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2015 Chicago Marathon. Mile 13. I’m flying—feeling like I could run forever. Heart surgery, back surgery, barely able to stand a decade before, and here I am crushing it. Then I see the sign: NOT ALMOST THERE.
Everything changed. Heavy legs. Cramping. Mental breakdown. I barely finished what started as my best race ever.
That sign broke me, but it also built me. Southside Chicago kid who studied for 15 seconds between building cars on the assembly line. Graduated in 5 years. Built companies. Sold two. 800 employees. Young father at 20 who figured it out as I went.
I’ve spent 50+ episodes of Not Almost There interviewing experts, and now my cohost and I are diving deeper into the conversations that matter most. We dig into what it really takes—in business, branding, health, life. No fluff. Real talk about building something that matters while the clock’s ticking.
Whether you’re running your first mile or your hundredth company, we’re here to help you go the distance.
Because almost there isn’t good enough.
2015 Chicago Marathon. Mile 13. I’m flying—feeling like I could run forever. Heart surgery, back surgery, barely able to stand a decade before, and here I am crushing it. Then I see the sign: NOT ALMOST THERE.
Everything changed. Heavy legs. Cramping. Mental breakdown. I barely finished what started as my best race ever.
That sign broke me, but it also built me. Southside Chicago kid who studied for 15 seconds between building cars on the assembly line. Graduated in 5 years. Built companies. Sold two. 800 employees. Young father at 20 who figured it out as I went.
I’ve spent 50+ episodes of Not Almost There interviewing experts, and now my cohost and I are diving deeper into the conversations that matter most. We dig into what it really takes—in business, branding, health, life. No fluff. Real talk about building something that matters while the clock’s ticking.
Whether you’re running your first mile or your hundredth company, we’re here to help you go the distance.
Because almost there isn’t good enough.
Episodes

Sunday Jan 24, 2021
Choose Your Hard with Patty Morrissey
Sunday Jan 24, 2021
Sunday Jan 24, 2021
Patty Morrissey is the Founder and Head Coach at Clear & Cultivate and creator of The Clear & Cultivate Method™. She was also one of the first KonMari® consultants in the US. She has an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social work. An obsession with self-improvement and furthering the common good is the thread throughout her dynamic career in social work, higher education, tech startups, philanthropy, and consulting.
Patty applies her experience in clinical social work to unpack both the physical and emotional stuff that's getting in your way so that you can become the person you are meant to be.
Patty believes our own definition of success is the only one that matters.
Choose Your Hard: // Not Almost There // Week Four
In this episode, Patty challenges you to reflect on your life, and create your own life KPIs. She encourages you through reflecting on what life would look like in replay when 100 years old, creating your alter ego, and trying out new challenges before fully committing so you set yourself up for optimal achievement.
Material Referenced in this interview:
→A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
→Living with the Monks by Jesse Itzler
→Limitless by Jim Kwik
→More Myself by Alicia Keys
→Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
→The Wim Hof Method by Wim Hof
→WomanCode: Perfect Your Cycle by Alisa Vitti
→Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BG Fogg
Breakdown of Choose Your Hard with Patty Morrissey:
Chapter 1 (0:00) True Authentic Self
Patty’s inspiration came from Benjamin Franklin who carried around a notebook and asks, “What good did I do today?” Don’t give everything you have to those around you and leave nothing for yourself. Set boundaries.
Chapter 2 (4:15) Life KPI’s: Rules to Live a Good Life
A great device to set standards on what you need to be living your best life. Identify buckets of what you need to be happy. Track how often you are filling your buckets each week and dedicating time to what fulfills you.
Chapter 3 (7:40) 100 Year Exercise - A Hero’s Journey
Not only what does your life look like at 100, which would imply making a change and making sure that reflection is a positive and fulfilling experience, but start with what you have done now. What is the movie trailer of your life so far?
Chapter 4 (11:53) Choose your Hard
Life is hard. Nothing worthwhile is easy, so the best thing you can do is choose which hard works for you. You have to be uncomfortable in order to grow.
Chapter 5 (14:25) Vision Boards
Putting to paper with words and images is a great way to visualize your goals. Once you have a vision for where you want to go or what you want to accomplish it helps set your focus and opens you up to possibilities. This allows you to experience openness and discovery.
Chapter 6 (19:26) Develop Your Alter Ego
Whatever your aspirational self is; your best qualities, the qualities you wish you had, you develop into your alter ego. Give your alter ego a name, and harness that persona to give yourself power and permission to be bold. Then ask yourself, “why do you believe that isn’t you already?”
Chapter 7 (30:42) New Definition of Success: How Can I Get Started?
Start with contemplation. You can’t go after what you want or change your behavior if you know what that is. Have a daily review. Share what you a grateful for when you felt the most alive, and what your shortcomings are. This opens you up to how you can make tomorrow better. It will force you to change bad habits.
Chapter 8 (37:20) Key Take-Aways for Parents
Kids don’t have the same baggage as we do. When talking with your children, don’t impose your opinions on them. You don’t need to put so much effort into their personal growth, you just need to create the right conditions for them to thrive.
Chapter 9 (41:25) Relationship Between Organization and Your Life
Think about the power of design. Focus on what you want your surroundings to trigger. The life you are trying to create is prompted by the conditions you set up. Take a look at how your environment supports your best behavior.
Chapter 10 (45:50) My Successful Habits: 30 Day Self Care
Give yourself permission to be unstructured. Time block your week, look at your KPI bucket and make sure you set yourself times during the day. Most importantly, do what works best for you. Also if you are trying to start a new habit/routine try it before you fully commit. Make sure it makes sense for you.
Connect with Patty
→https://www.clearcultivate.com/
→https://www.clearcultivate.com/reflections (worksheet)
Feel free to learn more about Not Almost There by visiting this link
→ Not Almost There http://notalmostthere.com/
Connect with Joe on social here:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/joe_chura/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/notalmostthere/
Twitter http://twitter.com/joechura

