The Becoming Superhuman Podcast

This week, we are joined by a New York Times bestselling author who’s books you’ve almost certainly heard of: Why We Get Fat and Good Calories, Bad Calories. Way before the “Paleo” movement took off in a meaningful way, our guest today was one of the early opinion leaders to promote the idea that not all calories are the same - and that the idea of just “eating less” regardless of what you eat is fundamentally flawed.   Though we have covered diet and nutrition quite a bit on the show, it’s such a central aspect of optimal performance that it bears further investigation and occasional repetition.   Throughout the episode, we take a really deep dive into not just nutrition, but also how it came to be that everything the average person knows about nutrition is fundamentally wrong. We learn how this misinformation has persisted, why it has been so detrimental, and how things are starting to change all over the world. We talk about paleo nutrition, common dietary misconceptions, and a criticism of bad science

Today we are joined by Mattias Ribbing, a 3-time Swedish memory champion, and one of less than 200 people in the entire world who can lay claim to the title “GrandMaster of Memory.” He’s written three books on both memory and productivity, and is an accomplished public speaker and coach. But, while today Mattias is one of the top experts in memory and accelerated learning in Europe -as you’ll learn today, he wasn’t always a memory whiz. And like myself, Mattias’ journey started out of a passion for learning and improving himself. In this episode, Mattias and I mind-melded on everything from learning and memory, to a brain-optimizing diet, to fasting, flow, and nootropics. Mattias shares a LOT of incredible wisdom and certainly doesn’t hold back his best tips… I even learned a few new things about mnemonic techniques that I’ve never heard, and came away with a long list of improvements I want to make to my own training materials! Mattias is simply brilliant, and his intellect and enthusiasm simple bubbles over

This is the 2nd part of the Episode 100 where I revisit each episode, and offer you the top 1-2 takeaways that I personally remember from each one. I'll tell you why I think that each one is important, and how it has affected my life. At the end, I'll also let you know my top 10 favorite episodes, and the top 10 books that guests have recommended.   Please refer to Episode 100A which is the first part of the Special Episode 100.

Greetings, SuperFriends, and welcome to a very special episode of The Becoming SuperHuman Podcast... Our 100th episode! Can you guys believe that it's been a HUNDRED episodes? When I first started out, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to 10. And when I listen back to my first few episodes, the absolutely cringeworthy performance I gave makes it all the more impressive that you guys have stuck with me this far. For our 100th episode, I wanted to do something a little bit special. You see, at the beginning of every episode, we promise to give you the skills and strategies to overcome the impossible. For the most part, I feel that we deliver on that promise every single week. Though, with 100 episodes, it can be hard to keep track of all of the takeaways we've offered on the show. Even I, who records the episodes and then listens to them after they've been edited, lose sight of all the nuggets and hidden gems that come out over the course of time. That's why, for this special episode, I want to revisit ea

A few years ago, today's guest was a financier headed down a path of poor health. Today, he is one of America’s top transformational coaches, with millions of followers on his social media channels, numerous companies, and an internet marketing empire that, quite frankly, blew my mind when I discovered it. Through his message of the powers of juicing and other dietary habits, he’s transformed the lives of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people… He’s also published 11 books, ranging from juicing to dream hacking and mental transformation… So you know we just had to hear more. In this episode, we talk about childhood trauma, path to self improvement, spirituality, belief systems, juicing, lucid dreaming, motivation, accelerated learning, outsourcing and delegation, identity and purpose, and so much more. I went into the interview expecting to talk about juicing and nutrition, and in the end, came away with a massive, massive dose of inspiration, motivation, and heck… even a few life lessons that just mi

This week we are joined by Justin Stenstrom, a nationally acclaimed life coach, author, entrepreneur, and speaker. Justin is the founder of EliteManMagazine.com, host of the Elite Man Podcast, and the author of the book Giving Shy Guys Game. Justin’s mission is to empower modern men to be their absolute best selves - a mission which we share - though the episode has appeal to both men AND women. Throughout this episode, we talk about confidence, self esteem, fear, relationships, and much, much more. You’ll clearly see that years of interviewing, writing, reading, and learning has turned Justin into a jack of all trades when it comes to personal development, and so what’s really nice about this episode is that it hits the high notes of a TON of different areas of life. I think you’ll really going to enjoy it and learn a lot!  

