It’s true. Records are set so that we might aspire to do better. So that we have a threshold worth crossing. To inspire us to do a little more, be a little greater, and etch our legacy a little deeper into history.

At Daily Challenge we understand that we’re lucky. We have a network of people within earshot - all of whom have something propelling them to do such things as break a world record. So that’s just what we’re going to do!

It’s official now. On April 4th at 1 p.m. sharp, the single longest “pay it backward” coffee line will begin at Second Cup on Queen and John Streets in Toronto. If you’re wondering “what in the heck is a ‘pay it backward’ coffee line?” then you may want to check out the first daily challenge we ever released.

Partners & Sponsors

We’re also pleased to announce that the Second Cup franchise, where we’ll be hosting the event, will be donating 50% of all proceeds to the SickKids Foundation! We couldn’t be happier to have found a business willing to match the compassion of our “Do Gooder” network, and to have the beneficiary be a local charity. We’re also excited to have the Freestyle Soccer team on board and will keep you posted as more day-of entertainment rolls in (stay tuned to our events page).

Back to the record for a moment. Our team of dedicated researchers (i.e. the google) has discovered a world record of 490 “pay it backward” coffee buys. Please make sure you come out and help put Toronto in the books for good (I love puns!). You can confirm your attendance through our Facebook event and get the latest news on our event page.

To recap all the need-to-knows…

What: A record-breaking day for good deeds (more than 500 “pay it backward” coffee buys).
When: April 4th @ 1 p.m. (the festivities will kickoff at noon and we will be storming the gates at 1 p.m. sharp).
Where: Second Cup at the corner of Queen St. & John St. in Toronto (beside MuchMusic). View Larger Map
How: Add your name here to confirm your attendance and get the latest news on “pibTO” as it comes available.
Why: Because doing some good feels pretty freakin’… well… GOOD!

We introduced Amber MacArthur (a.k.a. Amber Mac) when she first joined Daily Challenge a few weeks back. And here she is today challenging you to, “Spend five minutes learning about the reality facing child soldiers & share this link: http://www.helpchildsoldiers.com.”

This challenge helps remind and inform us about the atrocities happening in the war-torn parts of the world. Many of our challenges on Daily Challenge focus on the little things we can do every day to make a difference by acting in our own little world. But as a whole and with a tool like the Internet, we have power to affect the entire globe.

Take Amber Mac’s challenge and not only will it bring awareness, it also allows you to take action in several different ways. Choose your action and help make the world a better place!

If you caught the hit movie, The Secret, you may recognize today’s challenger! Once homeless himself, Dr. Joe Vitale is spokesman and living proof of the power of The Law of Attraction. He is challenging you to, “Do something for a homeless person today: www.operationyes.com.”

Dr. Vitale is author of several best-selling marketing books and is considered to be one of the five top marketing specialists in the world today. A few interesting and lesser known facts about today’s challenger:

…the world’s first hypnotic writer, Joe is also an ordained minister, a certified metaphysical practitioner, a certified hypnotherapist, and a certified Chi Kung healer. He also holds a doctorate degree in Metaphysical Science.

“Bene agendo nunquam defessus.” (Never weary of doing good.)

Wow, Joe! Not only is your resume extremely impressive, this Latin quote you use is the epitome for Daily Challenge. No wonder you signed up! You are an inspiration to Do Gooders around the world. Thank you for joining our burgeoning online social network.

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, Dr. Deepak Chopra joined Daily Challenge last month! Just yesterday, he challenged the community to, “Take the vow of nonviolence in your thoughts, speech and actions. Visit http://www.itakethevow.com and get counted in this global movement.”

The results are in: 32 Do Gooders accepted the challenge and 11 people completed it (so far). The community seemed to be pretty excited about Dr. Chopra’s challenge, and to prove it, here are the posted comments:

Staci J. Shelton
Posted January 12, 2009 5:59 am

What a beautiful way to start the new year. Being truly non-violent to everyone, even in our thoughts and speech. So often we think of violence as physical, but we kill people (even ourselves and our futures) with our thoughts and words.

Thank You Deepak!

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“Time Magazine heralds Deepak Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century, and credits him as `the poet-prophet of alternative medicine’.” Time Magazine, June 1999.

We are completely head over heels ecstatic about this morning’s news: Deepak Chopra, best selling author and world renowned physician, has joined Daily Challenge and will be participating as a Celebrity Challenger in the near future.

