GOT MY 1st Getty 🔋 #FORWARDFAST #ThankYouGod 🙏🏾

They say Miami changes you, but I could have never predicted this. From scraping by as a DoorDash driver to partnering with Wall Street royalty—my Miami transformation wasn't just a personal victory. It became the spark for a worldwide movement. This is the story of how one enormous dream snowballed into a global revolution of believers, proving that sometimes, the most irrational move is betting on yourself. A few years back, I was living in a gorgeous apartment in South Beach with my best friend, @LogFitz6 . I was about to sell my first-ever business while his and @nickrgrs ' business started to take off. We received notice that we had to either move to another location or cut our lease early due to construction. This scared me because all my best friends worked together while I was doing my own thing. They were planning on buying a house for the year to have the entire team under one roof. I was in the middle of selling my first business—an e-commerce brand that went viral on social media. Buying, scaling, and selling a brand for 4x profit with no prior experience in e-commerce was something not on my bingo card. It was surreal. I faced a choice: say goodbye to my closest friends or find a way to stay near them. We were different beasts in the same location, with a unique ability to crush our work while having a good time. They graciously invited me onboard as another sales guy in their well-oiled machine. With my business sold and a new venture to tackle alongside my best friends, we moved to Delray Beach for one of the most memorable summers of my life. We called it "summer camp" because in one day, we were airdropped from one of the most stimulating cities in the world to the suburbs. After tearing through some tasteful bottles of tequila from @nickblum , we found our rhythm. It was a blast. Nick and Logan truly take care of their team, and that time together was some of the best of my entire life—thanks to them. Fast-forwardFast forward about two months of daily sun, relentless banter, and laughter-induced tears: the Irrational Optimism movement started snowballing. I woke up to a DM from @dustinthomasXO inviting me to his gorgeous property to host our first-ever IO retreat. Life has a funny way of forcing you out of your comfort zone. As our time at the house was ending and my first hosted retreat approached, I developed a strong brotherly bond with @phoenixcopy . We both looked at each other, unsure of our next move. We embraced our adventurous spirits and decided to go to Hawaii for the first retreat, packing our entire lives into bags to travel the world and grow Irrational Optimism afterward. I sold my G-Wagon (paying $22,000 in negative equity), and we were off to the airport. Then, the worst news imaginable hit: the Maui fires. It was horrific and gut-wrenching to witness the destruction. We faced a dilemma: cancel the retreat or divert our activities to aid in restoration efforts? With Dustin's counsel—a Maui local—we decided to proceed and help where we could. That retreat changed everything. It was the first time it felt real, legitimately physical. Strangers became brothers within seconds. It was by far the most transformative experience for myself, Irrational Optimism, and everyone who attended. No one was left out, no cliques formed, and we all felt like we'd known each other for years. That Maui trip will be in my heart forever. As all good things come to an end, we had to leave Hawaii to continue the journey. Joe generously invited me to his home in Northern England, where we spent every waking moment pouring our efforts into expanding IO. Our biggest obstacle was cash flow. We knew we had something incredible, but how could we convey that to everyone else and conduct white-glove business? We needed a sponsor. Enter Steven, another best friend and the prince of Guatemala —a selfless and loving person who attended our Hawaii retreat and wanted to help push IO's vision. Steven suggested we reach out to Guatemala's biggest beverage company -- a privately owned beer company positively impacting Guatemala in every way imaginable. Their ethos and messaging aligned perfectly with ours. It felt like Cinderella's shoe fitting perfectly, and they loved us. We were back in the major leagues, putting together a proposal to start a marketing partnership with them: beach clean-ups, commercials, local events, static ads—everything. As with any large business, these deals don't close as quickly as we'd like. So, we decided to do another retreat in Guatemala. Joe and I hopped on the next plane from Lisbon to Guatemala and started planning while waiting to hear back from the company. We came up with the perfect itinerary: hiking up an actively erupting volcano, wakeboarding at a nearby lake, shooting guns, dirt biking—everything an adventurer loves. It was epic. The waiting game ended abruptly when we got the dreaded message: "Thank you so much for your time, but we will not be moving forward with you guys." This crushed us – we were finally gaining momentum, and with the holidays around the corner, we knew it would fizzle out. We all went to our respective families with our tails between our legs. IO was dwindling before my eyes, and we were making no money or progress. Close team members had to step away temporarily to start earning cash, and I was heartbroken that I couldn't provide for them. I knew in my soul that this movement was infinitely more special than the results we were receiving, but my emotions got the best of me. I fell into a deep depression, trying to figure out what went wrong and how we could pull ourselves out of it. I felt horrible for letting the team down and was determined to bring it back. No matter how bad I felt, I quickly realized this movement wasn't about me anymore. It was about everyone else, and I was fine with that. We started ramping up the team again, actively getting the message out there, and saw a tiny spark of momentum. It was all we needed, and we ran with it. We decided to do another retreat in Hawaii, which was another incredible experience. Those islands have genuine magic, and everyone left with 23 more brothers than they had before. One idea led to the next, and IO started to turn into a legitimate, well-oiled machine. We spent thousands of dollars and a year of our time, and it was time to pour gasoline on this fire. We reinvested in an entire cosmetic revamp of the Discord, rolled out merchandise, launched the Social Alchemy program, developed a corporate service division of IO, and so much more. In a matter of two months after that Hawaii retreat, we were finally above water. No longer drowning. The team was stronger than ever. For the first time, the future was clear. All we needed to do was keep fueling the fire. And now, with a team of killers behind me, thousands of IOs fighting on the front lines of this battle, and my eyes set on changing the world, I’m doing absolutely everything I can to make that happen. We have some really special plans, and we're going to stop at absolutely nothing to get there. Thank you so much for reading. I wanted to give an update on my current situation from the last few years since moving to Miami, and I can't wait to continue sharing this special journey alongside all of you. We just completely tore-down and rebuilt the Irrational Optimism Discord. Weekly live calls are back, we dropped a bunch more free resources, and the community is more engaged than it’s ever been. The link to join is down below and we'd love to have you.

