Do hard things
My first one was 75 Hard. I needed to get my life back in order and focus on who I wanted to become: healthy, happy, stable. It was about committing to myself and showing up every day. The rest is history.
Now I pick one hard thing a year, my Misogi, and live my life around it to the fullest. Impossible is only hard for you right now. Six months later, your future self thinks it was easy. Keep stacking that perspective and it changes how you live, and it rubs off on the people around you.
This year mine was a full-distance triathlon in Barcelona. I trained for it almost every day. Then on October 3 a storm cancelled the race. So on October 4 I went out in Calella and ran 26.27 miles anyway. It wasn’t the finish line I planned for. It was still the hard thing.
I started Undergrads in 2017 with the same idea: students can do hard, honest work and do it well. Since then our crews have done more than 40,000 moves in 21 markets.
Next year there will be a new hard thing. I’ll write about it here.
Thomas Mumford, founder and CEO of Undergrads, Charlotte, NC.
One hard thing a year
- Aug–Nov 2025 75 Hard The first one. Showing up every day.
- 2026 Full-distance triathlon, Barcelona Cancelled Oct 3 by a storm. I ran 26.27 mi in Calella on Oct 4.
- 2027 Next To be announced.
Books that shaped me
- Buy Back Your TimeDan Martell
Showed me how to make room for a hard thing while running a company.
Off the bike
A drive through the mountains.
Away from training.
For media
Thomas Mumford is the founder and CEO of Undergrads, a Charlotte-based company that puts background-checked college students to work on flexible moving and staffing shifts. He started it at Clemson in 2017; it now operates in 21 markets and has completed more than 40,000 moves.
Coverage: “Recent Clemson grads expand to five cities with startup Undergrads”, Upstate Business Journal.
Training watch: Garmin Forerunner 970. It records every session on this site.