The Rich Roll Podcast - How To Build An Authentic Brand

Episode Date: November 3, 2016

Julie Piatt joins me for another mid-week installment of the podcast — a twist on my normal format where we answer listener questions and go deep on specific topics. Today we recap Plantpower Italia, our second retreat in Italy, before exploring the subject of building a brand that is truly authentic to who you are. Disclaimer: The answers might surprise you. Enjoy the show! Peace + Plants, Rich

Every brand has a mission statement, right? So the mission statement of your brand, what is it? And there's all kinds of executives you can pay tons of money to, to help you distill down what is your mission. But when I was reflecting on it and meditating on what is the ultimate mission of a life, a life realized or a life of joy or victory, is simply to know yourself.

Hey, everybody, what's going on? What's happening? My name is Rich Roll. I'm your host. Welcome to another special midweek edition of the podcast. I'm here with my sometime co-host, Julie Pyatt. Hi, Rich Roll. And generally my wife as well. Generally. I guess I was going to say sometime. You're not my sometime wife. You're my sometime co-host. You're my all the time. Right. And we're going to drill down on some pretty specific topics today.

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All right, so it's been a little while since we've done one of these types of shows, and a lot has happened since then. We were in Italy. We did our second Plant Power Italia retreat, which we're going to talk about. Um, but I think the first thing that might be, uh, valuable or worth exploring, uh, has to do with the fact that I just turned 50, which is a landmark. Definitely worth exploring. Do you look at me differently now? No. Do I feel old to you? No, I'm older than you are. Like you're getting no, you're getting no like, you know, sympathy for me over here.

Well, you know, 50 is, I said this the other week on the podcast, but it is a landmark birthday. It's kind of one of those milestones where you start to reflect a little bit. Holy shit. What happened? That's right. I'm like, really 50? That can't be right.

holy shit, what happened? I'm like, really 50? That can't be right. Um, you know, you reflect back on how you got to 50 and what you want your life to look like moving forward. And I think it's the first birthday where you're kind of like faced with your mortality a little bit, like 40, you're like, Oh, I guess I'm a grownup. I'm an adult, but like 50 is like, okay, shit, I'm going to die. It's like serious. Yeah, exactly. It's kind of a good birthday, I think. It is good. But just today, this morning, I went to have a doctor's appointment and had all my blood work done. It's been like a year since I did my blood work.

And very happy to report that everything looks fantastic. All my vitamins and minerals and cholesterol and all that stuff is in order. It's actually more than in order. It was actually quite positive. No, no. He, yeah. The doctor was stoked. He's like, you're in fantastic health. Um, some of the markers were really phenomenal. Like my insulin level is super low. And he's like, you're just, you're the, he's like, it would be impossible for you to get diabetes based on these numbers. Like, so yeah, everything's great.

My cholesterol is perfect. I would say the only thing that I need to look at and I need to work on and focus on, and this is no surprise to you, but I get kind of adrenal fatigue because I just push it too hard. You know, all the traveling and just trying to do everything and burn the midnight oil and then not sleep well and all that kind of stuff that comes with the work that we've been doing. A life of extremes. Yeah, the extreme way that I like to. Your preferred mode of operation. Yeah, my imbalanced approach to balance.

So, I have to, you know, kind of focus on that a little bit more. And let's also share what happened. What did he say about gluten? Let's just talk about gluten for a minute. Yeah. So, uh, you know, eating gluten free is something that I always recommend, but I don't actually practice a hundred percent. And you've been on me about that lately.

Uh, cause there's, I definitely have room for improvement. And he told me that, and this is a functional medicine doctor and integrative, you know, doctors, not like your typical Western medicine doctor. Like this guy's, uh, you know, has a very holistic approach to how he treats. What are you looking at? What's his name? Do you want to say his name? Robert, uh, how do you say his last name? I don't know. Crochnal. I only know his wife.

Yeah. No, Robert Crochnal. I only know his wife. Yeah. No, Robert Crock. Donna Delory. Um, yeah, he's married to Donna Delory. Yeah. They're a lovely couple, beautiful family. And, um, yeah, I'd like to go see him. He's cool. He was really, really happy. Uh, but he's basically like, listen, if there's one thing that he's like, if you notice any kind of energy dip or, or, or inflammation, like under the skin inflammation as a result of eating gluten, that is the one thing that I would make sure that you get on top of and eradicate from your diet. Completely.

Yeah, according to him, he was saying that, listen, you know, because sometimes my eyes get puffy if I eat gluten, like pizza crust or something like that. Like it's pretty evident, like it's not nothing. And I'll be like, ah, whatever, it's okay. It's no big deal. But he's like, ah, whatever, it's okay, it's no big deal. But he's like, actually, that's kind of a big deal.

