Not everyone gets the chance to do hard things

Some people never get the shot. This week, you can give someone one.

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September 18, 2026 8:01am EDT

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In today’s edition, Joe shares:

Why hard things only change you if you get the chance to do them

Three causes, one belief: kids, veterans, and communities fighting to get back up

Where I'm at with the Week of Giving, and where it's going

Why We Do This

I started Spartan because I believed something most people didn't: hard things change you.

Not the Instagram kind. The real kind. The kind that shows up when you're alone, when nobody's watching, when you have to decide between quitting and finding another gear.

But not everyone gets that chance.

Some kids never hear they're capable of hard things. Some veterans come home with nowhere to put the discipline they built in service. Some families are carrying trauma alone, with no one around them who understands.

Hard things only change you if you get the chance to do them. That's what's been on my mind for the last few years, not how to make Spartan bigger or faster, but how to remove the barriers that keep people from finding out what they're made of.

That's why this week matters.

Three Areas. One Belief.

We're in the middle of Spartan's Week of Giving. Sept 14 through 20. $100,000 goal. Three causes, because they're all the same cause.

Kids and Youth

Spartan Kids Foundation. St. Jude's. Andrew B. McDonough B+ Foundation. Chelsea Piers Foundation. They get kids to the starting line, remove the cost barrier, and prove to them they're tougher than they thought.

Military, Veterans, and First Responders

Team Red White & Blue. Mission 22. Blue Star Families. Stop Soldier Suicide. A veteran comes home and the structure is gone. These organizations give people somewhere to put the discipline they already have, and a hand when they're at their lowest.

Health, Community, and Causes

CHIVE Charities. National Center for Victims of Crime. UCAR. People rebuilding after trauma, communities that have been written off. These organizations show up for the people nobody else is paying attention to.

Where I Am Right Now

People are showing up, not because they have unlimited resources, but because they get it. They understand hard things matter, and that not everyone should have to figure out their strength alone.

The Give team in Florida taught me something I didn't expect: you can always give, even when you have nothing. Give 30 burpees. Give a long walk. Give a run. Give what you have, not what you don't.

This isn't abstract charitable giving. This is removing barriers so people can find out what they're made of.

If you're reading this, you already believe in hard things. You've probably tested yourself enough to know what you're made of. Not everyone gets that chance.

Joe.

Give today. CLICK HERE, pick one cause, and give what you can. Every gift closes the gap. Don't wait for day 7.

GIVE THEM THE CHANCE

HARD THINGS ONLY CHANGE YOU IF YOU GET THE CHANCE TO DO THEM.

CLICK TO SHARE

They Said It

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way."

– Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 5.20

➝The Hard Way Podcast with Joe

THE HARDWAY PODCAST

Watch now

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Not everyone gets the chance to do hard things

Some people never get the shot. This week, you can give someone one.

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