stupid little stuff, and that's a practice as well, and it requires you being like, dialed in mentally to like, be aware when things are happening, so you're not impulsively just reacting.

• 18:23Speaker 01

  Well, and you, so you're, you're sort of the, you're the guardian of your thoughts, you're the guardian of your emotions, and when we start to understand that we're not our thoughts, and we're not our emotions, if you think you are, you're in illusion, so you're being run by those things. So, thoughts and emotions are, are, they can be shifted, so, you can take the driver's seat, and, and intend, or vision, or, or desire a certain experience, and you can act as if into that, and start to cultivate that kind of energy around you. And it was, it was really miraculous, and I have to just tell you, I mean, I've been teasing you along the way, and we, we actually had a really fun trip, and a lot of laughing, and just, we had fun with it.

• 19:05Speaker 01

  And you had one, one kind of relapse, but it was pretty short, and you did remarkably well, like, and you stayed on task, actually, through the entire trip, not only on the airplane, but also through the event, and in the evenings, and back on the plane, and really, until we got home last night, so, it was really, really cool to see, I was really super grateful. I'm very grateful that you had this awareness, and that you had a desire to, you know, endeavor to shift your state, and experience something a little lighter and brighter, and just more expanded.

• 19:43Rich Roll?

  Now, now we're gonna really put it to the test, though, when we get on a plane and have to fly 12 hours to Europe, across, you know, however many time zones, it's gonna be a little bit more challenging, but... And the pressure is on.

• 19:54Speaker 01

  I believe in you. I believe in you. I think you can do it. I think you demonstrate an amazing. I think, again, it's like this, you know, this is a huge key, um, you know, theme for me in life. And that is that it's all about perspective. Life is all about perspective. That's why you can take two individuals that had the same thing happen to them and they perceive it two different ways. So it's simply a choice, you know, it's a choice of, you know, where do you want to put your energy? And what do you want to have the power over you? And how much responsibility are you willing to take? I mean, really?

• 20:28Rich Roll?

  But I also think that that choice, uh, that you make in that moment is influenced by choices that you make leading up to that moment, right? Like, how much sleep did you get? What did you, you know, eat for breakfast? All these things are going to inform how you're going to react in that moment when you're, you get activated in a certain way. And this came up, um, you know, one of the other things in addition to, to presenting at the Veg Fest in Washington was I did a podcast interview with, um, Dr. Robin Shutkan, who is, uh, Shutkan, Shutkan.

• 20:59Speaker 01

  Love Robin.

• 21:00Rich Roll?

  She's amazing. She's, it's just beautiful, incredible, um, uh, medical doctor, uh, you know, Yale undergrad, Columbia Medical School, and she was shortlisted to be, uh, Surgeon General under Obama. Like, she's just very accomplished and cool. And her specialty is the microbiome, and she's written two books on it. She's written a book called Gutless, and her most recent book is called The Microbiome Solution. And we were talking about, you know, that thing that I always talk about, which is how, uh, your cravings are influenced by the nature of your, your gut flora.

• 21:32Speaker 01

  Right.

• 21:33Rich Roll?

  And she takes it like many steps beyond that. She's like your level of anxiety, like the stress that you experience, like all these, the, the thoughts that you entertain, the behaviors that you manifest so much of who you are. Is dictated by that gut ecology, the quality of that gut ecology.

• 21:52Speaker 01

  Right.

• 21:52Rich Roll?

  Which is crazy because then it brings up this whole idea of free will.

• 21:55Speaker 01

  Who are you?

• 21:56Rich Roll?

  It's like, who are you? Like if you're like, you know, I crave this food, or I want to do this, or you're like making decisions that have impact on your life. Like you're making behavioral decisions that are being literally influenced, if not completely dictated by like

• 22:12Speaker 01

  The gut flora.

• 22:13Rich Roll?

  The microorganisms in your intestine. Like that's insane, right? So, but when you think about that, then you're like, well, if I eat differently, then I'm going to crave different foods, or my anxiety level will reduce. And then that will impact how I interact socially with the people around me. Like the domino effect of that is unbelievable.

• 22:32Speaker 01

  It's massive.

• 22:32Rich Roll?

  But anyway.

• 22:33Speaker 01

  No, it's true. It is true. And you know, you can bet that if you're operating on the microbiome produced by, you know, the American Twinkie and Hostess products versus, you know, eating living plants, you know, it's going to be a very, very different experience. And I think that's a lot of what we experience or we hear about the experiences of our listeners and people who have gone plant-based. And suddenly they're connecting with their hearts in a deeper way. They're open to meditation. Like their, their actions are a lot more expanded and a lot more high vibrating than they were previously when they were eating the processed food and the meat. And that's another thing is just, you know, the violence and the energy of the animal products as you're taking that into your body. It's not nothing. It goes somewhere.