It tends to remain in your system for an extended period of time, like up to 30 days to kind of like really cleanse it out of you. That's crazy. And it causes inflammation and all these sorts of things. And so he's like, even if you're just eating gluten like once a week, he goes, your body is perpetually trying to you know

sort of combat the deleterious impact of that so he's like it's really important he's like that's the one thing i would i would if you take away one thing from this right visit that's the thing that you should really and what i would add to that is that uh i just watched a video on YouTube this week, a presentation by Dr. Zach Bush. And he was explaining some of the finer intricacies of gluten and about how, you know, your gut is really your second brain. It's connected to your brain. And Swami Vidya Dishananda had mentioned this, you know, extensively that when you're compromising, uh, your gut, uh, environment, you are compromising your blood brain barrier. And so a lot of this gluten imbalance is being linked to all time, all zymers, Alzheimer's Alzheimer's, which is on me for like saying

Alzheimer's is driving me crazy. So Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's. Sorry, Alzheimer's. I think that's right. Go ahead. So we really have to pay attention to this. Again, there's so much. There's like a big epidemic of this disease.

And there is a link between what is going on in the gut and what is going on in the brain. And we have to pay attention to it. Yeah. So you sent me this video. This guy's name is Dr. Zach Bush. The video is called gut brain injury, how, why, and what you can do about it. And I'll put a link in the show notes up to it so you can watch it. It's, it's an hour long. And Zach is, I'm looking at a webpage now with his credentials. He's Director of Clinical Affairs and Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Hospice and Palliative Care at, where's he located? It looks like Colorado.

I don't know. Oh no, Charlottesville, Virginia. Anyway, I'll put links up to that. You guys can check that out. Yeah, he's really amazing guy. Right, so anyway, 50, I'm in pretty good health. Um, I was most, uh, you know, I was really keen on making sure that my cholesterol levels were good and all of that kind of stuff. So I just, it's relief. It's great. You know,

it's good. And really just to add, I mean, you know, riches, you know, our life these days are, it's not the days when he was training, when, you know, he was training and coming in and fueling and everything was sort of, uh, I guess the attention to what you were eating, what, you know, the super food concoctions that Compton was making you from ascended health. And there was a lot of stuff that we were doing during those training years that we are not doing now. And I also have to add that, uh, because we've been creating cookbooks and because there's so much testing going on, that's sort of for the books. A lot of times, you know, there are periods where the family isn't getting fed on the usual schedule because you're cooking all day and then

dinner comes around and you're like, you're on your own. Yeah. Cause I've, I've given it all, you know, already. So a lot of, sometimes it's good if you're around and I'm testing and you're around and you can grab a meal. That's great. But a lot of times I'm just like, you know, I can't I don't have anything left to give. And so I would say as a whole, you know, we haven't really been watching your nutrition as much and also because of your travel schedule and because of, you know, just the normal things that happen when you travel and you get out of balance. So, you know, I was very pleased to see that the plant-based diet is holding its own and really supporting you, even with, you know, your energetic output, your extreme in your choice of approaching life. It's still doing very well by you. Yeah. So it's been almost 10 years of eating plant-based and turning 50.

And to look at the data and realize like my B12, my D, my iron, like all of these things are well within normal levels. I'm not depleted. I'm not deficient in anything is, is, uh, is quite a relief. And, and also that being on the heels of, you know, not just some travel, like I've been on an airplane like every week for the, like the last seven weeks or something, you know, it's like, I've been traveling constantly. And when you're on the road, yeah, I'm always eating plant-based, but I'm not eating, you know, the Julie Pyatt plant power way cookbook version of

the plant-based diet. Um, so, uh, yeah, it's great. So it was awesome. Well, congrats. I'm super happy to hear that. And also just happy to hear about your heart health, um, just with your, you know, your family lineage and your history. Um, it seems like, uh, your family lineage and your history. Um, it seems like, uh, all the indicators are that, that is not an issue for your life. Yeah. Very happy about that. Uh, all right. You want to talk about Italy? Let's recap that trip. Um, so yeah, we just got back a couple of weeks ago from Tuscany. Actually it's the Chianti region to be clear. But nobody knows Chianti. And if we said Chianti, and then you're a recovering alcoholic, it's kind of like, you know, it's like the wine. We're just going to drink Chianti.

Yeah, like come and drink Chianti. Well, it is the Chianti. Well, anyway, whatever. So yeah, the same location, beautiful villa in central Italy, sort of near Florence, between Florence and Siena, we took another group of 35, 39, 33 people through a seven-day pretty intense experience of transformation. And it was interesting to do it with a different group, but equally powerful and potent and a lot of breakthroughs and just, you know, there's just no replacement for showing up and just going through something super intense and being that intimate with people. Like you can't do it on, it's not going to happen in a webinar or in attending a conference in a ballroom of a hotel, you know, it's like, this is a whole different ball game. And, you know, it's like, this is a whole different ball game and, you know, it's a small group of people. So Julie and I are able to be present and really be, um, up close and personal

and intimate with every single person. And it's just, I can't say enough about how impactful and beautiful that experience was. Yeah. It was just incredibly meaningful. And also, um, this tribe showed up and just representing so many different countries. It was even more international than the first and, uh, you know, siblings that came together, families that came together, you know, a couple celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, um, all kinds of individuals. And, uh, yeah, it's a very magnificent, intimate journey. And there's something that will make it special for all time for your entire life, going to that exotic location and practicing yoga every day,

eating plant-based food and participating in the workshops of really going deeper into your heart, really connecting this trip. We actually did a ritual fire. So we did a ceremony with an offering of flowers and music, and it was really, really beautiful and powerful. And it's just an incredible honor to be able to share in this way and to be able to be gathering this community, this tribe around us. So now we've combined the two groups. So we now have 66 individuals that have had this experience with us who are continuing to interact and see

each other and connect on a closed Facebook group. And it's really cool. They're all visiting each other and hanging out. And, and the, the level of activity and engagement in the Facebook group is really, really cool to see. Yeah. And so Rich and I are doing like one call a month where we check in. And, you know, our intention is after a couple more trips, we're going to mobilize and do something really fun and amazing. We'll see what that is. We'll see what that is. But in the meantime, we just announced our next retreat, which is going to be in Australia February 20th through 27th.

