Jul 22, 2026
This 45th birthday trip to Costa Rica has been like no other. Canyoning down 100-foot-plus waterfalls, whitewater rafting, the wildlife, the rain. The FOOD. Oh man, the food.
Updated Mar 18, 2026
CBS · 2012
Reality Dating Show
For about five seconds in 2012, I was on a national dating show called 3. Long enough to flash this exact face, get dismissed by the women, and catch a flight to a hockey championship that same night.
Step insideUpdated Mar 5, 2026
A cause for the whole city
The 5th Star
Chicago's flag has four stars, one for each moment big enough to earn it. I challenge its residents, what would we have to do, together, to add a fifth?
Step insideUpdated Jul 9, 2026
Updated Apr 6, 2026
Three Octobers running
Halloween Camping
Cold, but not too cold. A wooded site, an all-day fire, movies in the background, some games, and pumpkin carving. Amanda and I didn't invent it, but we've made it a tradition.
Step insideUpdated Jul 22, 2026
Ranked, and defended
The Top 10s
Everybody's got a take. These are mine, ranked and committed to: movies, TV, music videos, albums, commercials, and books. Six lists, sixty picks, and a #1 in each I'll happily argue about.
Updated May 15, 2026
An annual practice · 13 years running
Naming My Year
Before it Starts
For over a decade I've given each year a title before it begins. Naming your year in advance is less about a phrase or theme, and more about the name of a chapter in the story of your life.
Every year, named- 2026The Renaissance
- 2025LMNOP
- 2024Verses
- 2023Ukiyo
Updated May 13, 2026
TEDx · On the red dot
Discover Your
Incredible Future
My TEDx talk: name your year in advance, then let a vivid picture of your future pull you toward it. Fifteen minutes on stage about a practice I'd already been living for years.
Step insideUpdated Jul 9, 2026
One of my companies that works directly with food tours, ghost tours, and the like. I help them have high-quality websites and a unique approach to growing their business.
Step insideUpdated Jul 9, 2026
The mobile guidebook I built for tour operators. Eleven years in the making, and finally live with paying customers.
Step insideUpdated Jul 26, 2026
Updated Jul 24, 2026
A two-minute habit
Toothbrush
Workouts
Every time I brush my teeth, I do a workout. It started as squats to get a little faster on the ice, and grew into full-body sets. Just a couple minutes at a time, every single day, everywhere I go.
Step insideUpdated Apr 28, 2026
The app I've been trying to build for 15 years. All about helping you meet up with more people, in the real world.
Step insideUpdated Apr 15, 2026
10 years
6-Week Cycles
A personal experiment in time, business, and happiness, in leaving more room for the people I love. Written up and talked about.
Six weeks on. Two weeks off.
Repeat. Ten years.
Updated Jun 26, 2026
Keynote speaker · Presenter · Emcee
Speaking
Keynotes, workshops, and the occasional TEDx. I've spoken on stages across the country and internationally, and I still love a microphone and a room of people.
See the talksUpdated Jul 9, 2026
Updated Feb 28, 2026
Born & raised
Chicagoan
The lakefront, the neighborhoods, and the Blue Line to and from the airport, which might be my favorite ride in the whole city. This is the place I keep choosing.
Step insideUpdated Feb 14, 2026
Excuses to get people in a room
Game Designer
- Anything Bingo2027 · in progress
- National Bag Players2024 · live
- Q Cards2020 · shipped
- Super Bowl Squares2018 · annual
- Drinking Jengacollege · cult
- Rocks & Metal5th grade
Updated Feb 12, 2026
A real card game · qcards.co
Q Cards
A trivia card game I launched during COVID, really just an excuse to get a table laughing and arguing about Chicago. The Kickstarter didn't fund, so I made it the simple way: buy a copy, cover shipping, and I mail it to you myself.
Step insideTap the card to see the year
Updated Feb 8, 2026
National Bag Players
Cornhole is fun, but it's not the only way to play. Over the years I've put together a handful of alternate games with friends.
