The Rich Roll Podcast - How To Pursue Your Dream When Your Partner Is Non-Supportive | Ask Me Anything |

Episode Date: December 18, 2014

And now for something completely different… In an effort to create a little more intimacy, a little more community, and a little more connection with you — the audience — I thought I would open the show up to your burning questions. Talk about what you want to talk about for a change. A few weeks back I put the word out for question submissions and you responded — our inbox was flooded with e-mails. So here we are. My first spin with a Q&A format. I picked a handful of queries I thought would make for an interesting and broadly applicable discussion, asked Julie to occupy the co-pilot seat (talking into a microphone alone is really hard, and not that fun) and we gave it our all to answer your questions to the best of our collective abilities. Topics discussed and questions answered pivot around the following: How to pursue your dream when your partner is non-supportive; How to escape an unfulfilling career when you don't know what you really want; How to balance physical fitness against spiritual fitness; How to manage extended family put off by your life choices and dietary preferences; and How to raise a healthy toddler plant-based. Special thanks and shoutout to Jen B., Tommy F., Pete D., Dawn and Hugh for the great questions. Not sure about whether or not you want to be identified publicly, so I'm going to err on the side of anonymity. Did you guys like the episode? Is this format something you think I should I do it again? Was it too long? Too short? How about rotating guests for co-pilot duty?  If the demand exists and I continue to get great submissions from you, then I’ll keep doing it. Maybe not every week, but we’ll see. In the interim, send your questions for an (anticipated) future episode to: [e-mail] and leave your comments below. Peace + Plants, Rich

Welcome to the Rich Roll Podcast, episode 119, Ask Me Anything with Julie Pyatt. The Rich Roll Podcast. Hey, everybody. Welcome to the podcast. My name is Rich Roll. I'm your host. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks for listening. Thanks for spreading the word with your friends, your colleagues,

your coworkers, your pastor, your yoga teacher, your therapist, your swim coach. Who else? Your babysitter. Your babysitter, your nutty relatives, your crazy uncle. Thanks for sharing the show. Thanks for tweeting. Thanks for Facebooking. Thanks for Snapchatting, Instagramming, whatever all the crazy kids are doing these days. And thank you for subscribing to my newsletter at richroll.com.

And thank you for supporting the show by clicking through the Amazon banner ad at richroll.com for all your Amazon purchases. Come on, you guys, it's holiday season. You know you're gonna buy stuff on Amazon, especially last minute, right? Just take that extra moment to click through the banner ad on our site, or better yet, bookmark it on your browser. Then you don't have to go to my website. It's just right up there at the top. And that way, we get a little credit. We get a little love from Amazon for that purchase. It doesn't cost you guys anything extra. You support what we're doing. It's happy holidays all the way around. All right. It doesn't take

any extra time on your part. Today's episode is brought to you by us. We're running a sale right now through December 20th. So a couple of days left, 10% off on all our groovy t-shirts. We've got some cool new designs up there. We have the California flag motif with the awesome Rhino plant powered t-shirt. We have the peace and plant shirt. Some of them are on back order. They've been super popular. So apologies to those who have purchased and we're temporarily out of stock. We're doing everything in our power to get them back in stock as soon as possible. But there's still plenty of good stuff up there. We're offering two for one on our B12.

$10 off our repair, post-workout, athletic recovery, plant-based protein supplement. And you know what we have. We got all that other stuff, those digital products, the e-cookbook, the meditation program, signed copies of Finding Ultra, all of that great jazz. All right. So you know this show is about unpacking the tools necessary to live your best life, to live more excellent. So each week, generally, I sit down with the best and the brightest and the most forward

thinking paradigm busting minds in health, wellness, fitness, sports, nutrition, the arts, entrepreneurialism, entrepreneurism, entrepreneurism or entrepreneurialism? I think it's entrepreneurialism. But don't ask me. Yeah, to tap their experience, their knowledge, and their insights to help you discover, uncover, unlock, and unleash your best, most authentic self. However, caveat, this episode right now that we're doing is something a little bit different. It's kind of an experiment. I threw it out to you guys a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to play around and experiment with this idea of doing a question and answer format show. So that's what we're here doing today. I asked you guys to send me some questions and that's what you did. So we're going to give this

a try and see how it goes. If it goes well, if you guys like it, if we enjoy doing it, if there's a positive response to all of this, then we'll continue to do it. As long as you guys still show interest by sending us great questions by email, remember, send those questions to findingultra at gmail.com. And then I'll keep doing it. Maybe not every week, but we'll see because I'm trying to get the show up to two episodes a week. That's the goal in 2015. So anyway, the idea is to create a little bit more intimacy, a little greater connection between what we're doing here and what you guys are doing out there. Create a little bit more of a connect, some community around this message that we're

trying to promote. And this is for you guys, right? So we're trying to, I don't know, give you guys what you guys want, I suppose, right? Yeah, just connect deeper and find out what you want to know and see, you know, how we can communicate with you guys. Right. And on that note, we're actually in the middle of redesigning my website, which is pretty exciting. The new iteration is going to be super awesome. Yeah. And we're considering a couple new additions to it, one of which is the idea of adding a forum to the website. That way we could start discussion threads and be a great place for me to answer certain

questions that I get all the time so I don't have to keep answering them. And then you guys have a place to go to either discuss the podcast or ask your questions or talk about nutrition, whatever you want to do. So let me know if you think that that's something you'd be into, if that's something that's worth our time to build. Leave a comment on the blog about that, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts, right? Yeah, absolutely.

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So what's going on, Julie? I don't know, man. It's almost the holidays. They're almost here again. It is indeed. So we already had that one episode where we talked about- We talked about all that. How to navigate that. So we don't need to recap that.

We're going to keep this short today. We're going to keep it focused. So, okay. Hyper focused. Is that a note? I don't know how long we're going to go. I think we're going to experiment with a shorter format sort of episode here. So you want like short, concise answers?

We'll just see. If I start turning into a blowhard, who knows how long this will go. That's usually what happens. Should I give you the sign? Okay. Sort of episode here. So you want like short, concise answers? Well, we'll just see. If I start turning into a blowhard, who knows how long this will go. That's usually what happens. Should I give you the sign? Should I like raise our sign? I'm just gonna take the signals from the ether. Okay, good.

But why don't we just jump right into a question? So we got a bunch of cool questions. I sifted through them and just tried to grab a bunch that we could address. There were so many great ones. So obviously, I'm not going to get to everybody's. But I tried to pick ones that seemed to speak to, if there was a bunch of different questions that kind of seemed to be on the same subject, that would be one that I would pick. And so here's one.

