This is my second blog where I have included in the title, “Why You Should Know…” The first was three weeks ago when I wrote about Why You Should Know Rich Roll. The power of Rich Roll is evident in today’s blog as I found John Joseph via the Rich Roll Podcast. I’ll never forget Rich warning several times in the lead in to the podcast that if you are offended by the use of language, this episode with John may not be for you.
As John states, he helps people get healthy pulling no punches. That is an understatement and what really drew me to John right out of that gate was how candid he was about anything he discussed. This man tells it exactly the way he sees it and is not afraid of anyone coming after him for what he states. He is not for all people but for some he is THE person to really make a difference in their lives and he did just that for me.
I really love Rich’s introduction of John prior to Podcast #95 where he shares several facts and attributes about John including how he has had a successful career as the lead singer of the Punk Rock Band – The Cro-Mags, born and still lives in New York City, his dedication to service in helping others, and what probably stands out most to me from what Rich shares, his rare gift for being able to connect with a population of people who would never pick up Veg News Magazine…..meaning he can connect with the dudes who and as John shares, are greatly sleeping with their health.
I was one of those guys. I was on auto pilot with my health, rarely considering the impacts of what I was eating on my overall health and longevity. Give me as much meat and dairy as I could consume and I was a happy camper. The times I considered doing something different about my health was when my doctor would explain how unhealthy I was becoming, sharing increasingly terrible blood test results as I was aging. I was given a few copies of foods to consider eating more of and sent on my way. Looking at those copies now, they had horrible recommendations to get my health in order…..and the cycle continued. I didn’t take it serious enough to make a change and continued my downward unhealthy lifestyle.
When I started to listen to many of Rich’s podcasts I was educating myself on nutrition and the effects of how not eating well would ultimately have on my body and increasing my risks of various chronic illnesses. Heck they were having effects on me then and I was certainly primed for a heart attack with a 327 cholesterol. As I became quickly addicted to the content provided by the Rich Roll Podcast, I found myself surfing through more episodes and stumbled upon John Joseph and for whatever reason on that day I listened to it and oh my, I LOVED every minute! All the things Rich described really came out in their discussion.
I could not believe how tragic John’s childhood was, being mentally and physically abused and molested. The stories from the foster homes he was in made me angry and sad. John’s childhood challenges continued into early adulthood where he was constantly in fights, doing drugs, being shot, serving prison time and to sum it up, just trying to survive (live) in New York City. How this man is alive today is astounding. I don’t want to give away his entire story as you should experience that for yourself.
What is amazing is what he has done since he turned his life around by escaping the drugs, alcohol, survival mode living and abandoning all animal products from his diet. John is a true New York city guy who can speak and connect to the “guys guy” in ways most cannot. As mentioned earlier, many of the people he can connect with on living a healthy lifestyle would never pick up a magazine or book on plant-based diets or cold-press juicing, being open to try plant-based foods or even going to a plant-based restaurant.
John wrote a book titled, Meat is for Pussies, in which he took a lot of heat for the title, but as with anything for John, he wants to be judged by the meaning/spirit and the result, not on words or titles. John addresses several topics from the environmental impacts of animal food production, effects of animal products on our bodies, eating healthy (plant-based) and having a Positive Mental Attitude, PMA, as John calls it. There is a fitting story how the title was determined and you can listen to that via the podcast linked above.
John is truly an inspiration and simply wants to help others be healthy and have a positive mental attitude. It’s just amazing after what this guy has endured in his life. He does a lot of philanthropic work and has raced several Ironmans to raise money for children including the Children’s Tumor Foundation. He has countless stories of giving back to the community, really trying to reach kids and adults who he hopes do not make some of the choices he made earlier in life.
John shares several examples in the podcast and book how he has been able to connect with the dudes and how they opened up their minds after engaging with him. One overweight aging ex. firefighter shared that he hadn’t read a book in 30 years and John challenged him to read his book to help with his various physical ailments. He did just that and began turning his life around living a healthy lifestyle citing he would never have read a traditional book on health but the way in which John presented himself to him personally and in the book, he opened his mind. He receives countless emails/letters from women who thank him for being able to connect with their boyfriend’s or husband’s as they had not been able to get them to open their mind to even consider something healthier and taking their health seriously.
I better stop as I will write a book. I’ll end with whenever I may be getting down, feeling sorry for myself or think things are rough, I can reflect to John and think, “if this guy can have such a PMA after what he has been through, I certainly can work through whatever issues I’m dealing with.” What an inspiration. I have a page with other favorite John Joseph resources linked here. Enjoy…
– Add Health to Your Life
The Healthy Giraffe 