What if picking up trash could help you understand the world—and yourself? Connecting the Dots Through Trash to the Future is a story of insight, transformation, and collective awakening—told one piece of litter at a time. In this bold and deeply personal debut, Renato Zeko—a risk management practitioner with a curious mind—reveals how picking up litter on the streets of New York City became a powerful path to reflection, change, and a new way of seeing. What begins as a mindful habit evolves into a sweeping exploration of human behavior, environmental responsibility, and consciousness. Blending personal narrative, social observation, and interdisciplinary insight, Renato weaves together moments from daily life with practical lessons on leadership, risk management, and transformation. From the sidewalks of New York to the patterns shaping global systems, this book explores how the things we overlook—our trash, our habits, our blind spots—hold the key to unlocking personal growth and collective progress. This is not just a book about trash—it’s a wake-up call for individuals, organizations, and policymakers. Renato presents a new lens—a paradigm shift—that challenges outdated mindsets and offers a practical, empowering path forward. Inside, you’ll uncover: Trash as a symbol of societal neglect—and untapped potential - The link between personal transformation and community healing - A call to move beyond binary thinking and step into a new paradigm—what the author calls the “quantum stage” of awareness - Risk management not just as a business discipline—but as a lens for navigating our fears, blind spots, and choices - The power of “I” in shaping a more caring and connected world Whether you're a seeker, changemaker, or simply someone looking to reconnect with purpose, this book will inspire you to see the world—and yourself—with new eyes. One piece of trash at a time. One insight at a time. One future reimagined. Do you dare to connect the dots? The future may depend on it. Scan the QR code on the cover and watch the story come to life. Renato Zeko is a risk management practitioner, purpose-driven thinker, and founder of Boombeez, a small honey business rooted in care and connection. Guided by wide-ranging curiosity—and a strong interest in how human behavior connects across disciplines—he is driven by a desire to understand how we evolve, adapt, and move forward. This is his first book. Connecting the Dots Through Trash to the Future began with a simple act: picking up litter in my neighborhood. Over time, it became an obsession to figure out the patterns and root causes within my community and within myself, in an attempt to understand what is going on and why. Through that search, I realized that the problems we see, whether in trash, environmental issues, or organizational challenges, often share the same underlying causes. The quantum stage is my proposal for transforming the world from a binary stage to a quantum stage. It is my conclusion as the solution to not just trash, but to everything else we try to solve: moving from limited either/or thinking to a space where awareness, complexity, and possibility work together. When I am not writing, working in risk management, or picking up trash, you will find me with my family, traveling to discover new places, or immersed in a good book. I once loved soccer and football, but I have watched the sport lose much of its soul to the pull of money. That is a reminder that true passion thrives where purpose remains intact. At its heart, Connecting the Dots Through Trash to the Future is about transformation—personal and collective. It explores what it takes to move beyond fear, limitation, and inherited patterns, toward a more conscious and connected way of living. It proposes that true change doesn't begin within entrenched institutions (e.g., government); it begins within us. The systems we critique are often reflections of the choices we make each day. When perception shifts, so does reality. This book invites readers to question the familiar and examine the unseen. It challenges us to move from the binary stage of fear, control, and division into the quantum stage—a space of alignment, expansion, and ascension. TRASH IS EVERYWHERE —stuck in trees, clogging drains, drifting along sidewalks, piling up in forgotten corners. In cities like New York, it's impossible to ignore—unless you've accepted it as reality. For over a decade, Renato has picked up more than 30 tonnes of trash—mostly in the Bronx, but also in cities around the world. What began as a simple act of cleaning became something more. The patterns he observed—what we discard, ignore, and normalize—along with the countless interactions and stories shared by strangers, offered deep insight into our systems and inner struggles. These years connected the dots between his past and a path toward deeper purpose, ultimately shaping the stories and vision in this book..... Renato Zeko has spent his