197. Guest: Greg Bennick - Harnessing the Power of the Present Moment

Greg Bennick's journey from juggling to keynote speaking exemplifies the power of focus and kindness in creating impact. The episode unravels his experiences in philanthropy, communicating authentic messages, and reclaiming moments that truly matter. 
• Greg's unique beginnings in juggling 
• Transition from performance to impactful speaking 
• The importance of authenticity in communication 
• Philanthropic efforts in Haiti and Portland 
• Emphasis on the significance of reclaiming moments 
• Insights from Greg's book and its central themes 
• The role of focus and sacrifice in personal growth 
• Encouragement to embrace kindness in daily interactions

http://www.gregbennick.com/

Chapters

• 0:00 Masterclass in Focus and Resilience
• 9:18 From Juggling to Keynotes
• 14:07 Authenticity in Public Speaking
• 23:28 Seizing the Present Moment
• 28:33 The Power of Sacrifice and Focus
• 38:58 Believing in the Possibility of Kindness
• 44:14 Sharing Knowledge and Reclaiming Purpose

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Yeah, it's Mindset Cafe. We all about that mindset. Gotta stay focused. Now go settle for the last. It's all in your head how you think you manifest. So get ready to rise, cause we about to be the best. Gotta switch it up. Gotta break the old habits. Get your mind right. Turn your dreams into habits. No negative vibes, only positive vibes. What is up, guys? Welcome to another episode of the Mindset Cafe podcast. It's your boy, devin.

Speaker 1: 0:24

And today we got a special guest. We got Greg Bennett. He is a bestselling author, he is a keynote speaker, he's an award-winning documentary filmmaker and a dedicated humanitarian. His life is really just a masterclass in focus, resilience and honestly creating meaningful change. And you already know one of my biggest core values is having a positive impact on as many lives as I can while I can. So bringing Greg on today really aligned with that and I'm excited to dive into his story. You know from juggling machetes while delivering, you know keynote speaks to, you know risk-taking and really diving into the documentaries that he's made that have been viewed on all the continents, which is crazy. So his story and he is a true example of a visionary. And lastly, I just want to say you know he's actually even gone above and beyond and he is the founder of some philanthropic, you know efforts in companies that have really touched the lives of so many across the globe. So, honestly, make sure you guys break out that notebook and without further ado, greg, thank you for coming on today.

Speaker 2: 1:34

Thank you. Let's talk first about how your intro music is so great, and this morning when I got to the gym, I was sitting there on Spotify. I'm scrolling around, I'm searching around. I'm like, do I want to listen to this? Do I want to listen to this? What's going to motivate me? What's going to amplify the experience? I need that mindset jingle song playing for me about focus and getting focused and directed. I need that playing for me when I get to the gym. That's going to make for better workouts and a better life. So thanks for having me and I'm excited to speak to ideas that connect with your listeners.

Speaker 1: 2:03

I'm excited to speak to ideas that connect with your listeners. I appreciate it. So let's dive into your story. Let's start. How did it all begin for you in terms of the keynotes, in terms of the juggling? Where did your journey begin?

Speaker 2: 2:14

Okay, so here's the story and it's interesting. I started out. My parents are really good-hearted people and they always go the extra mile for folks and they put a lot of devoted time into things like community and into family and whatnot. It was a good inspiration. Well, when I was growing up, they also are independent thinkers hugely, hugely so, like my dad, was working corporate jobs for years and decided to just quit, bail and work for himself because he knew that that's where his passion was, my mom changed her career intentionally every 10 years. She was a hypnotherapist, she was an aerobics instructor. She would train and teach kids who were having learning disabilities every 10 years, just to keep her life vibrant and interesting.

Speaker 2: 2:59

So in that model, when I was growing up, I was a coin collecting kid. That's all I wanted to do was collect coins, and I actually signed up for a coin collecting mini course in sixth grade that I arranged to have at my school. However, the school made a mistake and signed me up for the wrong class. They signed me up for a juggling class and I walked in with a bad attitude on my first day. Like this is ridiculous. I wanted a coin collecting class. I walked in a bad attitude on my first day Like this is ridiculous. I wanted a coin collecting class. I walked in there was a kid juggling three baseballs in front of me and the second. I looked at him. I said that's what I want to do for the rest of my life. It was like a light went off in a dark room. I started practicing juggling all the time I was 12 years old. I did my first professional show when I was 13 and never look back.

Speaker 2: 3:47

I made my living as a juggler well into adulthood and my parents supported that because they were beautifully weird and they liked this beautifully weird child that they'd created and the strange choices I was making. So here's what happened is that through performing and performing as a juggler, comedian, that sort of thing I started realizing how important it was to communicate messages clearly and the impact you can have on people. Like you talked about philanthropic endeavors or your own vision of impacting people positively. In the time that you're here, I realized that if you're juggling a machete, that's interesting, people will watch. They definitely will watch, either because it's fun and exciting or because they want to see you impale yourself.

Speaker 2: 4:21

But if you tie in an idea about taking risks and how important it is to take risks. All of a sudden they go. Whoa, what a message. With the machete I get it. And that positive impact, that solid impact in people, inspired me as I then started speaking and writing and doing all sorts of things around the world. It all started with the unusual situation I was cast into by accident with that juggling class, and then the lessons I learned from juggling as a result. So there you have it. There's a bit of the story to get us started.

