“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible” – Walt Disney
The impossible list is NOT a bucket list.
I used to settle for the possible things in life. The sure thing. The safe choice.
It was safe, it was realistic and it was boring as hell.
There was a problem: everything that was “possible” was too easy. I needed a challenge.
The impossible list is that challenge. This list of impossible things contains all the things I ever thought I couldn’t do because it was “impossible.” The sort of things that I assumed the cool guys on TV only ever got to do. This is my list of impossible things. I’m constantly crossing things off it as I accomplish them and adding to it when needed and I’ll be making regular updates about my journey on the blog.
Maybe you’re bored, maybe you’re tired of simply attempting what’s considered “possible”, maybe you just want to try something different. This blog is for you. Feel free to follow my journey via RSS or Email or start your own impossible list if you feel like it. If you do, send me an email and let me know. I’d love to hear about it what impossible things you’re doing.
The Impossible List
Life Goals
- Change 1 Person’s Life For The Better
- Help 100 Entrepreneurs Better Their Lives Through Micro-Loans [Kiva.org]
- [35/100]
Fitness Goals
- Run a 5k [Nov 1, 2009]
- Run a 10k [October 2, 2010]
- Run a Half Marathon [November 6, 2010]
Run a Marathon[May 15, 2011]- Run A Triathlon
- Fake Triathlon [April 10, 2010]
- Sprint Distance [July 17, 2010, August 1, 2010]
- Olympic Distance [August 29, 2010]
- Half Ironman [October 30, 2011]
- Ironman
- Run a Duathlon
- Learn Parkour [I'll start with this]
- Get a six pack
100 consecutive pushups[April 14, 2011] [First Attempt]- 200 consecutive squats [October 31, 2010]
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Travel Goals
- Visit Every Continent
- North America
- South America
- Europe
- Asia
- Australia
- Antarctica
- Africa
- Go Swimming in Every Ocean
- Pacific
- Atlantic
- Indian
- Arctic
- Southern/Antarctic
- Travel For 1 Year Straight
- Become Fluent In 4 Languages
- English
- Spanish
- Mandarin
- French
- Italian
- Esperanto
- Obtain dual citizenship with another country.
- Own a small flat in 2 different countries
Minimalism Goals
- Go without internet for a month [July 2009]
- Go without a car for a month
- Count & Document All My Crap
- Own less than 300 things
- Create a “Getaway” Backpack [I'm really excited about this]
Adrenaline Rushes
Go Skydiving[May 1, 2011, June 3, 2011]Go Bungee Jumping[June 6, 2011]- Go Scubadiving
- Learn to Surf
- Learn to Kitesurf [Maybe I can get Tammy Camp to teach me]
- Bike Across America
- Do A Cross Country Road Trip
- Be a Part Of A Flash Mob
- Climb a Volcano [Summer '04 - Mt. Pacaya, Guatemala & May '07 Kilauea, Hawaii] More?…
Random
- Be an Extra in a Movie [November 12, 2010]
Events To Attend
-
Visit Burning Man
- Participate in Tomatina
-
Running of the Bulls
-
Mardi Gras
Professional Goals
- Start my own marketing agency
- Start a company in another country
- Put $100,000 in the bank
- Give $100,000 away
- Write an e-book [December 25th, 2010]
- Write a real book
- Start a successful blog
![Mudathon - Anderson, IN [June 26,2010]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4735784251_c5ec0d61f5_t.jpg)
![Valpo Tri - Valparaiso, IN [July 17, 2010]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4805854263_4f1f94d270_b.jpg)
My name is Joel Runyon and I write about pushing your limits and telling a great story by 
Joel, I just ran across your website from a link on The Art of Audacity. I love your list. I have a similar list of my own and I’m inspired to post it on my blog. Right now I’m saving up to quit my job and travel the world for at least a year, leaving (hopefully) January 2012. Good luck on the upcoming marathon. I’ve run five of them, but nothing feels better than crossing the finish line of your first.
5? Wow. I might have to pick your brain on training for them
. Thanks for stopping by. Lach’s blog is awesome.
hey i was stumbling and came across this i havnt read all of them yet, but i thought it might help you. http://www.nomeatathlete.com/63-running-ideas/
I love Matt’s site. He’s got some great stuff over there. Thanks Tim.
