Episode Details

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 it.

But this guy runs incredibly deep and in today's podcast, filmed 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
  • Breath work
  • 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