Speaker 1: 4:51

Well, a quick little tangent. You know, can you ride a unicycle?

Speaker 2: 4:54

I can a six foot one, I ride a six foot unicycle. Yeah, and I don't anymore. Just, you know I do, I mean from time to time, but uh, you know it's. You know it's an unusual thing to do and you have to carry it around the planet if you're performing in different places. But yeah, six foot unicycle. Uh, if we had known in advance I'd be doing this whole interview from the top. Of six foot unicycle for your guests.

Speaker 1: 5:17

That's hilarious. It was funny because you know, growing up I never juggled or anything but you. We actually convinced my dad to get me and my brother convinced him to get us unicycles and he was like why? And they're like like how cool would that be to ride unicycles? And so we learned how to ride unicycles for a little bit and it was like a little phase you've been through, but it's, it's tougher than it looks. You know, yeah, it is, and juggle is that's. Crazy.

Speaker 2: 5:41

Well, it's fun and one of the reasons I learned and wanted to learn was because I was kind of a nerdy kid growing up. I'm a nerdy grown up now, even though I think as a kid. But the point is that I found in juggling and in unicycling something that I could do that other people couldn't, that they would look at and be amazed by and intrigued by, whereas it didn't seem like that was happening with sports. I mean, it wasn't like I was going out and playing football and people were amazed and intrigued. Or baseball, they could care less about my lack of skill. So you know, when I was juggling, all of a sudden people were intrigued, they were interested in it, it was inspiring for them. They thought, oh, I can't do that and I'd say, listen, I'm the kid who can barely play basketball. If I can learn how to juggle, you can learn how to juggle. So it was inspiring and intriguing for people. So, yeah, I love that you learned how to unicycle. That's fun. I learned how to unicycle. I'll tell you I rarely get to tell the story I was sitting in class with a book, in a social studies class.

Speaker 2: 6:35

I was sitting in class with my book and inside the book. I had a catalog of juggling equipment and unicycling from New York City and I thought I'm the smartest kid in sixth grade history. I'm going to sit here and read this book and my teacher will never know that I'm not intently studying social studies. And as I was sitting here reading the book, all of a sudden a hand from over my shoulder snatched the juggling catalog out of the book and it was my teacher and he said I want to see you after class. I thought, thought oh my gosh, my life is over. So after class I walk up to him and he says um, and I'd never had a unicycle before. He says uh, tell me something, you ever ride one of these? And he points to one of the unicycles. I said no, I haven't. He said I tell you what. I'll make you a deal you pay attention every minute of this class for the rest of the year. I'm gonna give to give you a unicycle. And I said what You're not going to tell my parents. He said no. He said I just want you to pay attention in class. Pay attention every day in class. I'm going to give you a unicycle. I did and he did. His name was David Haddad. I'll never forget. Mr Haddad gave me my first unicycle and check this out.

Speaker 2: 7:39

I know I'm going off on a tangent, but this is a great addendum to that story about how one person's influence positively can make a lifelong impact. He gives me the unicycle at the end of the year, changes my life. I start riding unicycles all the time. I remembered that my entire life and about three months ago I thought I wonder if that guy's still alive. I mean, I was in sixth grade.

Speaker 2: 7:59

I looked him up Mr Haddad had passed away. But I found his son and I wrote his son on LinkedIn and I said hey, I just want you to know that your dad changed my life. And here's what happened. And this guy wrote me back and he said this is the most amazing thing ever. I remember my dad giving a unicycle to a kid. He was like I was probably your age. I remember that happening and he said that's so amazing. Thank you so much for telling the story. If you're ever back East, let me know. We'll have lunch. It was so cool, all because that guy, instead of punishing me, gave me a unicycle instead. There's a story I didn't expect to tell today, but that's a fun one.

Speaker 1: 8:35

No, I mean, that's so cool and that goes into the thing and the whole concept of like your, your impact can resonate with someone for their entire life and you never know what that is. So it's like my thing for having an impact in leaving a legacy. You know quote unquote legacy. It's like every conversation you have, every interaction you have with someone is an imprint on their life and whether it's small or whether it's big, something like that may have seemed small at the moment, but you never know what it's going to blossom into and be life-changing, and so that, honestly, that's probably one of the coolest stories I've heard in terms of you know, like a teacher or a coach, like doing that especially for a kid, because those things you don't forget. I mean you still remember his name, you still remember everything. Like that, that's so awesome, like that's, that's so cool.

Speaker 2: 9:18

He could have punished me. He could have said because you were reading this catalog in class, you have to stay after school, you have to write lines on the whatever you know what I mean. Punish me in some nonsensical, foolish way. That would have done nothing for my personal development, and instead he made a completely different choice. What a life lesson. Wow. I should be telling that story on stage with my keynotes. I love it. You've inspired me.

Speaker 1: 9:41

You've inspired me to start riding unicycles again. So I mean, let's transition into that, right? So you, you're juggling and you know you started doing more keynotes and stuff. What? What was that transition point from just performing and you know doing the juggling scene and the the different features that you could add besides the unicycle? You know, but like when we're like you know what I'm going to do keynote speaking and you know, I know a message that I'm going to talk about.