That’s a great list Joel. I have made a list of 101 goals before, but that was too many. I plan to narrow it down to some really killer “impossible” goals you have here.
Thanks Caleb! I love having a lot of goals to shoot for. There’s always something. If I’m ever bored I can just take a look at my list and say “what about that one?”
crazy list… but I have one of my own, haha. I might take on a few of yours for myself
My favorite is- Change 1 Person’s Life For The Better
but I think you’re selling yourself short. With the skills, I’ve observed, you have from reading this blog, you can make a positive impact on an entire community.
1 person is enough
Anything extra is awesome 
.
Joel I know you’ve already changed my life for the better. That’s 1!
great list! what movie were you an extra in? what did they make you do? i used to be an actor and started off as an extra for the first year and a half. i have kind of an old-fashioned face so i used to work on a lot of period pieces and i got to dance a bunch. also got to be the “make-out” couple a lot with my then boyfriend.
Blue Like Jazz – I’ll be posting more about it sometime soon. I was an extra in a church scene. Bascially sat in a pew & stood up & sat down a bunch of times.
. Not as cool as being a make-out couple, but still fun 
.
I really enjoyed just about everything on this website. The Renaissance Man was really inspiring. My 7th grade english teacher said, “Everyone should know a little bit about everything.” That has really stuck with me. I go to a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, and I think that really helps to bring out the Renaissance Man in me. I feel like I could do just about anything I want (even the impossible).
I do a good bit of reading on how to be successful in life/do great (impossible) things. The problem I’m having is I don’t know what I want to put on my list of goals. I want to put things on their that I will still be passionate about in a few years. Do you have any advice for me? At 21 years old, I am just a little early to get going (I graduate in May).
This turned out to be way longer than I expected. I shared this link with a few friends already. Great work!
Best regards,
Tom
A good impossible list has a good mix of goals you can finish relatively soon as well as a few goals that you can finish a few years down the road. If you’re not sure what you want to do 10 years from now, ask yourself, What are you passionate about right now? Do that. A lot of times you won’t know what you’re passionate about until you try a few different things. If you find out you really don’t enjoy it that much, move on to something else. Make sense?
Biking across America is a popular theme! Which of those goals really ring with you?
One of my own goals is to ride from North East England to the tip of Italy via the Piaggio factory on my Vespa.
I got hooked on biking across America when I had this experience with the RAAM race. It’s an amazing way to see the entire country so I want to make it happen.
Great list, My wife and I just started a discussion on our own lists, it will be fun when we go to implement them. On mine is also to bike across america (I have been a cyclist my whole life-when I last totaled my life “miles on the bike” I was at 120,000 or so). My thoughts were to do the ride across america and combine it with earning money for charity to make it a dual purpose goal.
What a fantastic list! My favorite item is own less than 300 things, I have never seen it on a list before. How’d you come up with the number 300?
This has re-inspired me to make my own list Joel. And the Kiva idea is brilliant. I am taking this and running with it!
If you want to bike across America, you should check out Bike and Build.
http://bikeandbuild.org/cms/
Joel,
You have an awesome bucket list. It’s very inspiring to see you going out there and doing extraordinary things every day. Thank you for being such a great mentor.
My own legendary quest was created as somewhat of an impossible list. There are some net trends I could care less about, but this bucket list one is pretty great.
Finally, want to race to 100 pushups? I still probably can only do about 40 so at 90 or so you have quite a bit of a head start. Up for it?
Thanks for sharing your list!! Saw a couple that I have added to mine. =D
Awesome. Going to check out yours now!
I always has my list in my head,but this make me wish to put it on the paper-looks as it start to be more realistic…strange and funny! Thx
P.S. I think first and last you can also meke it as: done.
For all readers you give it suport and help them to go on! So,that means you reach the goal-succes!
You definitely should write it down. Putting it on paper has a very cool ripple effect. Thanks for the kind words Jelena
It means a lot!
I came across your list on StumbleUpon. I signed up right away for your rss feed. I can’t wait until the marathon gets crossed off the list. I did my first last year.
If you’re like me, once you’ve finished the marathon, nothing will be impossible again.
Just a few more weeks. Almost there
Just came across your blog and I love it! fantastic idea & execution!
