Rich Roll is an ultra endurance athlete who also has a very popular podcast. He’s an advocate of a vegan, plant-based diet and healthy living and known as one of the fittest men on the planet, with a host of endurance accomplishments. It wasn’t always this way. In Finding Ultra, Roll is searingly honest and tells us his life story from shy high school swim star to being a swim star at Stanford. At Stanford, he discovered alcohol and how it could help him with his shyness, and from there it was a steady decline into addiction. He tells of one of his lowest points, where he was drunk during his graduation from law school and in his drunken haze, he decided to collect his degree on stage in bare feet, much to his parents’ horror. With the help of AA and rehab, Roll gets sober but is eating horrendous …[Read More]
Motivation
No alcohol for a month – here’s what I found
I wrote the below in August 2019 but it’s been in draft until now. I thought about it again now I’m basically dry until the baby arrives. I’ve never done a period off booze. Not that I’m a heavy drinker or ever have been. I’ve enjoyed social drinking and good binge session for more than 2 decades now and never felt the need to do a dry January. In recent years, I’ve enjoyed boozing less and less. I still love the taste of craft beer and good wine, but my hangovers are getting longer and longer. Sometimes they last until the third day. It isn’t always throbbing headaches. It’s also a feeling of not being too sharp and slightly foggy-headed. I’ve toyed with the idea of would my life improve greatly if I just gave it up. At the end of July, I went to a craft beer place with …[Read More]
4 speeches to put fire in your belly and put hairs on your chest
These speeches will make you stand a little taller, with your chin held up, with your chest puffed that bit further out. And put fire in your belly and hairs on your chest. I watch these whenever I need inspiration and some courage. Hopefully, they give you some too! Al Pacino’s speech in Scent of a Woman (1992) If you haven’t seen this film yet, then watch it before this humdinger of an ending speech. For a very useful transcipt of the Pacino’s barnstorming speech, see this link from American Rhetoric. Arnie’s 6 Rules of Success Arnie is the man. Plain and simple. Champion bodybuilder, self-made millionaire businessman, blockbuster A-list acting legend, Governor of California, all-round great guy. Listen to this. Rocky’s speech to his son in Rocky Balboa (2006) Every Rocky film (except Rocky V of course) has made me cry. Floods of tears. The final struggle of the …[Read More]
What’s really holding you back? Truly?
If we start from the position that we all have potential, then why is there a gap between where your potential self is and where you are at the moment? How big is that gap? What is your true potential? It might be that your true potential is way more than you think it is. In which case, the gap is even bigger than you know. Step one is where you are now. Step two is looking at where you think your potential is. So this might be being a writer or being an artist. Step three is discovering where your true potential might be (and you would need help from outside to discover this). This might be being a rocket scientist, climbing the world’s highest and most difficult mountains. Step four is addressing how to bridge that gap and narrow it as much as possible. Do you think that …[Read More]
Discovering Mel Robbins: a summary of her message and her 5 Second Rule
I recently discovered Mel Robbins on Instagram. She puts out great Instagram content such as: “What would @oprah do?” – That simple question is the key to making better decisions. It’s what I always ask myself when I’m weighing options and have a tough decision to make. By asking “what would @oprah do”, I literally CHANGE the way I think. It’s called the “power of objectivity” and in this video I share this powerful tool with you. – When I consider any problem from Oprah’s perspective, I silence my emotions, think creatively and have the ability be more strategic about the choices in front of me. It works like a charm. – Now it’s your turn. Who do you admire? Tag them. The next time you have a decision to make, stop and ask yourself what would they do. A post shared by Mel Robbins (@melrobbinslive) on Aug 23, 2018 …[Read More]