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Finding joy in our lives, living (more) offline, & re-wilding ourselves after a tough season

Hi friend! I’m so glad you’re here.

I heard this quote recently that said,

We’re going to be the first generation to have more memories of other people’s lives than our own.

When I heard that, it changed everything for me.

post-tennis lesson selfie! I took up lessons after my parents died as a way to blow off steam + do something new

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to look up when I’m 80 (g-d willing) and realize I spent my life watching videos of other people’s lives.

This newsletter is, in part, about exploring what we actually want to do once we get off of our phones. Do we have lives we look forward to living offline? Or is that why we keep reaching for our phones again and again? What do you we think we’re getting from social media when we open the app? Is there another way that actually leaves us fulfilled, happy, present, and free-from the algorithm telling us what to like, read, taste, and do?

Maybe it’s because of what I’ve been through these past few years (a lot of loss) or because I’ve built a multi 7-figure business on the internet for the past ten years, but I’m ready to create a space that feels different — for me and for you.

You’ve heard all the tips and tricks about why social media is so bad for you and how you can brick your phone and put it in the other room to spend less time on it. This Substack isn’t about those tips and tricks. That’s been done to death.

This is where I’ll share how I’m reclaiming joy in my life after a tough season, building a life I love offline in a very online world, discovering hobbies and expressive outlets, going on artist dates, and the messy reality of healing after so much loss. In other words, I’m re-wilding myself after my life was burnt to the ground and I’m taking you along for the ride.

We get one shot at this whole life thing. Let’s do it on our own terms, shall we?

Why You Should Subscribe

As a subscriber you’ll get to…

• “come with me” on artist’s dates, hobby finding adventures, travel trips, and meeting my community in weekly posts in your inbox each Wednesday

• vulnerable shares on navigating grief while showing up in your life & reclaiming joy after loss

• real stories about founder life and the mindset it took to get here and what it takes to go where I’m headed next

• community comments with me

Where to Start

Here are my top 3 posts to get started:

I'm trying, but everyone's on their phone

My love for her was never the complicated part

Why you still feel illegitimate—even when you’ve “made it”

Thank you for being here! Introduce yourself in the comments below.

since we’re friends now, you should get to know my best friend/son, Hudson. He’s a bernedoodle and the best thing to ever happen to me. I tell him his birth story at least once per week.

When I’m offline, you get find me traveling the world, rooting myself in nature, obsessively looking for birds (the best way to be present and grounded in nature!), working out, reading, and cooking. Here are a few 📸 from my recent trips:

L to R clockwise: hiking in Patagonia, the view from my Vermont cabin, volunteering with an elephant rescue in Thailand, meeting highlanders in Peru, competing in HYROX in Chicago, ice climbing a glacier in Norway

xo,

Sam