Thanks Ruby
YOU ARE SUCH AN INSPIRATION!!!!!!! Wow, hope to someday have the time and guts to keep track of all that life has waiting for me……….keep it up..the world needs more people like YOU
Thanks Drea. Little piece of advice. You’ll never “have the time.” You have to make it for yourself. Good luck with the impossible!
Fantastic list. You’ve inspired me to make my own. I like how you have categorized the list. It makes sense to me.
Thanks Debbie! When you get yours made up, send it my way. I’d love to take a look at it!
Joel! Love this! I see you are skydiving on June 3! I just went for the first time on May 7…the most incredible experience I have ever had! Not one second of fear but lots of adrenaline! Enjoy every second of it and if you can, get it on video! It’s amazing what you forget you did when you jumped out of the plane!
Best part….FREE FALL!
Have a blast!
Hey Stephanie! I’m looking forward to it. Should be fun. We’re taking 40+ people so it should be a good group. I’ll let you know how it goes!
This is really cool, I’m not going to lie. My only question is what are you defining as a successful blog? I just StumbledUpon this, which means that you could be getting more traffic.
It’s great to see you’ve gone from 5k to Half-Marathon. As a dedicated high school athlete I appreciate people starting in our sport. Once I’m done with competitive track, I hope to be in the triathlons as well.
Keep It Up!
Wes Ward
I have a few different metrics for that, but it’s such a arbitrary word, that it’s hard to define. I feel like this blog has been very successful in terms of helping me do what I want and inspiring others. I’m very happy with it
.
Triathlons are a lot of fun as well. You should definitely give them a shot when you’re done with track!
Loved this man! i’ve done a few of these and have these on mine too… im stealing some of the other ones i didnt think of =p
Stealing is completely acceptable
. Have at it.
Hey man this list is truly amazing! I’m only sixteen but this list is already one of the most inspirational things i have seen. I just have one question, how do you fund all this, i presume you must have worked hard and earned some cash before you started this but for how many years, and will you’re supply not start to run out? Unless you have kept your job on-going whilst you complete this list…
Thanks Harris. I fund it all myself. I have a full-time job I work so this is all stuff I do in my free time. Some of the things I’ve done over the past few years, but a majority of the things have been knocked out in the last year or so.
sweet, all the best for completing THE list
Inspiring!
Thanks Henry!
This is just about awesome….hope you don’t mind, but I’m gonna copy/paste and modify this into something in my own little slot of existence.
Just about? It’s not fully awesome?
Feel free to copy/paste what you will. If you get the chance to put it up somewhere, shoot me the link! I’d love to see it!
you’re such an inspiration…makes me want to do all those things as well!!
What’s stopping you?
I’m inspired! I’m making my own list now and stealing heavily! Thanks for all the great ideas! I notice you’re training for your Half-Ironman in October and you’ll have your Ironman down the road. You may want to add biking a “century” to your list, if you haven’t done it yet as you gear up. Good luck!
It’s not officially “on the list” but it’s definitely in the back of my mind. Thanks man
This is amazing. You should be proud of the things you have already accomplished i will now start to make my own list. ps the internet one is definitely going on my list
Thanks Saulius. Shoot me an email when you start working on yours. I’d love to see it!
You can give away $100,000 to me
then I could travel the world like I always wanted too.
What’s stopping you from traveling the world right now?
Money.
$$$
Hey Joel, I also have a list similar to yours, and I can honestly say that you have inspired me to dream big. But do you ever feel like you could never finish the things on your list? I feel like my whole life I’ve been told “you can’t do it” and naturally I wanted to prove them wrong. But to be honest it’s easy to get discouraged; any advise for someone seeking to finish their impossible list?
Finish it? Mine’s never gonna be finished. I keep adding to the experiences and adventures that I want to have. I want to accomplish tons of things on my list, but I hope I never get to a point in my life where I have exhausted my sense of wonder to the point that I have nothing left on it!