Sunday Jan 17, 2021
Start at One Mile with Mirna Valerio
Sunday Jan 17, 2021
Sunday Jan 17, 2021
You may have seen Mirna's athletic story in the WSJ, Runner's World, on the NBC Nightly News, CNN, and/or The CW Network. REI also produced a short documentary about Mirna, The Mirnavator, that went viral. Her writing has been featured in Women's Running Magazine, Self Magazine Online, Outside Online, and Runner's World Magazine. She was also chosen as a 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.
I just recently met Mirna when she was a Keynote speaker at Refuel, a conference I created in which we quickly mention. In this episode, we talk about how she trained Will Smith for his first race, what people can do when they don't know how to start an exercise program and what to say to yourself when you feel negative energy from others.
If you are struggling with getting your engine started or need some extra motivation to keep going, then I highly suggest you check out this episode.
Here's a link to Refuel which was mentioned: www.dealerinspire.com/refuel

Sunday Jan 10, 2021
Pursuit of Happyness with Chris Gardner
Sunday Jan 10, 2021
Sunday Jan 10, 2021
Today, I’m joined by Chris Gardner. You may know Chris’s story from a movie called the Pursuit of Happiness where Will Smith plays him. It’s an incredible movie (and book) as he went from being a homeless single father to working his way up Wall Street and eventually creating his own firm in 1987.
Chris has since been featured on Oprah, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Forbes, and many other places.
I met Chris when he was a Keynote speaker at Refuel, a conference I created in which he references.
In this episode, Chris drops his thoughts on what folks can do during the pandemic to double down and take on new challenges "like a boss". As he states, this is the 4th quarter where the players play. I always learn something when I talk to Chris, and this conversation is no exception.
Please enjoy.

Sunday Jan 03, 2021
Playing Offense with Jesse Itzler
Sunday Jan 03, 2021
Sunday Jan 03, 2021
Jesse is one incredible human with an insane story that inspires. He was the founder of Marquis Jets, which sold to Warren Buffet's Net Jets and then helped put Zico Coconut Water on the map and get acquired by Coca-Cola. After Jesse sold those companies and "settled down", he wanted to raise money for charity, which led him to ultrarunning and meeting David Goggins ( Goggins lived with him for 30 days which was depicted in his book Living with a Seal). He hasn't looked back and has since accomplished more than I can summarize here. His spirit and willingness to seek "newness" and adventure is second to none. As you will see, he truly lives life with a humble yet extremely positive attitude. He's known for repeating the following mantra, which is also on the wall in his house, "You didn't come this far only to come this far."
In this episode, Jesse gives some incredible tips on playing offense in life. From planning his day the night before to creating a TOP 50 life list, his words of advice and wisdom are something we can all learn from.
Joe mentions Refuel in this episode, a conference he founded a few years ago for his company, where Jesse just keynoted.
You can find the full conference here for a limited time→
Also, feel free to learn more about Not Almost There by visiting this link → Not Almost There http://notalmostthere.com/
Connect with Joe on social here:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/joe_chura/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/notalmostthere/
Twitter http://twitter.com/joechura
Connect with Jesse
30 Days of Excellence program. Use the code REFUEL for a 50% discount. I would highly recommend you check it out. Text REFUEL to 33777 for more information.
→ https://jesseitzler.com/
→ https://bylr.com/