And we're doing that on the West Coast in Western Australia, Smith's Beach Resort. That's right. It's pretty remote. But actually it was really suggested to us by Mel, who is our producer. She's from Australia. And also McClay, our photographer for the plant powerway is also

Australian. And, um, uh, Mel really felt strongly that this was the right place to go. Um, we have a very large following in Australia. We're really excited to come down and meet some of you guys and connect with you. Uh, we definitely felt your love, you know, across the planet for years. Um, so Rich and I have never been to Australia. This'll be our family's first trip there. Um, but we're really looking forward to, um, going deep and connecting and spending some time, uh, in this amazing country that, uh, we know is our tribe. Yeah. It's going to be amazing. I can't wait. Like the only thing about Australia to me that worries me

is that I'm going to love it so much. Maybe we'll come back. I want to come back. And like Australia has everything that I'm into, like water, culture, sun, tropics, like just, you know, the people are so beautiful and friendly. Like, I don't know. Like, it's just, it's like the ultimate place for me.

Like, I can't believe I haven't visited yet. Yeah, it's going to be really incredible. So yeah. So I've already started working on the menu. Um, actually cracked that, uh, open recently. So I've been, uh, creating a few recipes this past weekend and, uh, we'll continue to get that meal plan together for that week. Cool. So let's shift gears a little bit and kind of laser in on what I wanted to talk about today, which is kind of relevant to what's going to be coming up later this week. We're going to Miami for the Seed Food and Wine Festival.

And I did this event last year. It's really great, super fun. So if you guys are listening to this and you're in or near Miami, please come on down. It's going to be great. Julie and I are going, both going and we're presenting multiple times. We're doing a cooking demo together. I'm giving a talk. I'm helping lead a 5k run through Wynwood. Uh, it's going to be super cool. But the really cool thing is that, uh, it's going to mark Julie's first, her virgin experience of giving kind of like a formal keynote sort of talk, right? Like you've done tons of Q and A's and panels and cooking demos

and all of that, but you've never gotten up with like a PowerPoint and like given a formal talk. Yeah. It's kind of freaking me out. So you've been working on your speech. Yeah. Well, I start off the festival. I'm teaching the opening meditation and yoga class. And yeah, they asked me to speak on this topic of staying authentic to your brand, or it's one of the topics that came up when we were brainstorming with the organizers on the phone. And I'm super excited about it because I think it's going to be a talk that I continue to develop and that I refine and that becomes sort of my keynote. You know, you have your keynote of your life.

And I had a really meaningful time working on it. Of course, it's completely a spiritual sermon, really. I really sort of realized that I'm much more of a preacher type than I am, I guess, a business lecturer. Well, the idea of you getting up and like, here are the five things, like it's just comical, right? Like you're going to have to, like I just told you, like know what your outline is or the main topic, the sort of like headers of all the things you want to cover and just give yourself flexibility to riff because the idea of you like following some kind of script or memorizing something, it just makes me laugh because I just don't see that happening. Well, it's also, it's interesting with me because I, I have, I have a very developed and I have a extensive PowerPoint or a slideshow that

Leigh and I put together for the last two weeks. But so, you know, there's a lot of visual and it's there for me if I need it. But if I can really be present and let go of it, usually it's much more effective or something amazing happens that I didn't even know was going to happen. Yeah, that's the way it always is. So let's get into it. I think it's apropos and poignant and a good way to kind of synthesize a lot of the inquiries and questions that come in from listeners on the subject of trying to meld your passion or your devotion to advocacy with your professional career. Because a lot of people are like, I want to be in wellness or I'm super into this lifestyle. How can I craft a career out of that? How can I create something to basically support myself doing the thing that I enjoy doing? Like, what is the what is the roadmap?