A great start to the Durham University Talent Academy last night saw our players in all out attack mode, and our parents experiencing a little bit of pressure in our first sports psychology session #performanceenvironment #forwardfast #didtheydroptheball #heartmath #DUTA

Filmmaker Lorraine Sovern Goes #ForwardFast! buff.ly/41j69Ki

U13 Boys are off to Weetwood for the day to compete in the Yorkshire round of the @EnglandHockey In2Hockey Competition. 1st game is at 10am vs our friends at Bradford Grammar. Looking forward to the day. 🏑 #RATEDprinciples #ForwardFast

I think this picture from @marlow_hockey GU18s Vs @kentcollegecanterbury match sums up @kixra_8 for me #EyesOnThePrize #Focus #ForwardFast #Motion #Determination instagr.am/p/CTIHisEs3Xs/

Oh heck yes! 👋🏼🥳 #ForwardFast

I'm now designing my 3rd @swaguphq kit?! Three tiers of love for the @AmplifyTalent Accelerator community. ❤️⏩ #ForwardFast

Thank you to all of the @PlayEAA 9U @EAA_HiveAcademy players and parents who came out to the 4 sessions of Friday Night Fours. 4 opportunities to play, have fun, and get better. Good luck in your Hive Academy games tomorrow! #KeepTheBall #ForwardFast

Me and the @kabohockey #kraken out in the elements with @norfolk_hockey U14G this morning. Top effort from a large group ❤️🏑🖤 #CircleEntry #ForwardFast #GetAhead #ChangeThePicture instagram.com/p/CF7IUT-pnoO/…

Unfortunate that @AP_Trevor and @CollegeBoard never read the chapter on the Ten Truths About Tech in #ForwardFast. Could’ve avoided a lot of heartache during this nightmarish administration of #apexams.

It was so much fun to interview @marcisseks for Making Meaning! I am excited to learn more about his Internet Ethics curriculum & check out his book, #ForwardFast : Making Meaning with Marc Isseks S01E06 youtu.be/qhFt_L8Ktpc via @YouTube @pnwboces #CELGrowsLeaders

Always nice to get a present in the mail from a good friend and colleague who I hope to see in person real soon! Thank you so much! @marcisseks #forwardfast

Thank you to all those who attended our 2020 Latino BRG Kickoff. Looking forward to a year full of growth, education and community involvement. Awesome to see a lot of new and young faces in the room! #unitedasone #chesapeakedistrict #forwardfast

Ok, so they’re in exceedingly pristine condition and it would take Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks’s character in The DaVinci Code) to find them, but... they’re in a real, live #library. That’s pretty cool! #ForwardFast

Was I supposed to keep those??? #ForwardFast

Last #runandrant of 2019! Location: @VanderbiltU Topic: Epic (for me it’s a two-sided coin) @runandrant @brewerhm #ForwardFast

Getting a few miles in before my presentation @VSTE19. Looking forward to challenging Virginia’s #educators to take their #techmindset to the next level! #runandrant #edtech #ForwardFast

Off to #VSTE19 in the am. Can’t wait to talk about growing #tech mindsets with some of Virginia’s top #educators. Second highlight: talking #kindness with conference keynote @tamaraletter! #ForwardFast

Only two weeks until #VSTE19. Can’t wait to learn and share #ForwardFast with #educators. Hope to meet some of my #PLN in person, including the conference keynote @tamaraletter! #edtech