Speaker 2: 10:05

So, okay. So there's a couple of different things that happened there. Knowing the message that I was going to talk about took a long time. That takes a long time to figure out. What do I really want to say, and ultimately, my keynote is is based on ideas in the book. You know a book that I put out last year, and it's called Reclaim the Moment Seven Strategies to Build a Better Now. What it's about is creating space in our life for possibilities, for the things that we want, and that comes with focus. It comes with building better relationships, but ultimately, it comes with feeling as though we matter and that we're part of something meaningful. Okay, that last little bit took me forever to figure out. What's the core thing. If I had one thing to say to the entire world, what would it be? And ultimately it would come down to make the people around you know that they matter. Make sure that they understand they're part of something meaningful. That's really what it's about, okay, so, yeah. So, that said, that came much later. Realizing that I wanted to connect ideas with the juggling came earlier, and I can share a story with you that I talk about it in the book, but it's a fun one.

Speaker 2: 11:06

I was 15 years old and I was hired to walk around company events at an amusement park, juggling in Connecticut, where I grew up, and there was a company called Remington. They make shavers and whatnot. And Remington at the time was owned by a guy named Victor Kayam. He was the most successful businessman, one of them in the Northeast. He was immensely wealthy. He went on later to own the New England Patriots.

Speaker 2: 11:28

And so I'm at this Remington party. I'm walking around just juggling three red, yellow and blue juggling ball. All of a sudden a hush falls over the crowd and it's not because I'm an amazing juggler. Victor Kayyem had walked into the party and he's surrounded by these like handlers. It's a hot summer day, they're all wearing suits, they all look deadly serious like secret service agents. And Victor Kayyem walks right up to me, 15 years old, and he says to me hey, juggler, let me see those juggling balls.

Speaker 2: 11:59

Now what you need to know is, at the time, what made Remington famous is that Victor Kayyem himself appeared in all the Remington commercials. He would hold up a razor, like I'm holding up this pen right next to me, and he would say to the audience Remington, I like this razor so much I bought the company. Okay, famous line, everyone knew it. Victor Kayyem walks up to me. He says let me see those juggling balls. I hand him the juggling balls. He does this rudimentary juggle and all of his handlers go you're amazing, you know, like they're all doing this golf clap. He hands the juggling balls back to me and he says those are pretty nice juggling balls. I took the three juggling balls, I held them up next to my face. I looked him right in the eye and I said thank you, I like these juggling balls so much. I bought the company.

Speaker 2: 12:39

Okay, no one laughed and I thought for sure that I was going to be killed by all of his bodyguards. And then Victor Kayyem laughed. And then everyone laughed, okay. So that was a moment that I thought oh, I see how this works. If I tie in jokes or commentary with the juggling and make it customized to people and what they're about, they're going to be able to relate. I just made Victor Kayyem laugh. Check that one off the list, right? So that's where it started eventually becoming keynotes. Much later down the road where I refined it, tried and failed uh, with the emphasis on failed again and again and again and again to make things work and finally found my way no, I mean so that I mean that's, that's awesome and that's hilarious, you know, and then, honestly, it took some guts to to do it.

Speaker 1: 13:25

You probably I don't know if it was like a spur of the moment and you just did it. Yeah, not thinking about it.

Speaker 1: 13:30

yep, didn't even think about it and from that though, you you're able to, you know you, you knew you can do like a comedy side, or you had a comedic side to you, right, yeah, but in like your opinion, what makes a keynote speaker truly impactful? How do you ensure really the audience leaves away inspired Because you can get up there and talk and teach and everyone's like okay, cool, or that was awesome. But how do you leave someone really with that imprint?

Speaker 2: 13:57

Authenticity, 100% authenticity. It's what it's about, 100%. Case in point. I'll tell you a story. I've not told certainly any podcast or anybody else. So, about three months ago, I was on stage in the Midwest in front of a thousand people, in a do or die situation with a keynote. And what I mean by do or die situation, there's sometimes where people, organizations, company, business, what have you will call me in and say, hey, we need an after dinner speaker. It can be really casual, but we understand your book, what it's about, we want that topic and I come in and I do it, I talk and it's professional, sure, but it's not like you have exactly 46 minutes. Everything relies on your exacting specificity today. Well, this event that I was doing in the Midwest was one of those. It was do or die and they had teleprompters that were scrolling with what I had to say pre-written, even though they were my words on the teleprompter. So a thousand people on stage. The governor of the state was, I think, in the audience or backstage. It was a whole shenanigans. And as I'm on stage reading my own words, there's a difference in the tone of voice, regardless of how good of an actor you are, when you're reading your own words versus speaking sincerely. So I get in front of the audience. I did.

Speaker 2: 15:12

This keynote was in three sections. First two went great. Third section I get up on stage in front of the audience and, for whatever reason, the teleprompter which, if listener viewers don't know how that works your words are just scrolling on screen like a Star Wars movie, at the beginning of the movie, right, and you're just reading them casually. The teleprompter is 200 feet away in the back of the room on a giant screen in back of the audience, so they don't see that I'm looking right over their heads reading off a screen. The teleprompter goes berserk. When I was two minutes into my presentation it starts scrolling nonstop. There's no way to read it, there's no way to catch up with it, there's no way to say out loud, without being unprofessional in this, do or die moment. Excuse me, teleprompter Cause. Then the audience is going to see that I'm just reading. The whole thing is bizarre.