What is the response to that, it's a tricky thing to answer because there is no one path or right or wrong way of doing it. So sometimes I'm reticent to answer any of those emails because I don't really know what to tell people. a way of, of continuing to expand, uh, opportunities on the horizon of the things that you're interested in and stepping into a more professional, uh, like vocational, uh, trajectory with that. But it's a game of patience and time. It's not like you can snap your fingers and go, okay, now I'm this person and I'm going to have this expectation that people are going to pay me to provide a service or some kind of, I don't know. But I think that the key aspect of all of it always boils down to authenticity, right? There's a lot of people, especially people online who are sort of purported, you know,

especially people online who are sort of purported, uh, you know, experts or, um, uh, you know, uh, lifestyle entrepreneur pioneers or whatever, who have a lot of, uh, things to say about how you do this. But to me, and this is just me personally, a lot of that like rings, uh, it just rings false to me. Like I, you can see, see and you can feel and you can tell when something doesn't feel authentic. And so for me, the marching orders are and will always be to stay true to who we are and be honest and as transparent as possible about, you know, what we're doing and what we're putting out into the world. Yeah. Well, I think that, you know, one of the points in my presentation, and it's not the, it's not the first step, but really all steps just lead to each other. So

there really is no beginning or end. There's sort of like a circle of information or of a journey, which is all connected and interconnected. But, uh, I think we have to decide or identify ourselves. Are we warriors of wellness or are we, uh, business entrepreneurs? Like, which is it, which is motivating your choices, your decisions, uh, why you want to be in this field. And let's face it, there's a lot of money in wellness right now. So it's attractive, like, you know, corporates, corporations are taking note and that's great because we need more people to be involved in wellness and in this system or this planet or in this country. It's through your dollar, voting with your dollar. So that has tremendous power.

But it kind of goes back to when you and I were dismantled. And, you know, we had basically been financially everything ripped away from us, and we were being called to show up in ways in a certain purity that we had never experienced before. And yet we were still judging ourselves based on the lifestyles of our other friends that were heavily mired in the system of, I would say, old paradigm business. And I remember talking to you and saying that, you know, it was really violent. We were really being violent to ourselves because we had made this decision to serve our hearts above all and to hold this extreme faith despite all appearances to the opposite. And yet, you know, there were moments

where we were feeling like we were complete losers because we didn't have health insurance, or because our cars got repossessed, or because we couldn't pay our mortgage, or because we couldn't take our kids on vacation for the fifth, sixth, seventh year in a row. And I remember us saying, me saying to you, like, we can't, you can't play both games. Like you can't say I'm a spiritual warrior and I'm here for the ultimate, like realization, upliftment and transformation of humanity and guardianship of the earth. And then say, I'm so bummed that, you know, I'm not driving a Porsche, you know, or whatever, whatever it is. So I think this is an important kind of perspective that we can shift, which will be more supportive to you in the process. And again, I mean, when I started to write this presentation, you know, my first slide after the opening slide is the question, who am I?

You know, my first slide after the opening slide is the question, who am I? You know, who am I? So, you know, I'm joking that if we knew the answer to that question really truly, we would probably explode into a puff of smoke and fully realize and leave this dimension because that is the million dollar spiritual seeker question, right? But there is an opportunity to change your perspective. And again, in every single experience of life, it's your perspective that you bring to it, that informs your experience. So you can have many perspectives about who am I? I mean, in this human body,

uh, you know, it could be, I'm a spiritual being having human experience. Um, it could be, uh, the 2.0.

I'm a multidimensional being having a simultaneous experience. Uh, it could also be towards that one. I'm not quite there. I mean, all of us, but if you even just can imagine or just think of it as a funny movie, like what if, you know, what if only a small part of me was living in this body? And what if there's a vast universe of experience that is also connected to me that is there for me to play and to experience? For me, it just makes it's like you you take more of a bird's eye view, more of a mature view by by expanding out. And this lifts a lot of the pressure and the depression of of living a human life, because let's face it, it's very tedious and very difficult to earn a living, to be a part of this system.

And, you know, that's for those of us that are extremely privileged, like everyone listening to this podcast. But there are millions of other people that are literally starving, you know, literally not even able to have food. And, you know, this brings you back to the importance of being a true wellness warrior and somebody who is promoting, you know, plant-based sustainability on the planet? And really, what is the possibility of that? The possibility that we could actually feed all our brothers and sisters if we were able to affect that. And so each of us is needed in our own way. You know, all of us have a certain fragment or fractal of that crystal to share. And that's why we shouldn't judge other people that are

moving in the field. Because everybody has a different voice, just like John Joseph, you know, he has a very specific voice. Some people find that voice intense, it is intense, but you know, we adore him completely. But he's speaking to a very specific group of people that i do not speak to so of course we're both needed it's not like he's wrong and i'm right so in terms of of distilling this down into some kind of tactile takeaways, like if somebody's listening to this and they're like, they do want to step into some kind of wellness, professional, occupational capacity, but they're in their current job and they're afraid. Okay, so I know you're in their current job and they're afraid. Like, what is it? Okay, so I know you're going to be shocked. What does it pay out?

I mean, I think that, you know, from a theoretical perspective to say, okay, you do have to be like what implicit and kind of between the lines of what you're saying is like the first and foremost, the most important thing that you need to do is that internal work like that, that self-inquiry, you know, the who are you. Like the it's not it's not so much arriving at the destination of that answer, but it's the commitment to the search that developing and expanding self-awareness. And that's the way you're going to answer this question for yourself. Not in like, oh, go to this website or, you know, here's the underappreciated market opportunity. Yeah.

