#030 Aligning Actions with Beliefs: Dumpster Diving, Foraging, and Radical Activism with Rob Greenfield

If you had to guess how many possessions you had to your name, including all your clothes, gadgets, utensils, vehicles, dishes, etc. do you think you could put a number to the total? And if so, do you think that number could be under 50 total items? It might sound nearly impossible, especially in the fast-moving, consumer-driven society that many of us were brought up in and are still participating; however, that brings me to my excitement in sharing this conversation with Rob Greenfield—an American adventurer, environmental activist, a humanitarian, and a person who that has managed to figure out how to make a big difference and live owning a grand total of only 44 possessions.

Rob has made it his life’s purpose to live in harmony with the earth and create positive change, a more sustainable world, and inspire others to do the same with his radical-attention-grabbing activism— imagine dumpster diving for food to display how much is thrown away in America, traveling moneyless through foreign countries to show human compassion and that the world isn’t a scary place, donating your income, or dwindling down your net worth to focus less on money and more on presence— these are just a few things that Rob has done to live a life of simplicity and of purpose.

I really respect Rob’s courage and how he sought out to align his actions with his beliefs and truly “be the change he wishes to see in the world.” I’m inspired by the creativity he brings to spreading awareness and living in such simplicity and in pure presence. Rob’s life and documentaries have caught the attention of the world and he has been featured on thousands of media outlets including National Geographic, BBC, Discovery Channel, USA Today, LA Times, Huffington Post, and many others. Rob and I were able to connect during Envision Festival in Costa Rica. I’m honored to be sharing a little piece of Rob’s intentional life with you from this land that is so alive and from a festival that’s ethos are driven by eco initiatives, sustainability and education. I think we can all agree that the earth needs more of all of that- please enjoy!

Show Notes:

(4:10) Rob explains how he went from living a “typical American life” to transitioning into a lifestyle of environmental activism
(6:25) Rob talks of “being the change he wanted to see in the world” and using activism that was interesting + had the ability to catch the eye of mainstream media
(7:25) Rob shares his trip across the United States on a bamboo bicycle
(7:30) By dumpster diving into thousands of dumpsters, Rob exhibits the amount of food wasted in America
(7:45) There’s a lot of fear & misconceptions about traveling to other countries, so to put these to the test, Rob was dropped off in Panama with no money, and set out to make it safely back home by way of seven countries, completely penniless
(8:00) “Trash Me” was a documentary that Rob created, for which he consumed and shopped like the average American, but the catch was that he had to wear every single piece of trash he created from consuming, on his body
(9:25) Rob explains the importance of being a present human for himself and for the world
(10:10) Rob explains what can happen when you get back to the basics
(10:55) Rob has stripped down his life to the basics to make life simple and to “not cause harm to the planet.” He lists off a few of his personal possessions (currently having only 44 possessions to his name). He explains how he accomplishes a few things:
- “Simplifying- so I understand my actions”
- “Presentness- by stripping my life to the ultimate basics, I am present wherever I am in the world”
- “Non-Materialism”
- “Non-Ownership”
(12:20) Rob shares the idea that he is not radically independent of society, rather, he’s radically dependent on society
(13:30) Rob gives 100% of his media income to environmental non-profits, and has committed to living below the federal poverty threshold
(14:48) Alicia Serratos - Seed Box @Alicia.Serratos
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(18:10) Rob explains his ideas on transitional ethics and how things are never black and white. You can’t always do the right thing + change the system all at the same time
(23:10) Rob further discusses transitional ethics with his need to fly across the world as a speaker. He offsets flying by helping people with clean water solutions in places where they wold need to deforest and burn wood to do so, normally
(24:40) Rob tells us how he releases his need to be right
(28:35) Rob provides tips to get started on taking action on your alignment:
1. Do something