#561: Rich Roll — Reinventing Your Life at 30, 40, and Beyond

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At age 40, Rich Roll (@richroll) made
the decision to overhaul the sedentary throes of overweight
middle age. Walking away from a career in law, he reinvented
himself as a globally recognized ultra-distance endurance
athlete, bestselling author, and host of the wildly
popular Rich Roll Podcast, one of the world’s most listened
to podcasts, with more than 200 million downloads.


Named one of the “25 Fittest Men in the World” by Men’s
Fitness and the “Guru of Reinvention”
by Outside magazine, Rich shares his inspirational
story of addiction, redemption, and athletic prowess in his
bestselling memoir, Finding Ultra, and in the
cookbooks/lifestyle guides The Plantpower
Way and The Plantpower Way: Italia, which he
co-authored with his wife Julie Piatt.


Rich is a graduate of Stanford University (where he was a member
of their dynastic, multiple-NCAA-championship men’s swimming
program) and Cornell Law School. He has been featured on CNN and
on the cover of Outside and has been profiled
in The New York Times, Forbes, ESPN, and many other
prominent media outlets.


Please enjoy!


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*


Prior to turning things around at age 40, what role had alcohol
played in Rich’s life, and when did he realize it was a problem?
How bad did it get? [07:27]


Why did Rich decide to pursue a career in law? [16:09]


What was the last straw that made Rich decide to seek help for
his addiction to alcohol? How old was he, what was going on in
his life at the time, and what form did this help take? [18:26]


What does Rich notice people commonly missing when he retells his
story of addiction recovery and lifestyle changes that led him to
become the person he is today? [27:45]


As Dr. Gabor Maté says: “Don’t ask why the addiction, ask why the
pain.” What tools have most helped Rich understand and manage his
own addiction? [33:51]


Was the decentralized nature of Bill Wilson’s Alcoholics
Anonymous basically blockchain before blockchain was cool?
[40:45]


Rich says that addiction is “a spectrum so broad that almost
anybody can find themselves somewhere along the line.” Even if
you might not consider yourself an addict, the tools of addiction
recovery can often be used to help you break bad patterns you
find yourself repeating. [43:45]


Having trouble cultivating good habits (like regular exercise)?
Remember: “Mood follows action.” [48:36]


Why (and how) did Rich turn his physical health around at age 40?
[50:52]


Rich’s most worthwhile investment of time, money, or energy.
[57:59]


Rich’s advice for anyone trying to make positive changes in their
own life — whether it’s building a small, beneficial habit,
picking up a new set of skills, or overhauling their physical
regimen for maximum results. [1:03:55]


Zone 2 training thoughts, experiences, and recommendations.
[1:14:59]


How — and why — did Rich get in the habit of regularly sleeping
in a tent on his roof? How does he maximize benefits and
alleviate potential dangers of this unorthodox practice?
[1:24:34]


By not scheduling commitments before noon, what does Rich’s daily
architecture look like? How often does he succeed in fending off
disruptions to this schedule? [1:32:00]


How Rich got to the point where he commits to living a month off
the grid every year, what he does to ensure that it happens, and
how he benefits from this practice. [1:38:37]


An aside: Rich asks me to share what I experienced off the grid
recently in Antarctica. [1:42:41]


What would Rich’s billboard say? [1:49:49]


What is Rich most excited about for the year ahead? [1:52:32]


What Rich would ask the audience to consider and parting
thoughts. [1:56:51]


*


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