Knowing there are some things you might not accomplish is part of the fun. Sure you might not be able to do 100% of the things on your list, but if you do 80% of them, you’ll have done way more than you would have without it
. Shoot me an email if you have any questions!
wow, this is amazing, this is something I’ve been trying to do for quite some time now. I’m 16 and I realized that I wasn’t doing anything with my life, so i decided i wanted a change, but I haven’t done anything yet, I don’t know why, maybe its just my laziness, but I’m working on it, and now, watching all of this, makes me want to start, I know it must feel good every time you cross a thing in the list, must be awesome,so I’ll start my list and the change in my life.Thank you
I hope you accomplish everything on your list.
Greetings from Mexico
Good luck on your list Ruben! Shoot me an email when you start working on it. I’d love to take a look at it. At 16, you’ve got a head start on a lot of people. Good luck!
Coming across this list could have quite possibly just changed my life. I’ve been picking my own brain for a few months now to make an “Impossible” list and this finally got me to. Literally just sat down and filled an entire page of things to do. (Parkour, skydiving, surfing, and swimming all the oceans we on mine as well). So thanks for the inspiration and the positive influence you’re creating. Best of luck brotha,
~Joey P
Well if you’re out in the midwest and want to parkour, let me know! PARKOUR!
Lately, I’ve been through a rought time, by luck I just found your post and let me tell you it has been really inspiring. Actually if I did a list it would be very alike to yours… so thank you for helping me remember a little bit of my true dreams and mainly, to remember there’s something bigger and better that worth’s being in this life for. Bests.
Thanks Silvia. Go make your own list and let me know what’s on it. I’d love to help you out with it, if I can!
Great list! We have a lot in common with things that we want to achieve in the future. Good luck with completing it.
Thanks Brigette
As long as you’re running marathons and visiting every continent, why not run a marathon on every continent? Not so impossible if you put your mind to it – take it from someone who’s done it!
Hey Joel!
Thanks for your inspiring words! I’ve just started my list of “impossible” things! Simply writing down my goals on this blank sheet of paper feels both exciting and liberating. The challenge now is to keep myself motivated and strive to accomplish them!
Greetings from São Paulo, Brazil.
Hey Dan!
Shoot it over to me when you’re finished if you get the chance. I’d love to take a look. How’s Sao Paulo? I hear good things (now that i’m off the Brazil blacklist, maybe I’ll try to visit!)
Brazil blacklist?
Theres a story to this!
If I told you, I’d have to kill you
I have just sent you my list by e-mail. I hope you have fun reading it!
São Paulo is such a diverse and vibrant place! I love living here! Many cultural options and places to go, a melting pot, really.
The only thing that gets on my nerves is that we have the world’s worst traffic jams! Allied with an overcrowded public transport, you can imagine it takes a loooong time for you to get anywhere.
But now you’re off the “Brazil blacklist” (?? I’d love to hear that story!), you can visit São Paulo. I could show you around town if you want =D!
I might just have to take you up on that offer Danillo!
Wow, I love your list because it is so similar to mine! I definitely called my list the bucket list, but it includes running up to a marathon and visiting all of the continents. I’m only 20 but I have traveled for 4 months and through two continents. Here’s a hint, if you stay in Hong Kong for a month, you’ll go without that car.
You can also work on learning Cantonese instead of Mandarin while there. Good luck on your clearly, POSSIBLE, for you at least, list.
Thanks Anna. i’d love to see your list if it’s up on the internet somewhere. And thanks for the advice!
Joel,
Hey man, I just ran across your blog! Way to go! I did my first triathlon in summer 2009. It was an extreme off-road triathlon put on by Xterra in La Grande, Oregon. Open lake swim, Mountain bike ride, trail run…it was awesome. I have been hooked since. This actually bridges to another cool connection we have…At that time, I had the idea pop into my head to bike across America. Joel, the cool thing is the idea had a few years to percolate…As of right now I have biked over 2700 miles and raised over $5000 dollars for impoverished children!!! [check out our blog at http://www.bikeamericamission.org (and, Hey, I did my first marathon earlier this year too).
…I think we’ll have some great stories to share. Wha’d'ya think?
Where are you these days still in my stomping grounds (Oregon)? because one of my goals is to meet you
Goal for 2012: Ironman Couer d’Alene
I was in Oregon in June. Currently in Milwaukee.
You might want to check out my buddies blog –> http://www.natewalksamerica.com . Looks like you cross country travelers might have something in common. Ironman training huh? I’m planning on getting one in at the end of next year, crossing both fingers firmly and barring any injuries
. Congrats on the ride man. That’s huge.
