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The Impossible List

'What the flip-flop is this' I hear you ask? Well, let me explain...

 

Know what a bucket list is? Great, well throw that out the window because it's the total opposite of that. A bucket list is something you write half-arsed on the back of a piece of paper when you're feeling momentarily inspired, and then fail to look at again or do anything about.

 

The Impossible List however is full of dynamic, ever-changing challenges that continuously build upon themselves to help you reach your goals and push yourself to the next step. The idea originated with Joel Runyon but I became inspired of the one by Thomas Frank.

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I thought it was a really cool idea and wanted to do one myself. It's quite personal but I feel like sharing it will hold myself to account as well as hopefully inspire others (like you!) to start their own.

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If you want some tips to create your own list or if you can help me out with any of my goals, please do get in touch!

Most recently achieved

  • Watch 750 different films (February 2023)

  • Bench 90kg (December 2022)

  • Learn archery (November 2022)

Current focusses​​

  • Do a Europe trip

  • Party it up in Ibiza

  • Start a business

  • Do 100 pushups in a row

Alex Nelson surfs on a surfboard
Fitness

  • Do 100 pushups in a row

  • Complete the Mt Everest Challenge (November 2020)

  • Do 10 pull-ups unsupported (January 2021)

  • Run a 5km (September 2021)

  • Squat 120kg (August 2020)

  • Bench 90kg (December 2022)

    • Bench 100kg​

  • Do a handstand

  • Play in a football game

  • Play in a netball game (December 2019)

  • Learn archery (November 2022)

  • Learn fencing

  • Swim 1km in under 18 minutes [17:48] (September 2022)

  • Be able to bust a break dance move

  • Learn to surf (January 2015)

    • Stay on the board longer than 5 seconds​

  • Play volleyball on Santa Monica beach​

  • Achieve 5 football keepy-ups (March 2020)

    • Achieve 10 football keepy-ups​ [current record: 16] (April 2020)

    • Achieve 20 football keepy-ups

Alex Nelson kicks a football in mid-air
Alex Nelson poses at top of Mount Vernon for Mount Everest Challenge
Alex Nelson does a pull-up
Strava map of 10km run
Alex Nelson holds a bow, aiming at a target
Travel

  • Go to Wizarding World of Harry Potter (August 2011)

    • Go to Warner Bros. Studio Tour (July 2013)​

  • Volunteer in an African community

  • Travel to New York

  • Do a Europe trip

  • Climb Mount Kosciuzsko [highest point in Australia] (April 2022)

  • Party it up in Ibiza

  • Drive Route 66 in a convertible

  • Visit all the states of Australia [completed 3/8]

  • Fly in a helicopter

  • Go on a road trip in a VW van

  • Participate in the Rickshaw Run across India

  • Float up in a hot air balloon

  • Go to 10 different countries (October 2022) - see interactive map below

    • Go to 20 different countries​ [10/20 complete]

  • ​Travel to Cathy's Corner on Mt Hollywood Drive

  • Move to another country without a plan (August 2021)

Alex Nelson poses in front of Hogwarts castle
Alex Nelson posing at top of Mount Kosciuzsko
Professional

  • Complete high school with NCEA Level 3 (November 2015)

  • Graduate university with 2 degrees

    • Do it in 4 years (November 2019)

    • Pay off student loan [NZD $56,864.53 remaining... yes really]

  • Start a business

  • Create a significant positive change in the world

  • Model for a photoshoot and get paid for it (November 2016)

  • Ride around on a mobility scooter and get paid for it (January 2017)

  • Type faster than 60 WPM [current: 79 WPM] (July 2022)

  • Make AUD $10k gross in a month (October 2022)

  • Write and publish a book

Graduation ceremony where Alex Nelson holds two degrees
Alex Nelson photoshoots alongside woman for Picton signage
Skills​

  • Start a podcast

  • Start a personal website (June 2018)

  • Start a YouTube channel (May 2013)

  • Memorise the exact order of a shuffled deck of cards (November 2018)

  • Name all 50 states of America​​ (August 2018)

  • Name all 197 countries in the world and their locations (July 2018)

    • In under 10 minutes [current record 5:17] (August 2018)

    • Identify their flags [current record 5:14]​ (November 2018)

    • Identify their capital cities [current record 6:49] (May 2019)

  • Become fluent in Spanish

  • Read one book a month for at least a year

  • Memorise 100 digits of Pi in a day [completed 2.5 hours] (May 2020)

  • Start a blog (June 2018)

    • Write 10 film reviews​ for it (4/10)

  • Ride a skateboard (March 2020)

  • Juggle 3 balls (January 2020)

  • Be able to ice-skate confidently

  • Pass and hold a full drivers licence (August 2015)

  • Achieve a 100-day unbroken streak on Wordle [got to 171] (July 2022)

  • Complete a sexaginta-quattuordle [64 Wordles at once] (July 2022)

Screenshot of 197 countries correctly identified
Alex Nelson juggles three balls in mid-air
Screenshot of Wordle statistics showing 100 streak
Creative​
Alex Nelson poses with his saxophone
Alex Nelson performs in High School Musical for the theatre
Fun​

  • Run up an escalator in the wrong direction (October 2022)

  • Have a Bublé bath (June 2020)

  • Own a home cocktail bar

  • Attend a major film premiere [Bullet Train] (August 2022)

    • Now with the red carpet and stars

  • Attempt a successful Guinness World Record (September 2021)

  • Do a skydive

  • Jump off the Sky Tower (August 2021)

  • Ride a segway scooter (July 2013)

  • Rock up to the high-school ball in an ice-cream van (September 2014)

  • Attend 5 concerts (November 2020)

    • Attend 10 concerts​ [8/10 complete - Ed Sheeran, Drax Project, Katy Perry, Anne-Marie, The Beths, Six60, There's a Tuesday, Hayden James]

  • Attend a music festival [attended 5] (December 2020)​

  • Meet David Tennant (my childhood star)

  • Watch 500 different films (January 2020)​​

    • Watch 750 different films (February 2023)

    • Watch 1,000 different films

  • Watch an Olympic game live in the stadium

  • Unlock a door with a credit card (March 2017)

Alex Nelson poses on top of the Sky Tower in New Zealand
Alex Nelson rides a Segway scooter
Alex Nelson and friends at Rhythm and Vines Music Festival
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