I'm just going to pick one from the pile in no particular order. And I don't know whether I should be- Who is this from? I know. Should I- Who sent this question in? I don't know if I should give their name or they should be anonymous. I think you should just give first name. Some of them are pretty forthcoming. Yeah. Actually, this one... Oh, yeah. This is from Hugh. Hi, Hugh. We'll give the first name.

I want to say hi, Hugh. Thanks for sending your question in. Hi, Hugh. Yeah. Thanks so much. Nice name. Thanks, everybody, for sending your questions in, by the way. I'm not going to read the whole email because it's pretty long. I want to hear all of it. You do? Well... No, I'm kidding. I've been following and evolving a plant-based diet for the last nine to 10 months, and I'm quite strict on what I eat. However, my family, although they don't put me down, are not as supportive when it comes to them.

So it's the holidays, and they are coming to visit. I'm going to put on some great food. However, when I informed them that there will be no meat, I was shocked to hear from my own mother, how come we have to cater to your needs, but you won't cater for ours? It's a one-way street. So the question is how to deal with this. And just as a little, the email goes on, but basically the backstory is that Hugh comes from a family that's not that close. And of course they love each other, but his friends seem to be more supportive than his sort of, you know, bloodline family. And is this just life or is it, he's feeling like, is this just him or is this? Hugh, this is not just you. This is life. This is often the life or is it, he's feeling like, is this just him or is this? Hugh, Hugh, this is not just you.

This is life. This is, this is often the way it is. And I think that many people that sort of incarnated to catalyze a change in many different areas will find themselves in a family where they kind of feel like the odd man out or the black sheep or the only one that's going down a certain path. So I definitely don't think that it's just you. I think this is very, very typical. Yeah, I would agree with that as well. But in terms of like how to navigate kind of what's coming his way, like, you know, for somebody to kind of put on you like, hey, you know, we go out

of our way to make you feel comfortable when you come to our house, and now we come to your house, and you're not going to cater to us? You're being selfish. Like, what is the sort of conscious response to that to kind of not have it turn into some kind of explosion and create the most harmony that I suppose you could in that situation? you know, the most harmony that I suppose you could in that situation. Well, I guess this is a little bit of a challenging one in a way, because I mean, I would say probably from a core stance is that, and I've said this before and I stand by it, it's like you prepare in your home what is in alignment with you because it's your house. And so that's kind of where I stand sort of in the broader sense. But I'm trying to feel into the fact that he has parents who have tried, I'm assuming from

the question, to prepare some plant-based foods that he could eat when they come to his home, when they come to their home. And so I am kind of feeling that they feel like there's a, there's a disparity there between, um, between the two. So, um, wow. It's tricky, right? This is a little tricky. I mean, you've always been like, I mean, I remember earlier in our journey, uh, you've always had that opinion of like, this is our house, this is, this is our house and I'm going to cook what, you know, what this is. If somebody comes into our house, they're going to get a taste of the way that we live. Like, I'm not going to bend, you know, to make somebody feel.

Well, I mean, it's like, I just remember one example. We were going to have a, we were having a barbecue and we had a bunch of Aussies and New Zealanders coming over, some big meat eaters. And I was like, come on, we got to, we got to like, this was very early on. And it was like, I was like, we got to, gotta, we gotta, yeah, it was like when Macca was all these guys were coming over and I was like, I want them to feel comfortable. Like, you know, we should cook what they're accustomed to. Like I want some shrimps and you're like, no way, you know, like, no, I'm going to cook them, you know, plant-based meal and they're going to like

it. Cause that's what we do here. And I was like, all right, you know, and then that's kind of better than the policy. They actually did. But I think it's, it's trickier when it's your mom, you know? I mean, I guess I would say it depends on you, how you really feel about it. I mean, if you really, if you really feel like you're in a place in your journey that, you know, to actually cook meat in your kitchen is really just not in alignment with you and you feel, you feel strongly about it, then, you know, I would, with you and you feel, you feel strongly about it, then, you know, I would, I would support you in that. And, but if you, if you're sort of, you know, meandering down this path and you, you could also prepare, um, an organic piece of meat, you know, as sustainably, um, you know,

produced as you can find. Um, and you could do it, do it in the spirit of service to your mother. Because you can transmute anything with the intention and the feeling. So if you wanted to, you could take that approach. I think it's a really personal thing and it's a gut check because he's saying like, look, he's been doing this for nine or 10 months. He's been really quite strict about it. So this is important to him. And they're coming over to his house. And maybe for him to bend that rule for somebody else is a dangerous place for him to slip back into old patterns. And I think you just have to do a gut check and what feels right to you. And if it doesn't feel right to you to prepare those kinds of foods in your house, then you have to toe that line. And I think you can try to navigate the issue in the most graceful way that you can, in the way that you interact with your parents.

Just say, listen, this is really important to me. It's been very difficult for me to make this transition. I'm feeling really good. And this is just something that's super important to me. And if you feel like you have to have meat, if that's your need, not a preference, but your need, then, you know, I can take you to some restaurants or, you know, you can try to accommodate them in other ways outside, you know, the sort of parameters of your domicile. Another thing you could do is you could, you know, you could express all of that. And then you could say, you know, while I'm not able to prepare some meat for you, if you want

to bring your own meat and you, you know, you could bring it in because it's, it's different if you're cooking it in the house and in the smells going everywhere than if you were to bring something in. So that, that would be another option. But the other thing you could do is just say, you know, mom, I love you. And I'm going to do everything in my power to prepare the best, you know, most tasty and generous meal that I can muster. I mean, when I read other parts of this email, though, I uh, that Hughes parents are not exactly super supportive of some of the things that he's tried to do in his life to improve himself. And if that's the case, then that, that sort of tips the scale for me in favor of just, you know, basically, uh, making sure that he creates a healthy boundary around himself and the rules that kind of permeate his living space.

Right. And so I look at it like. You're like me now. Well, I mean, I kind of like if I take the, you know, of course, I'm always looking at everything through the eyes of a recovering alcoholic. So it's like, all right, we'll swap out, swap out meat for alcohol. And it's like, I'm sober. Like we don't have alcohol in our house.

You know, does that mean that I have to, like, if, if I had relatives coming over who insisted that they needed to drink in my house, like, do I have to accommodate that? And I'd be like, no, that's not, that's not okay with me. You know, sometimes I can be around it and it's fine, but, but why would I welcome that, you know, into my home just because I want to make them, you know, I don't know. Like I just, I would probably toe the line on that and say, no, like if they want to drink, they can go elsewhere. But in my house, that's like not really like something that I want to be around. Right. That's a perspective.

