Dane Jackson is arguably the best all-around whitewater kayaker in the world. You could say kayaking is in his blood - his father is a legendary kayaker, a world-champion freestyle kayaker, and is the owner of Jackson Kayaking (the biggest white water kayak manufacturer in the world). Dane was homeschooled and grew up with his family in an RV - and was already kayaking when he was 2 years old. His dad wanted to kayak as much as possible, so today, Dane continues that tradition, living in his RV and on the road year-round - trying to get 300 days of kayaking each year. 

Dane and I discussed:

And much, much more...

Dane Jackson 

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Links About Rivers & Damns

Hayley Stuart Ted Talk

American Whitewater

Save The Zambezi

My Take: You only have one life, you should live it to the maximum - pursue your passion and let your imagination run wild. Talking to people like Dane always gets me extremely excited, as they seem to live with extreme purpose. Doing exactly what they love, all year round, to me is the deepest expression of one's self. To chase your passion with the tenacity of a lion chasing a gazelle. I hope he inspires you to pursue your passion as well. 

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Ognjen Topic is one of the best Muay Thai fighters to come out of the US. He is a 3x world champion and after a decade of professional fighting, he still competes at the highest level in Muay Thai. Born in Bosnia and raised in Serbia, at the age of 9 he and his family fled to the US right before the war broke out. He is currently in Thailand full time, as he has decided to dedicate his prime years to excelling and being the best version of himself in the sport that he loves. 

Ognjen and I discussed: 

And much more...

Ognjen Topic

My Take: Ognjen is a real testament that hard work, self-belief, and dedication will help you fulfill your dreams. He is the American Dream. He did not allow anything to stop him from pursuing the goals he set for himself - and used the passion and fire he had within him to become one of the best in Muay Thai fighters in the world. 

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Rhona Mitra is an actress, model, and singer. Rhona appeared as the live-action model for Lara Croft, the lead character in the Tomb Raider video game series. Born in London, England, her parents were pretty absent from her childhood - which led her to try and find other communities that would accept her like family - which is how she found acting. Rhona has acted in many shows and movies, but in recent years, has focused more of her time and attention on her animals, and farm, in Uruguay. A few years ago, she decided (for reasons that we discuss on the podcast) to move to Uruguay, buy land, and start living off the land as much as possible. To say her path was fraught with difficulties would be an understatement. On the podcast, Rhona was very transparent about her life, how she felt, and the things she’d gone through. 

Rhona and I discussed:

And much, much more...

Rhona Mitra

My Take: Not everything is as it seems, not in Hollywood, not on Instagram, and not on the farm. Nothing is all good (or all bad) - life is nuanced, and humans have layers and complexities. The more we peel away, the more meaning we find - not by looking outwards at others, but inwards at ourselves. Not by judging how we stack up compared to the outside world, but what our inner world has to offer. 

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David Crow had an incredibly difficult upbringing and a personal story that will shock any reader. His new book, The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story, is a raw account of David's childhood growing up on the Navajo Indian Reservation. His father was a violent criminal who groomed David to be his partner in crime - but that was not the life David wanted to live. David is a gifted storyteller; during this whole episode, he vividly articulates and relives all the true childhood stories that have haunted him for years. 

David and I discussed: 

And much, much more...

David Crow

My Take: To not only survive what he survived but to do a complete 180 and live to tell about it, is both remarkable and admirable. If anyone is a true example of overcoming one's circumstances, it's David. He truly is the poster boy for overcoming adversity and not allowing his past to define him. Through the painful stories lies inspiration and hope that your circumstances don't determine your outcome. 

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Jim Richardson has built a photographic career around visual storytelling by creating groundbreaking work in documentary, environmental photography, and the critical issue of feeding our planet. Jim is a photographer for National Geographic Magazine and a contributing editor for its sister publication, Traveler Magazine. Over the years he has shot more than 50 stories for National Geographic. 

Originally from Kansas, in 2007 Jim was named Kansan of the year by Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas. In 2015 he was honored by his fellow National Geographic photographers as their “Photographer’s Photographer. Jim is an international speaker, storyteller, educator, and amazing photographer. He has covered everything from life on wee Scottish islands, the urgent need to save our night skies, small-town lessons of community survival, and much more...

We discussed:

And much more...

Jim Richardson 

My Take: A great photographer is not simply a shooter of images or someone who freezes a moment in time. It is someone who tells a visual tale through his images. He is someone that makes you stop and wonder, or feel deep emotion when you look into the soul of his image. Photography has always been, and will continue to be, a powerful tool to convey stories, to capture a moment in time, or to simply share a happy moment. 

