The 1000 Challenge was born from Jesse's desire of wanting to get refocused on living after enduring several personal, and very challenging losses. He was living the life he had always wanted to live in June of 2009. He had great friends, a great job, a great relationship; he knew where he was going and how he was going to get there. He was focused, motivated, and felt unstoppable. He was on top of the world, until...
June 15th, 2009 one of his best friends committed suicide.
Jesse found him 3 minutes after he had shot himself in the head - still alive. The scene was like that out of a war movie. Jesse and his friend performed C.P.R. on him while he gasped for air. Several hours later he was declared brain dead.
The fallout was equally as devastating: Jesse's "awesome life" was changed. Relationships suffered, friendships faltered, he struggled to smile, let alone really live. People had a hard time relating to him and Jesse had an even harder time relating to them.
A new year brought with it the promise of new beginnings; a symbolic opportunity to leave the pain from the last year and begin anew.
An opportunity to go to Haiti and help with the 2010 Earthquake relief effort renewed Jesse's sense of purpose. Jesse returned home on January 24th, 2010 feeling refreshed and on his way to being back to normal.
Feb 1st 2010 Jesse's Dad dropped dead. No signs, no notice, he was on the phone with him 24hrs before, he sounded fine.
Back to struggling, back to feeling lost, back to not feeling like his-self. All the ground he felt he had gained was gone. It was replaced with pain, with sadness, with not wanting to get out of bed, let alone go out and enjoy life.
Jesse wanted 2011 to be different. Jesse no longer wanted to be sad, to struggle, to sit around and watch life pass him by. He wanted 2011 to be all about living.
A conversation with some friends led to an idea being born. Jesse came up with a challenge. He challenged himself to do/see/experience 1000 things he had never done before. To sweeten the deal he had to do at least one new thing every day for the entire 365 days of the year. Jesse chose 1000 because it forced him to set his sights high, to not slack off and to stay constantly focused on living life.
As the year went on, people from all over the world started following along. Many began to create similar challenges for their own lives. Others chose to face one or two big fears they held. Now, with over 33,000 members, the 1000 Challenge Facebook page has become one of the most inspiring sites on the internet.
"Each and every day, we, the members of the 1000 Challenge Community, challenge ourselves to live the day the best we can. We challenge ourselves to "live the change we wish to see in the world."
“I believe with all my heart in the 1000 Challenge and its ability to bring about a positive change in the world. It HAS made a difference in the lives of so many people and it will continue to do so. I promise it will enrich your life.”
—Jesse Brisendine