Hi Joel,
Just stumbled across your blog, and have to say well done. You have some great goals on here, and I wish you the best of luck with them.
And if you ever want to start up a company in either the UK or Australia, let me know.
All the best,
Heath
You got contacts in both those places, I assume? Thanks for the kind words man. I just may take you up on that offer someday.
Time to strike “start a successful blog off the list”?!
Just might have to do that
Joel,
The “Getaway backpack” link is a parked domain. Maybe you mean a bugout bag?? Please see: http://artofmanliness.com/2011/03/07/how-to-make-a-bug-out-bag-your-72-hour-emergency-evacuation-survival-kit/
-Y-
I know. In-progress right now.
Sorta like the Bugout bag…but better. Much better
I found your website sometime back and found it a huge inspiration. I have a goal list of my own, but I have actually removed some of the “impossible” things from it. Until I found your blog. Then I started toying with the idea of putting a marathon back on the list. And then I read the book Born to Run. Not only did it tell a wonderful story, remind me of why I loved running so much in high school and confirm my belief that running barefoot is the way we should all run, but re-inspired me to run. And it inspired me not only to run a marathon, but to run an ultra-marathon. If you enjoy reading, although I don’t know you well, I feel like you would love this book. I also feel like running an ultra (50+ miles but most commonly 100) would be a pretty epic thing on your list.
I’ve looked into it, but haven’t read it all the way through. I’m contemplating the ultra…gotta check to see if it’s something I really want to do though..
One Joel to another… keep on doing the impossible!
Thanks Joel
-Joel
Thanks! This is so inspiring. I am sitting here at work and feel like i am in this bubble of contentment. I love your list and am going to steal some of them to add to my list
Do it. Shoot me a copy when you’re finished!
I am learning how to surf so, if you are ever in LA you can have a couch to sleep on, a fellow surfing buddy and check another thing off your list. I actually swam with dolphins the other day in Malibu which was pretty rad.
I might just take you up on that!
Joel, I’ve stumbled upon your blog in my own search for challenge. I recently suffered an accident that cost me a few broken bones and a lot of lost time. As a result I want to embark in a journey similar to yours (after recovery of course) and I would like your feedback via twitter.
Sure. Give me a shout –> @joelrunyon
I know I’m ignoring some of your post
but I love your running goals and I’m glad to see that you have completed a lot of them. I have a bunch of running goals myself, but I never thought to write them down like a bucket list. I definitely want to run a marathon and do a bunch of triathlons.
Great Post!
I’m partial to tris, but the marathon was definitely an experience. Good luck Jarrett.
Love this list! I have done a few of these myself and give you nothing but encouragement and “YOU GO, GUY!” on this list! If you ever do get to the point where you participate in an IronMan,..I live in a condo in Kona (my goal to live on a tropical island achieved) and have a rental condo next door. Email me and you got it–with a mai tai!
Really like the format for this blog..keep going!
What part of Kona do you live in? I love the Big Island (the big island is the best island). Now I just need to qualify
.
I see that Australia is on your list to visit – I had a great 16 months in Australia, and I recommend the following:
1- eat Morton Bay Bugs in Cairns Queensland (giant juicy prawn-like things)
2- eat Jackfruit (this monster fruit smells disgusting when you open it up, but the white stuff inside is great)
3- pull the tail of a crocodile (but make sure it’s behind bars in a croc farm (several great ones around Cairns) – and don’t get your hand stuck in the bars
4- snorkle in the Great Barrier Reef (Cairns is a great launch point) – see sharks, moray eel, giant turtles, and manta rays. Be sure not to stray too far from the boat! And go on a clear sunny day, you need totally cloudless day for the best visibility and vivid colours underwater.
5- Do a rainforest walk (several good ones north of Cairns)
Jackfruit is amazing. Love that stuff! Also, just pulling a tail of a crocodile? C’mon…
I have the same goal to “Travel for 1 year straight”!:)
Hey Joel,
I just stumbled upon your blog, and I love your list! I see that you are into running. Why stop at 26.2 miles? You seem to have the motivation to go further, like an ultramarathon. I have a lot of similar goals on my list, but for travel goals I want to climb the highest mountain on each continent (It’s called the Seven Summits). Now I just need to graduate, get a job, raise some money and go!