Today, we welcome nutrition expert and public speaker Jaakko Halmetoja to the show. Jaakko is the host of InspiRadio Podcast and has spent the last few years popularizing unique uses of foods like chaga mushroom, chocolate, wild foods, berries, and medicinal herbs. He’s also the author of two books, including The BioHacker’s Handbook. My goal for this episode was to go a bit wider with nutrition - far beyond the topic of paleo that we’ve covered before. I wanted to discover unique foods, unusual findings, and surprising takeaways. In this episode, we talk about a wide variety of health and biohacking topics - from superfoods to unusual supplements and different ways to hack your body and mind. I really enjoyed his very holistic approach to nutrition and nutrients, which is so much less rigid and pinpointed than that of so many experts out there. My big takeaway from this episode was that it’s more about the big picture - the overall lifestyle and mosaic of what you eat and how you live, than it is about addin

This week, we are joined by Australian endurance athlete and motivational speaker Luke Tyburski. Luke is the subject of the new documentary, The Ultimate Triathlon, which documents his grueling journey towards completing the notorious Morocco to Monaco triathlon, a 2,000 kilometer, 12 day taste of hell on earth. To put it into perspective, The Ultimate Triathlon is the equivalent of swimming 500 laps in a 50 meter pool - then cycling the entire length of Britain, and then running a staggering 14 - yes, 14 - marathons. All in less than 2 weeks. In this episode, I wanted to gain some insight not just into Luke’s physical performance and training regimen, but also into what goes on in the mind of a person who willingly subjects himself to such grueling conditions. How does he do it? Why? And what can we learn from it? Throughout the episode, we talk about endurance, goal setting, tenacity, and how you can learn to overcome even the toughest of physical limitations. Luke shares how he has been able to train himse

This week, we’re joined by Olly Richards, the world-renowned language learning expert behind IWillTeachYouALanguage.com. Olly speaks no less than 8 languages, and has taught tens of thousands of people all over the world how to learn languages quickly, easily, and without all the headaches. Also a successful entrepreneur and author, having written numerous books and online courses, and he even hosts his own top-rated podcast. In this episode, I wanted to connect with Olly and hear what he has to say about language learning. Does he agree with past experts we’ve had on the show? Disagree? How and why? How do his own strategies for accelerated language learning mesh with my own framework? In this interview, Olly and I really hit it off, and we jammed about everything from language learning, to memory techniques, to why all of this is so important. Olly shares some interesting and often surprising thoughts on how best to learn a language, and even tells us about some cool resources that I’d never heard of. It’s

This week we are joined by Ryan Munsey, a former athlete turned bestselling author. Ryan started his career with a degree in dietetics, and along the way, worked as a personal trainer, a nutritionist, and even a fitness model. Today, however, in addition to writing, he hosts The Optimal Performance Podcast, runs the House of Strength training facility in Roanoke, Virginia, AND, on top of all of that, serves as the Chief Optimizer of Natural Stacks, a supplement and nootropic company. He’s been featured in Men’s Fitness, CBS, FOX, ESPN Radio, and many more. Ryan and I really hit it off during the episode, and you can definitely tell that we’re cut from the same cloth. The episode runs the gamut - from nootropics, to diet and nutrition, to supplementation, and more. A lot of the things Ryan shared, I had never even heard about before, and I found myself learning a lot more than even I expected. I can confidently say that after hearing this episode, you’ll have a much better grasp on how to boost your mental and

As you guys know, my connection to the “superhuman” world is the work I do in accelerated learning, speed reading, and memory techniques. And I would imagine that you all, like yours truly, are very interested in keeping your brains happy and healthy, as much if not more than the rest of your bodies. Well, today, we’re going to talk about exactly that - keeping your brain healthy - now and well into your old age. We are joined by Steven William Fowkes, the biohacker, author, and health expert behind Project Wellbeing, who’s spent the last 14 years promoting an insight into Alzheimer’s prevention. Now, you might not yet be the age where you need to worry about Alzheimer’s, but in fact, Steven’s words of wisdom apply to all age groups. That’s because he has authored or co-authored 6 books, and is a true renaissance man with interests and work spanning from nanotechnology to nutrition to material’s science. In this episode, we talk about all things related to the brain and improving it’s performance. We talk abo

Today we are joined by the New York Times Bestselling Author behind the book, “The Paleo Cure” and the host of Revolution Health Radio Podcast. You might remember in the past, we had my friend and role model Robb Wolf on the show, who is considered one of the most central folks to the Paleo movement. Well, Robb called today’s guest the most knowledgable clinician in the paleo world - and for that reason, we just had to get him on today’s show. You’ve seen him and his work in TIME, NPR, The Atlantic, and more - but it turns out that as a licensed acupuncturist and a self-described “health detective,” today’s guest has a lot more to teach us about health than just dieting. In this episode, we talk about everything from the paleo diet, to how it can repair quite a bit of chronic health ailments, to the many issues with our modern lifestyles, and much, much more.

Normally, on the show, I interview real-life superhumans to tease out the skills and strategies they use to achieve the seemingly impossible. This week is a little different. This week, we have a "mini" episode; an essay I've written on learning, and why I feel that it's the only skill that really matters. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed producing it. Please take a moment to let me know what you think in the comments either way!

