If you want clear, unfiltered advice on how to live smarter, get fitter faster and overcome life’s challenges, you're in the right place – The Hard Way.

In this edition, Joe shares:

• A 25 mile childhood ride that started Spartan
• Why comfort nearly derailed him
• Why “leveling up” means more than a promotion
  

Hi, it’s Joe here, writing this week from Pittsfield, Vermont - where I’ve spent plenty of time in the Green Mountains trying to level up my life. 

When people talk about leveling up, they usually mean achieving something - like a college degree, or a faster time in a race, or getting a promotion at work. The first time I leveled up though wasn’t about any of those things - and it definitely wasn’t about winning anything. It was about leaving.

I was eleven when I jumped out the window of our second-story apartment in Queens. I don’t remember exactly what I’d done wrong, but I remember the yelling. Things had gotten tighter at home after my parents split up. My dad had moved out, and with him went the buffer. My mother was trying to hold it all together, but her discipline had ramped up and I felt trapped. So I dropped ten feet to the ground, got on my BMX, and started riding.

I had no plan, and no idea what the traffic would be like. I only knew I was going to my grandmother’s house, 25 miles away. She lived out in a quiet neighborhood and treated me like royalty. At her place, there were no punishments or curfews. Just soda, junk food, and cartoons on TV. She let me lie on the couch for hours. It felt like freedom. And at that age, I thought that was all I wanted.

Eventually, I moved up to Ithaca with my mom. We didn’t have a TV. Sometimes, we didn’t even have heat. And in a strange way, that ended up being the best thing that could’ve happened to me. The contrast between indulgence and scarcity forced a shift in my mind. I started to see what mattered; discipline wasn’t punishment, it was purpose. It was something solid to hold onto when everything else felt out of control.

Looking back now, that 25 mile ride to eat junk and sit on my ass actually rescued me from softness. I didn’t know it yet, but I was building the foundation for the mindset that would later shape my life, my work, and everything Spartan stands for.

Leveling up isn’t always about climbing. Sometimes it’s about leaving. Sometimes it’s about getting fed up enough to move, even if you don’t know where you’re going. Motion creates clarity. Hard work creates discipline. And discipline builds everything else in your life.

So if you feel stuck, stop waiting for motivation or a roadmap - and definitely don’t sit on your ass eating junk food. Open the window. Get moving. Go sweat for something that matters.

Go on,

Joe

You Ask, Joe Answers

Q: “Joe, what’s the number one trait you look for in a person?” — Alex M.
A: "Reliability. I’ve seen strong people quit, and smart people talk themselves down. But the ones who show up on time, every time, without excuses are the people I trust with anything." — Joe