We’ll see! Last year I thought a marathon was impossible so we’re taking baby steps
. Ironman next and then we’ll see after that!
Wow!
I recently started reading essays zenhabits.net and theminimalists.com and somehow ended up here.
It’s such a shock to me that I was already well on my way of becoming a minimalist, before I found out there was actually a name for it; “Minimalism.”
And now I’m reading through your Impossible List, thinking what a great idea this is, getting super inspired and crossing things off your list in my head, while coming to the conclusion that I have a pretty amazing and blessed life.
What an eye-opener! I feel so happy, I want to throw a party! (…adding that to the list…)
Thank you for sharing Joel. I think you should cross off “write a successful blog”. This is very inspiring and I can’t wait to read more!
Vicky, from Amsterdam
Thanks Vicky
. Leo, Josh & Ryan are great. Glad you ended up this way because of them.
Keep doing something impossible and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!
Hola Joel recién vi tu lista de “imposibles” en StumbleUpon y me pareció increíble. Es una inspiración ya que los imposibles se van haciendo posibles con el tiempo. Recién empece a correr y ya complete 10k. Igual inicie con deportes extremos como rappel y canoying y ne doy cuenta definitivamente necesito escribir mi lista.
Tu lista me inspira a seguir adelante y a iniciar nuevos retos.
Saludos desde Bogota Colombia
Que bien! Si tienes un lista de imposibles tuya, yo queria verla. Gracias por leer y me emociona que tengo mas lectores hispanicas
.
Hola! I’m from peru and wow i really liked your list man, i have one of my own too, it’s called the “things to do before dieing list” hahah but i have not as much and as original things as you have.. haha after reading your blog i felt like inspired, so im gonna take my pencil and my diary right now and update that list!
bye
Awesome. Can’t wait to see it. Thanks Sofia!
Hi Joel !
I discovered this page thanks to stumbleupon. I am really impress by the list that you planned to do and even more by what you already achieved ! It’s truly inspiring ! Congrats
You might be interested by tribesports.com, You can present all your sports achievements like http://bit.ly/pTEqGY .
Thanks for sharing !
Julien from London
I absolutely love this! It gives me the inspiration to get in mental, physical, and spiritual shape. I’m 18, looking at colleges, and really thinking hard about the purpose and focus my life should take. This list inspired me to dive head-first into my number one on my impossible list: End World Hunger. Crazy, right? Crazy AWESOME! A group of high school students decided that they weren’t going to sit back and watch as people born in less developed countries starve. So, four years later, I’m on a team with some really amazing students who are doing the “impossible”, attempting to send our 1 millionth meal to third world countries, and ending world hunger. Check out FoodFightForHunger.org to see what high school students across Illinois are doing for this great cause:)Thanks Joel!
Awesome stuff Jackie! I’m from Wheaton, so right by you. Love what you guys are doing. I think you’d love the Impossible League (the community behind the site). It’s full of people doing amazing things like you. Keep it up and let me know what I can do to help!
Hi Joel. I love love love these lists. I have been doing them since I was 14 years old. I do mine a little differently. Every January I make a list of 100 things I want to do before I die. I don’t look at the other lists until I have written my new one. This way overtime i cansee the things that arereally important to me, and i do things as i go along… I am 31 now and last year biked across Africa ( Cairo to Capetown) and when I got home I fell apron my list I wrote in 1994, it said, 10. Bike across Africa. My mom and I were floored, I hadn’t seen that listin over ten years… Amazing how when we write things down we actually seem to get them done. I love your blog, I think the first step to making a difference is helping people to see and understand that impossible is possible. It is just a frame of mind. Thank you.
HI, i found ur website on stumbleupon,, and have to say it’s awesome!!!! i admire what u r doing.. keep it going
someday i’ll make a list too, and the top one would be get a six pack abs or maybe eight.. If i do something different in my regular life, i will mail u the details,, thanks for inspiring me
Thanks Ranjit. Looking forward to seeing your list!
Hey Joel,
You’ve inspired me to bump up my goals. I’m excited about them cause they seem so crazy to me.