Grab a few people and give these a shot.
nationalbagplayers.comUpdated Jul 9, 2026
With Matt Pittman · Real estate
Sellin' Homes
A collaboration with my longtime friend and real estate agent, Matt Pittman. I should be clear: I don't have a real estate license. Matt is the one actually sellin' homes.
Step insideUpdated Jun 26, 2026
On the ice
Ice Hockey
I didn't start playing ice hockey until I was an adult. A few state championships and a division title up in Toronto later, I still lace up every week at Johnny's Icehouse.
See the photosUpdated Jul 25, 2026
A standing ovation for my people
Cool things from
cool friends
The people I get to know make remarkable things. This is a wall for theirs, swipe through and go support them.
Updated Jun 27, 2026
An original
A better
birthday song
Some friends and I rewrote the birthday song, and every year we keep sharing it, with each other and with anyone who'll listen. Join the birthday song revolution.
See more songsUpdated Jul 24, 2026
The Chocolate
Milk Gallery
A lovingly photographed collection of chocolate milks from around the world.
Updated Mar 20, 2025
Photography
Trying to catch magical views from around the world.
Updated Jun 26, 2026
An eight-year experiment
The Kanye
Music Project
Taking a complex, overproduced rap album and stripping it down to one man and one acoustic guitar.
Step inside
Updated Jul 9, 2026
Passport stamps
Global Travel
We sailed to the bottom of the world, and it still doesn't quite feel real. Just one of a few trip recaps we've cut together.
Watch the recapsUpdated Jul 25, 2026
/* @joe */
Website Designer
Words that work, pages that load, designs you'd print. A few I've built lately, swipe through.
See the work
Updated Jul 9, 2026
Officiant · Friend · Believer
A love for love
I've never been married, but I've developed a definitive philosophy on weddings after officiating for my friends. I even built my own ceremony format.
See the formula in actionUpdated Oct 10, 2025
2020 · For Mom
COVID Open Mic
When my mom was sick during COVID, we built an American-Idol-style competition for her to watch from home. Ryan Seacrest made a guest appearance. She loved every minute.
Read the storyUpdated Jul 9, 2026
A 23-year tradition
40DoX
The 40 Days of Christmas
Christmas begins November 16. Christmas ends, abruptly, fully, every ornament boxed, December 26. Forty days of glee. Then the new year begins clean.
- Nov 16The decorations rise
- Dec 25Peak
- Dec 26It all comes down
Updated Jun 24, 2026
As seen in my TEDx
It would be
cool to…
Step inside for the whole list, and tell me how to pull off the rest.
See the whole listUpdated Jul 9, 2026
The band years · Warped Tour
The Fold
Years after my first band PGS fell apart, Matt Pittman asked me to come along with The Fold on tour. Just like that, a childhood dream of mine came true.
Updated Jun 1, 2026
A lifelong fascination
Time Travel
Hooked since I was a kid. I gave a whole TEDx on it, and I can trace the obsession back to the exact cartoons that started it.
Step inside
Updated Jul 24, 2026
Amanda & me, around the world
One minute,
everywhere
A growing collection of one-minute videos from wherever we land. Tap one, or sort the whole set by continent and country.
Updated Jun 25, 2026
On TV and in your ears
Appearances
The times someone handed me a mic on their show. Chicago TV news and a growing list of podcasts.
See them all
Fox 32 Chicago
Updated Jun 26, 2026
The Art Institute · Commencement keynote, 2017
Art School.
I learned to make things at The Art Institute. Years after I left, they invited me back to give the commencement keynote. Full circle, cap and gown and all.
Step Back in TimeUpdated Jun 27, 2026
Pictures of Joe
Updated Jul 9, 2026
The book I'm writing
Redefine work. Reclaim the time that's rightfully ours.
A practical toolkit, built on ten years of research, for redesigning how we work so it serves people and families, not just the bottom line.
Updated Jul 9, 2026
My first band · 1997 to 2005
Pale Green Stars
I had the chance to record a few albums, tour across the US, and headline the Metro. Seeing it all come together in this music video is a nice little visit home for me.
Step inside