Natasha Kufa On The 10% Rule: Small Changes, Big Results

Imagine winning an Olympic gold medal in swimming at age 19 at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. A feat never-before achieved by a swimmer of African-American descent, the frenzied media swarms. The only problem? You’re only half-black. You definitely don’t look black. And you know nothing about what it’s like to be part of the black experience. The unrelenting crush of public expectation to fulfill a role at odds with your private sense of self becomes so intense, you retreat from your Olympic experience not with any lasting sense of happiness, satisfaction and pride, but rather a numb confusion. This isn’t anything like I thought it would be… Over time, the confusion metastasizes into disillusionment. And it’s not long before depression sets in. Lost and lacking the tools to cope, life begins to pivot away from the dreaded black line at the bottom of the pool and towards a dreadlocked blur of rock ‘n roll, boozy, drug-fueled binges, rampant womanizing, cigarette haze, and death-defying motorcycle crashes. Nonetheless, over the next three years you continue to do the one thing you know how to do: swim. Not only do you continue to win, in 2001 you’re crowned the world champion in two events. But these results only magnify what is quickly becoming a profound crisis of identity. Who am I? Why am I doing this? What does it all mean? The answers continue to elude you until you find yourself so despondent, so desperate for relief, that you down a handful of tranquilizers. But the suicide attempt fails, fueling a sense of invincibility that only hastens the onset of an even more profound darkness. So, at the young age of 22, at the peak of his abilities, Anthony Ervin does what he has to — he walks away from the thing he used to love. The thing that gave him everything. The thing that made him a star. The thing that betrayed it’s promise of making him whole. In a Hail Mary attempt to discover and re-create his life, Anthony travels the world. He meditates at a Buddhist temple. He studies philosophy with a Sufi mystic. He reclaims his body with tattoos. He enrolls in graduate school but spends summers in Brooklyn, where he immerses himself in books, writes poetry, and even occasionally cross-dresses at parties. The denouement? Hawking his Olympic gold medal on eBay and donating the proceeds to the UNICEF tsunami relief fund. The only thing Anthony Ervin didn’t do during this time? Swim. Not one stroke. The next eight years marked a complete divorce from anything and everything swimming. In fact, not one of Anthony’s new friends during this time had any idea he was even an athlete, let alone an Olympic champion. He was just another tattooed, guitar-playing Brooklynite seeking answers to the Universe in music, meditation, books and partying. But with funds dwindling, Anthony offhandedly takes a gig teaching New York kids how to swim. The experience of service begins to erode his jaded shell and ignites an unexpected spark of appreciation for his former life. A new sense of self worth begins to emerge, informing the why in Anthony’s quest for spiritual self-actualization. Suddenly, love for the sport he so thoroughly placed in his rearview begins to rekindle. In 2011, Anthony returns to the water. And almost overnight, the impossible occurs. Twelve years after Sydney, Anthony qualifies for the 2012 London Olympics — his second U.S. Olympic team. Despite his 31 years of age (ancient in the world of swi...

11 Jul 20161h 45min

When I was a kid, shopping for new clothes was a treat. A special, infrequent occasion. Why? because even inexpensive garments challenged our middle-class family budget. By comparison, the mega-conglomerate retailers of today — Target, H&M, Gap, fill in the blank — allow the average, penny-pinching consumer to fill a closet for a $100 or less. How and when did clothing become an essentially disposable product? What exactly is going on? The answers to these questions will shock you. Andrew Morgan is the young, talented filmmaker behind the beautiful and heartbreaking documentary The True Cost. Premiering at last year's Cannes Film Festival, it's a movie about the untold story of fashion. It's about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the garment industry is having on the world we share. The film centers around the human rights and environmental implications of fast fashion — a term used to describe the increasingly rapid pace at which fashion houses push new trends at deflated prices made possible by global market ascendency and the comprehensive export of almost all manufacturing to the developing world. As a result, designer lines and trends once seasonal now move from factory to store shelves in a matter of mere weeks at a fraction of historical prices. It goes like this: prime the latent pump of consumer desire with hypnotic marketing campaigns featuring lithe models draped in the latest and greatist. Throw kerosene on the addictive must-have impulse with impossibly low prices. Obscure production transparency by shipping manufacturing to a far corner of the world. Then, before anyone discovers the product's troubling genesis and poor quality, light a match, sit back and watch the shopping frenzy ensue. Repeat to the tune of $3 trillion annually. There's only one problem — cheap is actually expensive. Because we're ignoring the true cost. Any accurate accounting of fast fashion must include the priceless expense of systemic and severe worker exploitation rife across the developing world. It must take into consideration the incalculable environmental damage caused by its very processes of manufacturing. And it must contemplate the mistreatment and slaughter of billions of animals. Without a doubt, fast fashion is an extremely expensive, unmitigated free market failure. But Andrew isn't interested in the good-guy-bad-guy narrative. He sees no purpose in shaming anyone nor pointing fingers. Andrew's wish for us is simple: Ask better questions. Demand better solutions. Do I really need this? Who made this and how? What exactly went into this getting from wherever to here? In other words, what is the true cost of our daily and often subconsciously or unconsciously motivated consumer choices? I was quite impacted by Andrew's stirring film; moved by this wise and thoughtful young man's commitment to positively impacting the world. As such, it is my honor to share his important message with you today. This is a conversation about the inextricable connectivity that unites us all. It's about our collective responsibility to be informed and to act. It's about conscious capitalism over mindless consumption. And it's about how every single day, every single one of us can make a tangible, positive difference in the world. Because in the words of Andrew, the greatest lie of all is that you can't contribute. I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange. Peace + Plants, Rich