Speaker 2: 16:01

But they could tell the audience. The audience could tell something had gone wrong with the teleprompter and in that moment I stopped. I just stopped and I thought in an instant I don't need this teleprompter and I looked out of the audience and I said I'm right here with you right now. And I said it just like that, like I am right here with you right now. And you know what those thousand people did? They audibly did this. There was literally and it wasn't that loud, it was more like there was the sound of a thousand people breathing a sigh of relief because all of a sudden, the presenter, with authenticity, had said I'm right here with you right now and I just started speaking.

Speaker 2: 16:45

Later on, the tech guys were telling me that the teleprompter people were like what the heck is he doing? Where's he going? What's he doing? What's he doing? What's happening? They were trying to fix the teleprompter and the tech guys who know me were like don't worry, he's got this. And I just spoke from the heart. And that is the key, that authenticity. When you speak from the heart and you connect from the heart about things you believe in and you connect with the person that you're talking to like they matter because they genuinely do, not because you're paying lip service to it, it makes all the difference as a keynote presenter or as a presenter of any kind. Make sure that you remember that people matter and be in the moment with them, and it just goes a long way so do you that?

Speaker 1: 17:22

if someone wanted you to do a keynote now and we're like we're going going to use a teleprompter, do you tell them that you don't want to use it, or how does that work?

Speaker 2: 17:28

I'm fine with it. I mean, typically what I do with teleprompters is I'll put bullet points up, because I know that if I see a bullet point that says podcast conversation, I know where that leads us. Hey, tell me about, tell me about your life. How are you doing today? You know we will have a conversation either way. I don't need to have podcast conversation. Greg says hello, my name is Greg.

Speaker 2: 17:50

You know, it doesn't have to be that exacting. I'm happy to use a teleprompter, but I like to tweak it a little bit so that the words aren't exacting. The thing is, you never know what's going to happen. What happens if I start reading off the teleprompter knocks over an entire plate of dinner plates or something and it crashes to the ground. Do I just keep saying? And that's why we need to reclaim the moment and build a better? No, I know you have to say well, hold on one second. Well, are you okay? You're okay, okay, great, that was, you know, the most clumsy thing I've ever seen. But good work, whatever it is, you have to at least say the thing that's happening in the moment and if it's not on the teleprompter, it can throw things, things off. I'm happy to use them. But I think speaking from the heart, even with a script, even with a specified script, speaking from the heart and injecting that kind of heart-centered authenticity is essential.

Speaker 1: 18:35

Yeah, no, and I think that you're so right, Like when you do use bullet points I mean I'm huge on bullet points too right, and like with bullet points or with just knowing the topic, it does create that level of authenticity because it's different every time you say it. Right that you have a different twist on it. You know the word formulation is a little bit different, and so that's something that really can connect and it seems real and genuine. I mean, even like this conversation we're having right now, it's not a scripted conversation, exactly if we're out and about having a conversation. So I think those are kind of conversations people connect with. If this was like even a formal interview, it's like how often do you listen to a formal interview?

Speaker 2: 19:11

Like, okay, this is, it's so boring, it's so like it's like when you go in for a job interview and they're like so where do you see yourself in five years? Well, I see myself in five years pursuing my ambitious goals in a way that is really, and you just give these canned answers and it's just a disaster all around and everyone knows it. But a couple of thoughts for your listener viewers about that. I'm a speaking coach for TEDxPerth, australia and I've been able to coach some really like high power people doing some really incredible stuff, like people who are like, yeah, my goal in life is to save the ocean, and they're not just paying lip service, they really mean they're going to save the ocean. You know that kind of thing. So you've got 18 minutes on stage for TEDx. How are you going to do it? What's going to happen? You're not going to walk out on stage and tell me every single detail about saving the ocean Absolutely impossible. So I have people rehearse and refine and that's really a key for your listeners.

Speaker 2: 19:58

If you've got a presentation to do, boss in front of your family, a wedding toast, whatever rehearse and refine. Start off not having an idea what you're going to say and just throwing stuff out there and practice in front of a mirror in front of an empty room. If you have to and maybe your 30-second wedding toast starts off eight minutes long Refine it. Do you really need the story about how you got drunk? You know what I'm saying? You probably don't Cut it, you. What you need to say is this 30 second pinpointed awesome thing that through refining, rehearsing, you'll get there.

Speaker 2: 20:32

And then, just like you said, when it comes down to it, use bullet points. If you have to have a cue card in front of you and you've got bullet points written on it, you'll be fine. You don't have to have every word. And I'll tell you another thing, if anybody's ever needing to be on an actual stage, one thing I did once I was doing a keynote in San Francisco where I had to remember a lot of information.

Speaker 2: 20:51

I actually taped index cards that wouldn't have been seen by the audience to the stage with three bullet points each, so that as I walked around the stage I would walk down and I would look and check my watch real quick, but I was looking right past my wrist and reading off the floor what the next point was on the card, so that I could remember all of the points that needed to be remembered because there was like 40 points or whatever it was. The point is I was reading off the stage. It doesn't matter, as long as you practice, rehearse, refine and then make sure that the audience's experience is one of receiving authenticity, solid gold.

Speaker 1: 21:27

The bullet points on the stage. That's funny, like one either. For me, like the cue cards would have had to been, like you know, pretty decently sized so you're not like squinting to read. You know what's. What is the bullet point? But it kind of made me laugh because it remind me like back in like middle school and you thought you were super slick and you know you write for a quiz or something like on the inside of a water bottle label, like you know bullet points that when the teacher's not looking you can kind of unpeel it and we, you always got caught, but you know, always inevitably caught but it reminds me of that I remember doing a uh, I did a show.

