The Rich Roll Podcast

Wise words that capture the essence of this week's guest, Preston Smiles. When you meet Preston, you immediately understand who this guy is. He wears it on his sleeve. It's written all over his face. He just is exactly who he is. It's much harder to describe Preston in words. But I'll give it a shot. A leader in the emergent world of conscious media, Preston is a pretty unique cat — one of the mos...

In case you missed it, and because it's highly relevant to today's show, let's begin this week's offering with a read (or re-read?) of a piece I posted a while back on Medium.com entitled, Why You Should Stop Hacking Your Life & Invest in The Journey. Before you pounce on me for going all Grandpa Roll on you, let me point out that I’m all for efficiencies. But I’m more about the 10,000 hours of ha...

It’s been a crazy week. This past Monday, we launched our new iOS mobile app to immediate and rave reviews, posted our 100th episode and surpassed 3 million podcast downloads. Pretty awesome, thanks entirely to you guys — the audience. Most appreciated. But how did all these momentous milestones mysteriously transpire on the exact same day? I call this the principle of Universal Synchronicity. In...

100 EPISODES! Wow. I can't believe how amazing this podcast journey has been. Over the last week, I have been flooded with inquiries on social media – so who is going to be the special guest for the big episode 100? A lot of speculation. Big names getting thrown around with anticipatory question marks. I understand the appeal. But this landmark has me sentimental. Thinking a lot about what was goi...

I like to think this show sparks that fire by seeking out and sharing the stories of those who fan my flames. A mixed bag of inspiration and education. A diversity of in-depth conversations: life experiences, incredible personal stories, tales of transformation and a wealth of information to light your personal path towards maximum life satisfaction. A grab-bag toolbox to help you escape the statu...

Today we go off-grid. As some of you know, this show was launched from a yurt on Hawaii. It was about a year and half ago. At the time, we were at a crossroads. Unsure about our family's future in Los Angeles, we were looking for something new and different. Then out of the blue, a unique opportunity arose and we seized it. An opportunity for myself, my wife and our kids to see and embrace a diffe...

Everyone loves a good transformation story. We like it even better when it’s super dramatic. Preferably framed to appear like it all went down like some kind of overnight miracle. Bonus points for million dollar paydays, instantaneous cures, extreme but effortless weight loss and age reversal. But that’s just not how this stuff works, people. Growth and change are hard. And never overnight. It’s a...

Finding balance in life. Developing trust in something bigger than yourself. Surrendering your self-will. Relying on faith to guide you. And the courage to risk it all for the sake of living your best, most authentic life. Today marks the return of my erstwhile co–host, mother of my children and my wife of 11 years. Julie Piatt. Last week we celebrated our anniversary by renewing our vows. A small...

Oh snap — s*$%t is about to get real! Back by popular demand, I am overjoyed to bring together two of my most popular repeat guests on the RRP — John Joseph and Mishka Shubaly– for an epic threesome. Call it my Post-Punk Algonquin Round Table: uncensored ruminations NYC style on sobriety, writing books, eating plants, running ridiculously long distances, expanding consciousness, walking a spiritua...

I started this show because I truly believe that too many of us are wasting our lives in a reflexive daze. Disconnected from who we are, what makes our hearts beat and what we truly need to be happy. Just trying to make it through the day intact. Pay the bills. And make ends meet so we can numb out to Dancing With The Stars. Living for the weekend, we celebrate by getting drunk and then do it all...

Today we’re back with some heavy nutrition talk! There is so much confusion out there about diet, food & optimal health. It's enough to make even the most discerning, conscientious consumer’s head split wide open in frustration. Exasperated, we end up simply paralyzed — continuing to perpetuate unhealthy eating habits that enslave us to an inevitable future of disease, obesity and dependence upon...

Must be nice to have your life [sneer]……I wish I could…. [fill in the blank, with scorn]….but some people have to work for a living [biting sarcasm]. The easy road is to resent those that have what you want. Or at least more of what you wish you had. Actually it's more of a cop out than an easy road. But a cop out most of us take (usually unconsciously), which in turn leads to nothing good. Envy,...

You care about the planet, right? Of course you do. We're all concerned about global climate change, melting ice caps, fracking, the pollution of our oceans and all the many more issues we currently face that threaten Earth's long term sustainable health. As such, we do our best to be good planetary citizens. To keep our carbon footprint light, we eat local, recycle and compost. We opt for the bik...

