Beyond the Bucket List: How to Achieve Your Wildest Dreams with an Impossible List

There’s a famous story about a young, aspiring comedian named Jim Carrey. Long before he was a household name, at just 19 years old, he did something audacious. He pulled out a napkin, wrote himself a check for $10 million for “acting services rendered,” and post-dated it for ten years in the future. He kept that check in his wallet as a constant, tangible reminder of his goal. Almost exactly ten years later, Carrey landed a role that paid him millions, turning that napkin dream into a reality.

This story isn’t just about wishful thinking; it’s about the incredible power of writing down your goals. It transforms a vague desire into a concrete objective. Today, I want to introduce you to a revolutionary tool for doing just that, one that takes the concept of a bucket list and injects it with life, energy, and a roadmap for continuous growth. It’s called the Impossible List.

At first glance, an Impossible List might look like a standard bucket list. But it’s fundamentally different, and that difference is the key to its effectiveness.

The concept was created by Joel Runyon, who perfectly articulated the distinction:

The impossible list is different. It’s fluid, updating status of what’s coming, what’s next and where you’ve come from. It’s always changing, always updating and always evolving. The impossible list isn’t just a piece of paper, it’s a commentary to yourself on how you’re living.

When I first discovered this idea, it completely changed my perspective on personal goals. It helped me achieve things I never thought possible, and its iterative nature keeps me motivated and pushing forward every single day. That’s why I believe everyone should build an Impossible List of their own. This guide will show you exactly how.

What’s Wrong with a Traditional Bucket List?

Before we build something new, let’s understand why the old model is flawed. The traditional bucket list, a list of things to do “before you kick the bucket,” has some inherent problems that can hinder, rather than help, your progress.

They are static. You write a list of 50 things, and it sits there, unchanging. It doesn’t reflect your growth, your changing priorities, or the new dreams you develop along the way.
They lack a sense of journey. A bucket list is just a collection of endpoints. It doesn’t track the progress, the small wins, and the hard work it took to get there. It’s a destination without a map.
They can be demotivating. Looking at a long list of un-ticked boxes can feel overwhelming. Without a sense of momentum, it’s easy to feel like you’re failing, even when you’re making progress in other areas of your life.
They don’t encourage you to push your limits. A bucket list is often a collection of “would be nice” items. An Impossible List, by its very name, challenges you to think bigger and aim for things that currently feel out of reach.

In short, a bucket list is a passive document. An Impossible List is an active, living partner in your personal development journey.

The Impossible List: A Dynamic Framework for Growth

So, what makes the Impossible List so special? It’s built on a foundation of continuous improvement and the celebration of progress. Instead of a simple checklist, it’s a historical record of your ambitions and accomplishments.

Think of it this way: a bucket list is a photograph of your dreams at one moment in time. An Impossible List is the entire movie of your life’s adventures, complete with character development, plot twists, and sequels. It’s designed to evolve as you do.

Key Principles of an Impossible List:

It’s a Living Document: It is never “finished.” As you accomplish one goal, you add a new, more ambitious one to take its place.
It Tracks Progress: You don’t just list goals; you track them. Mark them as “In Progress” and, most importantly, move them to a “Completed” section with the date. This creates a powerful feedback loop of motivation.
It’s About the Journey: The focus isn’t just on the final achievement but on the process. Learning a new skill, training for a race, saving for a trip—these are all part of the story the list tells.
It Redefines “Impossible”: The name itself is a challenge. It encourages you to list things that seem impossible *today*. As you start achieving smaller goals, those “impossible” ones suddenly begin to feel attainable.

How to Create Your Own Impossible List: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to start your journey? Building your own Impossible List is a reflective and exciting process. Here’s how you can get started.

Step 1: Choose Your Platform

Your Impossible List needs a home where you can easily update it. A digital format is often best for this. Consider these options:

A Blog Post: Creating a dedicated page on a personal blog is the classic method. It makes your goals public, which can be a powerful motivator for accountability. My own guide on how to create your own blog can help you get started.
A Notion Page: Notion is an incredibly flexible tool that allows you to create databases, checklists, and calendars. You can create a beautiful, highly organized list with different views for your goals.
Trello or Asana: These project management tools are perfect for tracking progress. You can create cards for each goal and move them through columns like “Ideas,” “In Progress,” and “Completed.”
A Simple Document: A Google Doc or even a physical journal can work, as long as you commit to reviewing and updating it regularly.

Step 2: Brainstorm Your Categories

Don’t just throw random goals onto a page. Structure gives your list clarity and helps you ensure you’re pursuing a balanced life. Here are some common categories to get you started:

Health & Fitness: (e.g., Run a 5k, then a 10k, then a marathon; Do 50 consecutive push-ups; Learn to rock climb)
Professional & Career: (e.g., Learn a programming language; Get a specific certification; Start a side business; Give a presentation to 100+ people)
Creative Pursuits: (e.g., Write a 50,000-word novel; Learn to play three songs on the guitar; Sell a piece of artwork)
Skills & Knowledge: (e.g., Become fluent in Spanish; Learn to cook 10 signature dishes; Read 50 books in one year)
Financial Goals: (e.g., Pay off student loans; Save a $10,000 emergency fund; Learn to invest in the stock market)
Travel & Adventure: (e.g., Visit a new continent; Go scuba diving; Hike a famous trail)

Step 3: Populate Your List with “Impossible” Goals

Now for the fun part. Under each category, start listing your goals. The key is to think big. What feels just out of reach? What would make you incredibly proud to accomplish? Write it down.

A great technique is to create progressions. For example, instead of just “Run a marathon,” your list might look like this:

Run a 5k Race (Completed: Oct 2023)
Run a 10k Race
Run a Half-Marathon
Run a Full Marathon

This structure shows your journey and makes the ultimate goal feel much more achievable.

Step 4: Review and Update Religiously

Your Impossible List is not a “set it and forget it” tool. Its power comes from regular interaction. Schedule time once a month or once a quarter to sit down and review your list.

Cross off completed items and move them to your “Completed” archive. Take a moment to feel proud of what you’ve done!
Update the status of goals that are “In Progress.”
Add new goals that excite you. Your passions will change, and your list should reflect that.
Don’t be afraid to remove goals that no longer serve you. It’s your list, and it should align with the person you are today, not the person you were last year.

Inspiration: See What Others Are Doing

One of the best ways to get started is to see how others have structured their lists. It can spark ideas and show you what’s possible. Here are a few great examples, starting with the original:

Joel Runyon’s Original Impossible List (The one that started it all!)
Stefano Ganddini’s list
Aaron Couch’s list
Jenny Zhang’s list
Devon Schreiner’s list

You can also listen to my conversation with the creator himself in Joel’s interview on the CIG podcast.

Your Journey Starts Now

The story of Jim Carrey’s check is a reminder that a clearly defined, written-down goal is the first step toward achieving it. The Impossible List is your check, your roadmap, and your personal history book all in one.

It transforms goal-setting from a chore into an exciting, lifelong game. It’s not about the pressure to achieve everything on the list. It’s about the person you become while trying. It’s about building momentum, celebrating progress, and constantly asking yourself, “What’s next?”

So, stop dreaming and start doing. Open a document, create a new blog post, or grab a notebook. Create your Impossible List today and begin the most exciting journey of your life: the journey of becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be.