Mike Drop Podcast: Episode 57 - Akshay Nanavati

About this video

Mike Ritland interviews Akshay Nanavati, a former U.S. Marine who deployed to Iraq and is now an ultra-marathoner, adventurer, and author of Fearvana. Nanavati recounts how he cold-pitched the Dalai Lama and secured a forward for his book, describes his seven-day darkness retreat in Germany, and discusses his struggles with addiction, alcohol, and finding stillness. He shares his morning routine, his approach to meditation, and his upcoming expedition to ski across the Patagonian ice cap.

Key takeaways

• Nanavati recounts securing a forward from the Dalai Lama for his book by cold-pitching through months of building relationships with monks at the monastery.
• Nanavati describes spending seven days in pitch darkness, silence, and isolation at a retreat in Germany, where he experienced what he believes were DMT-induced psychedelic visions and confronted his fear of stillness and mundanity.
• Nanavati explains that after struggling with heavy drug use as a teenager and alcohol abuse after the war and divorce, he uses extreme physical challenges and meditation to navigate his demons rather than relying on substances.
• Nanavati states his biggest fear is stillness and the mundane, and that he trains 70-120 miles per week as an ultra-marathoner while planning expeditions to the Patagonian ice cap, North Pole, and South Pole.

Episode details: published April 10, 2020 · 23.3K views · 2:33:23 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

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