So it's a daily commitment. It's a moment to moment commitment. It's a process. It's a practice, right? To bring yourself back to that question, to, you know, participating in experiences that help you to peel off layers and layers of that experience, because it goes on forever. It will even go on beyond this life into your next experience. It's not, there's no end game in the eternal search for who am I, you know, so it's just going to keep going. But I happen to have 15 steps. You do?

I do. I actually do. I know you're shocked. That is really, that of all the wacky stuff that you talk about, that might be the most shocking, but you actually have 15 steps. I don't know if I'm going to use it, but I do have 15. So 15 steps to your authentic life. Do you want me to share them or is 15 too much? I'll share a couple. I've just discovered this is now the title of this podcast.

Exactly. 15 steps to your authentic life. There you go. Okay. So this will trend. So what I would say is, you know, every brand has a mission statement, right? So the mission statement of your brand, what is it? And, you know, there's all kinds of executives you can pay, you know,

tons of money to, to help you distill down what is your mission. But when I was reflecting on it and meditating on what is the ultimate mission of a life, a life realized or a life of joy or victory is simply to know yourself, right? And for me, that's such a beautiful setup of creation that you would get to focus so intently on what your blueprint is, like what is living inside your heart, that you would be able to maybe discover some aspect of that, maybe fully realize it,

or maybe even get to various levels of truth within that statement. So the question is though, but how, how would you be able to, this is step two. This is step one. That was just the opening. So this is step one. So step one would be that it begins with a prayer. Okay. So, uh, it would begin with a prayer and it would require that you be devoted to your brand. And I'm using brand because it's kind of a business talk, but it's your life. So it would be the question, how can I serve? How can I serve my highest aspect? And it might be an aspect of a prayer like, beloved life, lead me, direct me, guide me for the highest use of my being as a vessel of your divine light, as my true authentic blueprint.

I like that. I also like how you change your voice. When I'm saying the prayer? Yeah. Voice matters too, how you say it matters. So you could tell that I was giving you that feeling, that emotion. It's the feeling tone that matters when you're calling, crying. So a prayer is a call, a yearning, a cry to your deeper self. So depending on the depth of your devotion,

if you were really game and you really wanted to get with this in a really committed way, I would suggest consider saying that prayer on your knees. This kind of posture of reverence, of true devotion, I think is one that can benefit us greatly as humans. I don't think we're in that bhava or that emotion of humility, maybe as often as would be supportive for us. So are you ready for step two? Yeah. Are we going to go through all 15? I don't know if we have time. Yeah. You can cut me off though. Cause it's your show. Well, cool. Well, I don't know if we're going to be, well, let's see what's two. Okay. So two is, um, understand that your dreams are both significant and completely insignificant. So it's this thing of understanding that in the grand scheme of things, you know, how important is your idea for your brand or really how important is your life if you're really

looking at this cosmic, what I want to say, like universe of unlimited life forms. So it's good to understand. I think this awareness gives us a humility and a reverence and a respect for being part of this greater collective, but also understanding that whatever you came here to serve, we may be asked to offer that up or to accept that our will is not the divine will. And it's not about what we want to happen. It's about the role we play in the greater scheme. Right. And that allows you to detach from the results of your endeavors and also perhaps not take yourself too seriously. Yeah. Have a little humor, relax. So I like that. Okay.

Step three. Ready for this one? Yeah. Okay. Do they get harder? It's not a harder, easier thing. And they're actually not linear. Like it could be be there they could happen in any order well nothing with you is linear i'd be shocked like again it's like julie julie's version of making a list looks like some kind of crazy uh jackson pollock-esque like diagram of circles that's right and it's always made perfect sense to me but okay okay. Step three, sacred union within. So again, uh, this is about an inside job. It's, it's about understanding that we both have masculine and feminine energies existing within us. It is, uh, our mission to integrate these balance these and develop both of them because both of these are needed. So it doesn't mean that if you're a man, that to be a man, that means you're always, you know, aggressive and system oriented and, you know, handling stuff and never getting

emotional. And if you're a woman, it doesn't mean that because you're feminine, you're helpless, or you never speak up or you never offend anybody. So we have to learn how to balance both of these and understand that it's about the inner relationship that is the primary and first priority in all things. It's not the last step. It's the first step in this. It's actually step three here, but you know what I meant. Right. How was that? All right. That was good. Let's keep rocking through it. Okay. Step four. So step four is to be, it's a word that I actually, uh, came out with on this podcast. Um, instead of the word selfish, I use the word self full. Uh, and I think this is really important that we be very self full. And I think this is set up this way. It's the key to merging with your authenticity.

And until you really go into this exploration of who you are, you can't really discover your blueprint, which makes it impossible for you to serve at a very elevated level. And as I believe deeply in nature and in the divinity of all things, I believe in you and you are nature's perfection and you exist for a reason, for a very specific reason. So this inward gaze and journey of self-discovery should be celebrated and should be encouraged. So being selfful is, you know, a key step. So being selfful is, you know, a key step. And just in terms of translating that, really what you're saying is it's okay to prioritize yourself, right, in terms of this journey of exploring what's most important to you and finding a way to express that. Yeah, definitely.

