23 days ago Gregory decided to embark on a 100-day challenge. Each day, he is tasked with making a bold or outrageous request to a stranger.

On day four, he knocked on a stranger's door and asked if he could cannonball in his pool. To his surprise, the man said yes and filmed a video of his perfect form.

This video went viral on Instagram and has over 270,000 views. It seems the idea of being bold and talking to strangers is gaining attention and Gregory was recently interviewed on The Mankind Podcast. This episode is that interview, re-posted on The Dare to Dream Podcast so you can follow along the journey!

From challenging strangers to footraces and asking grown men to push him on the swings, Gregory has been having a blast with this challenge. Tune into this episode to learn what is possible when you have the courage to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Show Notes:

Listen to more episodes of The Dare to Dream Podcast on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ and ⁠Spotify⁠!

You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠!

For Vincent's writing from Japan, travel photography, and more, check out:⁠ https://vincentvanpatten.com/⁠

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Join Vincent's Newsletter⁠ Citoyens du Monde⁠

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My younger brother Jesse Van Patten is one hell of an individual. Greg, Jesse and I caught up on Jesse's current ambitions at twenty years old as an exceptional collegiate runner, and what the sentiment is like in his generation.

We discuss societal pressures and what it takes to be ourselves, the benefits of facing discomfort voluntarily, and most importantly, why the greatest gift we've been given and can give back to the world is to honor, tap into and embrace who we truly are inside.

Listen to more episodes of The Dare to Dream Podcast on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ and ⁠Spotify⁠!

You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠!

For Vincent's writing from Japan, travel photography and more, check out:⁠ https://vincentvanpatten.com/⁠

To take the first step in living a story worth telling, book a transformational conversation with  Gregory: ⁠⁠https://gregoryrussellbenedikt.com/⁠⁠

Join Vincent's Newsletter⁠ Citoyens du Monde⁠

Join Gregory's Newsletter ⁠The Renaissance⁠

Yo! Vinny here.

This weekend marks one year of living in Japan; when I had this dream of moving to a foreign country, I pictured me against the world. In a way I hoped for that adventure. The lone wolf in a foreign country.

I couldn’t have imagined that I’d immediately make lifelong friends, that we’d have countless memories and experiences together all over this country, and that we’d cap off our first year watching the sunrise atop Mt. Fuji, which we did last weekend. 

People are everything; friends, family, those we love. We can’t go at this thing alone. 

On this episode, I discuss the insights I’ve had revolving around this idea and tell the tale of hiking Fuji San. 

I also discuss the difficulty I’m experiencing; how friends and those in my support group completely shifted my perspective from disheartened to sheer gratitude. 

I discuss feeling, deep feels, the beauty and the pain and never closing our hearts, no matter how many times it hurts. What a fucking gift to be alive with the gift of emotion. 

Listen to more episodes of The Dare to Dream Podcast on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ and ⁠Spotify⁠!

You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠!

For Vincent's writing from Japan, travel photography and more, check out:⁠ https://vincentvanpatten.com/⁠

To take the first step in living a story worth telling, book a transformational conversation with  Gregory: ⁠⁠https://gregoryrussellbenedikt.com/⁠⁠

Join Vincent's Newsletter⁠ Citoyens du Monde⁠

Join Gregory's Newsletter ⁠The Renaissance⁠

Greg and I (Vinny), love to read. Fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, your grandma’s cookbook—nothing’s off limits. Not merely for entertainment, but because stories help us understand reality. They help us better know ourselves. 

Integral to a meaningful story is conflict, revelation, courage, fear; love. 

The purpose of our young lives, we’ve found so far, is to live a story worth telling. That is why we’re here. That is why we pump out this podcast and continue, because we hope to inspire you to live a purposeful, beautiful, heartbreaking and meaningful story in whatever way that aligns with who you are and what you hope to do in this world.

In this episode we discuss difficult goodbyes: the cleaving of a chapter, a moment, an experience, to begin something new. I’ve had to say goodbye to a best friend here in Japan and also my dad who came to visit.

