A Guide to Living with Intention in Today's World
A Guide to Living with Intention in Today's World
I often speak around the country on health, wellness, and wine topics. I founded a Natural Wine company a few years ago called Dry Farm Wines.
I’ve been on a long health and wellness journey. The more I learned about natural living, the more obsessed I became with increasing my health and longevity. This encouraged me to create a way of thinking about what I consume.
I call it conscious consumption.
I’m a serial entrepreneur and I speak around the country on health, wellness, and wine topics. I founded a Natural Wine company a few years ago called Dry Farm Wines.
I’ve been on a long health and wellness journey. The more I learned about natural living, the more obsessed I became with increasing my health and longevity. This encouraged me to create a way of thinking about what I consume.
I call it conscious consumption.
My mission is to help as many people as possible and share this discovery with the world. In this guide, we'll explore how you can incorporate conscious consumption into your daily life, covering five key areas: alcohol, fitness, organic living, daily practices, and travel & art.
For many people, myself included, alcohol is a staple of the human experience. There are about 80 million Americans who drink wine regularly.
I love drinking wine. I usually drink a bottle every night. But, alcohol is a dangerous neurotoxin, and I’m pretty sure we’d all be better off if we didn’t drink at all. That being said, I absolutely love organic, low alcohol pure Natural Wine.
Of course, I’m not going to stop. But, I do care about my health, and I also need to get up early to perform every day. And since excessive alcohol consumption can have detrimental effects on our physical and mental health, I’ve decided to implement a few rules.
I don’t drink during the daytime, and I don’t drink spirits or high alcohol wines. I always eat when I drink so there’s something in my stomach. Finally, I only drink pure Natural Wines that are organically grown, less than 12.5% alcohol, and sugar free. I notice it makes a huge difference for my experience with wine.
For many people, myself included, alcohol is a staple of the human experience. There are about 80 million Americans who drink wine regularly.
I love drinking wine. I usually drink a bottle every night. But, alcohol is a dangerous neurotoxin, and I’m pretty sure we’d all be better off if we didn’t drink at all. That being said, I absolutely love organic, low alcohol pure Natural Wine.
Of course, I’m not going to stop. But, I do care about my health, and I also need to get up early to perform every day. And since excessive alcohol consumption can have detrimental effects on our physical and mental health, I’ve decided to implement a few rules.
I don’t drink during the daytime, and I don’t drink spirits or high alcohol wines. I always eat when I drink so there’s something in my stomach. Finally, I only drink pure Natural Wines that are organically grown, less than 12.5% alcohol, and sugar free. I notice it makes a huge difference for my experience with wine.
I can’t really start my day without exercise. It’s essential to get my blood flowing and my mind active. I have a methodical fitness routine that varies from alternating days of Zone 2 (low/ slow fat burn) and Zone 5 (HIIT) cardio training and alternating days of resistance training, employing both weight lifting and body weight exercise. I start and finish every fitness day with stretching and balance work. Balance and agility are particularly important as we age. My goal with this routine is to support what I call PSFB: power, structure, flexibility, and balance.
Another habit I’ve gotten into is always taking the stairs (especially in airports). Going up and down stairs helps with agility, balance, coordination, and a bit of power. It also engages you a bit cognitively.
These fitness practices are all built around optimizing for longevity and aging. Since I’m in my 60’s, I’m particularly interested in increasing “healthspan” - it’s not about how much life I live, but how I live it.
Picture a farmer’s market. The fruits and vegetables are so colorful and alive. You can tell they've been grown with love by farms who don’t use chemicals. This is the best way I can describe the huge difference between organic, natural foods and the conventional stuff (even the “industrial organic” produce at Whole Foods).
Conventional farming means using harmful chemicals like pesticides and herbicides to produce a lot of crops. It’s the overwhelmingly predominant way foods are grown, unfortunately.
Take wine, for example. Globally, only 5% of vineyards are grown organically. That means 95% of vineyards are farmed with chemicals.
I choose to live a natural, organic life. Wherever possible, I choose products that are made by artisans and farmers, that avoid chemicals, and that are unprocessed.
In my pursuit of increasing my healthspan and longevity, I’ve established a collection of small daily practices that make a huge impact on me.
I also practice meditation and journaling every day. I credit meditation with single handedly changing my life. I know it’s become trendy to talk about it these days, but I’ve been doing it for almost 10 years. For someone as busy as me, it’s so grounding.