• 23:18Speaker 01

  There is some symbiotic, you know, or actual relationship between the food that you put in your mouth. And when it goes into your body, you're having a very intimate relationship with that food. And I think almost all of us are completely disconnected by that.

• 23:35Rich Roll?

  Well, how about the, how about the idea that you're not even eating your food? The microorganisms are what's eating it.

• 23:40Speaker 01

  Mm hmm. Wow.

• 23:41Rich Roll?

  They're the ones who are digesting it for you.

• 23:43Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 23:44Rich Roll?

  So, you know, you can go down, it's a crazy rabbit hole. I'm telling you, if you read the microbiome solution, it'll like blow your mind. There's all this crazy stuff in there about that. But the point being that, that, you know, when I always say it, I say this when I give talks all the time, like, you know, adopting a plant-based diet didn't just, you know, repair my health, it like changed my consciousness. And that's, that's the truth. And, and the microbiome is really a big part of the scientific explanation for that, beyond the kind of, you know, metaphysical, you know, spiritual kind of ramifications of changing the vibration that you take in your body. But, you know, it's very real, I would say that. So, anyway, uh, you know, part of practicing gratitude is more than just what are you going to spontaneously do and say in, in that moment, but what are

• 24:29Rich Roll?

  your daily practices? What are you cultivating that will ultimately lead you to making more high-minded and better, you know, decisions and adopting practices that are going to serve you in the long run?

• 24:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, absolutely. I agree. It's powerful.

• 24:44Rich Roll?

  Uh, and neutrality is big for you.

• 24:46Speaker 01

  Neutrality is huge. I mean, I think it's one of the, you know, one of the great, great, great awarenesses that we can start to embody is that is to understand that in neutrality, that is where we can access this connection with our deeper heart and our soul. And it's really this power of zero point of being beyond the pain and the pleasure, beyond the highs and the lows, beyond the judgment and the, you know, passion, if you want to call it. You know, just being, being very, very grounded and very connected to your breath. And that is truly the place of power and the place of living as a, as a living example.

• 25:24Rich Roll?

  Mm-hmm. Yeah, very good. All right. You want to take a listener question?

• 25:27Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 25:28Rich Roll?

  So, this question is from Scott. Just gonna leave it at Scott. "Hey, Rich, I'm in a tough place right now. I have a great paying job in the blank field," I'm not going to say, "that I'm very good at. I don't see myself doing this the rest of my life, though. I'm going to school in hopes of moving up in the blank field. I know it's great money, and I'll be able to provide for my wife and start having children if I just stick it out. I also know that doing something else would make me happier. I'm scared to give up a job with great money and benefits for a pipe dream, though. I know what I truly want to do." That's an important part of this. And I know it would be something I enjoy doing every single day. I wouldn't dread going to work every day. I wouldn't watch the clock waiting for the shift to end. What's

• 26:11Rich Roll?

  your advice for someone who wants to change their life path like you did? I know it must be, it must have been hard to leave your career and pursue a health-related career. I think about it every day. I'm just too scared to throw away a great job in school for a career which requires debt and uncertainty. To me, this is almost like a no-brainer. And I understand, you know, the fear and the uncertainty and all of that, but, you know, it's like, you don't get a do-over life. You know, you have one life. You have one, you have one opportunity to pursue the thing that's going to make you happy. And had you said, you know, "I don't really know what I want to do. I just know that I'm like, not that happy doing what I'm doing right now, but it pays really well."

• 26:54Rich Roll?

  That would be a different matter. But what you're saying here is you know what you truly want to do. So if that's true, if you really do know what you want to do, and you know it would be something that you would enjoy doing every single day, then to me, that's a pretty strong indication that that's something that you should pursue. Now, that doesn't mean that you have to quit your job tomorrow and do it, do this new thing full-time. And I don't even know what the new thing is, but to the extent that there is a way to express that, you know, maybe in a small way at first and incrementally over time, before you end up leaving your job or decelerating out of it, that's what I would suggest that you do. But, you know, simply, simply because, you know, you're nervous and there's uncertainty

• 27:38Rich Roll?

  about it, I think that implies that because you have a good-paying job now, that seems to have a clear track as to where you're going. That implies security and certainty. And the truth is, there is no certainty in life. Just because that seems to be safe doesn't necessarily mean that in reality, that's what the way that it will play out. Many, many things can happen. And I think that to, you know, premise these massive decisions about how you're going to live your life, you know, based on, on doing something that's, that's, that's less uncertain than the other, maybe is not the best decision tree to focus on.

