8 Years of IMPOSSIBLE

8 years ago, I sat down and made a list.

Things I wanted to do…but seemed impossible.

At the top was a triathlon. But I was scared, so I compromised and did an indoor triathlon.

I remember finishing that race, realizing I didn’t die and telling myself:

You spent so much time telling yourself that was impossible. What other things are out there that you could go and do if you would just train for it?

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.

8 years later things look quite a bit different.

It’s worked out quite well – I don’t work at UPS – I’m celebrating my six year anniversary from quitting my job. I run two different six-figure companies from anywhere in the world. I became the youngest person to run 7 ultra marathons on 7 continents, and visited almost 50 countries and together we’ve raised over a quarter of a million dollars for charities and entrepreneurs (thanks to you).

But the last couple of years, if I’m quite honest – IMPOSSIBLE has been a bit more about Joel than about you.

A few years back, I was served a lawsuit– and it stopped a ton of momentum. I also withdrew a bit publicly during the case – unsure of what I wanted to say versus what my lawyer would think would be okay to publish.

My self-rationalizing element wants to say it was a natural reaction post-lawsuit – as it made me focus on what we could do internally – instead of growing, I focused on “not dying” (we’re using technical terms here).

My goal from the beginning has been to push my own limits, but also to do to do much, much more.

I sat down with a friend the other week and he asked me two questions that cut deep:

Are you frustrated with how long things seem to take?

What do you really want IMPOSSIBLE to be (if you started from scratch)?

And the truth is that I’ve been playing a bit scared with IMPOSSIBLE and playing small. It’s been a bit of navel gazing – and while I needed it for personally – for me post-lawsuit – it wasn’t necessarily helpful to you (yet).

But it’s been easy – and while I found myself at a new level, I looked around and realized I was staying well within my comfort zone.

So What’s Next?

So this year is gonna be different. There are going to be changes and IMPOSSIBLE is going to grow – in different ways than before – and it’s also going to change. I am still going to be a major piece of IMPOSSIBLE, but IMPOSSIBLE won’t be me (if you follow).

In other words, I want to be a part of IMPOSSIBLE, but IMPOSSIBLE – if done correctly – is bigger than me – and in some ways, I have been getting in the way of what It could be.

Writing is impactful, but when I look at the brands around me that I admire and look up to – they’re brands that I not only read and watch and interact with, but that I use everyday or create experiences that burn themselves into my life.

All of this is a bit uncomfortable to admit, but it’s part of the whole story. I talk to a lot of other online writers who edit their past work online. They’ll take it down, edit them out, hide old embarrassing posts. Part of it is to clean up irrelevant posts, curate a specific image and constantly refine their message – all of which is fine. And, if I’m honest – there’s something very appealing about taking that approach.

But, I like the idea of having it out there – the story – even if it’s sometimes disjointed, stop-and-go and not as pretty as I like to imagine it is.

When I first was getting started, I saw Sean Ogle be brutally honest and it made me think, “hey, maybe I could do that.”

I still want to be effective, but I also want to pass it on. To remind you that I’m nobody in particular. That if I can push my limits and do something impossible – then you can too – and there are more and better ways to do that than continuing to do IMPOSSIBLE as I have been.

So, things will be changing. There will be new information, products, and challenges coming soon. It will be more focused, more useful, and more bout 1000x more IMPOSSIBLE.

Remember – keep pushing your limits – and when you a hit a new level – don’t stop.

Stay after it.