4 Jul 20161h 57min

In documented history, only 44 people have successfully completed the extraordinary feat of adventure athleticism known as the Explorers Grand Slam — a challenge that encompasses scaling the highest mountain on each of the seven continents and treks to both the North and South Poles. Of these 44, only 2 have done it under a year. Not only is today's guest the youngest person to conquer this most prestigious undertaking, Colin O'Brady absolutely smashed the world record by an incredible 53-day margin, completing the EGS in a mere 139 days. Along the way, he simultaneously broke the 7 Summits world record by two days. A Yale grad turned professional triathlete and Olympic hopeful, Colin is one very impressive young man. But perhaps more admirable than his mind boggling achievements is Colin's commitment to service by way of his non-profit organization Beyond 7/2 – a directed mission to combat childhood obesity by raising $1 million on behalf of the Alliance For A Healthier Generation, a non-profit founded by the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation dedicated to helping kids to develop healthy habits. If you are relatively new to the podcast, it's worth noting that Colin and I sat down this past December on the eve of his world record attempt. In case you missed it, RRP 207 is great conversation about his unique upbringing on a commune, his experiences swimming for Yale, how he survived an almost lethal burn accident that left him unlikely to walk again, his phoenix like transformation into a professional ITU triathlete and Olympic hopeful, and how he morphed into a mountaineer with the audacity to attempt such an incomprehensible feat of adventure athleticism. Picking up where we left off, this conversation recounts the highs and lows of Colin's extraordinary accomplishment. It's a conversation about the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual fortitude required to push beyond the ceiling of perceived ability. It's a conversation about facing and overcoming obstacles. It’s about life and death decisions. Risk. Limits. Fear. It’s about the indomitable nature of the human spirit to overcome and persevere. And its about the importance of giving back. Specific topics include: * completing The Explorer's Grand Slam in world-record time * conquering Everest after the North Pole * sharing Colin’s experiences through social media * severe frostbite and the risks of amputation * attempting fastest ascent of the 7 Summits * rational fatalism & objectivity * 10,000 hours of deliberate practice * navigating risk & fear It was an honor to spend a couple hours with this extraordinary human. My hope is that this conversation will help you question your own internal limiters and confront you with the very real truth that we are all capable of so much more than we allow ourselves to believe. I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange. Peace + Plants, Rich

27 Jun 20162h 21min

We’re back with what I like to call a mini-sode. Last week I posted a long-awaited installment of Ask Me Anything — RRP 232. That episode is about an hour in length, but the last several minutes were pretty great — pure gold. I realize not everyone has time to digest all the content I produce. So, in case you skipped it or didn't make it to the end — and because I didn’t want you to miss the best part — I thought I'd make it easy by excerpting the most impactful 7 minutes out of that conversation and repurposing it here as a brief mini-sode experiment. It's all about waking up, getting real and taking responsibility for your path, growth and evolution. It's about resolving imbalance so that you can fulfill your mission. And it's about devoting yourself to something greater than you — because we're not in kindergarten anymore. It's time to up your game. Enjoy the listen. Peace + Plants, Rich