• 28:23Speaker 01

  You know, I also think that you can kind of start to test the universal heart connection waters a little bit by starting to set up some entry points into your new way of being. You know, starting to take some actions, maybe on the weekend or maybe in the evenings to, you know, get the structure set up. So get the infrastructure set up, possibly website, you know, your contacts, the name, you know, any kind of copyright that needs to be done, all of this kind of stuff. Get all of that set up and maybe shift your spending habits now and start saving some money, possibly. And then kind of, you know, check it out

• 29:07Speaker 01

  and see how the energy feels. Like, how do you feel when you're in the process of setting up those new things or in the process of doing that thing that you know you're supposed to do? And then I would try to cultivate repeating that feeling as much as you can. Because if you can be in the energy of expressing from your heart, from that thing that you love, it will amplify and it will magnetize more opportunities and more resources to you that will support you in making the transition. Now, you may experience some universal help in that you might get fired unexpectedly. That would be like universal help. Or your company could fold, or the department could exist no longer and this big secure track

• 29:52Speaker 01

  that you've seen, you know, ahead, you know, maybe revealed that it's not actually what you thought it was, you know, or you may be called to make that decision at that point in the road. Like, you know, you may have to stand up and take responsibility and say, "Okay, I'm going to jump and this is the point that I'm going to jump." And, you know, it can be any spectrum of experience after that. You know, it might be some struggle and you might be tested and you know, it's in our experiences is definitely not, not an easy landing all the time. But I think if you can focus on that feeling that you feel when you're doing the thing

• 30:33Speaker 01

  that you love, that will inform the rest of your decisions. But never make a decision based out of fear. Okay, so there's two, two forces in the world. There's fear and there's love.

• 30:46Rich Roll?

  There's also different kinds of decisions. The decision not to make a change is based on fear. That's a decision in its own right. Like a decision of inaction is still a decision.

• 30:54Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 30:55Rich Roll?

  So. So, you know, basically like not making a decision based on fear, you know, he's, he's saying that he's scared to leave, right? So it seems like not making a decision to just stay is like to perpetuate the stasis of staying, but that's basically a, you know, a decision based on fear, right?

• 31:14Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 31:15Rich Roll?

  Different kind of decision.

• 31:16Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 31:17Rich Roll?

  So the other thing I would say is that, well, two things. The first thing is, is, did I interrupt you? You still in the middle of your thought?

• 31:24Speaker 01

  No, it's okay. I've lost my thought now.

• 31:26Rich Roll?

  Oh, you did? Sorry about that. You know, what's the worst thing that can happen?

• 31:29Speaker 01

  You could die. That's the worst thing. Let's just put it out there right now.

• 31:33Rich Roll?

  Well, like, that's, that's part of the second point that I'm gonna get to. But in, like, realistically, like, if you make this decision to go pursue this thing that, that, that apparently really makes you happy, it's what you wanna do and would be something that you would enjoy every day, I gather that there's some kind of price that you're gonna have to pay for that. Well, what is that price? Like, how bad, you know, how bad could it potentially be? And just kind of camp out there and see how that feels. Like, what would happen? Oh, I'd have to give up this, or I'd give up that. It's probably a lot of material stuff. But if you get to wake up every single day and enjoy what you're doing, my experience is that a lot of that other stuff doesn't really carry the meaning it does. Like, when you're working in a job that you don't like... That pays really well, that stuff starts to take on meaning because those are the things

• 32:18Rich Roll?

  that you're chasing to help you feel better about being in this situation that isn't really making you happy and you're kind of doing it for the money, right? Then like what car you drive and the clothes, whatever it is that you're into, that stuff starts to get heightened and, and, and, and becomes much more important than it needs to be or should be. But when you're doing something that you really love and you look forward to get up in the morning and doing it, all that other stuff kind of like fades away and becomes not that important.

• 32:43Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 32:44Rich Roll?

  And the second thing is, is, you know, it has to do with this idea of like, of, of the do over life. Like, you know, we're like, well, I'll do that next time. Like, I'm going to do the safe thing now. I'll do the thing I really want to do, like when I have this other life.

• 32:56Speaker 01

  No.

• 32:57Rich Roll?

  You know, like we trick ourselves like, and, and behind that is this idea that we're not going to die, or that if we do die, like, well, that's just a temporary thing and then we're gonna, we're gonna have this other opportunity to like,

• 33:07Speaker 01

  But-

• 33:07Rich Roll?

  make the decisions that we're too afraid to make now.

• 33:10Speaker 01

  But I don't really think most people live in this culture with the idea that they can do it next life. I don't think that they believe in multiple lifetimes as, as a, you know, as a mass-

• 33:18Rich Roll?

  I'm not saying that. I'm saying there's a denial that death is going to happen.

• 33:22Speaker 01

  Okay, right. There's another-

• 33:23Rich Roll?

  It's sort of like, well, do, you know, I'll do that thing later. It's like, no, your life is happening now. It's not some future event. You know, your, your life is in session in this moment and, and you will die. We will all die and the clock is ticking. So how are you maximizing this time to, you know, express what's most important to you? And, you know, this is something that we're, we're not encouraged to do and there is a lot of fear around it. And I'm empathetic to that. I've been in that prison and that cage for many, many years. I know what that feels like.