Then, when I sit down to journal, I think about my life goals and my personal values – doing this daily helps bring them into existence. Where focus goes, energy flows.
As for meals, I practice intermittent fasting. I only eat once per day around 6pm, which means I operate on a daily 22 hour fast. I believe we eat too much and too often. There is simply no human ancestral precedent for the amount and frequency of how most people eat. I realize a strict fast is not practical for most people, but it’s something to experiment with if you’re interested. The most popular intermittent fasting protocol is the 16:8 method: fasting for 16 hours (overnight and early AM) and eating two meals in an 8 hour window.
I’ve been obsessed with art and taste ever since I was a little boy. Whether it’s a beautiful sculpture, handmade ceramic bowl, delicious glass of wine, well made meal – I surround myself with beauty and art every day. This is also how I’m consuming the world consciously.
I’m an avid art collector, and I find solace in art galleries, surrounded by expressions of the human experience. I would encourage everyone to pursue this pleasure in whatever it means for them. What do you find beautiful? How can you find more ways to experience that beauty?
The same goes for travel. I am lucky enough to be able to travel to beautifully enriching places around the world, including the tranquility of simple family farms and the dynamics of exciting cities like like New York, London, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. When I change my scenery, it gives me new perspective. It helps me experience the world around me in a more connected way, with conscious consumption informing my intentions.
I can’t really start my day without exercise. It’s essential to get my blood flowing and my mind active. I have a methodical fitness routine that varies from alternating days of Zone 2 (low/ slow fat burn) and Zone 5 (HIIT) cardio training and alternating days of resistance training, employing both weight lifting and body weight exercise. I start and finish every fitness day with stretching and balance work. Balance and agility are particularly important as we age. My goal with this routine is to support what I call PSFB: power, structure, flexibility, and balance.
Another habit I’ve gotten into is always taking the stairs (especially in airports). Going up and down stairs helps with agility, balance, coordination, and a bit of power. It also engages you a bit cognitively.
These fitness practices are all built around optimizing for longevity and aging. Since I’m in my 60’s, I’m particularly interested in increasing “healthspan” - it’s not about how much life I live, but how I live it.
Picture a farmer’s market. The fruits and vegetables are so colorful and alive. You can tell they've been grown with love by farms who don’t use chemicals. This is the best way I can describe the huge difference between organic, natural foods and the conventional stuff (even the “industrial organic” produce at Whole Foods).
Conventional farming means using harmful chemicals like pesticides and herbicides to produce a lot of crops. It’s the overwhelmingly predominant way foods are grown, unfortunately.
Take wine, for example. Globally, only 5% of vineyards are grown organically. That means 95% of vineyards are farmed with chemicals.
I choose to live a natural, organic life. Wherever possible, I choose products that are made by artisans and farmers, that avoid chemicals, and that are unprocessed.
In my pursuit of increasing my healthspan and longevity, I’ve established a collection of small daily practices that make a huge impact on me.
I also practice meditation and journaling every day. I credit meditation with single handedly changing my life. I know it’s become trendy to talk about it these days, but I’ve been doing it for almost 10 years. For someone as busy as me, it’s so grounding.
Then, when I sit down to journal, I think about my life goals and my personal values – doing this daily helps bring them into existence. Where focus goes, energy flows.
As for meals, I practice intermittent fasting. I only eat once per day around 6pm, which means I operate on a daily 22 hour fast. I believe we eat too much and too often. There is simply no human ancestral precedent for the amount and frequency of how most people eat. I realize a strict fast is not practical for most people, but it’s something to experiment with if you’re interested. The most popular intermittent fasting protocol is the 16:8 method: fasting for 16 hours (overnight and early AM) and eating two meals in an 8 hour window.
I’ve been obsessed with art and taste ever since I was a little boy. Whether it’s a beautiful sculpture, handmade ceramic bowl, delicious glass of wine, well made meal – I surround myself with beauty and art every day. This is also how I’m consuming the world consciously.
I’m an avid art collector, and I find solace in art galleries, surrounded by expressions of the human experience. I would encourage everyone to pursue this pleasure in whatever it means for them. What do you find beautiful? How can you find more ways to experience that beauty?
The same goes for travel. I am lucky enough to be able to travel to beautifully enriching places around the world, including the tranquility of simple family farms and the dynamics of exciting cities like New York, London, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. When I change my scenery, it gives me new perspective. It helps me experience the world around me in a more connected way, with conscious consumption informing my intentions.