23 Jun 201610min

Prepare yourself for a supernova blast of pure energy, unbridled positivity and infectious enthusiasm certain to inspire you to next level wellness. David & Stephen Flynn are the joined-at-the-hip identical twin brothers behind The Happy Pear. What is the Happy Pear you ask? Take a 30-minute drive south from Dublin to Greystones, a picturesque seaside town nestled along the Irish coast and you'll stumble upon an impossible-to-miss family run natural food store overflowing with local, organic and seasonal produce. It’s also two whole food cafés as well as evening restaurant, where the brothers conduct wildly popular health education courses for the community. But venture beyond the welcoming Happy Pear storefront and you'll quickly discover this isn't just a veg shop — it's an empire in the making. A vast and growing enterprise that encompasses a superfood sprout farm and a 14,000 sq. ft. facility aptly called Pearville where the twins' team of 100 craft and distribute a prodigious line of organic, locally harvested plant-based products like granola, jam, hummus, pesto, fair trade coffees, smoothies, sprouted foods and even kombucha. To put it in perspective, I believe they are currently shipping about 30,000 healthy superfood bars a month. Relentless, selfless servants at the very center of Ireland’s healthy living movement, David & Stephen have synergistically authored two incredible cookbooks – The Happy Pear* (of course) and the recently released World of the Happy Pear*, which is already a runaway, smash bestseller across Ireland the UK. And when the super fit dads aren't making pre-school breakfast picnics on the beach, engaging in impromptu handstand competitions, traveling extensively for public speaking or serving up kitchen duties on Jamie Oliver’s Family Food Tube (the largest foodie community in Europe), they enthusiastically guide a vast and devoted audience of wellness warriors across every social media platform from YouTube to Instagram to Snapchat with an endless stream of highly entertaining, quality nutrition and fitness tips, recipes, and daily slice-of-life vlogs with inspiration for miles. After our Italy retreat, Julie, Trapper & I spent an amazing few days with these boys. We got a spirited peek into their lives and advocacy. I even gave an evening talk at the restaurant, followed by an impromptu 5 am plunge in the chilly Irish Sea that drew over 100 keen participants (many of whom drove hours to attend), which speaks volumes about the brothers' appeal and popularity. Not only are the inseparable David and Stephen Flynn positively the most charismatic and enthusiastic advocates for healthy living I have ever met, they are two guys who have cultivated incredible community and positivity and excitement around their powerful ideas related to living a healthy happy life. So what is The Happy Pear?  The Happy Pear is David & Stephen. It's everything they do and are. But fundamentally, The Happy Pear is a movement. Enjoy! Rich

20 Jun 20161h 52min

We’re back with another long-awaited installment of Ask Me Anything — a twist on my normal format where we answer questions submitted by you, the listener. However, today is a twist on the twist. Instead of listener submitted questions we focused on one core inquiry — how to reach escape velocity on your life to step into your most actualized self. At the outset, Julie and I spend some time recapping Plantpower Italia– our first retreat in Italy — as well as our experience spending time in Ireland with David & Stephen Flynn of The Happy Pear. Then the discussion turns to address the process required to live fully expressed. For me, this journey boils down to one precept: Mastery is the ultimate growth hack. Enjoy the show! Peace + Plants, Rich