• 33:51Speaker 01

  And there are a lot of, you know, real human experiences that are very scary and very, you know, full rife with suffering. So it's not being disconnected by, you know, disconnected from the human experience because the human experience is very intense and especially in this, you know, world of polarity that we live in. So- But again, going back to as you examine your decisions and hopefully you do this in a meditative state, in a moment of quiet where you're alone and you can really connect with your breath and go into a deeper, deeper place of your consciousness, I would look at every decision and sort of inquire into every decision and really look from where is it arising? Is it arising from fear or is it arising from love?

• 34:34Speaker 01

  And I would use that as your tool of sort of maneuvering your way through the process and through deciding what you want to do. And the other thing that could happen in your life is you could end up living like an amazing life. That could happen too.

• 34:49Rich Roll?

  That could happen. Yeah, and I want to be sympathetic to somebody. I mean, Scott is a guy who looks like he's got options, right? And he's weighing those options. And I think it's very kind of cavalier to just sort of cast off this inspirational like, hey, quit your job and chase your dream and all of that. And it's, you know, it's, that's not everyone's reality. Like if you're stuck in a situation where you're a single parent and you have a couple of kids and maybe you don't have the education or what, you're stuck in a job situation, you're just trying to make it through the day. Like, I think it's irresponsible to like tell somebody that they should just, you know, cavalierly like cast that aside and chase some pipe dream.

• 35:33Rich Roll?

  Like there are real world constraints and concerns and responsibilities that come into play. So it's just not, it's not as simple as that. I'm just focusing this on Scott's inquiry.

• 35:44Speaker 01

  Well, everybody and everybody's journey is completely unique. Everybody has a completely unique circumstance, karma, blueprint, and soul mission. So you have to really get in touch with you again. It's about getting in touch with you. And I mean, what I can feel from this email from Scott is that he happens to have a very expanded, actually very positive energy field around him. And so, you know, he probably knows exactly what to do and he'll probably be successful in. You know, executing whatever he chooses to do. And he honestly probably already knew the answer to this before he even sent the email. So that's the kind of the vibration and the feeling of the whole question. But again, getting back to yourself, that's why you can't look at another person and say,

• 36:28Speaker 01

  "I'm going to live my life exactly the way that other person lives," because it's a different life form, it's a different blueprint, it's a different plan. So, once again, we're brought back to the core of how do you know yourself? In addition to eating a plant-based diet is meditation. Again, connecting in deeper with your heart's soul blueprint.

• 36:51Rich Roll?

  Cool. All right, let's take another question. This one is from Dallas.

• 36:57Speaker 01

  I love Dallas.

• 36:58Rich Roll?

  So, hello.

• 37:01Rich Roll?

  "I've been a lacto-vegetarian for the past 10 years or so. I have struggled with alcoholism, but have found that when I have gone vegan, that alcohol is not so much a problem. Do you know of any correlation between consuming animal products and alcoholism? And the answer to that question is a resounding no." I mean, I can only speak to my experience and what I've observed. And, you know, I don't know of any correlation between consuming animal products and alcoholism. I would venture to say that there probably isn't one. I think that the reason that I sort of selected this question to kind of talk about a little bit is because one thing that alcoholics are really good at is kind of canvassing their

• 37:43Rich Roll?

  environment and pointing their finger and blaming a certain scenario for their alcoholism, blaming sort of everything except the one thing that actually is causing it. You know, or like, you know, in recovery, there's a joke. It's like, oh, the alcoholic will do everything except the really simple things that are kind of laid out. Like, you can, hey, just do these, you know, I'm in 12 steps, so that's my path or whatever. But they'll say, "You could do these 12 steps and you can have an amazing life, sober life, where anything's possible. Or you can go back to drinking and suffer, you know, a miserable, lonely..." Existence and probably die or kill somebody else. Like, what's your choice?

• 38:26Rich Roll?

  And the only, the only, the alcoholic is the only person will go, hold on, give me a minute. Like, I need to, like, think about that, you know? And, and the alcoholic will kind of go, well, I've, I've found a solution to my problem. And, and that solution, when the alcoholic is coming up with it on their own, is usually not the good solution. It's usually not the one that's rooted in the, the principles of, of recovery. It's always something else. It's like, oh, uh, running or training for an Ironman, that's the solution to my alcoholism. Or, or if I just get rid of eating animal products in my diet, that will solve my problem. Or if I move from St. Louis to, uh, you know, to Dallas, pardon the pun, like, that will solve my problem. And none of these things are really getting at the root of what the problem is.

• 39:07Rich Roll?

  Because it's a, it's a, you know, it's a spiritual and an emotional problem as much as it is a physical one. Um, and that's not to say that, you know, if you, you could, you know, that, that the way that I do it is the only way. There's many ways, and I have no judgment on any of that, but I can only speak to the way that this worked for me. And the truth is, is that when I get caught up in, in, in, uh, you know, these ideas of, of other ways of, you know, sort of curing or resolving this problem for me, that's when I start to get into trouble. So I have learned to stop looking around for other reasons that, that, you know, are, are other ways of solving my problem and just focusing on what I know works.