It’s so hard to say goodbye; but when it hurts that badly, it means we’re living a meaningful story, one in which we’re sad will end. But the wonderful thing is that we can’t imagine what will come next; that is life: difficult goodbyes and beautiful beginnings, over and over and over. 

We also share some of our favorite books, incredible stories of adventure and love in this universe and others. 

Listen to more episodes of The Dare to Dream Podcast on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ and ⁠Spotify⁠!

You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠!

For Vincent's writing from Japan, travel photography and more, check out:⁠ https://vincentvanpatten.com/⁠

To take the first step in living a story worth telling, book a transformational conversation with Gregory: ⁠https://gregoryrussellbenedikt.com/⁠

Join Vincent's Newsletter⁠ Citoyens du Monde⁠

Join Gregory's Newsletter ⁠The Renaissance⁠

This short solo episode with Gregory will leave you feeling bold, inspired, and hopeful. It is all about saying YES to life, reality, and challenges that make your palms sweat.

Expect to learn:

Enjoy!

The boys are back together!

You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠!

For Vincent's writing from Japan, travel photography and more, check out:⁠ https://vincentvanpatten.com/⁠

To take the first step in living a story worth telling, consider coaching with Gregory: ⁠https://gregoryrussellbenedikt.com/

⁠Join Vincent's Newsletter⁠ Citoyens du Monde⁠

Join Gregory's Newsletter ⁠The Renaissance⁠

Naval Ravikant on The Tim Ferris Podcast

Carl Jung is famous for formulating the concept of the shadow self. Known as the "repressed self" or the "disowned self", these are the parts of us that we relegate to the darkness of the unconscious mind.

Our shadow consists of all the "negative" qualities we try to hide from others (and ourselves) because they bring us shame, embarrassment, or disgust.

To hide our shadow, we criticize the same qualities in others that we are attempting to disown.

Gregory has been doing a deep dive into identifying and integrating his shadow self.

His journey has been everything but comfortable and he is here today to teach you the two simple questions to ask yourself to identify your own shadow.

You will leave this episode having learned:

Gregory hopes that listening to this episode and performing the exercises in it will heal you as much as it has helped heal him.

Last week I (Vinny) posted two Instagrams: one that was a highlight reel of good things in my life, and twenty minutes later, one that showed me broken, hurting, vulnerable.

Both posts were an expression of who I am - yet the second one made an impact. It helped other people who were hurting, too. It shed some light on what I was struggling with. People reached out, and I felt so much love.

That’s the potential of social media. Yet, in its current state it’s a breeding ground of envy and comparison.

It doesn’t need to be that way. We’re all going through something, yet it can feel like we’re alone when we’re hurting and everybody’s posting about getting married or the next amazing place they’ve hit on their travel list.

Social media can and should be a place to celebrate. Its potential is boundless, and I love seeing people doing what lights them up, epic relationships, adventures; but it can be so much more than that.

It can be a place of healing, too. A place to convey the full breadth and experience of what it means to be alive. A place to forge new relationships and cultivate old ones.

The choice is ours. Let’s get back to being human.

Listen to more episodes of The Dare to Dream Podcast on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ and ⁠Spotify⁠!

You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠!

For Vincent's writing from Japan, travel photography and more, check out:⁠ https://vincentvanpatten.com/⁠

To take the first step in living a story worth telling, consider coaching with Gregory: ⁠https://gregoryrussellbenedikt.com/⁠

Join Vincent's Newsletter⁠ Citoyens du Monde⁠

Join Gregory's Newsletter ⁠The Renaissance⁠

In this solo episode, Gregory walks you through the powerful mindset shift he experienced recently. It's all about making sure that what you are aiming at (and measuring for) on a daily basis, aligns with what you ultimately want to get out of life.

He realized that he was wanting to positively contribute to the lives of others and enjoy his life on the macro scale, but on the micro scale, he was only focusing on achievement.

Tune in to learn about the parable, the book, and the realization that led him to shift how he is living each day.