Do you think that that's, do you think we answered his question okay? I think we did. But Hugh, I also just want to say too, that remembering to keep an energy of loving compassion and non-judgment around everyone in your family who is wherever they are in their path, you know, softness and accepting energy around you, the more healing for everybody. And everyone's just where they're at. So it's okay if they don't completely get where you're at. And it's also okay that they're where they're at in their own journey. Right. I mean, part of this is about, you know, wanting their approval and sort of understanding like, well, you may never get it the way that you want it and create a healthy boundary around yourself and get to a place where you don't require that in order to like feel okay. You know what I mean? Like where you can be non-reactive to them and they're going to say

whatever they're going to say and they're going to push that button and they're not going to, they're not going to give you what you're looking for from them, but, you know, they're going to say, and they're going to push that button and they're not going to, they're not going to give you what you're looking for from them, but you know, they're doing the best that they can and it's the holiday season. And to the extent that you can kind of unplug those buttons so that when they get pushed, you're not, you don't go into that fight or flight mode and you can be balanced and neutral. I think the better experience you're going to have throughout the holidays. That's true. Right. All right. That's enough on that one, right? That's enough.

Cool. Thanks, you. The next one is sort of related. It's from, who's this one? From Jen. Thanks, Jen. Hi, Jen. This might be hard to answer in one quick answer.

Things I'm working through and struggling with. Love your podcast. Thanks, Jen. Thank you. How do you pursue a plant-based diet when your spouse is on complete opposite page? How do you continue to pursue your dreams and go off the beaten path when your spouse and all of society, except the Rich Roll podcast, pushes strongly against it? And thirdly, how do you raise a toddler starting plant-based? So from this, there's a lot of opposition coming towards Jen

in her... Jen is an island. Yeah, right. Like she's trying to do this thing and everyone seems to be kind of not supportive of that. So what do you think? Well, I mean, I would say, Jen, if you haven't already read an article that I wrote for MindBodyGreen called, I think, Six Ways to Experience Intimacy in Your Relationship or Marriage. That could be very useful for you. So find that. I'll put a link in the show notes. Okay, so this is really amazing because this is where Rich and I were.

So if you've read Finding Ultra, which I don't know if you have. If you haven't, you should also read that. But this is exactly where Rich and I were in our own relationship. So as Rich describes it, he could basically, there was a clear demarcation in our refrigerator, the foods he was eating and the foods that I was eating. And one of the key, really a key catalyst moment in our transformation as a couple happened when, after seven years of banging my head against the wall, trying to affect a change in him for the better, as I perceived it, I was able to experience the awareness of learning to love him as God loves, which is from a divine perspective. So it's without judgment and without analysis. And it was when I actually could fully embody that state of energy, that compassion, that Rich actually experienced to change and became the Ultraman athlete that

he is today in the podcast and author. So I think that it takes a tremendous strength to take all of your energy and your awareness and put it on yourself. Continue to live in alignment and in accordance with what feels right to you. And understand that as you are an emanation of God or a divine force or a perfect emanation of creation, so is your partner. together, you have the opportunity to recognize him as divine and simply see him as already perfect. Yeah, I think it's, you know, this is not an issue that is specific to eating a plant-based diet. This is in any behavior pattern where one partner in the relationship is interested in growing and the other person in the relationship is not interested or is interested in growing in a different way or just moving in a different direction.

Is it reconcilable? Is it irreconcilable? And how do you kind of cope with that? And it's another landmine, you know, it's a difficult thing. And Julie very aptly described it, you know, for a long time. You know, Julie was always somebody who was interested in growth. She's reading all these spiritual books.

She's experimenting with all different kinds of diets. She's healing this cyst on her neck through Ayurveda, all these things, you know, practicing yoga and meditating. And that was all great, but that was like her trip. You know, I was like, oh, that's my kooky wife. And isn't she fun and cool? Isn't she crazy? Isn't she kooky? I still like that. Well, I, you know, go to my kooky wife. And isn't she fun and cool? Isn't she crazy? Isn't she kooky?

I still like that. Well, I go to my responsible law job and I can be, it was like, what was that sitcom with- Which one? No, the one. Yeah, I know.

A sitcom? Yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm going to blank on it right now. With Jenna Elfman and where she was like the crazy and then the dude was like super straight laced. Honey, I don't watch TV.

This was like, yeah, but this was like 20 years ago. I still- Dharma and Greg. Oh, Dharma and Greg. Yeah. So it's not like that, right? Kind of like that a little bit. I mean, that's an exaggerated example, but the point being the same where I'm like, I'm

not into that or whatever. And, and, and, you know, my health is sort of progressively declining, but I was very stubborn and Julie kept, kept, yeah, like, and I'm like, well, I don't understand why, you know, that would have anything to do with it. You know, and Julie's put, why don't you read this book? Why don't you try that? And I'm getting more and more defensive, but also like, you know, less and less healthy. It's, you know, it was moving in the right direction. It was almost like every, every time, the more that I wanted you to, the more paralyzed you became. And that was- Well, the more, and the more resentful I became too.

And it was so hard to figure out because, you know, clearly what I was proposing, like I wasn't trying to get you to start shooting heroin. You know, it's like I was, what I was proposing. Like I wasn't trying to get you to start shooting heroin. You know, it's like I was, I was trying to help you, but in my needing to help you, I was in fact in, I was in your space. I was in the way of your own transformation. And it made it more unlikely that I would ever change. It's like you were pushing back against me. Yeah. I mean, I was like, the more you push this on me, the more I'm going to resist it. And so when you, when you really did come to, it wasn't a show, like you can say, well more I'm going to resist it. And so when you, when you really did come to, it wasn't

a show, like you can say, well, I'm just, I don't care anymore. You know, I'm not going to do that anymore. And you know, how, how much of that is genuine versus how much of that is sort of, you know, retaliation. Yeah, exactly. Like it's sort of, it's almost like a passive aggressive. It doesn't work if you're doing it that way. You have to really come to this place where you really are willing to let it go. And you did come to that place. And I was like, whoa, oh, like there's a vacuum now where there used to be all this energy. And then it made me have to really kind of reckon with it myself. And that's what I think propelled me toward to this place where I thought, oh, maybe I, maybe I kind of, you know, I need to do something for myself, but I couldn't, I couldn't have that. I couldn't, I couldn't enter

into that calculus until you had, you know, backed off. Right. And I, and actually another key piece of this is that I had to be willing to release you to your own unfoldment, to your own life, even if that meant that we would not be together or we would not be leading the life that we are. I mean, I had the intention, of course, that we were, we were together and I wanted that, but I, I sort of released you to the divine force with complete faith. Like, okay, this, has this, has our back and has this. And so I turned all the focus on me and I took all of my energy off of you that I had been putting on you for all those years. So the takeaway principle really is stop projecting all of this energy onto your partner with this, you know, need for them to be different or change and

just focus on what you're trying to do for yourself. That's right. And being a shining example, being a clear channel and an example of something that is higher vibrating will, it has great power to transform, but it doesn't come through the ego or through any, you know, any great idea that you have. It comes from connecting deeply to your heart and trusting in this immense faith, you know, this immense grace that, you know, really conducts everything that happens, you know, in your life. And if you can truly be in that place of devotion, then there's really nothing for you to worry about. And there's only, the only task is to know yourself more. Right.