Speaker 2: 22:00

I'm looking around, I don't have a water bottle around, but I I did a show. I was 17 years old. It was me as a juggler, on a bill with a comedian. We were in Beacon Falls, connecticut, along with a magician as well.

Speaker 2: 22:15

So comedian, juggler, magician and the comedian was trying out this new material and he'd literally written his material on the side of his water bottle and it was so awkward because he would stand there and it was written on this side of the water bottle. And it was so awkward because he would. He would stand there and it was written on this side of the water bottle and he'd go to take a drink and then he would just kind of pause and stare at his water bottle for a few seconds too long and then deliver his next line. But then he was getting, you know, he was getting thirsty but also needing his next line, so he kept kind of drinking not drinking and staring at the. Yeah, it's ridiculous. It was basically the adult version of uh, of uh, you know, writing your notes inside the water bottle when you're in sixth grade or whatever Cause the whole audience was like what are you doing?

Speaker 2: 22:52

You know the whole audience caught him essentially, but yeah, that's funny.

Speaker 1: 22:56

So I mean, where did I mean let's, you've had some other pivots in your life in? I mean, before we get to those? I do want to ask about your book, because you mentioned it and and I mean I actually just launched a book not so long ago as well. So it's cool to hear other people's story of why did you write a book and you know what was the purpose behind it and so forth. So I mean, with your book, you know what was, what was the reason that you wanted to write a book?

Speaker 2: 23:20

Sure? Well, I'll tell you, the book Reclaim the Moment Seven Strategies to Build a Better Now came about in a really unusual way. So I was in conversation almost exactly like this with a good friend of mine. We get on Zoom every two, three months. We have this kind of mastermind back and forth what are you working on, what are you working on? And he's a futurist. So the future of work, the future of cities, the future of computing, the future of, you know, he's always thinking forward, thinking like that.

Speaker 2: 23:48

And four years ago or so, that was really really and it continues to be, but it was really popular in the speaking world. Futurists were getting a lot of work, they were speaking a lot, and at one point I was thinking to myself you know, I don't want to be a futurist, I just want to be me, you know. And I, I just want to be me, you know. And I was listening to him talk and at some point I said to him you know, I don't, I don't need to be a futurist, I just want to build a better now. And the second I said it he said to me have you copyrighted that? Have you trademarked that? I said what he said build a better now. You just you just said it. I said, oh my gosh, I did. I called my lawyer literally the next hour and said I need to trademark something. And we did, and I did and we put it into motion and we made it a thing. We initiated the process right Because I'd said similar things on stage. I just hadn't thought of it as my future. I'd said the words before probably build a better now or be building or focusing on now, and the whole concept was there. I'd said it on stage. I just hadn't put it in motion that way. So we put it in motion. I put it on my website.

Speaker 2: 24:49

A friend of mine who had years before, when I was talking to her about writing a book someday, said oh yeah, when I get back into book publishing someday, I'll let you know. I was like I didn't know you were in book publishing. Yeah, if I ever get back into it, I'll let you know. In the same way, someone says to you hey, I'll be in your city in four months, let's have lunch, and you're like, okay, as if it's going to happen. A friend of mine had said exactly that If I get back into book publishing, I'll let you know. So two years ago, I'm sitting here and I get an email from my friend who said hey, I don't know if you remember our conversation from four years ago. We hadn't even been in touch.

Speaker 2: 25:24

I was on your website. I saw this Build a Better Now idea. I just got a job in acquisitions at Wiley who, for listener viewers, is a major publisher. And she said I would love to get a book proposal from you about your book. And I said seriously, this is on a Tuesday. She said yeah, I'd love to have it by Friday. I hang up, I freak out 72 hours, I write a book proposal, I submit it and the next Tuesday Wiley sent me a contract for the book. That became Reclaim the Moment.

Speaker 2: 25:54

So I had no intention to write a book. It fell in my lap in the wildest way, just like if you and I were deciding to form a band, and Sony records calls in five minutes and gives us a contract. That's exactly how it happened for me. It never, ever, ever, ever happens like that, but it happened to me. So I didn't intend to write a book, which meant then I had to write the book.

Speaker 2: 26:12

Wiley is relentless with their authors. He had six weeks to come up with the first 20,000 words. I had no idea what to say. It was just pieces of a keynote and a slogan on the website. So I had to then figure out exactly what it was that I wanted to say.

Speaker 2: 26:27

I had to take ideas from different keynotes that I had done this idea of build a better. Now I had to take that and refine it, and I had to get to work. So I literally drove out to Eastern Washington I live in Seattle drove two and a half hours away, turned around in the car, turned on a voice note, hit record and talk to myself for two and a half hours, and that became the first 16,000 words of the book. So that's how it. That's how it happened, I mean. And then I probably trashed 9,000 of those words along the way, and then eventually the book became what it is today 100,000 words or so of thoughts, ideas about how to build a better now, reclaim the moment, focus and create possibilities in our lives. But it all came together because of a conversation like this, we never know where our impact is going to lead. We never know.

