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The Impossible List

What is an "Impossible List"? I got the idea from Joel Runyon. An impossible list is a personal, fluid, evolving challenge, it is "impossible" because the list will never be empty. It is a set of goals and experiences that build upon each other and inspire me to live greater. As they say:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

- Robert Heinlein

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"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."

- Walt Disney

My Impossible List

I am continuously working on making my impossible list more impossible..

Active Items

These are some items I’m currently working on.​​​​

  • Start my own business [Day 1/100 - Progress]

  • Learn Riak.js

  • Learn K8

  • Learn Apache Presto

  • Learn Apache Pinot

  • Learn Crossplane

  • Help 100 entrepreneurs through Kiva.org [28/100 - Progress]

The latest accomplishments

  • Read 30 pages a day every day for three months in a row [90/90 - Done]

  • Listen book on audible for 30 minutes a day for three months in a row [90/90 - Done]

  • Create Mr. Fries stuffed toy for Morgan's "Burger & Fries" Comics book [Done]

Life

  • Help 100 Entrepreneurs Through Kiva.org [28/100 - Progress]

  • Sell books door-to-door - [05/1999-08/1999 - Done]

  • Be the absolute best in the world at something (described as such by a reputable source)

  • Change 1 person’s life for the better

Entrepreneurship

  • Start my own business [Day 1/100 - Progress]

  • Start an incubator to help others

  • Start my own non-profit

  • Launch my own apparel/clothing line

Intelligence/Self-Education

  • Read at least 30 pages a day for three months in a row [90/90 - Done]

  • Listen audible book at least 30 minutes for three months in a row [90/90 - Done]

  • Learn Riak.js

  • Learn K8

  • Learn Apache Presto

  • Learn Apache Pinot

  • Learn Crossplane

Minimalism

  • Go without a cell phone for a day

  • Live without technology for a day

  • Go without internet for a month

  • Go without a car for a month

  • Count & document all my crap

Misc.
  • Create "Mr. Fries" stuffed toy for "Burger & Fries" [11/09/21 - Done]

  • Completed a pre-Basic Rider motorcycle course​ - [09/06/21 - Done]

  • Blog 365 days in a row - [2020-2021 - Done]

  • Become an Ordained Minister [09/03/2021 - Done]

  • Go to a Russian Banya with a non-Russian friend - [10/21/21 - Done]

  • Create a custom T-shirt [10/05/2021 - Done]

  • Donate blood [11/02/2021 - Done]

  • Go to a Toastmasters meeting

  • Obtain e-residency - Link

  • Plant or help plant 10,000 trees

  • Shoot a documentary

  • Support a childhood passion

  • Raise $1 million dollars for charity

  • Open a school

  • Provide a fresh drinking water to a village

  • Provide electricity to a village

  • Learn to ride a motorcycle

  • Be an extra in a movie

  • Do adventure roulette

  • Get something named after me

  • Leave a $100 tip at a restaurant

  • Help a student expand their potential and realize their dreams

  • Try a ridiculous fast

  • Become a better cook: cook something new every day for a month

  • Experience something new every day for a month

  • Fund a scholarship

  • Become a part-time owner of a professional sports and/or e-sports team

  • Take a 30-Day cold shower challenge

  • Create an illustration I’d be proud to sell as a printable

  • Start a podcast. Publish 100 podcast episodes

  • Plant a garden

  • Draw every day 30 days in a row

  • Play guitar every day for three months in a row

  • Go clam digging

  • Bring baked goods to a neighbor

  • Send someone an anonymous gift

  • Write a thank you letter to a company that treated you well [11/13/2021 - Done]

  • Write a letter to 10 people I admire

  • Donate toys at the holidays

  • Volunteer

  • Write a letter to your future self

  • List 10 things you are grateful for every day for 1 month

  • Build a house with Habitat for Humanity

  • Serve food at a soup kitchen

  • Do a body cleanse

  • Make a coloring book

  • Blow glass

  • Knit a scarf

  • Make a 2022 calendar with my favorite photos

  • Memorize a poem

  • Write your life story

  • Make a homemade beauty product

  • Make my own perfume

  • Invent something

  • Sell something on the internet

  • Make a career out of a hobby

  • Send a message in a bottle

  • Visit my state capitol

  • Take a Seattle underground history tour​

Renaissance Woman

  • Write a poem in Russian [10/15/2021 - Done]

  • Write and publish a comic book

  • Write a book

  • Write an e-book

  • Publish a real physical book

  • Start a successful blog (50,000+ subscribers)