And I think that the sticky part of this is that that doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to improve your relationship. It may divide you further. it may divide you further. And that's, that's just the honest truth because, you know, as much as you want your spouse to change or move in a direction that you're moving in does not mean that that's what's going to happen or that that's what that's the path is for that person. So the, but the only way that you can ensure the proper, you know, path for yourself and result of whatever your relationship, you know, will turn into is to try to be the best version of yourself and to be the most authentic you can to who you are. And the more you do that, then whether that creates greater intimacy for you or divides you is probably the

proper result. It's in the highest, I like to say the highest divine alignment. So, you know, It's in the highest, I like to say the highest divine alignment. So, you know, oftentimes when I'm meditating or I'm praying, I usually call it praying, but when I'm meditating, I always intend for the highest divine unfoldment, the highest divine alignment, because from where we sit, we can't necessarily see. I mean, I could never have dreamed what's happened in our life. It was not on our list. We had a lot of other stuff on our list that was really great and amazing, but where we're standing in the path that our life has taken, it could not have done that had I not let go completely and just rested all of this in

the arms of what I like to call the great mother. Right. And to get to the kind of second part of this person's question, Jen's question, how do you continue to pursue your dreams and go off the beaten path when your spouse and all of society pushes strongly against it? So here it's kind of a double whammy, like Jen's spouse not only is kind of against her choice of the kind of food that she wants to eat or whatever, but is also not supportive of the kind of place that she wants to grow into internally. I don't know if she's talking about her career or what have you, it's a little bit general, but it doesn't feel great to be in a relationship where your spouse is not supportive of your

dreams. Well, I mean, she's also saying, and society, so it sounds like she's feeling, you know, a little bit, and it's really this, I want to talk a little bit about, you know, a wounded healer. And I think that this is actually present in the astrology of what's going on right now. And that is something that, you know, I identify very deeply with. And it's like, you know, you said, you know, very jokingly in the beginning of this question that, oh, you know, you were the crazy one or whatever. Well, you know, that's something that I've lived with my whole life. You know, someone who has an awareness of maybe other things that, you know, people

don't see or feel or they aren't in contact with. And when I express myself, you know, I'm the weirdo in the room. And that can be a very painful place to be. You know, it's very lonely to feel misunderstood, you know, as human beings, I think one of our, you know, deep, deep desires of being in a body and living, you know, a human life is to connect and to be connected. And, you know, I, especially when we went through, you know, our deep dark night, which was, you know, seven year transformation, when all of this was which was, you know, seven year transformation when all of this was catalyzing, you know,

I was very, very alone. And, you know, it's, it's, uh, it's, it's amazing and kind of profound how just the communication from social media, um, really helped me and supported me so much when I felt really lost and alone. So I would say, Jen, you know, find the connection with your community, however you can. And if it's not in your town or it's not in your house, then connect with us as you're doing online and surround yourself with like-minded people. And then above all, remind yourself and keep this loving compassion first and foremost for yourself. Be very gentle with yourself. Be loving with yourself, and respect yourself for the choices that you've made. You know, I trust you. I trust your soul to know, you know, your path. And also, there's something to be said about divine timing.

to be said about divine timing, you know, um, really know that there is a, there is a time for everything. So, um, I would just continue to, you know, continue to, to strive to know yourself better and to have loving compassion for those around you. And then try to connect however you can, you know, through listening to this podcast, through, you know, following people on Twitter, Instagram, or, you know, get your few plant based people that you know, and, and, you know, try to connect with them on a regular basis. you've been doing the inside work to be in that place where, you know, the voice that's coming through to you seems to be, um, in alignment with, you know, your highest self, uh, given that as a starting point, I don't think that, uh, you can allow anyone else to dictate, uh, what your dreams should or should not be. Right. And I think that you have the,

it's incumbent upon you. The onus is on you to foster that dream, to fertilize it and to do what you can within the constraints of whatever else is going on in your life to try to bring that to the surface, to not ignore that voice and to listen to it, irrespective of what society is telling you. And because it's not really anybody else's business, like basically, you know, it's your life. Yeah, it's your life. And listen, you know, the things that I've decided to pursue, the things that you've decided to pursue, I can't tell you how many people said, why are you doing that? Or that's crazy. Or that doesn't

make sense. Like it doesn't, it doesn't matter. You know, it's like you have got to, you've got to get to that place where you really can listen to that voice and it's nobody else's business, whether you're married or not. And, and when you are working on your own personal growth, when you are working on improvement and you're doing that from a good place, then again, the relationship will sort itself out one way or the other, provided that you're not in that place of trying to will your partner or those around you to come over to your side. Like you've got to remove yourself from that part of the equation and just focus on being the best version of yourself. In other words, it's about standing in the light rather than trying to like yank people into the light with you. You know, you just stand there and the people that are supposed to be with you will be attracted to you and the community will form that way.

Yeah. And I mean, I would also like to just say that, you know, just for the sheer fact that you have brought another individual into the world through your relationship, you know, there is magnificent potential for so much beauty in your relationship. So, you know, Rich, the man that's sitting across me right now is very different than the man that was sitting across from me at the beach, you know, when he was 50 pounds overweight and just completely dense and I couldn't find him. So, you know, there's great power in transformation. There's great power in a plant-based diet.

And really what it is, is it's just the first step into uncovering really the truth of your heart and really who you are. And by being that and accessing that, you will, you know, it's, it's extremely inspirational and infectious and you will continue to become more and more beautiful, um, in every, in every way. Right. Well put. A question from Dawn. Thank you, Dawn, who asked a couple questions, but one of which is apropos to what we're talking about right now, which is how do you create community when there are not many people around you who share the same approach as you? And you kind of touched on it a minute ago when you were talking about social media. So, you know, we live in this incredible time where you can live basically anywhere and find community around ideas and ideals that are important to you simply by, you know, logging on and, you know, going to any number of places online where there

are like-minded people congregating around this idea or that. So that's not as great as being able to be around people in person, of course, but it exists. And I think that- That's pretty good. Yeah, it's definitely know, it's an amazing, powerful media. There's no question about it. Another way that you could start to create that is, you know, one of the greatest blessings in life is to be able to prepare food for people and to serve them food.