And I think a lot of times in spiritual ideas or concepts, we think that we should put others before ourselves. And that's very true if you are at a level of evolution, you can't really serve another person until you've taken care of yourself. And I think, you know, you could say that many of us are self-involved. And again, I think it's because that's by design. And another thing that you hear a lot in spiritual circles is that, you know, you have to kill the ego. And the truth of the matter is that you need an ego to exist in the body at all. If you didn't have any ego, you wouldn't even be in a body. You wouldn't even be here. So I think we need to cultivate the positive aspects of ego and possibly become a witness or an observer of some of the more negative aspects of ego. So, um, ego is there for a reason. And, you know, if you were created in a way, or you enjoy certain things, um, you know, certain expressions in life, there may be a reason that you do right. Because, uh, your work or your mission requires that you

have that skill or that comfort level. In terms of the service piece of what you were talking about, there's an adage in recovery, you cannot transmit something you haven't got, right? So you're not in a position to help somebody else out unless you have a certain level, like you said, maturity, but also experience and knowledge, something to give, right? That would be productive. Just availing yourself, making yourself available to somebody else. Isn't necessarily the best path. If you don't have, uh, the valuable asset to convey, right. So, so you have, and again, that goes back to, um, being self-full and being committed to that, that interpersonal work so that you can develop

that interior life and, and, and, and live your life in a way where you are accumulating experiences that have some sort of shared value when expressed and conferred on other people. Yeah, absolutely. True. Step five is make space for you. Um, You have to make space to find yourself, to discover yourself, to connect with your voice, your inner voice. And so some of the ways that we do this is obviously through meditation, which we talk about, you know, a lot. This is the act of connecting, of listening to your soul. Also, I find the Vedic birth chart to be extremely fantastic to sort of unlock and uncover your dispositions, what you are predisposed to. It's quite an amazing tool.

I highly recommend it. If you're looking for a Vedic astrologer, you can email cb Charlotte Benson dot com. She's an amazing astrologer, very Western. She has tons of titles and she's like the best kind of practical aunt. And she will just lay it on you. And you might really enjoy that. And then finally, as tea ceremony, you know, you guys know Wuda now well.

When he was on my podcast recently, we were talking about, he was talking about making space for peace and about how if you don't make space for peace, you can't experience peace. And so again, this is a spiritual practice. It's waking up at 4.30 in the morning. It's deciding not to watch Law & Order or Netflix and instead doing a 30-minute meditation before you go to bed and programming your sleep, telling your soul,

speak to me, lead me, guide me. You know, I'm here for you. I'm listening, this type of thing. How do you like that step? I like that. Keep going. Keep rolling. Okay, step six is power up your connection. And this is something we experienced on the retreat in Italy. We were so blessed because we know Giovanni and Francesco so well from all the years of going to the farm.

They're the proprietors. Yeah, of Aisolana, the beautiful brothers. They're like my brothers. And we asked them, I said, Francesco, can I build a fire, please, in the olive grove? And he was like, Julie, of course. So he went, that's how he kind of sounds when I imitate him. So he went and he got all these stones and we built a sacred fire with Leah. We had Jennifer, who is an Ayurvedic practitioner who works with Dr. Vasant Lad

and very skilled in ceremonial fire creation, which was amazing. So anyway, we put together a fire and a lot of people told me later that they had never experienced that. And we have to remember that ceremony is part of our ancestry. It's part of our lineage. And you don't need permission from a priest, a shaman, from me, from anybody to pay reverence or homage or honor or love your dreams, your desires, and your loved ones. And, you know, much like the experience Rich and I shared about the transition of my father, hope, a desire, or a loved one that you care about. I have seen these rituals pay off. They do work. The issue is they are not immediate gratification.

So you have to be able to apply extreme faith and consistency and you will see miracles happen in your life. Your, your devotion to creating ceremony around things throughout the course of our marriage and our relationship has been pretty consistent. And it's something that I wouldn't have done on my own. Like you're always like, we're going to like tonight, it's going to be about this. And you make a big to do and you're like, here's what we're going to do. people. And I think it speaks to this innate, you know, genetically hardwired disposition that I think we all have that gravitates towards that kind of thing. There's a need that we have for that. And we've really moved away from it in our culture. Like it's almost disappeared. Like the idea that young men go through some kind of, you know, initiation procedure to be sort of ceremoniously inducted into manhood or what have you.

Like we don't really, we have perfunctory versions of those in our life and we have holidays and things like that, but that's not the same thing. But the truth is, is that it's available to you if you decide that you want to do it and create it in your own life. It's true. And I think that there's another element to this that is literally vital to the health of the family and the health of our children. And listen, we're a modern family. I mean, I'm doing this stuff sometimes and the kids are laughing or rolling their eyes. Like, I'm not really like strict about it.

It's not like super serious all the time. But I will say that the fact that I've done it consistently for so many years, my kids do have an awareness to spiritual connection and they're at different, you know, ages and processes and some are more into it than others are. But I still have always held that sacred fire in the home and that example. And I feel like it is the spiritual connection that we are missing that is leading to much of the disconnection and much of the trauma that is experienced in a human life.