• 39:49Speaker 01

  That's interesting. It's good.

• 39:50Rich Roll?

  Why? Will you disagree?

• 39:51Speaker 01

  No, I don't disagree. I don't really have experience with it like you do. I trust you and I, you know, that was interesting to hear. Um, I also, you know, I, I trust Dallas's intuition and, and what they are feeling about their experience. And if they're noticing a correlation.

• 40:06Rich Roll?

  I don't mean to diminish that.

• 40:07Speaker 01

  No, of course. But I mean, I would trust your intuition and, you know, you may be sensitively tapping into something. And so I, I definitely think eating a plant-based diet, I know from being the partner of an alcoholic. Who, a recovering alcoholic, who was eating a lot of processed foods and also meat, that he had a dense, a density or an energetic malaise that was covering him, that I could not access who he was. And when he started to eat plants, when Rich started to eat plants and started to embrace this new lifestyle, I did see this energy move. So I do think that alcoholism feeds on the density of these food products that are not good. I think

• 40:48Speaker 01

  it feeds on coffee, and I think it feeds on sugar, on processed white food, and I think it feeds on meat products. I actually would have to agree with you in that, in that sense.

• 41:01Rich Roll?

  Well, I think that, that really the idea behind it is that, you know, the alcoholic will always seek out ways of medicating themselves. You know, once you take the drugs and the alcohol away, they're still an alcoholic. They still, the drugs and the alcohol are the solution to the problem. The problem is the sense of dis-ease or the imbalance within the human being that seeks out the drugs and the alcohol to make them feel better, right? So you take away the drugs and alcohol, you haven't solved the problem. The problem is just there. You've taken away, actually, the, the cure, you know, for a long time. So what is that getting supplanted with? What is that getting replaced with? And so, you know, a lot of, a lot of people that struggle with addiction will, will start, you know, eating gigantic amounts of sugar, or smoking a lot of cigarettes, or drinking

• 41:44Rich Roll?

  a lot of coffee, because all of these things are ways to medicate your emotional state. And that can be manifest through anything, shopping, gambling, you know, relationships, whatever, it doesn't matter. And so, to hearken back to what we said earlier in the podcast, you know, when I, when I, when I changed my diet to a plant-based diet, it shifted my consciousness. That's true. And so, and that's very real. And maybe that's what Dallas is experiencing on some level. But I think you have to be careful to not say, well, this is the, this is the solution to my, my addiction problem also.

• 42:17Speaker 01

  So, yeah, so this along with recovery, and, you know, yeah, and, it's an and situation, not an or situation. So, so both things to be considered. But also, just as we're here right now, I'm just interested, if we bring this conversation back to Robin, and back to her work in the microbiome. Did she talk to you about anything about addiction? What about the cravings of addiction being in the gut? What about that?

• 42:42Rich Roll?

  We didn't, we didn't get into that. I would love to explore that a little bit more with her.

• 42:46Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 42:47Rich Roll?

  I, I, there's no doubt that there is a component to that. Especially like if you're used to eating those sorts of foods and you're populating your microbiome with the microorganisms that actually need those foods to survive. So, um, and, and, you know, obviously like alcohol is a, is a sugar and that's going to carry with it a certain kind of, you know, microbiotic population that comes along with that. But I think you need to discern and, and, and kind of separate the physical craving aspect of, of the disease of addiction with, you know, the underlying kind of emotional and, and spiritual kind of affliction. That is the definition of it, right? Those are two different things. So you have, you have the physical aspect of the cravings.

• 43:30Rich Roll?

  And then there is the emotional and spiritual component of that as well. And those things work in tandem. So you can kind of do your best to alleviate the physical aspects of the craving. But if you're not treating the emotional state, um, the emotional can override, you know, and create that craving irrespective of whatever your microbial ecology is. I mean, that's just my presumption.

• 43:51Speaker 01

  Right.

• 43:52Rich Roll?

  And my experience.

• 43:54Speaker 01

  Well, it'd be interesting to hear you guys explore that more.

• 43:57Rich Roll?

  I would love to have a conversation where they're purely focused on that. And no doubt there is a, there is a component there. I think it's super interesting stuff.

• 44:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:06Rich Roll?

  We also talked about fecal transplants. That was amazing.

• 44:08Speaker 01

  Well, that's what I'm wondering. Okay. So going back to fecal transplants, I don't want to give everything away for the podcast because she's, she's so, so beautiful and such a smart, lovely, beautiful, energetic woman. She's just, she's a wealth of information and very passionate about what she's doing. And she does it in such a, a happy way. She's very happy about the microbiome. But um, yeah, I'm wondering because, you know, she was talking about doing fecal transplants where, you know, they actually take fecal matter out of like, an obese person and put it inside, you know, a slim person and that person becomes obese and vice versa.