And you could possibly choose one night a week, like a Sunday night, where you're going to prepare a plant-based meal and just invite a few friends over. And it could just start with just two friends. Right. I think it, yeah, basically what you're saying is just because you don't see this community around you doesn't mean that you cannot, you can't create it yourself. You could create it. And you're thinking, you're seeing the world a certain way.

You're interested in certain things and you're not seeing those people in your immediate environment. That doesn't mean that there aren't people all around you who would be interested if somebody would take the reins and create it. It's sort of like when you watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Like I think there's an example of a woman. I think she had cancer and she starts juicing and, and, uh, has this miraculous sort of healing experience. And then she starts going to her friends' houses and showing them how to juice. And she, and then she has, ends up opening this juice bar. So like she created her own like movement, you know, basically around this idea that was important to her when there really wasn't, that didn't exist

in her environment. And, you know, you could just, you can go, you can create a Facebook group and then start emailing your friends and try to solicit interest. And like, there's many, many things that you can do to foster that creativity. And I don't know what you've done to even see if that community exists. Maybe it does exist in your environment in some way. You just haven't been able to find it yet. Yeah. And maybe what you do is, you know, it's, say it starts with three friends. And then, you know, if you do it from a place of service where you're really, you're, you know, you're not doing it to get anything, you're simply doing it to serve. And then you share the recipes with who you invited, then maybe, you know, that three turns into six the

next week, or maybe it's just once a month, maybe once a week, it's too much, you know, and then eventually, you know, maybe you have 10 or maybe you have 15 or, you know, so you can really create community through food. I know that Rich and I have been absolutely astounded by the amount of connection that has happened around food. Like, I wouldn't say that either of us really understood that it was going to be, you know, the food was going to be such a core central, you know, element of our message. And the truth of the matter is everybody needs to eat. Everybody's always looking for recipes. Everybody gets burnout with what they know. And a lot of, you know, there's a lot of messaging about the plant-based movement, but there's also a lot of mystery about, well, how do I do that?

You know, it's so mysterious. And fear. Yeah. And fear. And the other thing is, is that, you know, I don't, there are a lot of people that are in a crisis situation, so they don't have like a year to figure it out. They need to get healthy now and they have an opportunity to clean their bodies out. And again, it's careful. If you do this with too much force, then it's going to go out of balance. But if you really do it of service that you just want to share and you just want to create community, I don't know. I think there's a great potential to create an amazing community around healthy, vibrant living food. Right. And there's a lot of fat, unhealthy people all over the place that need help.

living food. Right. And there's a lot of fat, unhealthy people all over the place that need help. That's right. And then after that, after you get to the food, then you can, you could start meditating. So you could possibly check out my meditation program. It's a guided 30 minute, very easy for beginners. And you can do that as a group and it's extremely powerful. And who knows what might happen in your town? Yeah. I mean, I don't know where you live and I don't know, you know, what you have and don't have in your environment. You know, maybe there's no yoga studio. So, but maybe you can, you know, set up some, like do a juicing thing at the grocery store or whatever, you know, whatever it is, there's gotta be a way, you know, to start, you know, putting yourself in a position of bringing people together. So, I guess the

short version of that very long answer is, if there's no community, create your own community, right? And back to Jen, sorry, we got to get back to Jen because we're not done with her question. The final part of her question is, how do you raise a toddler starting plant-based? Well, that's easy. So, because you, unless the toddler's already, you know, eating pizza and all the other junk that we as parents give our kids when they're little. I think that, you know, I can say from experience of being a mother of four children, ages 19 to age seven, the very, the easiest one is the youngest one because we were fully plant-based when she was born. So that was the easiest one.

So the way you do it is you continue to make healthy foods and serve them healthy foods. The crisis or the problem is the public schools and the lunches at school, the birthday parties at school, and the also birthday party circuit that tends to kick up around that age where there's literally like a birthday party every four days and it's really bad food, you know, nutritious wise, nutrition wise at kind of every turn. So it is a little bit more of a challenge. And again, this is where, you know, connecting with like-minded people and having plant-based people around you will be definitely your friend. I know that I continue to have challenges, even though I homeschool my kids, when we're in communities where the diet is not in alignment

with ours. It just is because the children don't want to be left out. And, you know, while my kids would never eat meat, they have no desire to eat meat. It's with, you know, refined sugar and the gluten that, you know, becomes the negotiating point. So again, I would say as much as you can serve healthy foods in your home, As much as you can serve healthy foods in your home and you can surround yourself with like-minded people, you're still going to have to navigate some of those situations that come up. But I think what you're getting at is that it's easier to foster good habits before bad habits are formed. So it's a lot easier to work with a toddler than it is to work with a teenager who's been eating crappy for, you know, most of their life. Yeah, or even, you know, even, you know,

an eight or nine or 10 year old who, you know, has been around just the standard, you know, kid food that's served widely throughout our country. Right, so you just start feeding the child healthier options. And I think you remain malleable and flexible. It doesn't have to be a super hard line, 100% thing, because you're trying to create habits that are going to last for a lifetime, right? And so, like you said, when you get into the school system, there's this or that to contend with. But the bottom line is the non-negotiable

aspect of it is making sure that there are just plenty of super healthy plant-based options at home and that habits are developing around healthy snacks and kind of healthy options at mealtime. Yeah. And it takes some effort. I find that, you know, the effort spent developing, you know, really amazing, you know, baked goods that are gluten-free, refined sugar-free as much as possible, you know, that goes a long way. Because, you know, if you're just going to give them a carrot or a slice of apple and the other kids are eating this, you know, cupcake with pink stuff on it, you know, you're going to lose. Right. You just are. with pink stuff on it, you know, you're going to lose. That's, you just are. So it's like, you know, last night I've, I've been a recipe testing for our cookbook and we finally turned it into today. And, and, uh, I was finally testing like the scone recipe and brownie recipe. And,

you know, I nailed those recipes and my, my, uh, vocal, um, uh, uh, 10 year old, My vocal 10-year-old, well, almost 11 tomorrow, she was just so pleased and I was very grateful. So you'll get those recipes. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. I mean, part of the problem with gluten-free cooking is that the stuff just falls apart, right? Like it just doesn't hold up and you're like, it's kind of granular. It's not so good. It's all crumbly. And you like the scone that you made last night

and the brownie. I mean, I couldn't tell the difference between that and anything you'd get at a typical bakery. It was fantastic. Well, thanks. I mean, and I can even tell the difference because I can tell the vibrational difference. So it's actually better. Like it really is better. So I'm really happy. And of course, you know, we have another bakery that we're working with, that we're actually partnering with, the Karma Baker. So there's going to be a lot of that, more of that coming. But, you know, again, it's like as parents and mothers, you know, we got to put the extra effort in because we've got a lot of pushback of stuff coming at us. And it's hard. It is hard with kids. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that my kids never push back at me because they do. And I still go through it, even though we, you know, we are a thriving plant-based household. Right. You know, it brings up for me this kind of thing on the internet, whether it's a podcast or a blog post where people have questions like, how do I get my kids to eat healthy?