17 Jun 20161h 4min

Today's guest will challenge everything you thought you knew about human potential and leave you with one indelible, ineradicable truth: We are all sitting atop vast reservoirs of untapped, almost superhuman capabilities. Meet Wim Hof, aka The Iceman. A Dutch-born world record holder, adventurer, daredevil and human guinea pig, The Iceman is best known for his preternatural ability to withstand extreme cold. Perhaps more significant and compelling is his experimentation and experience with specific and teachable breathing techniques. Rooted in the ancient yogic tradition of pranayama and canonized for a modern audience as The Wim Hof Method, Wim asserts that he can “turn his own thermostat up” and consciously activate his sympathetic nervous system by using his mind through yoga. This may sound far-fetched. But get a grip on some of the crazy things this holder of more than 20 world records has accomplished: * shirtless adorned in nothing but shorts, Wim scaled above death zone altitude (22,000 ft) on Mount Everest; * barefoot, shirtless and again in nothing but shorts, Wim completed a full marathon above the polar circle in Finland; * he summited Kilimanjaro in less than 2 days, again in nothing but shorts; * above the polar circle, he swam a world record 66 meters under a meter of ice; * he can sit in an ice bath for almost 2 hours; and * in 2011, he ran a full marathon in the Namib Desert without water But there's more. Under doctor supervision, In 2011 Wim voluntarily allowed himself to be injected with a poisonous E. coli endotoxin certain to make any human being very ill. The idea was to demonstrate that by using his meditation and breathing techniques he could effectively control his autonomic immune system response and nullify any deleterious health implications. Wim did not get sick. Beyond his countless feats of incredulity, he’s a long-time vegetarian who — for the last 30+ years — has refrained from eating any food before 6pm. All of this is seemingly insane. But Wim is hardly a carnival sideshow act — the physical stunts merely a means of attracting scientific community attention for purposes of study and documentation. Ask Wim and he will tell you that he is nothing special. He declares his feats replicable and his methods teachable — a curriculum that holds the potential to unlock a battery of human superpowers that extend well beyond extreme temperature tolerance to include control over a wide array of sympathetic nervous system and metabolic ‘reptilian brain' functions previously thought to be beyond conscious manipulation. Case in point? After a mere 4 days of instruction, Wim led a group of brave, volunteering students through his endotoxin exposure experiment (again, under doctor supervision and scientific observation). Not one of them got sick. And he now routinely takes groups of students – most of which you would characterize as non-athletes — up Kilamanjaro. In nothing but shorts of course. An absolutely fascinating guy with charm and charisma for miles, my conversation with Wim is less about human biology than it is about belief systems. It's an exploration of dormant biological and mental potential. It's about yoga, grief, depression, change and the nature of consciousness. And it's about the ever expanding event horizon of human potential that should push and challenge and nudge you out of your comfort zone to call into question the unnecessary limits we self-impose upon ourselves daily. Enjoy! Rich

13 Jun 20161h 44min

It's not that powerful female role models don't exist. They do. They're everywhere. We just don't do a good enough job celebrating them. So this week, I'm pleased to shine a bright spotlight on one of my favorite examples of female self-empowerment. Meet Robin Arzón. At the height of her corporate law career, Robin fearlessly left it all behind to embark on new adventures in the health and wellness space. She soon discovered her passion for coaching athletes, bridge running New York City, tackling ultra-marathons (she just completed her first 100-mile run and once ran five marathons in five days across Utah) and hosting wildly popular indoor cycling experiences that bear more resemblance to after-party raves than your typical spin class. But it's not what she does that makes Robin special. It's who she is. There was the time she was kidnapped and held at gunpoint. Then there's the recent Type 1 diabetes diagnosis that persistently threatens to sideline her active lifestyle. But Robin isn't interested in playing the victim. She's interested in telling a different story. A story writ large that involves constant reinvention and tenacious commitment to personal growth. A narrative that aims to redefine, reform, and rethink possibility through movement. Human performance art in motion, Robin is a powerhouse of positive vibes. Confident, colorful and courageous with a no bullshit attitude and NYC street cred for days, she is inspiration personified. And she's got a message for you: sweat transforms lives. Now Robin can add author to her resume, because her incredible new book Shut Up and Run: How to Get Up, Lace Up and Sweat with Swagger* hits bookstores everywhere June 21. Exploding with color, attitude and practical advice, Shut Up and Run is the ultimate embodiment of everything Robin. Equal parts fitness manual, self-help empowerment and coffee table photography book, it perfectly captures Robin's ethos and aesthetic. Overflowing with tips, tricks, and most notably her welcome inviting hand, Shut Up and Run is an utterly unique breath of fresh air in a world of drab running manuals. A book screaming with attitude that beckons you to join her. I love Robin. She's just an awesome person. And I really love her new book. So I was delighted to sit down with her once again and delve deeper into her fascinating life. Subjects explored include: * inclusivity & exclusivity within sports * commercialization of running * the evolution of social marketing * the courage to take the leap * trusting the journey * sacrifice & personal development * becoming the most authentic version of yourself * being yourself despite societal pressures * managing Type I Diabetes * Robin’s daily routine * Robin’s new book If you are a long-time listener, then you remember well her previous powerhouse appearances on the show — How To Undo Ordinary (RRP 99) & Do Epic Sh*t (RRP 137). If you happened to miss these conversations, I highly suggest checking them out. I think you're going to like this one. Enjoy the exchange. Peace + Plants, Rich

6 Jun 20161h 42min