October 20, 2018

Hangover-free wine?

Yep, you read that correctly. You'll hear about that and much more on today's podcast.

My bio on Todd White is extremely short.

Fanatical biohacker. Wears the same uniform every day. Starts every morning with 40 minutes of meditation. Eats one meal a day. Drinks a bottle of wine each night.

And that's about it.

But this guy runs incredibly deep.

In today's podcast, recorded after I did a meditation session with the entire team at Todd's Dry Farm Wines office in Napa Valley, we have a rich and meaningful conversation about meditation, manifestation, gratitude, fasting, and, of course, everything you need to know about organic wine.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

 -The morning ritual that Todd and his team do together every morning…6:13

• They start work at 10 am to allow team members to “protect their mornings.”
• “Circle of love.” Usually lasts 60-90 minutes.
  • Meditation
  • Breathwork
  • Gratefulness therapy
• It's not a day of work; it's a day of creating.
• Todd sees himself in the “health” business, in addition to the taste business.
• The warehouse workers are the most poignant example of the efficacy of this practice.
  • Warehouse workers are typically treated as objects by leadership.
  • Todd sees them as the center of love, energy and light.
  • It causes them to want to contribute and create.

-The stringent hiring practices Todd uses to ensure the right people are hired…12:54

• BTW, Dry Farm Wines is hiring! dryfarmwines.com/jobs
• The job descriptions include everything about the company, including the “Peace and Profit Manifesto”.
• First rule: “We lead with love.”
• Life, not business, questions; essay format.
• Designed to be self-selecting; they want people to “opt out” if they don't see themselves as a good fit.

-Some of the unconventional work practices that Dry Farm Wines uses to balance life and work…17:08

• Happiness is an internal mechanism of joy.
• Todd sees one of his role as a mentor and guide to his employees.
• The actual time of production or creation is around 6 hours.
• Very rare “emails to all”; no “reply all” at all.
• Unlimited paid time off.
• They don't sell any domestic wines; all grapes are from small organic farms in Europe.
• Sharing the culture of the company is as important as promoting the actual product at events, trade shows, etc.
• Communal meals; great parties.

-The process by which Todd came to create a company with such a unique culture…26:00

• Became an entrepreneur at the age of 17.
• Experienced a “grand failure” before founding DFW.
  • Senior health care; 40+ employees.
  • Good concept, but was in it for the wrong reasons.
  • The things we say “no” to are more important the things we say “yes” to.
• Led to discovering meditation.
• Developed a set of 18 business rules; from that became DFW.
• In constant ketosis due to a daily 22 hour fast.
• You see a difference between grapes grown on a small family farm and organic grapes at a market.

-Todd's tips for eating once per day…36:12

• It's more psychological than based on physical needs.
• Helps to be in ketosis.
• Adds a lot of time to the day for work.
• Reduces decision fatigue.
• It's important to be around likeminded people; creates accountability.

-Todd's definition of “biohacking” and how he applies it to his own life…45:24

• “The art and science of how our behavior influences our biological and neurological outcome.”
• Proverb: “To feel is to understand”
• You can feel when someone is beneficial for your body.
• Meditation is a practice and has an aggregate benefit over time.
  • Began meditating twice daily.
  • Minimum of 20 minutes.
  • Todd attributes the success of his business to meditation.
  • Meditation allows us to quiet the mind.
    • We live in traumatic thought.
    • 95% of thoughts we have are thoughts we had yesterday.
  • Teaches us to live in the present moment; stop the trauma of thought.
  • Attachment leads to suffering.
  • Meditation teaches us to look past the attachment to thoughts which block the abundance we were granted at our birth.
  • It's impossible to be grateful and fearful at the same time.
  • Before we can do, we must be.

-Thoughts on The Master Key by Charles Haanel…54:42

• We're all manifesting. The question is: what are you manifesting, and are you using the tools to manifest in the correct way?
• Also recommended: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
  • Doesn't offer a “prescription”: It offers an understanding.
• Was initially offered as a weekly correspondence course delivered via mail in 1912.
• Words become forms, which become vibrations. (self-fulfilling prophecies.)

-Why Todd started Dry Farm Wines and what he has learned about wine since then…1:01:15

• Needed a better, healthier way to drink. (DFW is low alcohol.)
• Couldn't drink alcohol after becoming ketotic.
• Discovered “natural wines” by accident.
  • Around .1% of all winemakers are natural winemakers.
  • Wines are grown, not made.
  • DFW wines are sugar-free.
  • Fermented with wild, native yeast. Most wines are fermented with GMO yeast.
  • “Organic” wine does not mean “natural” or “clean.” It simply means that the grapes are grown organically.
  • In the U.S. the FDA approves 76 additives for wine. (Here's a list of the 76 additives.)
  • Natural wines are additive free; no modification in the cellar.
• The dangers of alcohol.
  • Addictive.
  • Dangerous neurotoxin; must be dealt with care.
  • Healthy in small doses (2 glasses per day); toxic in large doses.
• Natural wine is “alive”. It's like drinking from someone's heart and soul.
  • “They haven't been killed with sulfur dioxide.” –David Perlmutter
• Irrigation practices.
  • An irrigated grapevine has a root ball 2-3′ deep and 2-3′ wide.
  • Unirrigated grape vine can go 50-60′ deep.
  • Resistance is key to the advancement of life.
  • The vine is struggling for its life; brings character to the fruit.
  • Irrigated vines produce “lazy” fruit.
    • You irrigate for greed.
    • Has a higher yield.
    • Weighs more with more water; sold by the ton.

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Resources from this episode:

–Click here to get a bottle of Dry Farm Wines for a penny

–The Dry Farm Wines job posting

–The Master Key System by Charles Haanel

–The Power Of Now

–The Fresh Pressed Olive Oil club Ben is a member of

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Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Todd or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!