I taught yoga this morning to about 10 seventh graders, uh, at Muse. And it was, it was fascinating because it was a, it was a free forum. Like they could choose to join or not. And the boys didn't want to come at first, or at least most of the boys. And they were being very, very disruptive and really trying to disrupt. And I just went in my way and it was fascinating because in about five minutes, the yoga postures had quieted them almost 80%. Like literally the energy just took them quiet. So, you know, this is something that as parents and as families, this is part of our, of us, it's part of who we are. And it doesn't have to be in a yogic sense. If you don't relate to that, it can just be like with nature, making an offering or saying thank you to nature for

having blessed you. Um, I can't express, I really think this power of ritual is really something that, uh, we need to reconnect with at a, at a deeper level. And how do you anchor that back to this idea of, you know, creating an authentic brand? How did, I mean, how is it relevant? Yeah. It's relevant in helping you realize your dreams. You know, it's like, for instance, with you, when I first met you, I bought a crystal actually from Gustav, from my dear friend, Gustav Schindler, who passed away a couple of weeks ago. And it was a large citrine and it had the qualities of, of, of certain things that represented you. And for how many years have I known you? 18 years. For 18 years, every morning it sits in a total silver bowl of sacred water and it's washed and it is

blessed and chanted on for your highest evolution that is done every morning and i offer flowers and i offer drops of flower of like rose essence on it. And almost every single day that act has been done for you without you even knowing about it. I appreciate that. It's crazy, but you know, it's really powerful too, you know, and, and what a beautiful thing that I can do that. And, uh, it's, you know, you can do that for your kids. You can do that for yourself. You know, I did that for my house. I mean, one of the reasons I think that I was triumphant after five years of not being able to pay mortgage house insurance or property taxes, and we're still here in the house. I did a lot of ceremony on that lingam in the front of the house, a lot of crazy stuff

I did. And, you know, I mean, even linking it to beaches on Kauai, where we were later taken to that exact beach. So I have seen this materialized in physical form. There is a whole David realm, there are whole other energies that are working with us in a life. And they're waiting for us to connect with them. And when we do, and when we have a sincere heart, uh, you know, I have experienced my life as miraculous in many ways. As have I. Are you ready for step 10? Thank you. Yeah. Like, well, I'm just sitting here thinking like, are we really going to do 15? Like, I don't think we can go, let's not go through 15,

but I think you should pick like maybe two, maybe, you know, maybe two more important things. Well, we're coming up on an hour here. Yeah. Well, what do you want? I thought you were long form. No, we're going, I thought you were into like a long conversation. We're going to, we're going to like land this plane at 60 minutes. Okay, fine. All right. What we can do if you're open to it is I can, uh, I can embed these 15 steps, uh, in the show notes so people can, uh, can see them if you're willing to do that. Yeah, sure. That's cool. But maybe drill down on like two of the, you know, the most important remaining aspects of this. It's all important. So I can't really pick. I mean, I would say... What's the last one? The last one.

Well, this is a good one. I would say that these are three really important questions to apply when making every decision about your life or your brand. And the first one is, what am I doing? The second is, why am I doing it? And the third is, is it in the highest divine alignment? Those three questions should be applied to everything you do. I think the why has to even come before the what.

Well, yeah. I mean, that could be. You know. No. What am I? You have to know what you're doing before you know why you're doing it. I guess that's true, right? Yeah.

You could do the why. You could be very confused for a long time if you did why first. But I think most people don't put enough attention or focus on the why. Yeah, I understand. You mean like what, exactly, like what is your mission? Your mission is to know yourself or to serve your source. So yeah, you should know that ahead of time. But whatever you're doing, like I'm starting a'm starting a business or I am, uh, you know, gonna train for a marathon or I'm going to lose 50 pounds, whatever it is like your goal or your mission statement or your sort of journey towards whatever it is you're working towards. A lot of people just, you know, sort of propel themselves forward because they're inspired or they just think it's a good idea, but there's not enough

thought put into like, okay, well, why, why am I doing this? Why is this important to me? What is it about this? That's, that's drawing me, you know, that's magnetizing me in this direction. And let's, you know, let's dissect it and really look at, at it because, you know, behind that initial motivation, there's something else, like maybe there's a pain that needs to be healed or, or, or something deeper than, you know, I want to run a marathon or I want to lose 10 pounds. Like, well, what's, why is that important? What's behind that? And then what's behind that? And then what's behind that? Right. And that goes back to your first step, which is like, who are you? And like, what are you doing? Yes. Beautifully said. Agreed. So the last step

that I'm going to share is step 13. You'll have to guess what all those other steps were in between, but it's basically, um, make your hell your sacred moment. It's up to you. We could do a whole hour on that. We do two hours on that well let's do it i'll come back on your show anytime you invite me okay dig into it though so you know the lotus grows from mud right so um the questions are are you courageous enough to receive this as sacred this horror this trauma whatever this life event like it takes tremendous courage to flip it and to make it sacred and say, this is my sacred moment. This takes an immense responsibility to transform it, but it's an incredible blessing to humanity, I think to the collective, because when you have

the courage to take responsibility and transform it, you have not wasted the opportunity. So when a tragedy occurs, there's in fact the possibility of two tragedies. First, the tragedy that happens, and then the fact that you would not be able to seize the opportunity and transform it. So, so you would not be able to, uh, to perceive it as a sacred moment. There's the, there's the tragedy that happens. And then there's the story you tell yourself about what that is and what that means.

