The SuperHuman Academy Podcast

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 be so successful in two entirely different worlds, and see what tips he had to offer to anyone looking to live a life as diverse as his.

We talk about how he manages his time, but more than that, we take a deep dive and deconstruct his entire learning methodology in depth, flow, habits, happiness, goals, and how David has spent decades deconstructing and analyzing his own performance from every possible angle.

Quite honestly, I can say without exaggeration that this is one of the absolute BEST episodes we've ever done.

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 about what you know, but also whom you know - and if that's true, then both Jayson and his incredible skill set are definitely worth knowing.

Throughout the episode, we talk about the power of a network like Jayson's for improving oneself, accomplishing one's goals, and making a lasting impact on the world. Jayson also shares some very practical tips for building your own network and connecting with the people you admire. All in all, I think you'll take a LOT away from Jayson's success story, and his wisdom.

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 medicine - from yoga to acupuncture - and how you can use them to improve yourself and your life. We talk about Yoga, Meditation, and the various benefits you can reap from each - as well as practical and easy ways to reap those benefits. We had a great conversation and really enjoyed ourselves, and I'm quite sure you'll enjoy listening in, as well.

Today, we are going to talk a bit about "drugs" - or rather, medicines. But not the drugs or medicines you're thinking of.

In fact, we're going to be talking about ancient, psychedelic medicines, used for hundreds or even thousands of years by indigineous societies for spiritual exploration. You may have heard of some of these substances - things like ayahuasca, psilocybin, or MDMA.

What you may not have heard is how powerful they can be for personal growth and development.

On that note, we are joined today by Dr. Dan Engle, a board certified expert in Psychiatry and Neurology with a clinical practice in holistic medicine, orthomolecular psychiatry and integrative spirituality.

He is medical consultant to the Temple of the Way of Light Ayahuasca Center in Peru and Onnit Labs in Austin, Texas.

He is also Medical Director of Crossroads Ibogaine Recovery Center in Rosarito, Mexico and the Rejuvenation and Performance Institute in Sedona, Arizona.

In this episode, my objective was to learn more about the power of tribal medicines such as Ayahuasca and Ibogaine, learn how they affect the body, and see why it is that they're experiencing such a renaissance. But, as always happens, I got so much more out of this conversation than I could have possibly imagined.

It's a bit of a longer and denser episode. We go deep into the world of psychedelics, spiritual exploration, trauma recovery, and more. We geek out on neuroscience, and share incredible stories. It's a bit of an unstructured conversation, but easily one of the most fascinating and engaging we've ever had.

Today, we are joined by Eric the Trainer, a renowned fitness trainer who has worked with some of the greatest names in Hollywood. He's trained UFC fighters, celebrities, and police academies alike, and he's a spokesperson for Gold's Gym, a writer for Muscle and Fitness and TRAIN magazine, and the Host of "Celebrity Sweat" on Spike TV.

In this episode, I wanted to gain some clearer understanding on the world of fitness training and muscle development, from someone who knows so much about it. But, in reality, I got much, much more than I was bargaining for. You see, because my guest today is literally THE force behind some of the most incredible physical transformations in Hollywood - the ones that make your jaw drop when you see them - my mind was opened up to a whole new realm of possibility.

We talk about diet, nutrition, and exercise - as we do in many episodes - but with the distinct difference that in this episode, we talk about the extreme end of the spectrum. The end where people's bodies can be radically transformed in a matter of weeks or even days. And then, we tie it back to practical tips that you can use to do the same to create the body of your dreams - whatever that is. I just know you're going to LOVE it.

Today, we are joined by Aubrey de Grey, biomedical gerontologist and Chief Science Officer of the SENS research foundation, and co-author of the book Ending Aging. You might know Aubrey from his appearances on 60 minutes, the BBC, The New York Times, Fortune, the Colbert Report, or his popular TED Talk. If you've heard him speak before, you'll know that he is one of the chief drivers behind the view that medical technology may one day enable people alive today to live… well, forever.

Through his research on regenerative medicine, and what he calls "Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence, or SENS," de Grey has proposed a number of ways to not only slow, but even stop and reverse the effects of age on the human body.

