Be Greater. [001]: A Greater Standard

Living with higher standards in an optimized world.

Have you noticed that the world feels different now? Of course, it’s always changing, but I mean something feels off.

Everything is so fast-paced. Culture feels flatter. Everyone is constantly online. It’s harder to read or think quietly without reaching for a screen.

The world has been optimized, and with the rise of algorithms, our culture has become fragmented into pieces.

My name is Garrett. I grew up in the offline world, before the launch of the first iPhone. Back when the internet lived on a desktop in a computer room and didn’t follow us everywhere.

I grew up playing outside, skateboarding, exploring, being independent and just figuring things out through trial and error.

My micro-generation was alive for 9/11, but too young to remember it. We learned about it on classroom screens and by hearing teachers retelling their experiences. We witnessed Hurricane Katrina, the financial collapse of 2008, the golden age of the iPod, the launch of the iPhone, the rise of smartphones, the political shifts of the 2010s, the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns of 2020, and now the rise of AI.

We grew up alongside the internet. We got to live inside both worlds.

I’m not an expert or guru. I’m someone who witnessed this shift firsthand and I’m doing my best to make sense of it all.

If you want to know about me:

• I was born in North Carolina in 1999.

• I graduated from East Carolina University, following in my grandfather’s footsteps (Go Pirates).

• I’m a 5th Degree Taekwondo Master.

And now, I write the Be Greater. Newsletter.

What does Be Greater mean?

This publication explores what it means to “be greater” in a modern, optimized world.

It means making better choices and holding yourself to a higher standard, especially when the easier option is one tap away.

Being greater looks different for everyone. No one knows your life like you do. You have to be honest with yourself and decide which decisions are better for you and the world around you.

Being Greater could mean:

• Reading a book instead of doomscrolling

• Being more kind to the people around you

• Throwing away trash you see, even if it’s not yours

• Always returning your shopping cart, even when it’s far

• Stopping to think before reacting emotionally

• Working towards your dreams and goals instead of consuming endlessly

• Deciding not to buy junk food at the store

• Giving spare change to someone begging on the street

Or a million other things…

To put it simply: when you’re faced with a choice, choose the greater option. Not the easiest, or the most convenient, but the choice that you imagine your hero would make.

We can’t wait around for someone else to step up and fix things. We have to be our own heroes. Be the person you would want your kids and friends to look up to. Be the character you would love to be in a movie.

Live in a way that you’re proud of, even when no one is watching. Make decisions you wouldn’t feel the need to hide or explain away. Act in alignment with the type of person you want to become.

In a time where optimization and convenience are everywhere, don’t lower your standards just because it’s easier. Instead of waiting around for a hero, become the hero. Be the change you want to see. Raise your own standards and lead by example before criticizing the world.

The Modern Problem:

Our culture has migrated from the offline world to the online world.

What Happened to the World?

That online world used to be a seemingly magical place, with diverse platforms, communities, games, channels, and niches. It was a fun place to visit, explore, connect with people, and then log off.

But over time the online world became more centralized, more corporate, more optimized.

When platforms are driven by engagement metrics to minimize risk, creativity becomes safer. Movies rely on sequels and remakes. Music gets tested and tweaked. Content is engineered for retention. Whatever is easily consumable gets amplified, and things that are strange, slow, or challenging get filtered out. This all results in safe art — passable but forgettable.

Optimization favors predictability, but soul requires risk.

It requires making something that might fail, something that not everyone understands, something created because a person felt like it had to exist, not because a market analysis said it would perform well.

At the same time, everything has become more convenient. We can give in to our habits and impulses — food, entertainment, outrage, distraction — with a few efficient taps and swipes.

When the systems and environments around us make every impulse easy to reach, the responsibility falls onto us to make better choices.

If we want to make the world a better place, we have to choose to Be Greater.

This Newsletter will Explore:

• Culture and the digital shift

• Modern counterculture

• Reading and attention

• Personal standards

• Civic responsibility

• Observations from someone living through it all

With occasional interesting essays or works related to books I am working on.

If you feel like something important has shifted in the world…

If you want to think more clearly and intentionally…

If you want to stay optimistic and live with higher standards in a world that constantly lowers them…

Then this is the place for you.

Subscribe and share. Thanks for reading.

Log off, spread love, Be greater.

- [gf]