• 44:43Rich Roll?

  Yeah, they've done studies with mice with that where that, yeah, you take a, you take the microbes out of an obese mouse and you transplant them into a skinny mouse and the skinny mouse becomes obese. Like, there's crazy stuff like that that goes on. So, it's only natural to say, well, what would happen if you transplanted the micro, you know, microbiome

• 45:03Speaker 01

  of a non-addict?

• 45:04Rich Roll?

  Of an addict or a non-addict, vice versa.

• 45:06Speaker 01

  Right, exactly.

• 45:07Rich Roll?

  Into the other person.

• 45:08Speaker 01

  What would happen?

• 45:09Rich Roll?

  What would that impact?

• 45:10Speaker 01

  That's interesting to know. I thought she, I thought it had actually been done with humans. I didn't hear the mice thing. I heard actually it'd been done with human beings.

• 45:15Rich Roll?

  Well, they've done sort of anecdotal, like, it's sort of in terms of like a peer reviewed, like hardcore study or whatever.

• 45:19Speaker 01

  Oh, okay.

• 45:20Rich Roll?

  The mice thing.

• 45:21Speaker 01

  That's very cool.

• 45:22Rich Roll?

  Anyway.

• 45:23Speaker 01

  Hmm, interesting.

• 45:24Rich Roll?

  Did we answer that question?

• 45:25Speaker 01

  I'll be excited to hear more about that.

• 45:26Rich Roll?

  Did we answer Dallas's question?

• 45:28Speaker 01

  We did.

• 45:29Rich Roll?

  All right, we'll do one more.

• 45:37Rich Roll?

  This is kind of interesting. This is from Lisa. She, her question has to do with what she calls the fundraising oxymoron. And I think you'll like this question. It's like, this idea that, you know, we have all these sort of fundraisers to raise money and awareness around certain ailments and diseases and tragedies, et cetera. But the methods for doing this are some, sometimes kind of, you know, inherently conflicting, right? So she raises, a case in point is, the Coman Foundation, which I think is a, yeah, it's a breast cancer foundation, selling junk donuts to raise money for a cure for breast cancer, you know, or a fun run in her city that she's talking about against animal abuse that's giving

• 46:22Rich Roll?

  away hot dogs at the, at the fun run. You know, it's like weird stuff like that with McDonald's, the Ronald McDonald House, you know, trying to promote healthcare but serving food that puts children in their, in the place that needs it. You know, you could take that all the way down to Girl Scout cookies, I suppose, right? But this, this idea that, that in order to get people interested in whatever it is your cause is, that we have to, that the way to do that, the way to attract that, the way to kind of dangle the carrot is to, is to do it with like, all kinds of unhealthy food.

• 46:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's really, that's quite interesting. I mean, we've seen it. We've seen it at different, you know, heart foundation benefits where they serve like huge thick pieces of bloody steak.

• 47:01Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I mean, Garth Davis is always talking about it. So is Joel Kahn. They go to these conferences that are all about, you know, health, or whatever. All these doctors are there and they're serving them like the worst food ever, you know, or just look at what they serve, you know, patients in hospitals. Like, this is just a huge problem that's cultural as much as anything else. And I think with respect to these, you know, well-intentioned, of course, you know, nonprofits, et cetera, that, you know, I'm sure at the bottom of it is a belief like, well, this is just what people want. You know, we need people to show up. So you gotta give them what they want.

• 47:31Speaker 01

  Well, they're just trying to get the money. So it's solely focused on the money rather than looking at the entire organism as one whole energetic, which I think, you know, misses the mark in a huge way because you're missing an opportunity to expose people to, you know, healthier alternatives and, and things that actually can prevent these diseases or support people in healing. So, but it's kind of lazy. You know, it's just, it's that thing where, well, you know, no, you know, my uncle loves, you know, tri-tip. So that's what I mean. It's, I just think it's not even thought about. It's just, it's just about how many tickets can we make or what can we sell to make money? There's, there's obviously a disconnect between the

• 48:14Speaker 01

  method of fundraising and why they're fundraising, why they're even there in the first place.

• 48:19Rich Roll?

  Yeah. I mean, this person's frustration has to do with kind of the stuff that happens at her kid's school as well. Like where, you know, it's all about the junk food, right? Peddling the junk food around kids' school activities. And her question is when or what will make society stop seeing junk food as a way to open our pocketbooks? And, you know, I don't, it's not like I have the miracle answer to that, but I think it, you know, has to start with your own example in your own home. Right? I mean, what else can you do?

• 48:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly. And, you know, and at birthday parties and, you know, as you, as you venture out into the landscape of children's

• 48:56Speaker 01

  Nutrition, children's food and what's available. And, you know, again, it's an opportunity to raise the bar and to try to do better and try to raise awareness to those things. I mean, it's ridiculous. It makes no, no common sense. It's not even, it's not even logical, you know.

• 49:13Rich Roll?