Speaker 1: 27:14

So I mean I think that's so awesome, that's such a cool story to you know one, even getting into writing a book, but also to like your whole opportunity and having an opportunity mindset and just conversations and kind of putting things out there and sometimes the universal lines maybe not right now, but you know, in four years, right, and so that's so awesome. But the title of the book right, reclaim the moment. Like in a couple of sentences I don't want you to give away the book, I want people to actually read it. I think that's such a cool topic but that's such an interesting statement by itself. Right, reclaim the moment. So how would you best describe in a brief summary of like, just that phrase, not the book but just that phrase?

Speaker 2: 27:55

Yeah, absolutely so. We live in a truly endlessly chaotic world in which we're distracted, constantly, pulled in every possible direction, and as we do that about things that we're not sincerely, authentically connected to, we lose this moment and this one, and this one, and this one and this one, and eventually realize, oh my gosh, where did the last three months go? Oh my gosh, what happened the last 14 years? Whatever it might be, reclaiming the moment is about being present in this moment and focusing on what matters most. That way, we get to create possibilities for the things we really want to be engaged in in our lives.

Speaker 1: 28:31

No, that I mean that's so awesome, Cause I mean just that statement alone. It had me thinking of the multiple different things and it was like that's, you know, one of the reasons. Like when I'm home with my family, it's like that's family time. Like you can't. You can call me, it's going to go to voicemail, but you know it's like I, I try to dedicate that time to them.

Speaker 1: 28:48

It's that, it's that moment, Right? So that's one thing I was thinking of in in that phrase. I was just like wow, like that's, that's so powerful and realizing that the other thing for me was, like, you know, almost enjoying the process. Like, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the process is always fun, right, you know, launching a business, launching a national franchise, you know, like I've done, has not been a fun process at some point. But I've enjoyed the process, both good and bad, because I know that's part of the entire picture of it, Right, and so, like, when that, that phrase reclaim the moment, that just really made me think about all those you know kind of little pieces and aspects to essentially life I'm glad, and one thing that I I say in the book and I've I've stood by this is that I'm not a guru, I'm not the master of focus, I'm not the master of reclaiming every moment.

Speaker 2: 29:35

I get lost and distracted and scroll through tick tock, just like every other human does. The point is is that I think that we can all do better Me, you, all of us we can all do better and keep thinking about okay, when I'm home with my family, I really mean it, I'm shutting my phone off. Or, for an example, for me, if I'm going to sit down and write a chapter of the next book, whatever it might be, I really am going to focus, because this really is going to create possibilities and, as such, just keep refining and getting better at shutting off the parts of the world which draw our eyeballs away. There was a and I read about this in the book too but there was a French writer named Guy Debord.

Speaker 2: 30:13

He wrote a book called the Society of the Spectacle, and in the Society of the Spectacle, debord writes this is in the 1960s, like way before the internet.

Speaker 2: 30:23

He writes that we've been absorbed into a society that is completely consumed by spectacle, and he was talking about the images around us, the images we see, and he said that it's gotten to the point where the images we see have supplemented, they've replaced our actual living, so that I don't need to fall in love because there's images of love in the advertisements around me, I don't need to have an adventure because there's movie stars having adventures and, as such, I remain one arm's length away from life at all times, instead of engaging in life. And he warned us against that society, the spectacle. So if we want to engage with the world as it is, as ourselves, we have to do away with the spectacle, because a lot of the spectacle we see is designed to keep our eyeballs on things that spend our money for us and spend our lives for us. So we can do better, and we can all do better, myself included. So I think it's important to keep that in mind.

Speaker 1: 31:15

No, that's so awesome. I mean, you mentioned a word a few times and I know I mentioned it in your intro because your journey is a. Honestly, the definition should be just your story in the dictionary of focus, right? So how is how is focus, you know being a skill, how's that grown for you? How have you developed the skill to focus and what role has it really played in shaping your career, your personal philosophy and so forth?

Speaker 2: 31:45

I'm glad you're asking that, and I mean that because I'm going to be putting out videos in the next handful of months about focus and one of the things I want to be talking about and I haven't talked about it yet, so let's have the premier be here. Focus is about sacrifice. It's about sacrifice, and focus means that, even though there's probably a tiktok video I'm just using that as an example, I don't know why tiktok's coming up so much there's probably a tiktok video I'd love to be watching right now. Uh, I'm currently on this kick where, if I'm watching something, I'm reading about chernobyl right, the, the, uh, the russian nuclear disaster, right. There's probably some video on tiktok, about the inner workings of chernobyl that fascinate me right now. I don't need to be doing that right now. I could sacrifice that tonight, tomorrow, next week. I don't need to be learning about Chernobyl. I mean, come on now, right? I mean I don't.

Speaker 2: 32:29

There are things that we would enjoy, absolutely would provide us pleasure in the moment, that we can sacrifice in order to get something that we really want. You know, this morning I was up later than I wanted to be last night. This morning I did not want to get up and go to the gym. I didn't want to do it and I got up and I went to the gym. That's the quintessential, normal example of sacrifice. But it's true that I knew that if I put in an hour at the gym before I did other things, I'd feel better.

Speaker 2: 32:57

What are we willing to sacrifice in order to get what we really want? Because if we don't sacrifice and we don't have our focus, we are going to be continually spoon-fed or force-fed the illusion, as we mentioned, the spectacle that surrounds us that will always, always, always feel good in the moment and never be satisfying long-term. So it's up to us to sacrifice so that we can claim the focus and get what we want, so that we are satisfied long-term. So it's up to us to sacrifice so that we can claim the focus and get what we want, so that we are satisfied long-term. It's an investment in our future to be able to focus and to be able to sacrifice in order to get what we want over time.