Today we’re joined by Alex Charfen, a serial entrepreneur who has has spent his life seeking to understand how to make business grow - a question that eventually evolved into wondering: “How do you help people grow?”   Through his research and years as a top consultant to billionaires, the Fortune 500 and global 100, Alex discovered what he calls the long-misunderstood Entrepreneurial Personality Type (EPT). Best-selling author Robin Sharma recently described Alex as, “the most progressive entrepreneurial mind on the planet” - and for good reason. Since the tender age of 8, Alex has been starting, growing, and selling businesses, and teaching tens thousands of people all over the world how to do the same. He is even a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX News, and USA Today.   As you guys know, we don’t often talk entrepreneurship on the show, focusing more on health and fitness. Well, Alex has some important things to say about that, as well. But more importantly, I think that th

Today, we’re joined by Craig Ballantyne, a Productivity & Success Transformation Coach, online marketing guru, entrepreneur, and the author of The Perfect Day Formula: How to Own the Day and Control Your Life. In 2001, Craig created the popular home workout program, Turbulence Training, and he’s also the founder of the Certified Turbulence Training Program, certifying trainers from all corners of the globe. He built on that success, building and buying numerous wildly successful online businesses such as Early to Rise, ETR University, and Online Info Blueprint, and today is considered one of the biggest names in my industry, having impacted literally millions of people’s lives. Craig’s online success has led him to create books and a coaching program to show other gurus how to take their ideas and help thousands of people. He holds seminars around the world, and he teaches at the annual SovereignAcademy.org camp every summer in Lithuania. Craig has been a contributor to Men's Health magazine since 2000, a

We are joined by Dr. David Orman, a wellness entrepreneur, expert, educator, coach, and bestselling author commonly known as “Doc Wellness." Over the years, David has lectured to Congress, taught at major universities, and treated thousands of patients. He’s also an avid martial artist, practicing no less than 5 individual martial arts. In this episode, we talk about the ancient tradition of Tao, and how you can use it excel in health, abundance, and life. We talk about Daoism, martial arts, acupuncture, energies, and how it all fits together. I think this episode is going to pique your interest and curiosity about some of the eastern philosophies, and if so, I encourage you guys to continue learning more and checking out the books and resources we mentioned in the end of the interview.

Today we are joined by Derek Rydall, an american screenwriter and author. Derek has worked as an actor, a screenwriter, a screenplay consultant, and has written a few books. He also hosts a podcast called Best Year Of Your Life. But actually, he joins us today to talk about his latest book - Emergence: Seven Steps for Radical Life Change.It's a book about enacting change in your life and in yourself, and figuring out how to re-engage with an ancient principle for living a better life. During this episode, we talk about the Law of Emergence and some of the misconceptions about self help and personal growth, we learn Derek’s story of his own emergence, and if you stick around to the end, you’ll even get a free copy of Derek’s book! I hope you guys really enjoy the episode and get a hefty dose of inspiration and motivation from it!

Today we are joined by a real-life superhuman - a man who has risen to prominence in not just one, but two extremely competitive arenas. David Heinemeier Hansson, better known as “DHH,” is a software developer, entrepreneur, and race-car driver from Denmark. He’s most known for his company, Basecamp, and for developing the popular Ruby on Rails web development framework that has taken the world of web development by storm. In 2005, he was recognized as “Hacker of the Year” by Google and O’Reilly. He’s written a slew of books on software development, and 3 very popular books on building and managing software companies: Getting Real, Rework, and Remote. If that weren’t enough, David has also had a meteoric rise to prominence in the world of auto-racing, climbing through the ranks and coming in among the top spots in what many would call record time. In this episode, I wanted to deconstruct David’s thinking process and figure out how he learns so much so effectively. I wanted to understand how he has managed to

Today we are joined by Jayson Gaignard - quite possibly one of the world’s best networkers. In 2012, Gaignard began curating dinners in Toronto, Canada with small groups of entrepreneurs that focused on relationship building. The invite-only dinners became MastermindTalks—larger conferences for entrepreneurs geared toward health, wealth, self-improvement, and networking. Despite humble beginnings, Jason has grown mastermind talks into a world-renowned institution in the entrepreneurial space, hosting such greats as Tim Ferriss, James Altucher, A. J. Jacobs, Esther Perel, Dave Asprey, Guy Kawasaki, and Marc Ecko. In fact, Forbes described Gaignard as one of the top networkers to watch in 2015. He’s also published a book and produces a podcast on the topic of network building. In this episode, I wanted to learn more about how Jayson has built such strong ties with some of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs, and see if we can learn anything from his success. My father always told me that it’s not just ab

Today, we are joined by one of the top names in the world of Yoga - Tiffany Cruikshank. Because we've done episodes on meditation and ayurveda, it seemed only fitting to round out the trifecta and discuss Yoga, especially since it has seen such an incredible renaissance in the last decade, and is, in many ways, the go-to for tens of millions of people looking to improve their health, their lives, and their performance. With a B.S. in medicinal plant biology and nutrition, a masters in acupuncture and oriental medicine, and a specialty in sports medicine and orthopedics, Tiffany Cruikshank is an expert in how holistic medicine and yoga come together. She teaches vinyasa yoga, and leads teacher trainings in her therapeutic style of yoga, called Yoga Medicine. In addition to all of this, she has written two books, Optimal Health for a Vibrant Life, and Meditate Your Weight, and has served as the acupuncturist at Nike's World Headquarters for the last 5 years. In this episode, we talk about all things holistic me