  I think it's just, it's, you know, it's not that they're not aware of it. They just think that if they don't do it, no one will come. Right? So what's behind that? Well, if there's a fear or a sense that, you know, it's important to have those kinds of foods because that's what people want and that will, that will like improve their ability to actually, you know, raise the money that they're looking to raise.

• 49:32Speaker 01

  Well, it goes back to, you know, entertaining in your own house. Like in the early years, you know, you were like, you know, are you going to make chicken? Are you going to make, you know, meat? Because they eat meat. And I would, you know, I was like, no.

• 49:42Rich Roll?

  Right. We did have this discussion early on.

• 49:43Speaker 01

  I was like, no, as a matter of fact, I'm not.

• 49:45Rich Roll?

  Like I would get, we were in the beginning stages of our plant-based adventure and friends would be coming over, you know, friends that, you know, oh, we'll come over for a barbecue. And I'd be like, well, you gotta cook some, something that they like. I want them to feel comfortable. And you were like, no, they're in our house. They're going to eat what I want. And that made me initially very uncomfortable.

• 50:03Speaker 01

  We're very upset.

• 50:04Rich Roll?

  Now I don't think about it. It's like, of course, when you come to our house, you eat what we eat. There's no compromising on that whatsoever. That's just the deal. And every, and you're such an amazing cook that, you know, it's, people happily do it. But I know what that feels like, you know? So you gotta kind of take that journey on yourself. So, you know, I had a discomfort with that initially and I'm sure that's the same kind of discomfort that these organizations have.

• 50:27Speaker 01

  That's a discomfort of these companies. Right.

• 50:28Rich Roll?

  So, you know, but, but in truth, you know, the more that you can, you can, you know, it's like what Gene Bauer always says, like, how do you align your actions with your values? So if the values of your organization are, you know, to cure breast cancer or cure pediatric cancer, whatever it is, you know, are the actions that you're taking to raise awareness and money and, and sort of, you know, you know, create a cure or whatever it is that your goal is, are those in alignment with the mission statement? And to the extent that there is a, there is like a even seemingly like harmless, uh, lack of alignment, I think the more that you can bring that alignment and, you know, kind of, kind of dial in that alignment, then ultimately that is going to, people know, you know, it's like, it goes to authenticity as well.

• 51:13Speaker 01

  Right. It's just going to empower you and make you much more successful.

• 51:16Rich Roll?

  Do they mean what they say?

• 51:17Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 51:18Rich Roll?

  Or do they just, you know, they just want some money? You know what I mean? Like?

• 51:20Speaker 01

  That's right, and I mean, a lot of charities too. It's the same energy that inhabits the actress who wants to be famous is the same energy that inhabits a charity worker who wants everybody to know that they raised all this money for XYZ. So it's the same. It looks different, but if you look at it more deeply, it's actually the same vibration. So, again, it's about taking responsibility, being authentic, knowing what is your mission, and expressing that in every area of your organization. So if you're not seeing it, I would gently and compassionately just bring it up and point it out, but I know that can be challenging sometimes.

• 52:01Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I know. I think the best thing to do, though, is just clean your own house. You know what I mean? Where are there areas? Rather than pointing your finger and going, "Why aren't they doing it like the..." whatever, just like, point the finger at yourself and go, "Where are my actions and my values out of alignment? And how can I improve that?" And just be the living example.

• 52:20Speaker 01

  That's true.

• 52:21Rich Roll?

  You know? So, alright, I think we did it.

• 52:24Speaker 01

  Is that it?

• 52:25Rich Roll?

  That's it for today's edition of Ask Me Anything.

• 52:30Speaker 01

  Did you ask me anything?

• 52:32Rich Roll?

  I asked you some things.

• 52:33Speaker 01

  Did you ask me anything? I don't know. I don't remember.

• 52:36Rich Roll?

  Did I ask you anything? Yeah, I said, "What do you think?" I hope you guys listened to the episode that just preceded this with Jeff Castelliz. He is the guy behind the Pablo Foundation. Speaking of foundations and nonprofits, they do a great job at raising awareness and finding a cure through research and programs that are helping kids that are struggling with cancer. And they just started their Pablo Across America Bicycle Ride, which is a fundraiser that they do every year. This year, they're riding from Los Angeles to San Francisco. So, check out that conversation. It's very heartfelt. He's an amazing guy. And if you're interested in what they're doing, go to pablo.org and you can learn

• 53:21Rich Roll?

  more about them.

• 53:22Speaker 01

  That's very cool.

• 53:23Rich Roll?

  And, what else, man? I think we did it. If you are in the Los Angeles area, or your travels take you...

• 53:33Rich Roll?

  Near here or through here, you guys should definitely go check out a restaurant that we're partnered with. It's called Joy Cafe. It's our organic, plant-based, and gluten-free eatery in Westlake Village. We partnered with Joy and Nick, who are there every single day, running this amazing cafe.