Speaker 1: 33:34

Guys, if you just missed that, rewind that and listen to that again. Rewind that last couple minutes and listen to that again. That was amazing. So I'm looking forward to those videos coming out, because that that was an awesome explanation and diving deep into just focus itself, because it a lot of times it's like people look at it so like surface level and it's like just pay attention. You know it's like okay, but there's a lot more to it. You know there's it's a little little deeper than that.

Speaker 1: 34:01

But I do want pivot before you know, we get too much into just like this mindset side of things, because your journey, again being able to pivot, is not easy, right, and being able to add different roles in different you know areas of your life that aren't necessarily directly aligned, necessarily directly aligned. But I want to take a guess on one of them. Okay, going into the filmmaking, right, and the storytelling, right in the documentaries. Now that is similar in a sense, in my opinion, to, let's say, keynote speaking, because you have to write a you know story to convey to the audience, right? So what was that? A kind of a stepping stone into you wanting to get into the filmmaking and and and basically you know, documentaries.

Speaker 2: 34:47

Yeah, you know, for me, being involved in documentary films and speaking went sort of hand in hand, right? Because if you're making a documentary film, like my friend Patrick Shen and I made a documentary called flight, flight from death the quest for immortality. It came out in 2003. So it's a while ago, but the film was about human fear of our mortality and how that influences our behavior. Why do we behave the way we do? Why do we behave violently towards one another? And the suggestions in the movie come from a guy named Ernest Becker who died in the early 70s. I'm actually writing his biography right now, and Becker suggested that our fear of not having meaning in our lives, not having self-esteem that matches what we think our potential could be, that that influences the way we lash out at other people, and so does our fear of our own mortality, and I've been studying Becker's work for decades.

Speaker 2: 35:39

At this point, the point is, I could make a 30-hour documentary about Ernest Becker. How do you make a 90-minute documentary about Ernest Becker If you said to me Greg, there's an audience of 1,000 people, they're waiting to hear from you. There's no teleprompter, go for it. I could speak to them for 17 hours. I don't even know Forever. I could tell them about growing up with my brother. I could tell them about how my dad got me into coin collecting. I could tell about my mom is a good cook. Whatever, how do I do a 45-minute keynote that impacts that?

Speaker 2: 36:08

Again, sacrifice and focus work together hand in hand, but for me, what I learned from documentary filmmaking is that you have to sacrifice along the way. You have to take the shot that you want, that you love, that you'd have to have in the film and cut it, or you have to take the idea that would be amazing to have in the documentary. Let it go because there's other ones that are more important. And ultimately, from a viewer's standpoint, does the viewer want a 25 hour long documentary on the life of Ernest Becker? I do. I can name about six people who would like that. The rest of the folks are going to want how do Ernest Becker's ideas fit into the parameters of my life? And they're going to want that in 90 minutes so that they can go on to something else. So, with that in mind, I learned a lot about speaking from that too. So the processes work together, sort of hand in hand, trying to figure out how to sacrifice and cut away things in order to get what we really wanted ultimately.

Speaker 1: 37:03

No, I mean that's so awesome and that that is so cool, and I mean being interested in this subject. It's funny, like you know, I could dive into a subject, certain subjects that you know I'm probably amongst a handful of people that would also just care about it. But we're talking, you know, before, this podcast on. You know why we keep it, you know the time length we do and it's because attention span right, and I know I'm even guilty of it too, which honestly it's crazy, cause, if you think of it, let's say, joe Rogan, his, some of his podcast episodes are like three, four, five hours long and you're just like listening to it. It's like you know, okay, I'd rather watch the, the Tik TOK clips, like give me, give me the, give me the, what they used to call it back in the day, the cliff notes, right.

Speaker 2: 37:38

Yeah, yeah, for sure, yeah, so it.

Speaker 1: 37:40

So it's so true that you know and what's what's cool and interesting to you in in terms of creating a documentary or creating a keynote may not be to someone else. So having to you know, really find down and prioritize what's the what is the main important parts, really takes some you know, some time and some thought, because it's like so many things are interesting to you and important to you, but is that really interesting and important to the overall concept?

Speaker 1: 38:08

that's right, right and ultimately, what we're talking about here is hey at, joe rogan, we're coming for you yeah, that's, those are a few levels up, um, but I do, I do want to also ask you know, another kind of pivot in in your journey and pivot in this conversation, right, is you have already so much going on and you've already accomplished so much, right? The whole philanthropy side, right? You had two different ones that were going on, the I believe it was 100 for Haiti.

Speaker 2: 38:41

Yeah, in Portland Mutual Aid Network yeah.

Speaker 1: 38:43

Right. So why did you go into founding those, what was the purpose behind it and what was your drive for that?