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Colin Landforce is a relentless builder, a serial entrepreneur, and the COO of Unrivaled - a leading cannabis multi-state operator, and the parent company of multiple dominant cannabis lifestyle brands. He has spent the last 10 years working in regulated consumer product markets - and the last 5 years in recreational cannabis. 

Colin and I discussed

And much more...

Colin Landforce

My Take: When Colin and I recorded this episode, Ned Lamont had just legalized recreational cannabis in Connecticut - making it the 19th state to do so. It is due time to make cannabis federally legal for many reasons, but here are just a few (in my opinion):

1. There are many medicinal advantages that we are not able to explore due to it being federally illegal 

2. People are getting incarcerated in certain states, for something that is perfectly legal in another (this doesn't make sense to me). 

3. It makes it extremely difficult for young entrepreneurs to develop this space, which could boost economic growth

4. 0 people have died from cannabis. Ze-ro. Unlike tobacco and alcohol. 

There are many more reasons, and I could go on. I hope that we can get it legal soon so that responsible adults can enjoy it and entrepreneurs can develop startups without the regulatory hurdles and social stigma associated with cannabis.

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Emily is the founder of Social Lite Creative - A digital marketing and strategic consulting firm offering services in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. She is also a columnist for the Jerusalem Post and is on the social media front lines when it comes to defending Israel - and debunking myths, lies, and misinformation that is rampant on all social media platforms. She is also a research fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute, where she researches online hate speech. Emily regularly teaches others the importance of social media in the digital age. Emily has also advised the Israeli parliament (Knesset) on the dangers of antisemitism and terrorist activity on social media.

Throughout this last flare-up in which Hamas attacked Israel, Emily was diligent in debunking widespread lies, putting out informative videos and explaining the situation in a truthful manner to the outside world.

Emily and I discussed:

And much, much more...

Emily Schrader

My Take: Many people already have their minds made up when it comes to this conflict. Try to keep an open mind when you listen to this conversation, and see if perhaps you can learn something new about a conflict, that, let's be honest most people know little about but already have their minds made up on. It is crucial that personalities like Emily step up and speak the truth without fear of retribution. 

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Jim Davidson is a resilience expert and motivational speaker. From his 36 years as a high-altitude climber and expedition leader, Jim distills compelling stories and uplifting lessons about resilience and reaching one's goals. Jim's new book "The Next Everest: Surviving the Mountain's Deadliest Day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again" is a harrowing tale of Jim's time on Mount Everest when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake released avalanches all around him and his team.

Jim and I discussed:

And much more...

Jim Davidson

My Take: The mountains are an amazing place, they can teach us so much about ourselves, give us lessons that we can take into the real world, and change our perspective on life. They can also be extremely unforgiving, ruthless, and grim. We must tread with caution and respect, and if we are lucky, the mountain will let us summit it. 

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Bill is the founder and CEO of Minds. Minds is an alternative to social networks such as Facebook & Twitter, both of which he believes abuse their users via "spying, data mining, algorithm manipulation, and no revenue sharing". Minds focuses on being much more privacy-oriented than mainstream social media networks. Bill walked me through the idea behind his platform and why, he feels, privacy-oriented websites are the future. 

Bill and I discussed - 

And much more...

Bill Ottman 

My Take: We seem to have completely given over not only our privacy but also our autonomy. Big tech platforms seem to know all our deepest darkest secrets with a click of a button - and are profiting off of it - while also causing division and many other social and psychological problems. Alternative sites like Minds are going o become crucial and more popular as these conversations around privacy keep popping up everywhere. 

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Paul Shapiro is the author of the national bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World. He's the CEO of The Better Meat Co.. A four-time TEDx speaker, the host of the Business for Good Podcast, and a long-time leader in food sustainability.

Paul is on the frontlines of the "clean meat" revolution. He is one of the staunchest advocates for this technology and he believes that in the future this will not only be readily available but a superior option to the meat we currently consume. 

Paul and I discussed - 

And much more...

Paul Shapiro

My Take: Our current way of producing food (mainly meat) is unsustainable and unethical. I believe future generations will look at us in disgust. As technology advances, lab-grown meat will become better and more financially viable for consumers. Humans will never give up meat, so this technology is a way to reduce emissions and reduce the unnecessary murder of sentient animals - while still giving consumers the food they want and crave. 

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