And then inevitably there's a podcast or a blog post that's like, here are the seven things that's going to, you know, change your child's life, you know, relationship to food, you know? And it's like, it's as if, if you read those things, then ultimately your, your life just changes overnight and everything's perfect. And it's just, that's not life. You know, it's like, you have to like really be honest and say, it's going to be hard. You're going to have challenges with this and you're going to have to step it up and here's a way to do it and address it. And it's not going to happen overnight, but this is a, this is a battle worth fighting. It is. It definitely is. And also I think, you know, that's another thing that I sort of

glean later on in my meditation practice and yoga practice. And it's called a practice. And it's like, you know, it's not like you get to this place and you're like, okay, now I'm plant-based and that's that in a static, I'm in a static state, you know, or like, you know, my daughter ate, you know, sauteed chard. And so now that's a static state. No, it's like the decisions are made in every single moment, in every single meal, in every single time you're putting something in your mouth. And so the more that you can be eating healthy, plant-based, high vibrational, highly nutritious foods, the more your microbes will crave that. And I mean, I had this happen actually as early as last week. We were working late hours.

We were busy. We had an organic, like cheeseless pizza, but it wasn't gluten-free. And it was sitting on the counter and Mathis ate it and she had a massive, massive stomachache in the middle of the night. And so we went through that. And it happens. It still can happen, but at least it's an experience that she can then judge. But anyway, you're lucky because you have a toddler. And so take every opportunity to influence really great habits with them. And it will affect their health for their entire life. And so good for you that you're in that place. So it's amazing. So Tommy F has a question. Tommy.

The subject matter on the email. What does F stand for? I don't, yeah, I don't know. You can't say. No, I don't know. You can't say. No, I don't know what it stands for. Tommy F. The subject line on the email is stuck. And this is an email that is similar to a bunch that I got. I'll just read it, parts of it. I'm struggling with finding the escape hatch to my unfulfilling career. Until I find the clear path out, I've got to continue being the best I can at it to earn paychecks for my family. This creates a bit of conflict for me,

actively plotting, pleading, hoping to desert this profession that leaves me empty but oblivious of where specifically to go. I realize this will take time and patience is my greatest ally in all of this. I often feel quite unauthentic in paying lip service to a job I'm dispassionate about. What are your thoughts and recommendations for balancing? So it's balance. It's about balance. Feelings of contradiction, devoting ample time and resource to finding the escape hatch and yet meeting commitments while not over committing to work obligations.

That's a lot. There's a lot back into that. I have one recommendation for you and that is meditation. That's so lot. There's a lot back into that. Tommy, I have one, I have one recommendation for you and that is meditation. That's so shocking that you said that. I could never have predicted that you would have said that. Well, I mean, I re I think it's amazing, Tommy, thanks for your question. And, and, uh, I think it's, you know, I think there's a, there's a great beauty in recognizing, um, that you are, uh, that you are doing something that you don't want to be doing. So that's a great

place to be. And it's okay to be able to serve it and sort of use it as a means to an end instead of the end. Like no one said you had to bail out all at once, you know, and just go commando. Like, you know, I mean, Rich and I kind of did that, but... Not really. I mean, no, we didn't. You know, that's the neatly packaged narrative. You know, that's what you read, oh, you know, overnight, he like... No, I don't mean overnight. Not for me personally, but you read that story, you know, and it's like, that's the sexy, glamorous version. But, you know, anybody who kind of has to make

a transition like this, it's a gradual thing. And I think it's great that he acknowledges that patience is his ally because it is, and it's going to take time. No, but I mean, what I meant with us is that there was a point where you jumped off and we just jumped off entirely. And maybe Tommy will come to that, or maybe it will be gradual. We just jumped off like entirely. And maybe Tommy will come to that or maybe it will be gradual. But I was slowly like backpedaling out of the law for a long time. I've been searching for a way out for like eight years, like trying to figure out from 2000, like was when I was like, how am I going to not be a lawyer anymore? You know, it was when, you know, it had been many years of, and there were many years of not doing anything about it.

But still, it was like, I need to figure out a different way. Yeah. But there were many years after that where you weren't working as a lawyer, where we were basically in hanging with our butts in the wind for quite a long time. So I'm talking, I'm speaking to that to make, to when you make that decision. Um, but anyway, I think that the only way when you're saying, how do I balance the time and how do I balance everything else? You know, I really think that it's, it's crucial that you can hear the messages of your soul.

And the really, the, I, I just know from years of studying spiritual texts and it doesn't matter like what it is, like all different walks, all different, all different traditions. You know, I just, for me, I kept reading, you know,

oh, meditate, meditate. And then I was like, oh, I'll do that next year. You know, meditate, meditate, I'll do that next year. There's no way around it. You just need to meditate and you can start today. You can start right now and it can simply start with your breath. There's five, there's like thousands of techniques that you can find online and it really is a priority so you say that you don't have time you need to make time to meditate and when you do that you will allow the space around yourself so that you can feel yourself and you can start to get messages of your soul yeah it's definitely true And it's annoying that this is the answer every time and that it's not a new special VIP behind the velvet rope answer. Like, you know,

sign up here and I'll tell you the real secret. You know, it's like, no, you know what I mean? Like the truth is that if you want to shift your life, whether it's your career, whatever it is about yourself that you're trying to find an answer to that you don't know the way out yet. Like you don't know how you're going to see yourself through a certain transition that you need to get still. And a consistent daily practice of meditation is the key that is going to unlock that whole equation for you. And it's not going to happen in a day and it's not going to happen in a week, but over time through that consistent pressure and application of devoting yourself to that, doors will start to open.

You will start to develop greater clarity about who you are, where you want to go. And then the miraculous thing is stuff starts to show up, like signals start to arise, like, oh, I need to go over here now. And like somebody calls you or something happens in your life and suddenly everything becomes clear about what you should and should not do. And I would say that for anybody who is a person who feels like they don't have time, who is a person who feels like they don't have time, the greatest little jewel of wisdom that I can share with you is that the most potent time to meditate is at 4.30 in the morning. From 4.30 to 6, if you really want to hear and you really want to connect,

that is the sacred moment. So that is the time where the divine energies are heightened and they can speak to you. And it's when everything is quiet. And I can say this through experience. I had a profound, found experience with this when I was meditating during a very dark time in my life at 4.30 in the morning. And this is how I access my music. And the song started writing me and I started singing, which has been a very, very beautiful thing for me in my life. And I'm extremely grateful that I had that experience.