Speaker 2: 38:51

Sure, and, for the sake of your listeners and for the sake of brevity, I'll keep my answers short, but each answer is quite a story. But I was in Haiti before the earthquake in 2010, which, if listeners don't know, there was an immense earthquake in 2010, one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of the hemisphere, and I was in Haiti before the earthquake and made some connections. When the earthquake happened, I wanted to know that my friends were okay, and a number of friends and I this is a story, it could be a podcast episode itself got a sailboat and sailed down to Haiti. We were the first private relief boat to make it to the Southern coast of Haiti and we sailed down to Haiti with medical supplies and food. We sailed for eight days and nights to get to Haiti, to get there as close to first or as first as we could on the Southern coast and deliver supplies, and then, after that, I stayed in Haiti in order to make sure that my friends are okay. Well, I met people who needed help and support and after any disaster, relief is essential. Like, how are people going to literally get food, get water, get shelter, that sort of thing? So we started providing, I started facilitating the providing of relief for people by raising funds and sending down rice and food and supplies that people could be eating and whatnot. But what I realized over time is that relief only lasts a certain amount of time before you have to switch to sustainable development. You can't just provide relief forever. It's just not a good model. The point is, over time, 100 for Haiti formed very quickly, but 100 for Haiti switched from being a relief organization to a development organization. The reason I bring this up is because what we don't do is go into Haiti and say, hey, we're here to help, we got all these great ideas. I work with Haitians on the level that I work for Haitians. It's not that I work with them. I work with them on a level that they are in charge of the whole situation. I do what they ask for. So we've set that up in particular, so that I'm not saying I have an idea, here's what's perfect for you and your community and your environment, but rather having Haitians say this is what we need, this is what we want. How can we, through teamwork, make it happen? So that's where 100 for Haiti started as a concept and as an organization.

Speaker 2: 40:55

Portland Mutual Aid Network started in the midst of the pandemic there were houseless, unsheltered, homeless as you were, as you'd like to call it people living in the Portland, oregon downtown area. I was living in Portland for a handful of months. We started handing out food and supplies and whatnot, but then started again listening to people on the street what do you need? What sort of supplies do you need? What sort of support do you need? How often do you need it? How often do you want it? Who do you want to have give it to you?

Speaker 2: 41:23

And we started an organization, the Portland Mutual Aid Network, to offer food supply, shelter and basic survival supplies for people on the street. That organization is going strong still in Portland and even though I'm not down there actively in Portland, I do the behind the scenes, the onboarding, volunteers and whatnot. Now, and what started, as my friends Larissa, dan and myself three of us has turned into I mean, there's hundreds I don't even know how many people at this point are involved, but quite a few and the work is active and ongoing. And Portland Mutual Aid Network at this point has handed out tens of thousands of meals and an incalculable amount of supplies that have been donated from people who just want to have compassionate communities be the law of the land. I think that's a really important idea is to have our communities be compassionate and have our philanthropy be based in listening. So that's always been my driving force.

Speaker 1: 42:16

That's awesome. I mean, that's a hats off to you and a round of applause at the same time, Thank you. So I do want to ask one final question, right? And I don't like to give this question ahead of time, because I want the first thing that comes to mind right On Greg's legacy wall, and I will say it's not a tombstone, right? Make sure you know some people will be surprised, Answer it like a tombstone. Oh no, let's redo that. So your legacy wall, right, it's one lasting message or one lesson that you've learned through your extensive journey that you would leave for the up and coming generations.

Speaker 2: 42:50

I would say believe in the possibility of kindness. Believe in the possibility of kindness. I mean, we have all delved into anger, rage, we've all delved into being irrational, we've all said things we shouldn't, we have all done the wrong thing at the wrong time and the right time. We've all been frustrated, we've all been short-sighted, we've all been short-tempered. Believe in the possibility of kindness. When we enter into interactions with other people.

Speaker 2: 43:14

Given a pandemic, given social and political and whatever upheaval there is in the world, we can still believe that there is the potential in other people to be kind and the potential to be kind with ourselves. Those things create possibilities. That is where relationships will be built from, where teamwork will be built from, where our motivation and inspiration will be built from. If I'm harsh, cruel and mean with myself and the people around me, I'm never, ever, ever going to get what I want, and it took me a long time to learn that. Certainly, believing in the possibility of kindness is absolutely essential. That's what I would love for it to say on my tomb while still living stone, whatever you call it.

Speaker 1: 43:53

Yeah, on your legacy wall. That's a mic drop, pick it up and drop it again. Where can people connect with you? Where can people learn what you got going on?

Speaker 2: 44:01

where can people connect with you? Where can people learn what you got going on? You can go to my website, gregbennickcom, that's g-r-e-g-b-e-n-n-i-c-kcom, and, of course, I'm also on Instagram same spelling, gregbennick and LinkedIn, if you're feeling professional Facebook as well. All gregbennick. I would love to hear from people anytime, but start with the website and get in touch with me through there and maybe let me know that you heard me through this podcast. It'd be really great to hear from you Anytime, anywhere. I'd love to hear from folks.

Speaker 1: 44:25

And guys that will be in the show notes. If you're watching on YouTube, it's in the description. Make sure you guys share this episode with a friend. So not only do you get to reclaim your purpose, your moment right, your focus is gonna be honed in but is going to be honed in, but also spread that to your circle right, spread that to your family. Don't hold that information. You want to grow the team around you as well. So, with that being said, greg, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to hop on and drop some knowledge.

Speaker 2: 44:51

Thank you. I've appreciated every second of it. This has been great. Got my mind on the prize. I can't be distracted. I stay on my grind. No time to be flackin'. I hustle harder. I go against the current Cause. I know my mind is rich to be collected.