Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
Happy new moon, everybody!
Today we fly down to the hills of Calabasas, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where I sat behind a microphone at a walnut desk across from the one and only Rich Roll.
Rich went to Stanford and Cornell and was a national athlete in swimming before his career was cut short by a decade-long struggle with alcohol—eventually landing him in jail and rehab. On the eve of his 40th birthday, as he walked up the stairs he was left totally winded… and decided it was time to make a change.
The next day, Rich overhauled his life. He switched to a 100% vegan, plant-based diet, grabbed his running shoes, jumped back into the pool, and two years later, fueled only by plants and after losing 50 pounds, he became the first vegan to ever compete in the 320-mile ultra-marathon and finished as the 3rd fastest American in the race.
Are you kidding me??
He then went on to complete five Ironman Triathlons on five islands of Hawaii in one week!
In 2012, he wrote his inspirational memoir 'Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World’s Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself', which became a bestseller upon its release. It’s a fantastic book and memoir. I’ve read it. I loved it and can’t recommend it enough.
In 2013, he launched The Rich Roll Podcast which is honestly my favorite podcast on the planet. Rich hangs out at the edge of personal growth and development and offers deep exploration—what he calls "a weekly aural dance"— with guests like Yuval Noah Harari, Malala Yousafzai, and, yes, even me!
If you know Rich this classic chat is a way to see him from a new side by learning about which books make him tick ... and if you don't know him yet, well, you're in for a treat. He's a gem and I think after the chat you'll want to keep hanging out with him on YouTube or Instagram.
Pull up an extra chair and grab a seat at our table!
-
SUBSCRIBE: bit.ly/2HHWPYg
Hey there,
I'm Neil and I spend a ton of time thinking, writing, podcasting, and speaking about living intentionally. I'm the New York Times bestselling author of six books including The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation. I've been lucky to speak at places like TED, SXSW, and Google. And I host a huge passion project called the 3 Books podcast.
Want more 3 Books? Check out my top interviews with:
Brené Brown youtube.com/watch?v=X5l-Auv7h8Y
Quentin Tarantino youtube.com/watch?v=VVFdvfiPB-w
David Sedaris youtube.com/watch?v=wzz8tqnz1mI
Want to read more of my stuff?
https://www.neil.blog/archive/
Want to check out my podcast?
3books.co
Want to learn about my live events?
globalhappiness.org/speaking
Want my monthly book recos?
1000awesomethings.com/reading-club
Want my articles on intentional living?
https://www.neil.blog/newsletter/
I am also on the following drugs:
Facebook: facebook.com/NeilPasricha
Twitter: twitter.com/neilpasricha
Instagram: instagram.com/neilpasricha
Lastly, thanks so much for watching this vid.
👊,
Neil
neil@globalhappiness.org
Happy new moon, everybody!
Today we fly down to the hills of Calabasas, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where I sat behind a microphone at a walnut desk across from the one and only Rich Roll.
Rich went to Stanford and Cornell and was a national athlete in swimming before his career was cut short by a decade-long struggle with alcohol—eventually landing him in jail and rehab. On the eve of his 40th birthday, as he walked up the stairs he was left totally winded… and decided it was time to make a change.
The next day, Rich overhauled his life. He switched to a 100% vegan, plant-based diet, grabbed his running shoes, jumped back into the pool, and two years later, fueled only by plants and after losing 50 pounds, he became the first vegan to ever compete in the 320-mile ultra-marathon and finished as the 3rd fastest American in the race.
Are you kidding me??
He then went on to complete five Ironman Triathlons on five islands of Hawaii in one week!
In 2012, he wrote his inspirational memoir 'Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World’s Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself', which became a bestseller upon its release. It’s a fantastic book and memoir. I’ve read it. I loved it and can’t recommend it enough.
In 2013, he launched The Rich Roll Podcast which is honestly my favorite podcast on the planet. Rich hangs out at the edge of personal growth and development and offers deep exploration—what he calls "a weekly aural dance"— with guests like Yuval Noah Harari, Malala Yousafzai, and, yes, even me!
If you know Rich this classic chat is a way to see him from a new side by learning about which books make him tick ... and if you don't know him yet, well, you're in for a treat. He's a gem and I think after the chat you'll want to keep hanging out with him on YouTube or Instagram.
Pull up an extra chair and grab a seat at our table!
-
SUBSCRIBE: bit.ly/2HHWPYg
Hey there,
I'm Neil and I spend a ton of time thinking, writing, podcasting, and speaking about living intentionally. I'm the New York Times bestselling author of six books including The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation. I've been lucky to speak at places like TED, SXSW, and Google. And I host a huge passion project called the 3 Books podcast.
Want more 3 Books? Check out my top interviews with:
Brené Brown youtube.com/watch?v=X5l-Auv7h8Y
Quentin Tarantino youtube.com/watch?v=VVFdvfiPB-w
David Sedaris youtube.com/watch?v=wzz8tqnz1mI
Want to read more of my stuff?
https://www.neil.blog/archive/
Want to check out my podcast?
3books.co
Want to learn about my live events?
globalhappiness.org/speaking
Want my monthly book recos?
1000awesomethings.com/reading-club
Want my articles on intentional living?
https://www.neil.blog/newsletter/
I am also on the following drugs:
Facebook: facebook.com/NeilPasricha
Twitter: twitter.com/neilpasricha
Instagram: instagram.com/neilpasricha
Lastly, thanks so much for watching this vid.
👊,
Neil
neil@globalhappiness.org