So I wish the same for you in your version. And I'm telling you, sleep is not worth more than that any day of the week. worth more than that any day of the week. Well, I would also say that you're probably not going to get hired as the recruiting officer for the world of meditation. You know what I mean? I think that the important thing is that you do it. Yeah. If you can get up at 4.30 in the morning to do it, I did this morning, you know, so it can be done, but I don't want people to hear that and feel like it's daunting. I'm speaking to Tommy specifically. He was saying that he's very busy and his life is full and I'm giving him the best advice that I can give him. And if that resonates with someone else, great. Of course, I'm not saying

that if you can't meditate at 4.30 in the morning, then you never do it. You do it whenever you can, but I'm telling you that is the potent hour. So if you're really serious and you really want to get it going, that's when you need to get up. Yeah, I think it goes down to whether people really are serious about wanting to change. Because there's a lot of lip service, like, I want to change, I want to do this. And then you kind of go, all right, well, here are five things like do this, do this, do this. And then they go, well, I don't, you know, yeah, that sounds hard. I don't know. Get up. No, I don't wake up until eight.

Then don't complain that your life isn't changing. You know what I mean? Like if you keep doing the same thing, you get the same results. And so you got to mix it up. You got to try new things, do new things, and then you get different results. That's right. And it's not like, again, it's like, I'm not, you know, I'm not a big rules person. You know, I go spontaneously with the flow of life and, and, you know, now my, my, my body or my soul just wakes me up when it's time to meditate. So I don't, you know, I don't have rigid things around me, but I am sharing you that that time is when the most potent stuff has happened in my life. Right.

I think we've got time for one more. That's it? We're already done? We're almost done in 51 minutes. We'll do one more. We're going to keep this to an hour today. We are? This one's from Pete. Hey, Pete. Pete D.

And it's another balance kind of related question, which is why I want to undo it. So here it is, the infamous balance question. As a recovered alcoholic, first of all, recovered, recovering, maybe recovered. Maybe he is recovered. I don't know. I didn't know you could do that. I don't think that's your program. Yeah.

I tend to go all or nothing with things. I'm sure you can relate. If you're doing that, then maybe you're not fully recovered. That would be observation number one. I tend to go all or nothing with things. I'm sure you can relate. When I am focused on nutrition and fitness, it pretty much is all consuming and I can see how my program suffers because of it. Less active with meetings and with guys that I sponsor, I start to feel super healthy, fit, and energetic and suddenly think I'm invincible or something, a slippery slope for a drunk.

I know my life depends on my spiritual fitness, which depends on my program. How do you balance these things? So this may seem like it's a question specific to somebody who is a recovering addict or alcoholic, but I think it's applicable to everybody, this idea of balance. And, you know, I have no experience with this. I don't relate to this question at all. He's very unbalanced. No. So as somebody who can very easily go out of balance and someone who is prone to, you know, swinging the pendulum in extreme directions one way or the other, this is, you know, this is like where I live, right? So all I can do is share my experience with how I try to combat this. And one thing that I've been doing lately that has become like a non-negotiable thing for me that has really helped me balance out is having a very strict morning routine

from which I don't deviate from. And then that extrapolates out into having like a pretty stringent kind of schedule and routine throughout the day where I have predictability and I kind of know what I'm doing. The more structured I can be throughout my day, the more balanced I can remain and I end up being more focused and more productive. So in the morning, getting up and having like a very quiet, slow, but deliberate kind of thing that you do to kind of get you going in the morning is very important. And so I've been getting up early and I make a cup of tea and then I go to a quiet room and I have a 20-minute meditation and I do a little bit of journaling. And that's what I do every morning before I do anything, before I take a shower, before I get dressed, I take care of that.

And by the time that I'm finished with those two simple things, I actually feel awake, but I feel calm. I'm not like rushing to get out the door. I'm kind of on an even keel place, which is not my default setting. My default setting is to be like rushing to get out. Very not on an even keel. Exactly. And so I have to force myself to do this because it kind of goes against every kind of whatever. You know, everything in my body is going, you know, go get on your bike and exercise or you got to get to work. And I have this screaming like voice in my head that I have to quell. And this has been very effective in doing that. And

I've noticed a shift, a shift in how I, how I kind of cruise through the day, how I interact with my family members and the people that I'm working with. And it's been, it's been a pretty positive thing. So, so structure, balance, having a non-negotiable early morning routine, I think are three kind of takeaways for that. Do you have anything to add to that? I can see. Have you noticed that I've been less? I can see like you're almost like want to jump out of your skin like sometimes when you're trying to go through it. of your skin, like sometimes when you're trying to go through it. But I am seeing some actual physical shifts, definitely. And I think it's powerful.

Mm-hmm. And I think as somebody who's in recovery, who's also interested in fitness and exercise, it's very easy, especially earlier on in recovery to make the mistake of replacing like exercise and training for your spiritual program or your program of recovery. And to think like, oh, I'm cool because I'm going to the gym and I'm fit or I'm training for this ultra or whatever it is. And that's a problem. You know, that's something that you have to be very vigilant about making sure that you avoid because your spiritual fitness, your spiritual're not a replacement for your program or recovery or for your, I guess, your spiritual health. Right. And I mean, I would say, you know, from a spiritual perspective, you know, I've often said that, you know, I never viewed Rich from the lens of perception of being an alcoholic. viewed Rich from the lens of perception of being an alcoholic. For me, he's a divine being of God,

just like every one of us are. However, I have seen the immense grace and blessing of the program of AA and of all of the men that have been supportive to you and that are your dear friends throughout all the years. And it's staggering the level of support and community and power from that organization. But I would say, so I would just add to that, that I think one of the most powerful key, you know, awarenesses or concepts from the AA program is the... The program of AA has to remain anonymous. You can't, like, talk about that. Well, I mean, you're not in it, so I guess you could, but I can AA has to remain anonymous. You can't like talk about that. Well, I mean, you're not in it, so I guess you can,

but I can't speak to that directly. I can do whatever I want. I have a mic. Okay. No, so I was going to say that the part of, you know, I don't know it anyway, you know, in and out, but I would just say this awareness

of having the bhava, or that means like the devotion or the feeling of, you know, that there is a power greater than yourself that knows better than you do. So it's, as I say, you know, it's, it's thy will, not my will. And I think that that's an incredibly powerful, um, um, you know, energy that is, that is very, very transformative to all of us, including anyone who's an addict. Yeah. It's interesting. Sometimes I'll see articles written about me on the internet and they make it sound like discovering ultra endurance training solved my alcoholism or that's how I

recovered from being, you know, an addict alcoholic. So you're not recovered, you're recovering. Well, first of all, I will never be fully recovered. I'm always recovering. You know, it's like you said, it's not a static thing. There is no stasis in it. I'm either getting better or I'm getting worse in any given moment with every breath, with every decision I make, with every thought I entertain.

in any given moment with every breath, with every decision I make, with every thought I entertained. But certainly, you know, certainly I found a passion in ultra distance racing and training and all of that. And I love it. And I feel like it's made me a better person, but it hasn't resolved my alcoholism. I'll say. Yeah, it's not at all, right? So that's not the solution to my problem. No. In fact, it can be part of the problem if I'm not tending to my recovery, you know, my spiritual health, because it can just be another way

of expressing my alcoholism without using drugs or alcohol, because I could just lose myself in that, right? And that's not a balanced approach to life. Right. So there you go. Beautifully said. All right, we got to wrap it up.