Imagine this: you are a practicing pediatric ER doctor; all day long every day you treat kids that are not just overweight, but obese. More than obese, these kids are sick — really sick. What do you do? Well, you can do what most doctors do – tell the kids to ditch the salt, sugar and fat; swap the video games for some fresh air; maybe prescribe some medication for the cholesterol or blood pressur...

Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with the lovely Rebecca Soni! To recap from Monday, Reb is a two-time World Swimmer of the Year; a multiple Olympic gold medalist & World Record Holder; a six-time NCAA Champion; a giant inspiration, especially to young women across the globe; as well as a beach dweller, dog owner, basic delight & overall legend now focused on giving back to sport through Atlas...

When I use the word “best” in reference to my guests, I mean it. Today's guest truly earns the adjective. If you follow the sport of competitive swimming, then this woman needs no introduction. Quite simply put, Rebecca Soni is one of the most accomplished athletes in the world, period. Here are just a few of her notables: 2-time Olympian (2008 / 2012) 6-time Olympic medalist Multiple world record...

Today we delve into an entirely new world. The world of tea. I can hear you now: Tea?? Really? Why should I care about tea? I've been enjoying the podcast a lot lately, Rich. But I'm not sure about this…I think you might have lost the thread this week.  A couple years ago I would have probably said the same thing. I don't feel that way anymore. So if you are thinking of skipping this episode becau...

People say people don’t change. Bullshit. I have the great honor of seeing and participating in lives that have changed so dramatically the people they are today bear almost no resemblance to who they once were. Weight loss, sure – I see that all the time. I'm talking more about drastic career changes; dramatic spiritual awakenings; and impossible recovery from profound addictions. I'm talking abo...

Unless you are a new listener to the show, then you very well may be fatigued by my show opening mantra. If so, you're out of luck, because I'm going to repeat it here anyway: Each week I bring you the best most forward thinking, paradigm busting minds in health, fitness, athleticism, creativity, diet, nutrition, art, entrepreneurship, personal growth & spirituality…. The goal is simple: to empowe...

Today were back with Ultraman competitor and EPIC5 finisher Christian Isakson for Part 2 of our conversation. Thanks for all the great comments and feedback I received on social media this week in response to Part 1. If you haven’t listened to that one yet dial it up first before tuning in here Part 2 just gets better. We delve into Christian's racing. He walks us through his first-hand experience...

Today's guest is a guy I relate to on so many levels. Like a big Venn diagram of overlapping circles — ultra-endurance multi-sport athlete, dad, husband, Ultraman competitor and EPIC5 finisher. Today's guest is unique in that he is the only guy I have ever had on the show who, like me, has competed in both the Ultraman World Championships and EPIC5 (not that there are very many of us – I think onl...

So many things wrong in the world. Melting ice caps. Greenhouse gas emissions. Global climate change. GMO Frankenfoods. Depleted soils. Poisoned fish. Rampant childhood obesity. Unsustainable food systems. Horrifying school lunch programs. Unprecedented hurricanes. Insane tsunamis. Constant forest fires. And oh yeah – how about that Texas-sized flotilla of plasticized garbage goo floating out in t...

The past couple weeks we went deep into nutrition. Now it's time to take a new direction. To delve into spirit. Creativity. And art. All powerful vehicles for connecting with, unlocking and ultimately expressing the authentic truth of who you are — the crux of life transformation. Today we Reimagine Your Truth. Today we meet IN-Q. Rapper. Actor. Teacher. Songwriter & internationally revered spoken...

Wow! Last week's guest, T. Colin Campbell, got a huge response. It's only a week since publication and the episode is well on its way to becoming one of the most popular editions of the RRP to date. Glad you enjoyed it and — as always — thanks for tuning in. Because the Dr. Campbell conversation introduced a large new population to the show, thought I would take a brief moment to clarify what we d...

This week we hit a huge milestone – 2 MILLION DOWNLOADS!  Wow. I was blown away when we hit 1 million after about a year since we started this experiment. Then just five months later, we hit the second million. I am beyond words. I love doing the podcast, love it. I do this for you. So it means more than you can imagine that it has found a passionate and loyal audience. With utmost sincerity, I th...