During the episode, we talk about these methods, the effects of aging, and also raise some of the ethical and practical issues surrounding the idea of a-mortality. We talk about learning, and I was just blown away by how much knowledge and expertise my guest has accumulated - and how he has accumulated it. We also have an absolutely fascinating and engaging conversation about the potential of the future, and what humanity may look like in 20 or 30 years. We truly dive into the idea of what it might be to be "superhuman," and the resulting conversation will definitely blow your mind.

For those of you who really love the heavy, sciencey episodes where we geek out on technical terms, you're really going to love this episode, and for those of you who don't, well, you're going to learn a whole hell of a lot about your body and how it ages, and I'm quite sure you'll get a kick out of my guest's combination of jaw dropping wit and dry British humor.

Today, we are joined by Dr. Mark Hyman, one of the most respected health & wellness experts on the planet - and one of the experts that experts themselves turn to.

Dr. Hyman is the founder of the UltraWellness Center, the Medical Director at Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine, and the ten time #1 New York Times Bestselling author of books like Eat Fat, Get Thin, Blood Sugar Solution, and the 10-Day Detox Diet. He is the medical advisor to both Bill and Hillary Clinton, the medical editor at the Huffington Post, and has been featured in just about every publication you can think of, from TED to NPR to CNN and more.

In this episode, we talk about… diet, nutrition, supplementation, and why over 70% of people are less healthy then they can and should be. We get pretty sciencey, and so I'm sure you're going to learn quite a bit about your body, what it needs, and how it works.

In this episode with Rabbi Moshe Miller, we are going to be exploring something a little bit different… In the past, we've talked about meditation and yoga, and in a sense, this episode will be a continuation of that. However, today, we're going to explore it from another angle - Kabbalah.

For those of you who have never heard of it, Kabbalah is a lesser-known teaching of Judaism, characterized by mysticism and mystery. In recent years, it's become hugely popular among dozens of celebrities, from Madonna to David Beckham, Ashton Kutcher, and Natalie Portman. Personally, I've always been intrigued and curious about it, given my interest in and enthusiasm for meditation, so I decided to explore that curiosity in a conversation, and record it for all of you. In that sense, I'm inviting you all to join me on my own learning journey, on a topic I used to know little to nothing about.

In this episode, I wanted to gain a deeper understanding both of what Kabbalah is, and what benefit it can offer us in our own lives. My goal was to extract some of the practical teachings of Kabbalah in a secular and non-religious fashion, and make it accessible to anyone in the audience. I hope you take a lot of value away from it.

Today, we're joined by yet another incredible expert I met during the Summit at Sea event late last year. His name is Colter Merrick.

As someone who doesn't drink alcohol, I was particularly happy to meet Colter, as he is an expert in non-alcoholic elixirs and cocktails.

What does this have to do with Becoming SuperHuman, you ask?

Well, it turns out that Colter runs a company called Elixart, where he and his team develop and produce powerful cocktails with loads of health and mood benefits. After trying just about everything on his menu, I was determined to get him on the show and pick his brain about some of the substances he introduced me to.

In this episode, we talk about everything from traditional herbs and plants used for healing, all the way to the flow of energy in our bodies and in our lives, and everything in between. We talk about some plants and substances that you may never have heard of, and why it might behoove you to experiment with them in your own lives… It's a great episode, and I just know you're going to learn a TON!

Greetings, SuperFriends!

In this episode, we are joined by a highly esteemed author and public speaker, a Harvard MBA and formal Walmart executive, who's book, entitled "The Book of Awesome," has been a New York Times Bestseller for 5 years straight. His popular TED talk has garnered millions of views, and his award winning blog, 1000 Awesome Things, ranks among some of the top blogs on the web. In addition, he's published a number of other books, and has most recently published The Happiness Equation, a book on how to rethink your life, your career, your time, and your relationships. In this episode, I wanted to get behind the science of happiness and simplicity with someone who has devoted his career to it. We talk about the habits of happiness, the law of attraction, the science of success, life satisfaction, motivation, life transitions, and much, much more. It's an absolutely fascinating episode with a brilliant mind, and I just know you'll take away a ton of motivation and inspiration, just like I did.