This was edition one of our Q&A. Ask us anything. Ask me anything. Ask you anything. Awesome. How do you think that went? I think it was great. Do you think people will like that?

I don't know. We'll see. I hope you guys did. Let us know on the blog what you think about this episode. Should we do more of these? Should we do this once a week, every two weeks? What else do you want to know? If you have enjoyed it, please send us questions to findingultra at gmail.com.

Don't post them on Facebook and Twitter because then they're all over the place and I can't keep all this stuff organized. So I've got a folder in my email where I can put these and just keep it all neat and tidy. So do that. And what else? You want to connect with Julie? You can go to her website. It's Srimati.com, S-R-I-M-A-T-I.com. She's at Srimati on Twitter and Instagram.

And you're on Facebook. And if you want to listen to your music, go to your website and then you have the links to iTunes and CD Baby and all of that. She's got a couple albums up there. And you can like me on Facebook, Shreemont D Music. Yes, that would be nice. If you do, if you like me, if you like, you can like me if you like. Right. Well, you know, one thing we didn't talk about today is this iPhone detox that I'm in the middle of right now.

Yeah, let's talk about that. How are you doing with that? I'm like, I don't know what day it is, maybe 10 days into it. Is it now? I'm okay. Well, it's been okay because I've been working a lot. So I'm at my desk, my computer, and I'm online that way. So I don't feel, and I've been working late. We just had to turn our cookbook into the publisher. So we've been kind of working around the clock on that for the last, I don't know how long. Ever, forever.

So there hasn't been a lot of time away from the office. Where you would be on your bike or something like that? Is that what you're thinking? Well, I mean, not on my bike, but just kind of out and around or in my, you know, where I would just be like, all I would have is my iPhone and I'd have that impulse to like check it. I mean, it's, it comes up once in a while, but it hasn't been that bad. Like I'm adjusting to it, but I don't think that I've really had to put it to the test because I've been working so much. So time will tell, but so far, so far so good. And it's not like, I feel like I've missed out on anything. That's good. And I think the kids feel like they, like they're benefiting. Yeah. I think the biggest thing is that when I'm home, I put the phone down and I'm not

trying to interact with Jaya while I'm also scrolling through whatever. But I have to call myself out on the fact that I also have an iPad and on the iPad, I have my stuff. So I can always grab that. So that's kind of a crutch, right? Like, should I take it off of that as well? Maybe that's the next evolution, but baby steps. We'll come, we'll talk about more of that next time. It's the holiday season. You got to get some gifts, right? You're going to use the Amazon banner ad. In moderation. Yeah. So what we don't want you to do is to go out and buy a bunch of trashy plastic stuff that you're going to throw out two days later, right? Why not instead buy a digital product that could actually help someone, BBU or somebody you could gift it to?

So we've got a couple online courses. The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition, Julie and I walk you through. Plant-Based Nutrition, Julie and I walk you through, it's like three and a half hours of streaming video content where we kind of address everything you need to know to get more plants into your life. Whether you're a long-time vegan or you're brand new to this lifestyle, it's tips, it's tricks, it's the whole nine yards, right? It's got an online community, all sorts of downloadable tools. It's good stuff. And we also have, or I should say I have, because I do this one solo, another course called the Art of Living with Purpose. This is like two and a half hours of streaming video, again, downloadable tools and interactive

community, and basically everything that you need to probe deep inside yourself and learn more about what makes you tick and setting goals, setting the right goals for yourself and how to take those goals across the finish line. Both the courses are at mindbodygreen.com. So you can just go to mindbodygreen.com and click on video courses on the menu at the top and learn more about that there. Right? Check them out. Okay, cool. What else?

Again, we talked about the holiday sale through December 20th. You did. And go to richroll.com, subscribe to our newsletter. We're going to start doing cool stuff with the email. It's like, I want to be able to communicate with you guys more directly, which is why we're doing this Q&A podcast. And I want to start using my email list to do that. Like, we're trying to figure out how we can create more community and intimacy through that. Like whether it's going to be kind of special audio clips that I can send you through the email or doing webinars or maybe a conference call or just sending you an email with,

here are the five articles that impacted me this week, or five things that I thought were cool, or maybe just special stuff. I don't know. What about a Snapchat video? Trying to figure it out. Well, you can just go to Snapchat for that. I've been off the Snapchat. Nobody's on it. I keep getting emails like, when are you coming back to Snapchat? I'm like, I've been writing a cookbook. So anyway, if you have ideas about what you would like to see from us in an email, we'd like to hear that as well, because I think there's some potential there to do something

really cool. And I don't want to just send out emails that people don't want to get. You know, I would like to be able to send an email where somebody clicks on it and says, oh, this is cool. Like I learned something. This is great. This is making my day better as opposed to another email I have to read. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Like how can that add value? You know what I mean? So anyway,

that's what we're thinking about for 2015. All right, let's wrap it up. Give us a review on iTunes if you've enjoyed the podcast. It only takes you two seconds. Get the app, the iOS app in the iTunes app store. If you go to iTunes, you can only get the 50 most recent episodes of this podcast, but we're now at episode 119, which means there are 69 episodes hidden. That's crazy. 69. What about that? Special number 69. I know. What does that mean? They're hidden somewhere. And the only way to get them is if you get the app. The app's free. You can easily access all of the episodes, the entire canon.

And you get the whole blog post that I wrote. And you get to see a picture of the guest. It's all very exciting. It's good. I like your photos. You have good pictures. So that's it. And thanks for supporting the show.

Keep doing that. Tell your friends. Use the Amazon banner ad. Happy holidays, everybody. Happy holidays, everyone. Oh, yeah. Keep Instagramming. I like when people Instagram where they're listening to the show.

Yeah. It's great. We love it. Let's shut it down. So thanks so much for all of your questions. Yes. And it was fun. See you in a couple days.

Hope to see you soon peace plants namaste