rich roll

This is so cool! Just the other day CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta announced his “4 Months To Fitness” initiative to get into the best shape of his life before his “big birthday” October 23 (40 I presume?).

Using his “Paging Dr. Gupta blog on CNNHealth and his Twitter @SanjayGuptaCNN Twitter account, Sanjay is harnessing some of the best practices people employ every day to stay in the best shape of their lives. His idea is to create a “living breathing forum” whereby not just him but all of America can join along on this quest to get fit by October.

And if that’s not cool enough, he is calling on some of his fitness buddies for tips and inspiration. In his recent blog post, I was over the moon to be mentioned (along with Lance Armstrong!) as playing some small part in his inspiration. I am truly honored to be recognized along with such luminous company and sincerely hope that I can provide service to this awesome groundswell social media wellness movement.

Please join myself, Dr. Gupta and thousands of Americans on this amazing journey! You can join in on Twitter by searching “#1023” and by posting your fitness tips, experiences & questions with the #1023 tagline at the end of your Twitter posts.

And by the way, Dr. Gupta and I have almost the same birthday! I’m October 20….

For more information on the “4 Months To Fitness” Initiative:

Click HERE to visit the “Paging Dr. Gupta Blog” on CNN.com

Click HERE to visit Dr. Gupta on Twitter

Let’s get fit America!

Big props to Joe Toreno for his great photography on the MEN’S FITNESS piece.  He is a great guy and was alot of fun to work with.  Here are the raw images alongside how they appeared in the magazine.  Also, please check out Joe’s groovy BLOG and WEBSITE to see more of his work.

Quite honestly, its been a very rough couple weeks. I can only describe what has been going on as a total dismantling – physically, spiritually, financially, professionally. This mash-up of amazing recent accolades and exposure contrasted by private struggles have brought into question just about everything.

It all came to a head on Saturday, when I went over my handlebars at about 25mph outside Ojai – about 70 miles into what was meant to be a 130 mile ride. I lost consciousness and due to some amnesia I’m still at a loss as to what exactly happened. I came to with the help of some very nice women cyclists who gave me a ride to the local ER. I had a serious concussion and my face took the brunt of the impact, particularly my mouth, which required many stitches on the inside of my lower lip.

In truth, I was very lucky. I could have broken my neck, my collarbone, any number of bones. And I will be fine after a week or 2 of convalescing.

But what is the takeaway?

On the one hand, it was just an accident. If you ride alot, its just going to happen. Period. But on the other hand, I believe its significant that my first thought was “when can I get back on my bike” as opposed to “I need to stop riding”. It was a pinnacle event in this dismantling process, where everything I thought I knew about how to live my life is being called into question, cast aside and demanding a harder look. Although its trite to say such a “near death” experience makes one take stock of their life and what is important, its also true. And in my case, I was already doing so when this occurred. The crash only served to crystallize my conviction.

And what is that conviction? That I need to get honest about who I am, what I want out of this short life and have the courage to let go of the things that don’t serve me and step into what I am coming to believe is my true calling.

Don’t get me wrong – I love my clients and I know I am a very good lawyer. But life is short and I really believe that I have a better way to be of service to others. A unique means to help others in more profound ways than just assisting them with their business transactions. And let’s face it — I’m not being profiled on CNN for being a lawyer. But the truth is that taking that step into the unknown from the familiar (even when the familiar is painful) can be very difficult. Its a scary thing. But the crash seems to have crystallized my conviction to act. To take the leap and step into that unknown.

Let’s just say its going to be a very interesting next couple of weeks.

This is so cool.  Check out this piece that aired on CNN last week.  Dr. Sanjay Gupta gives me a nice shout out (even if he does shortchange the UM distance by 90 cycling miles, but who’s counting:)…let the video load, then forward to about the 19 minute mark. Its Nadal, LeBron…and me. What a trip. What an honor.