All posts by David Gottfried

Episode 76 Joel Makower

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Happy New Year! 2022 is off and running, and I hope you’re getting into gear for acceleration.

As we define our goals for 2022, it’s good to reflect and define what type of acceleration you want to manifest: with whole heart and spirit. Boosting health is always foremost for me – for my body and mind, family, community and Earth, our home. Health is the core of true prosperity and an area of transition as we hopefully quantum leap transformation this year, creating a smaller ecological footprint, less stress/ optimal heart rate variability, and a green dashboard of metrics.

November’s COP26 global summit showed we need to step it up in all we do and that time for massive CO2 reduction is running out! This includes not only getting everyone at the table, but encouraging all to do more. To help us step it up, I’m thrilled to share with you my most recent Regen360 podcast and its companion video with the greenbiz warrior and strategic thought leader Joel Makower. Joel was one of the first green business journalists, starting four decades ago, and up through this day, he’s continually pushing us to break through paradigms that degrade and invent those that flourish. He is the Chairman and Co-founder of GreenBiz Group, lead author of the annual “State of Green Business” report, and The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America’s Prosperity, Security and Sustainability in the 21st Century.

The interview is inspiring and can help show us a path forward in 2022. We talk about:

  • ESG growing pains as we define concrete standards, and emerge out of the “Wild West.” As Joel says: “It’s all about scale, scope and speed of change.”
  • “Who’s in the tent?” Are there good and bad green businesses, or is it about getting all to be part of the conversation?
  • Is it about making more money, or managing risk? 
  • We need Elon Musks in every industry, “willing to jump off the cliff, bring others along, and create something the world really needs by orders of magnitude.”
  • Joel quotes Steven Covey, that “change happens at the speed of trust.” How do we accelerate trust: in our own visions, inventions, stakeholders, investors, the public and governments?

Joel Makower is a true journalist at heart and shows us the true path forward for the greening of business. More than ever, the world and our kids need us to step it up this year and put points on the scoreboard of Earth that truly regenerate and create lasting wealth and value for all living.

Wishing you a great year of health and productivity, as well as fulfillment and personal growth.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Episode 75 Amory Lovins

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I’m thrilled to share this latest Regen360 interview featuring Amory Lovins, the foremost energy efficiency guru in the world [IMHO]. This is something you don’t want to miss. Amory invented the concept of “negawatt” – meaning a watt of energy saved through efficiency replaces a watt of generated energy, but without the huge negative environmental impact, and a higher return on investment. 

Amory has the longest list of credentials almost possible, including author of 31 books, dozens of awards and honors including a MacArthur Genius Fellowship. He co-founded RMI [Rocky Mountain Institute] about four decades ago in Snowmass serving as its Chief Scientist, now with hundreds of brilliant staff doing among the best environmental work. I’m pleased to say Amory is also serving as a professor at Stanford in the same Civil Engineering department where I first read his book Soft Energy Paths many many decades ago, as I learned about the benefits of solar energy and designed my first net zero home [model].

In this scintillating interview, Amory and I talk about why the human brain can’t easily comprehend the benefits of designing without (i.e. efficiency instead of mechanical systems), COP26 achievements, the latest and coolest climate technologies Amory is seeing, and why Amory has dedicated more than four decades of service to helping us not only wake up, but actually survive; something Amory calls “applied hope.”

Wishing you a happy holiday period and time to renew, as we gather energy to double down on our efforts to help Earth regenerate as we increase hope.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Episode 72 Dr. Alan Christianson

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Let’s start with a quick health quiz:

What’s the key to unlock rapid weight loss?

What’s the most important gland of the body?

And where do you start to measure and optimize your health?

Give yourself a high 5 if you answered: the liver!

According to Dr. Alan Christianson, in this new Regen360 podcast, the liver is the #1 place to start for health. And it’s often overlooked and underrated.

We discuss Dr. Christianson’s new breakthrough book: The Metabolism Reset Diet and his fast liver tune up in his proven 28 day reset program.

Discussion highlights include:

  • Why the liver is critical to everything
  • Why diets fail
  • Why ketosis doesn’t work
  • What to eat
  • It’s all about metabolism
  • How to heal your liver in 4 weeks

My wife, Dr. Sara, and I have known Dr. Alan Christianson for a decade and he’s not only a close friend, but a well respected medical colleague. Dr. Sara calls him “a knight in shining armor with a white doctor’s coat.” He’s a New York Times bestselling author, naturopathic medical doctor with a specialization in natural endocrinology. And I’m sure you’ll find him as scintillating and inspiring as we do.

Listen in on our podcast and grab his new book The Metabolism Reset Diet here.

Here’s to resetting our livers and boosting our metabolism to function as our birthright, giving us the weight we desire, energy we need and long term healthspan free of disease.

David Gottfried

Episode 71 David Gottfried

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What does the new year mean to you?

Have you thought about it and spent some time writing down your goals?

For me and my wife, Dr. Sara, each new year is a milestone and an opportunity. It’s a time to reflect on the last year, and a time to reset the clock and start anew, with a fresh enthusiasm and focus. But if we aren’t deliberate and intentional about how we want to manifest the year, time will go by fast, and we’ll find ourselves stagnant at the start of next year.

But change is hard for most of us. And we’re all busy. Even more reason to pause and be specific about what we wish and want to deliver for 2019.

This New Year’s podcast gives you five simple exercises to help you goalset and guide yourself to the best year ever.