• 53:51Speaker 01

  They do such an amazing job.

• 53:52Rich Roll?

  Fueling and nourishing our community in an incredible way. They've been open for a year now. It's been

• 53:58Speaker 01

  They're just rocking.

• 53:59Rich Roll?

  Really cool, yes.

• 54:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, they're amazing.

• 54:00Rich Roll?

  Cafe is super rocking.

• 54:01Speaker 01

  They also just, they have a new dish on their menu that, actually, they're changing their menu very soon, but there's a new dish that I just had today, and it's a spaghetti squash with lentil meatballs in the most amazing marinara sauce ever. And it is, one of their recipes, incredible, and you shouldn't miss it. So if you get a chance to go by,

• 54:22Rich Roll?

  Yeah, cool.

• 54:22Speaker 01

  Order that up.

• 54:23Rich Roll?

  We eat there often, although we're going to be in Europe for a little bit, so we won't be there for the next couple of weeks, but when we're in town, you can definitely find us there, eating lunch or dinner a couple nights a week, a couple days a week, at least. We're also partnered with The Karma Baker, which is a vegan and gluten-free bakery, also in Westlake Village. And what's cool about these two businesses is that it provides Julie and I an opportunity to not only kind of spread our message globally, which we do through the books and the podcast, but locally as well, you know, to kind of be a part of shifting awareness and consciousness and behavior habits and patterns within our own community, which has been really, really cool.

• 55:04Speaker 01

  And definitely Celine and Eric, who are the owners of The Karma Baker. They're amazing artists, and they do amazing desserts. And she's now branched out into gluten-free breads, and she's just, they're doing amazing stuff. So if you have a need for any birthday cake supplies, or you want to try some amazing breads, check her out.

• 55:26Rich Roll?

  All right, so I want to thank today's sponsors, Benobos. Go to benobos.com/richroll and get 20% off your first order. And also, the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Go to myusatrainer.com for a free 14-day free trial of their Fast and Fun online program. Hopefully, we'll connect with some of you guys out in Frankfurt or in Boston. And keep sending in your questions for future Q and A podcasts to [email protected]. And go to richroll.com for all your plant-powered nutritional needs. And we've got online courses at mindbodygreen.com, The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition, and The Art of Living

• 56:07Rich Roll?

  with Purpose. Julie and I are looking at doing another course pretty soon. We'll talk to you a little bit more. We're still formulating what exactly it's going to be, but we'll have announcements about that pretty soon. So, thanks so much for supporting the show, for telling your friends, for sharing it on social media. Keep using the Amazon banner ad at richroll.com for all your Amazon purchases. If you want to connect with Julie, the best place to do that is srimati.com, S-R-I-M-A-T-I.com. And she's killing it on Instagram right now with all these amazing food photographs and recipes. So, I would check that out as well, @srimati there, and also @srimati on Twitter. And her music, which you can find on her website. And you're going to take us out with a song today, right?

• 56:49Speaker 01

  I'm going to take us out today with a song I wrote for you called "My Man."

• 56:55Rich Roll?

  I like that one. That might be my favorite.

• 56:57Speaker 01

  Oh, thank you.

• 56:58Rich Roll?

  Yeah, because I'm a narcissist and it's about me.

• 57:00Speaker 01

  I never knew that. It is about you. It's another one about you. You're my muse. So, it's okay.

• 57:05Rich Roll?

  All right. Until then, peace. Plants.

• 57:08Speaker 01

  Namaste.

• 57:30Speaker 02

  The image reflected in your eyes

• 57:40Speaker 02

  says it all.

• 57:51Speaker 02

  If this is an illusion, why can't I be deluded in you?

• 58:11Speaker 02

  I'm desperate to break through these frozen walls,

• 58:20Speaker 02

  but I can't see through.

• 58:32Speaker 02

  Pain is the chain of hope, keeping you

• 58:42Speaker 02

  from yourself.

• 58:52Speaker 02

  Your expectations chisel into stone.

• 59:01Speaker 02

  They form yourself.

• 59:11Speaker 02

  If this is an illusion, why can't I be deluded in you?

• 59:31Speaker 02

  I'm desperate to break through these frozen walls,

• 59:40Speaker 02

  but I can't see through.

• 59:50Speaker 02

  You walk in

• 59:55Speaker 02

  Feeling fine

• 1:00:01Speaker 02

  You walk right in There's a magic in your smile

• 1:00:11Speaker 02

  I feel your touch once more For the first time

• 1:00:20Speaker 02

  Mahame

• 1:00:25Speaker 02

  Mahame

• 1:01:08Speaker 02

  Just shut your eyes and fall into my dream

• 1:01:17Speaker 02

  Take my hand

• 1:01:27Speaker 02

  Take my hand

• 1:01:37Speaker 02

  Take my hand

• 1:01:46Speaker 02

  Take my hand

• 1:02:01Speaker 02

  Mahame