I was wondering about other personal goals like:
Get married
Date a supermodel
Have kids
Did you chose to not publish them, or are they easily possible so they were not included?
- Ray
Haven’t really put them on the list.
I think “getting married” is a weird goal because it’s sort of a two-person thing. I’d rather not get married then just marry someone because it was a “goal” of mine. if it happens, it happens, but I find that sort of a hard thing to put on, then cross off of a list.
Hey, Joel,
Just got your book and I have to say it’s very affirming. Looking at your list above, I’m even more affirmed.
I recently quit my US jobs, sold a bunch of crap, and moved to Indonesia with few prospects for making money – living the impossible. It’s amazing how quickly setting a goal and opening up my mind and heart to receive got me here. Within ten days I have a lead on an amazing job that will fulfill me and help me continue to live this impossible life.
Let me know when you start working that trip to Asia – I’ve spent about ten months of the last year and a half here and have a lot of good resources and travel tips for Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia.
I love the “Getaway Backpack” idea. Everyone should have one!
Good luck – I look forward to seeing how you progress!
-Heather Boylan
That Asia trip might come sooner than later – I’ll let you know
Nice – yes, please do:) I’m a wealth of information about this, from US – Asia flights all the way to strategies to NOT end up staying in a sucky place no matter where you end up!
Cheers! Heather
I love this. Those are great goals, you gave me some ideas!!
Dude, you’re cheating. You did not become fluent in English, you already were… I’ll give you a tip : learn Indonesian (Bahasa) – it’s spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia (good scuba-diving, Asia, btw) and Singapore and it’s literally the easiest existing language.
Keep up the good not-work.
Ha, English took the first few years of my life!
I have been doing the Marathon Kids program with my daughter for part of her homeschool fitness time. I am beginning Couch to 5K this month. I am wondering what you’ll do after you do an Ironman (lol…one of my old boyfriends did it every year). Have you heard of the Tough Mudder run? I think you’d like that. If I had discovered it younger (I am now 50 with a wonky knee) it would have been on my list cus it looks like a hoot!
Tough Mudder is on the list at some point. Maybe this summer?
. Bet you still could do it if you really set you mind to it (think about it) 
.
I think you can cross off “start a successful blog”. I think you’re doing very well!
I red your manifesto and agree with many of your ideas. Thank you for the work done!
You are further ahead in your journey than I am or might be in the short run. I have an experiment to propose to you: could you choose a country which is not your own, possibly one that does not offer the liberty of choice and privilege that you (and I) enjoy, and push your limits there?
My question is provocative without being judgemental or mean. It is the result of the cross-over of ideas from your project and this http://www.ted.com/talks/ory_okolloh_on_becoming_an_activist.html. You may certainly see this as my “living vicariously” but I hope you will humour me with your thoughts on it and take it as an experiment and cross-fertilisation of ideas.
Congrats. I myself have reached one or two fitness goals that seemed next to impossible at first, and your list is very inspiring to me. Good luck with Esperanto, it’s a great language to know and use.
I’m looking forward to it.
Joel. you’ve inspired me to stop looking at the small-steps I’m currently taking to meet some small(ish) goals but to expand my horizon to also consider the BIG picture.
I’ve written up my own ULTIME goal list now (http://www.thisgeeksgoals.com/musings/ultimate-goals) and my mind is already whirring, trying to figure out how I do what first. Bring it on!
Thanks again.
Mark
Good luck Mark! Let me know if there’s anything i can do to help!
This Impossible list is great. After looking over each sub category I would say you’re off to a great start with this list. I myself have begun to make a list of impossible things I wish to accomplish. A lot of what you have on your list could defiantly fit onto mine. This blog has certainly opened my eyes in a positive way. And I’m sure many of the people commenting would agree. Inspiration is something that everyone in the world needs. Whether it comes from yourself or someone else. Without inspiration your life will be dull, and boring. You can certainly back up that statement, because you once lived an everyday boring life. Yet you inspired yourself to make a list of impossible things and do them. On top of that you made a blog to inspire other people to do things they never thought they could do. That is something you should cross off. Your very fist life goal is to change someone’s life. This blog alone has probably opened so many people’s eyes to what they can accomplish if they just try. That alone is changing someone’s life. And for that I thank you.