Right. And if it's, and if you haven't found a way to rise, to transform it and to raise it up to a level of spiritual meaning, spiritual significance, and use that for your transformation, for your community's transformation, for those around you, then in a sense, it's two tragedies. So a very intelligent thing to do, I feel, and this is speaking from my own experience, is to choose a spiritual perspective in the face of all things, good, bad, ugly, beautiful. And as we know, it's not what happens to you, but who you become in the process or who you are in the face of what happens to you that truly matters. And I have a very extreme example, a very profound example that stopped me in my tracks. The other night I watched this amazing documentary called Human. And I'm not sure who the director is. I apologize for that. Maybe you could look that up.

Oh yeah. You emailed it to me and I pulled it up. So it's a beautiful film and it's a beautiful film of the collective and of humanity and also of the earth. And there's a gentleman, there's a young, young man. The director, the director's name is Jan Artus Bertrand.

I assume he's French. Jan or maybe Bertrand. Yeah. Jan Y French. Jan, or maybe. Bertrand. Yeah. Jan, Y-A-N-N. But I'll put a link to this. This is just volume one of the extended version. It's so worth your watch. It's so worth watching it.

Quite beautiful. But there's an individual in the movie who is a beautiful man who is very emotional. And he talks about a woman who loved him completely and who changed his life and as he's talking uh you find that the woman who is loved him completely and unconditionally is the mother of the woman and children that he murdered. And she chose to become a master. Really, that's a master move. That's a move of a being that is beyond human. Yeah, it's like super Jedi. Yeah, it was truly breathtaking.

Did she evolve to that perspective or did she always hold that space? It's not known because of the way the film is presented um it's it's not known i don't know i i only know you only see the man and you see the level of his gratitude that he had been loved this much i mean think of the immensity of that emotion. If you had done such a thing and someone had loved you that much. And that is one of the rare instances in human life that I think that woman expressed what is close to how God loves us. Yeah, that's beautiful. To kind of bring that back to this idea of embracing the divine moment and using that as a catalyst for growth and change and evolution and expansion,

you know, this is something we've talked about a lot on the podcast, right? But that idea of transcending the typical story that you would tell yourself and others about this thing that happened to you, and instead leveraging the potential energy of it to shift into that higher version of who you are, who you could be, or how you, how you've always dreamed yourself to become is, is really the path that I wish upon everybody. Right. And I think it's a consistent recurring theme in, in so many of the guests that I've had on the podcast, everybody from, you know, Charlie Engel, his whole thing was like, it's a consistent recurring theme in so many of the guests that I've had on the podcast. Everybody from Charlie Engel, his whole thing was like, it's not what happens to you. It's what you do in the face of that. uh, telecom retail stores, trying to sell cell phones to five-year-olds and, you know, trying to accumulate as many things as he possibly could. And then his mother died of cancer. He was

very close with his mother and his, his marriage dissolved. And, you know, he could have told a whole tale of well around that, but instead he, he, uh, he was able to, you know, access the potential energy of those, uh, two events that happened in rapid succession to look at himself more honestly in the mirror and do an inventory and make change and realize that he'd always wanted to be a writer and that that was his moment to step into that. And now he's got a readership in the millions and is doing this thing that he loves. That's, that's improving the lives of people all over the world. to change that story or to leverage or access that, those events to transport us into a different realm.

Definitely beautifully put. So I think that's a good place to wrap it up. I think so. Am I over 60 minutes? We're at exactly an hour. That makes you happy. I think we went through how many of your points? Six or so.

Yeah. Something like that. So this went into new terrain because it was like your authentic brand. Here's how you're going to create your authentic brand. But this is deeper work. Of course. This is about who you are. Of course. And of course, that is the path to creating your authentic brand.

Exactly. path to creating your authentic brand. Exactly. But this is the work, the real work required that will literally transform your life and skyrocket you into a different dimension of this earthly experience. It's true. All right. Well, will you come back on my podcast sometime? Sure. I'd love to. Rich Roll. Excellent. Thanks for having me on. Yes. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening. We'll be back with our regularly scheduled programming of long-form interviews with paradigm-breaking minds and personalities coming up next week. Until then, thank you so much to everybody who has subscribed to the show. Please leave a review on iTunes if you have a moment and subscribe if you haven't done so already.

Thank you to everybody who has done that and has patronized the show by using the Amazon banner ad at richroll.com for all your Amazon purchases and for everybody who has contributed through our Patreon account. We love you and appreciate you. Continue to spread the love and I'll continue to try to improve and get better in this podcasting forum to bring you the best content I possibly can. And until then, be well.

Any parting words? Don't you say peace plants or is that over? That's the very end. I haven't gotten to that part yet. No one gets to talk after I do that. So I'm giving you your opportunity to share a final thought before I close this bad boy down. No, I'm just uh i think i shared everything so thanks for listening and uh hope to see you guys soon all right peace namaste plants Thank you.