In addition, we’re very excited to join forces with Dr. Chopra in helping him complete his own mission to “Inspire 100 Million people across the world to take a vow of  non-violence in their thoughts, words and actions.”

Already 4777 people have taken this vow with Dr. Chopra. It all began November 7, 2008 when he took the vow personally. Since then, people continue to take this vow with him on a daily basis. Go to http://Itakethevow.com to “watch and support the dramatic effects this  tidal wave of shift in consciousness is going to create.”

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Although the extreme challenges have been extra challenging, they’ve been (for the most part) a blast to undertake! We’ve been documenting them to: a) prove that they are possible to complete and b) provide a little entertainment for you, the community.

And from your reaction so far - you love these challenges!

So we want to do more of them, and maybe even raise the bar a bit. We need your help! Please post your extreme challenge ideas in the comment section below. To help you out, here are a couple of examples from the past few weeks:

The Cold Shower Challenge - watch our Pres scream like a little baby. 
Donate a High Five Challenge - almost the whole DC team got in the action with this one!

By the way, if you’re in the King and Spadina Toronto downtown area today for lunch,  the Daily Challenge team will be heading out to complete today’s “Make a lunch for a homeless person” challenge.

The holidays are fast approaching (actually, they’re already here!) and ask anyone, even Scrooge, and they’d tell you this is the season for doing good.

So we need your help, Do Gooders! We need primo challenges worthy of this Do Good Season. We’d like to know:

1) what are some of your holiday challenges?
2) how would you like to star on the homepage of Daily Challenge?

Please leave your challenge ideas in the comments below, and if you’re not too shy, tell us you want to be celebrity challenger sometime over the holidays!

We’re starting to get into the habit of making Fridays at Daily Challenge “extreme challenge day”, and this past Friday was no different! Yesterday, I got the opportunity to challenge the world to:

Walk down the street with a sign that says, `Donate a High Five’

And because we like to think that ‘the walk’ is just as important as ‘the talk’, we set out on the streets of King West on a beautiful (though somewhat chilly) Friday afternoon to warm the hearts of Torontonians with high fives.

Naturally, we caught it all on video. Enjoy!

It’s not too late for you to accept the high five challenge! Better yet, why don’t you document it too?

A very big and special high five goes to Jon Lim for putting together this amazing video in record time. Jon is one mighty talented Do Gooder!

If you enjoyed the video, why not help us spread the love by giving it a digg? Click the button below!

You are the Daily Challenge life blood. So we want your opinion on an idea that we’ve been throwing around. How would you like to know ahead of time the type of challenge you can expect on each day of the week?

This is the category schedule we’re considering:

Sunday: Home. The weekend is perfect to do things around the house. We figured Sundays might work well for challenges that help improve you and your home to reflect more eco-friendly and self-sustainable living.

Monday: Work. Gearing up for the work week ahead, why not take on a challenge that might enhance your work life and workplace?

Tuesday: Health. With last weekend firmly behind you and a four days before the next one rolls around, we thought Tuesdays would be fabulous for health-related challenges. This way you have some time to heal before you have your fun again.

Wednesday: Environment. Hump days are usually a drag and so we thought we’d make these our green challenge days to help brighten up your mid-week blues. Nature and taking care of her always cheers us up.

Thursday: Relationships. The weekend is nearing and what better time to solidify your relationships than Thursdays? I mean, you’ll be getting in touch with them anyway to make plans, why not spread a little kindness at the same time?

Friday: Extreme Challenge Day. Ok, this one has got to be our favourite! Fridays are the days to let loose steam from the pressure cooker you were during the week. Let it loose with an extreme challenge! These are crazy challenges for those who are ready to make a BIG difference in one shot. For an example, check out this video of Darius taking a cold shower.

Saturday: Community. The first day of the weekend, Saturdays you’re usually still buzzing from the week. Having loads of energy to expend, we thought these are perfect days for challenges that encourage us all to get out into our communities and do what we can to make them better for everyone.

So what do you think, Do Gooders? Let us know and leave a comment below!

This was due to the fact that we have never gotten so much slack for a challenge before. Yes we realize it is the middle of November and this challenge was probably much better suited for August, but Do Gooders are a bit crazy anyways and can have fun doing any challenge.

Hope you enjoy the video!

P.S. This is obviously not a professional production so my apologize for the poor quality.