My Insane True Story That Began on a Flight in 2018 and Ended Last Night

Proof that the Universe works in mysterious ways

Gregory Russell Benedikt
6 min readMay 17, 2022

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Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

This story is proof that the Universe has a bigger plan for all of us.

That there is a guiding force patiently working in the background, guiding us to live an extraordinary life.

At least that’s what I believe.

Let me tell you why.

117 degrees

This story begins in 2018 when I was flying home to San Francisco from a work trip in Phoenix, Arizona.

I boarded the plane and shuffled my way back to my seat, trying my best to not sweat on anyone.

It was 117 degrees out and I was wearing dress clothes. As you might imagine, this was not a winning combination.

As I settled into my seat (trying not to die of heat exhaustion) I exchanged pleasantries with the man and woman sitting next to me.

They were a friendly Polish couple in their 60s, and by the time we reached cruising altitude I was in deep conversation with the man whose name was Jerzy.

The unsuspecting student

Over the course of the next two hours, Jerzy and I dove deep into many topics ranging from fitness and nutrition to philosophy and mindfulness.

As he continued to drop knowledge bombs on my unsuspecting mind, my initial skepticism was replaced with a deep curiosity.

Who is this guy?

I became like a sponge, soaking up every bit of wisdom and advice he was generously sharing with me.

And once his wife, Aniela, started to chime in, I realized that I was talking to some very special people.

I think it’s better that I didn’t know how special, as my nervousness would have gotten in the way.

My three assignments

As we started our descent into San Francisco, Jerzy and Aniela asked if they could give me some advice.

I eagerly nodded, grateful to accept more of their sage wisdom.

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Gregory Russell Benedikt

I help people gain clarity and take action on their biggest dreams 🚀 Book a free call at https://bit.ly/3zMgtyD to see if we’d make a good team!