  • Start a second successful blog

  • Write a poem in English

  • Write a song

  • Learn to DJ

  • Learn to Breakdance

  • Create a video that gets international coverage

  • Get to Space

Fitness

  • Run non-stop for 365 days [2020-2021 - Done]

  • Run a 5k

  • Run a 10k

  • Run a Half Marathon

  • Run a Marathon

  • Run an Ultra Marathon

  • Run a Triathlon – Sprint Distance

  • Run a Triathlon – Olympic Distance

  • Run a Triathlon – Half Ironman

  • Run a Triathlon – Ironman

  • Run a Duathlon

  • Run a sub 7-minute mile

  • Go Slacklining

  • Complete a Century Ride

  • Run Tough Mudder 

  • Finish the GoRuck Challenge

  • Bike a century race

  • Bike Across America

  • Run Across America

  • Do yoga every day for 365 days in a row

  • Learn archery

  • Learn to curl

Life Accomplishments

  • Get a BS [2001, Hillsdale College - Done]

  • Get a MS [2003, Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Done]

  • Get a PhD [2009, Purdue University - Done]

  • Get an MBA [2016, University of Chicago - Done]

  • Become a Partner at Microsoft [2021 - Done]

  • Become an ordained minister - [09/03/21 - Done]

Travel

  • Visit every continent

  • Travel for 1 Year straight

  • Become an Estonian E-citizen

  • Live on the beach in some tropical country for 3 months

  • Do a cross country road trip and make a film about it

  • Do a round-the-world trip and make a film about it

  • Visit All 50 States

  • Visit 20 Countries

  • Visit 50 Countries

  • Visit 100 Countries

  • Visit 150 Countries

  • Visit all the Countries

  • Start/buy an Island

Adventures/Adrenaline Rushes

  • Go Indoor Skydiving - [09/02/21 - Done]

  • Go Whale Watching - [09/05/21 - Done]

  • Go Zip Lining - [10/23/21 - Done]

  • Go fencing - [11/26/21 - Scheduled]

  • Go Skydiving

  • Go Bungee Jumping

  • Go Paragliding

  • Go Parasailing

  • Go Hangliding

  • Go Skydiving

  • Go BASE Jumping

  • Go Parasailing

  • Go Kitesurfing

  • Go Windsurfing

  • Go Surfing

  • Go Stand Up Paddle boarding

  • Go Abseiling

  • Got Hot Air Ballooning

  • Go Wingsuit Flying

  • Go Skiing

  • Go Snowboarding

  • Go Backcountry Skiing / Snowboarding

  • Go Snowmobiling

  • Go Jet Skiing

  • Go Waterskiing

  • Go Wakeboarding

  • Go Kneeboarding

  • Go White Water Rafting

  • Go Kayaking

  • Go Scuba Diving

  • Go Cave Diving

  • Go Freediving

  • Learn to Kitesurf

  • Kitesurf for a month

  • Learn to Surf

  • Get PADI Certified & go scuba diving

  • Climb a Volcano

  • Learn To Freedive

  • Go Zorbing

  • Fly A Rocketman Water Jet Lev Fly Board

  • Fly A Flyboard Water Hoverboard

  • Take a helicopter ride

  • Learn to fly a plane

Languages To Learn

  • Learn Russian [Done]

  • Learn German [Done]

  • Learn English [Done]

  • Learn French

  • Learn Chinese

  • Learn Japanese

  • Learn American Sign Language

Events to Attend

  • Oktoberfest in Germany

  • Burning Man

  • Coachella

  • Lollapalooza

  • Bonnaroo

  • Visit Burning Man And Document It

  • See The Northern Lights & Make A Time Lapse Film Of It

  • Carnival (Brazil)

Travel

  • Visit all 50 states

  • Visit Alaska, in particular

  • Visit the North Pole

  • Visit the South Pole

  • Visit the Dead Sea (lowest point on earth)

  • Visit Everest Base Camp (highest point on earth)

  • Visit Every Continent in the World

  • Visit Every Country in the World

  • Visit Every Ocean in the World

Things To See

  • The Northern Lights

Cities to Visit

  • New York City

  • Moscow

  • St. Petersburg

  • Warsaw

  • London

  • Chicago

  • Los Angeles

  • Amsterdam

  • Paris

  • Vancouver

  • Las Vegas

  • Hong Kong

  • Miami

  • Tokyo

  • Prague

  • Copenhagen

  • Bali

  • Rio

  • Milan

  • Rome

  • Barcelona

  • Sydney

  • New Zealand

  • Vienna

  • Sicily

  • Ibiza

  • Antarctica

  • Monaco

  • Iceland

  • Dubai

Want to get in touch, drop me a note.
I would love that.

Thanks for submitting!

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