We’ll cover:

  • What worked in 2018
  • Goals for 2019
    • 3 health goals
    • 3 things to stop doing
    • 3 core work needle movers
    • 3 new things that boost your spirit
    • 3 ways to stay the course

Here’s to living each day of 2019 with intention and to transforming ourselves and the planet towards sustainability and health.

Wishing you a fabulous 2019!

David Gottfried

Episode 70 Paul Thomas, M.D.

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Addiction hits all of us.

Whether it’s ourselves or a loved one, addiction is an epidemic.

Some of us may not even be aware we are addicted, such as to screen time, which is growing on us all, and especially our kids with their phones and apps that give frequent dopamine hits.

The stats on addiction are startling: it affects over 2 million people and kills 115 of them every single day. Paul Thomas, M.D. points out in his new book, The Addiction Spectrum, that drug overdose is now the leading cause of death for Americans under fifty.

Whether it’s opioids, for which addiction is skyrocketing, alcohol, gambling and now screen time, more than ever, we need effective strategies and a plan. The amount of misery, damage and pain is overwhelming and can break a family and lead to severe crises, if not suicide.

This Regen360 iTunes podcast is with Paul Thomas, M.D. We talk about addiction in general, and his suggestions for confronting the disease. Coping with reality is hard for many of us, and we seek escapes, some of which are addictive. These forms of attempted self regulation don’t work and escalate deeper along the spectrum towards a breaking point. The costs of our families, workplace and society are huge.

Paul Thomas, M.D. has been an addiction specialist for more than two decades. Through his new book, The Addiction Spectrum, his clinic in Portland, and his own personal experience, he guides us through the problem and effective solutions. Please join me to listen in on our podcast.

Here’s to savings lives and recovery!

David Gottfried

Episode 69 Danny Iny

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Movement building takes guts. Often it requires being David against Goliath, or having the courage to yell that the emperor has no clothes.

In many ways, we did that when we started the green building industry. I recall some of the early meetings in 1992 when we passionately articulated to some of our most luminary large trade organizations and professional societies that we urgently needed to transform how buildings were designed, built and operated, and they were aghast!

In today’s Regen360 podcast we take on the subject of education, a four trillion dollar industry. My good friend and colleague Danny Iny has just written a new book called Leveraged Learning. We discuss the premise of his book: that college education and its long cherished degree is no longer the golden ticket for success. The endeavour not only straddles us with debt (now about $1.4 trillion) but it doesn’t provide the anticipated ROI and job security.

Astoundingly, some leading companies like Google are loosening prior reliance on education and a degree in its hiring practices. Statistics reveal that large percentages of young college grads can’t even get a job, as they don’t possess the skills employers require.

This predicament is not only thought provoking, but one of the world’s largest opportunities: to teach and learn. My podcast interview with Danny Iny offers new learning methods that actually help students succeed.

As I assess my future, Leveraged Learning provides me with new ideas and guidance for developing powerful courses. And as a parent, Danny poses huge challenges to my traditional thinking about saving huge sums of money for our kids’ college education or the option of stradling them with debt. Please join us in listening here.

To waking up and asking critical questions as we face the goliath of education.
David Gottfried

Episode 68 Terri Wills

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I’ve been gone for awhile as we moved into a brand new green home in a town called Moraga, CA. It was fun to pick the green upgrades, adding lots of solar, extra insulation, all LED lights, EV charging and dual flush toilets… I’ve been obsessed with my solar meter, checking it several times a day. Seems my max production thus far was on June 5th when my 5.7kW system produced 43.2 kWh. My first energy bill showed better than net zero electric usage, actually going into the positive as I paid $0 for electricity. Lots of fun for me.

My solar obsession is a good lead in to today’s Regen360 podcast with Terri Wills. She’s the CEO of the World Green Building Council, which I founded back in 2002. The global organization now has more than 70 countries with national GBCs banding together into a “united nations” of GBCs.

In my conversation with Terri we talk about the work of individual countries, such as the USGBC with its LEED system and Australia with Greenstar, the business case for green buildings and dive into the hottest trend in sustainable building – health and wellness. It’s amazing to hear about the vision, growth and passion for transformation. We learn that Terri was inspired by nature in her youth and has manifested her passion into her work in bringing our world’s largest industry, one country at a time, to design, build and operate consistent with the laws of nature and to share global best practices.

Please join me to find out about the world’s largest green building organization and learn about creating your own net zero declaration.

To building movements that transform!
David Gottfried

Episode 67 Erin Meezan

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You may have heard of the pioneering and passionate sustainability legacy of the late Ray Anderson of Interface Inc., the world’s largest carpet tile manufacturer. Since Ray’s passing in 2011 Interface has continued to lead and expand upon his vision as the company’s gross revenue, PE ratio and market capitalization have grown.

In today’s Regen360 podcast with Erin Meezan, the Chief Sustainability Officer at Interface, you have the opportunity to hear about the ambitious culture and innovative sustainability endeavours at Interface. We talk about the economics of being a global sustainable manufacturer with 5000 employees, as well as initiatives called Mission Zero, Climate Take Back and the March to 2020.

It takes vision and guts to lead, especially when there’s always resistance. Interface has been at the forefront since the beginning of the green building movement, and there’s so much we can learn from their example. And by the way, it’s good for business too!

Listen in here to hear my interview with Erin Meezan, the CSO at Interface to learn more about promoting triple-bottom-line profitability.

To leading by example!
David