Hi Reader,

Welcome back to Renaissance

This newsletter is meant to:

• Teach you cool stuff
• Inspire you to take bold action
• Make you pause, smile, and maybe even laugh

It's part of my mission to live a story worth telling while helping YOU do the same.

If you're ready to create more meaning, fulfillment, and adventure in your life, click the button below:

Why wait any longer?

What I'm learning about 🧠

Creating "perfect moments."

Eugene O'Kelly was the CEO of one of the largest accounting firms in the world.

In May of 2005, he was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.

He was 53 years old and given three months to live.

Unfortunately, this isn't a miraculous healing story.

Eugene died roughly 90 days after his diagnosis.

But what lives on is how he chose to spend his final days.

Faced with his mortality, he realized that he had missed out on many of life's little moments:

• Lunches with his wife
• His daughter's piano recitals
• Going on walks through central parks with his friends

So he resigned from KPMG.

And decided that during his final days, he would become a "perfect moment creator."

He would spend time with his family.

Go for walks with his friends.

Deeply enjoy the present moment.

Eugene prioritized creating brief moments of pure presence and bliss that he called "perfect moments."

In his memoir, which he wrote during his final 90 days, he urges us to create our own perfect moments.

Before it's too late.

Even if this week's calendar is packed tighter than your jeans after your third helping of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving...

Make time for some of your own perfect moments.

What I'm thinking about 💭

How screens are ruining our sense of adventure.

I've always dreamed of a world without smartphones.

A world where small talk ensues in public places.

Where the laughter of children playing echoes instead of the silently deafening sound of fingers tapping against smudgy iPad screens.

Where saying hello to a stranger is considered polite instead of creepy.

Where finding a place to eat lunch is determined by sight and smell instead of reading 16 Yelp reviews from a disgruntled power user named Kurt.

Why does Kurt have time to write a 6-paragraph Yelp review anyway?

Oh, that's right, because he's a CRAZY PERSON whose rigatoni recommendation cannot be trusted!

Getting back to my point...

Screens, in my humble opinion, are ruining our sense of adventure.

Yelp, Google Maps, Trip Advisor, and Reddit are incredible inventions.

But they rob us of a fundamental human experience:

Getting lost and finding ourselves in suboptimal situations.

Now I'm not saying that finding yourself in a dark alleyway at 3 am is a particularly helpful experience...

But walking into a restaurant you've never heard of and ordering the meatball sub (sight-unseen) is good for you.

Especially if a big hairy man named Bubba is taking your order.

Navigating new and uncertain territory is incredibly important.

It builds character, makes you interesting, and rewires your brain.

So the next time you go out in the world, try doing it the old-fashioned way.

Your great-grandaddy did it and you should too.

Why?

Because if he didn't, you wouldn't exist right now

Warning: You might actually have to talk to strangers, try new things, and get out of your comfort zone.

P.S. I look forward to hearing about your next adventure.

Quote of the week 📜

"The most dangerous life is one that demands nothing of you."

- Freya India

What I'm listening to 🎧

Former tech-sales superstar turned men's wellness coach Tim Perreira sharing his battle with depression and transformational journey.

​

This is an incredible episode that you don't want to miss.

__

I'm also listening to an amazing 10-minute talk from Freya India.

She beautifully articulates how risk-aversion is killing romance and how the second-order consequences of screen time and social media are harming an entire generation.

I highly recommend you watch her video here.​

P.S. Freya's talk combined with something I read from Michael Easter inspired this week's "What I'm thinking about" section.

My brain and a large espresso shot supplied the (terrific) dad humor.

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Sent with love,

Gregory Russell Benedikt

Website: gregoryrussellbenedikt.com

Podcast: The Dare to Dream Podcast​

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