Rubin: You know, Mike, I think there are really a few reasons behind our success. Number one is that this company was founded based on a personal mission -- really a responsibility that I feel I have to share this message of health and hope with the world. I've been given the greatest gift: God has given me an opportunity to go through a personal challenge that changed my life and, more importantly, come out of that with a desire and a purpose to transform the health of the world one life at a time.
We've got 65 percent of our country's population overweight and 30 percent-plus that is obese -- that's nearly 20 percent greater than it was 20 years ago; that's one percent a year. Cancer, heart disease and diabetes are on the rise. There are no age limits any more for osteoporosis and Parkinson's disease, so I think people are very desperate for two things: Number one, they're fearful of being sick, and number two, they have the desire to look great, so it's the fear and greed thing.
What we've tried to do is reach back into the past and find answers for the present and future of how to transform people's lives. I often say that you can give somebody a supplement and get them healthy for a couple of hours. You can make somebody a meal, and they'll be healthy for half a day, but if you teach somebody how to prepare food, how to purchase food and what foods to eat, and if you share with somebody how to choose the right supplements, then you've empowered somebody to be healthy for a lifetime, so it's exciting to give information that I think does make a difference.
Mike: This is part of your book, The Maker's Diet -- giving people the knowledge and wisdom to make these healthy choices day in, day out, right?
Rubin: Yes, and I think what's also important, Mike, is that health is not about one pill or one food. Everybody likes to say, "Well, I tried the healthy thing. I took this supplement, or I ate this food." It's not about that. There are so many areas of health. We're talking about diet of course, and we're talking about supplements. Hygiene is another category we're trying to really introduce, with the concept of advanced hygiene and preventing germs from causing disease. There's the right way to exercise and the need for getting sunlight, rest and sleep � "body therapies," as we call them. There is the area of reducing stress, reducing toxins in your environment -- in the water you drink and bathe in, the air you breathe and the things you put on your skin, your hair or that you brush your teeth with.
There's the emotional side of health: I'm a big believer in the fact that if we are unforgiving, we're making ourselves just as sick as if we eat junk food. Then, I really emphasize the importance, the crucial importance, of finding your purpose and living it. That's what I've been able to do, and that's the greatest joy in my life in that I know what I'm supposed to do and I'm able to do it. It's not always easy, it's not always fun, it's not always what I want to do, but it's very clear to me that I have a mission on this Earth, and I think everybody does, too
You can look at all those areas of health; that's what makes The Maker's Diet unique. What makes Garden of Life unique is that we're an organization that wants to empower extraordinary health -- not give somebody something, not tell somebody what to do, but give somebody information to change their life and transform the lives of others around them.
Mike: I think, just from listening to you, that you understand healing on many different levels. As you said, this is not just a supplement company. You're talking about spiritual healing; you're talking about belief system transformation. You're talking about taking on personal responsibility, and you've stepped up to the plate and taken this responsibility, and you understand the power that comes with being in a position that you're in -- being able to reach out to so many people. I think that's admirable. My question is: How did you find the strength and the courage to be able to write that first book, to go through that disease transformation process and then be able to just blatantly put it all out there for the world to see?
Rubin: I found my strength and courage in one place, and it's really one word, and it's faith. You know, when I was told that I was going to die, when I was told that medicine couldn't help me, when medicine failed, and when I went from 185 pounds and healthy to 104 pounds in a wheelchair and had lost everything that the world calls important, I had one thing -- I had my faith in God. I knew that with God's power I could become what he wanted me to be, so I pretty much gave up.
You know, giving up isn't always a bad thing. I surrendered, and I said, "You know what? I'm going to get off my agenda. I'm going to follow what God has for my life." He didn't get me well so that I could go back to what I was doing before. He provided my healing so that I could turn into somebody that could be used. I mean, I'm just a vessel, you know? Every day, I wake up with an opportunity to reach one person, 100 people, 1,000 people or maybe one million people. I can give them a message of hope that can make this 60, 70, 80 or 90 years on Earth a lifetime journey of making a difference.
Everybody who's on their deathbed doesn't wish for money or more things; they want to make a difference in people's lives. What I want to offer to your listeners and readers is an opportunity to do that. One thing that I'm most proud of, and what I'm going to judge as success [this year], is how many people we can empower and train to train others. We have actually developed an online training tool on MakersDiet.com to allow people to learn the principles of The Maker's Diet, of extraordinary health, and then take it and transform the lives of their friends and families through small home groups.
You know, a lot of your friends and family won't go into a health food store. They think it's weird. Only six to eight percent of Americans shop there. They think, "It's different. I like my grocery store." But they'll go to someone's home, and we want to give the opportunity to anyone. You don't have to be a doctor, a nutritionist or a health expert. Anybody can facilitate this small group by learning this information and taking their friends and families through a 40-day health experience that will forever change their lives.
People do things better together. When there's a team of people who are focused on the same goal, it's unbelievable. With this program, we can literally transform one community after another all the way around the world. We always say, "I wish my dad would do this, I wish my mom would do that, I wish my sister would just do this." You will be empowered with the knowledge that could change their lives, so I want to encourage people who are listening or reading, if you're someone who wants to get healthy yourself and you want to help your friends or your family, visit MakersDiet.com and click on, "I want to be a small group leader." It's free online training and an online leader's guide. It will be an amazing opportunity for someone not only to get healthy, but also to fulfill a purpose, which is to transform somebody's life.
Mike: Just to remind everyone, we're talking with Jordan Rubin, chairman of Garden Of Life, and you can find Garden Of Life products in virtually every health food store in the U.S. and many other countries around the world. I want to say that your personal determination and personal passion really touched me. It's so inspiring to talk to someone like you who understands that this is not just about a product, and someone who really embodies that and lives it day to day. I'm truly touched by that. I've talked to many people about a lot of products, but I haven't heard this level of deep passion from very many.
Rubin: Well, you know, people ask me, Mike, when I speak, or when I share this message, they say, "Jordan, I'm sick, I'm old, I'm young, I'm fat, I'm thin ... When is it too late? Is it ever too late to start this 40-day health experience?" I say the only way you could start this, as a health journey, too late is if you start tomorrow. Now is the appointed time, and if you're listening or reading, don't let another day go by.
You don't know what's around the corner, and we're not promised tomorrow, but there is a promise of long and abundant life if we follow these age-old principles that we share and that I call The Maker's Diet. It can change your life no matter where you are. I encourage people to step up to the plate because the only thing we've got in this world is our testimony, and it's embodied in this skin, these bones and ligaments and whatever we are, and what we can leave on this Earth will live on forever, so it was a pleasure to share with your readers, and I look forward to teaming up with these people to change the world.
Mike: I wish you the best success, Jordan, with your product and your company, and thank you for spending these few minutes with me.
Rubin: Thank you. It's my pleasure.