Odd Things I’m Grateful For: Day 34 and the Space Gratitude Fills

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Day 34 of the 7-40 Challenge
Tuesday, February 3, 2026

I got to work at 6:00 AM this morning. I didn’t leave my office until 4:30 PM. I spent most of my day in meetings or working through data issues. It was mentally taxing.

But because of the program I have in place, I was able to get the things I needed to do done while also tackling all the unexpected things that came up.

It’s ingrained in my head now: I have things I need to accomplish every day. Even amidst the chaos of a busy workday, I track my calories. I drink my water. When I have an opportunity to get up and go for a walk, I do.

Just knowing I have things I need to accomplish every day—even in the chaos—is very beneficial.

I’m exhausted tonight. But Day 34 is complete.

Why Gratitude Is One of My Seven Daily Habits

Here’s the thought that’s been rolling around in my head today: Why do I focus so hard on gratitude as one of my seven daily habits?

What is it about practicing being and staying thankful that makes it an absolute must?

I don’t know about you, but I find that when I’m being thankful, it’s really hard to stay mad about anything. Whether it’s being cut off on the road, or somebody being rude to me at work, or just not getting done what I wanted to do—if I take a moment to take a deep breath and express gratitude for something in my life, I find that it’s really hard to stay angry.

It’s hard to let those negative emotions take over if gratitude is my natural position.

There’s Only So Much Space

Here’s what I’ve discovered over 34 days: When I get frustrated about things—whether at work, at home, or anywhere else—I don’t stay there very long if I say thank you or show appreciation for something.

It’s like there’s only so much space. And gratitude fills up more than anger does.

I had an opportunity to practice this today. There was a miscommunicated topic, and it would have been easy to get frustrated. I didn’t initially react properly. But then I apologized and tried to set the bar for myself higher by choosing a different path.

One of my new favorite things to say at work is: “We have fun jobs.”

One, because I do. But two, because if I look at it as something I get to do, it doesn’t stay something I have to do for very long.

That reframe changes everything.

Odd Things I’m Grateful For

So tonight, I’d like to tell you some odd things that I’m grateful for.

I’m Grateful That I’m Overweight

I know that sounds odd. But what it means is I have had plenty of food and plenty of downtime over the years—of which I should be thankful, because I’ve never missed a meal.

Have I needed to be better and do better with the meals I’ve had? Certainly. But I can say without a shadow of a doubt, I am grateful because I have never gone hungry.

I’m Grateful That I Have a Mess in My Office That Needs to Be Cleaned Up

Because it means I have a space of my own where I get to be creative, think through tough problems, and work on things that are important to me.

Sometimes these messes are just evidence that I’ve been in here trying my best to do something good.

I’ve heard the joke said before that a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind. Well, a messy desk in the reverse must be the sign of a brilliant mind. And I’m looking pretty brilliant right now—but I really need to work on that.

I’m Grateful for an Injured Wrist

Because it’s given me an opportunity to practice persevering when I really haven’t wanted to.

It would have been just as easy to pout, get frustrated, get upset. Let life overwhelm me and derail my goals. I just don’t want to do that.

So if this pain in my wrist or my hand has to serve as a reminder that I have things to do, and that sometimes getting things done means overcoming discomfort—no, all the time that’s what it means—then I’ll take it.

Everything Worth Doing Is Hard

I heard Gary Vaynerchuk say one day: “People get frustrated because things are hard.” And he said, “Everything worth doing in life is hard.”

I really have to agree with him.

It doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. It just means that the good things are most likely going to be difficult. Because if they were easy, I’m not sure they would be the good things.

When We Position Ourselves with Gratitude

When we position ourselves with a grateful heart, when we position ourselves to be thankful, I really feel like we open ourselves up for so much more that can come to us.

We see things with much clearer eyes. We’re not fogged over. We can actually be pragmatic about what’s coming at us.

Take a good long look at where you are right now.

I bet there’s more in front of you to be thankful for than you realize.

Even on a brutal 10.5-hour workday. Even with a messy office. Even with an injured wrist. Even when you’re exhausted.

Gratitude fills more space than anger does.

And when gratitude is your default position, it’s really hard for the negative stuff to take root.

That’s Day 34.

Day 34: Complete ✓

All seven habits executed, even on a mentally taxing day.

Round 1 Progress: 34/40 days (85%)

Six more days until Round 1 is complete.

See you tomorrow for Day 35.

Was It Always This Simple? Day 33 and the Truth About Starting

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Day 33 of the 7-40 Challenge
Monday, February 2, 2026

Welcome to Day 33. I’m still here. Still going. And today, I accomplished all seven of my daily goals.

My hand is finally starting to feel better. My head’s in the right frame of mind. And I’m looking forward to getting after my goals even harder as we finish Round 1, move through Assessment Week (Feb 10-16), and charge into Round 2.

The Checkpoint

I started this year by writing out a goals list—a detailed vision for what I wanted 2026 to be. It’s not usually my forte, but I’ve been reviewing it regularly.

And right now? I’m actually on track.

The milestones I aimed for in Round 1? I’m hitting them:

  • 33 days of perfect execution on all seven habits
  • 8.5 pounds lost (already exceeded the lower target for Round 1)
  • Novel first revision complete (97 chapters, now with beta readers)
  • Daily blog posts (33 consecutive days of content)
  • Social media breakthrough (Day 23 – years of avoidance overcome)
  • Gratitude practice grounding the journey (weekly Thank You Campaign)

Coming up next: the second revision of my novel. My wife and son have been reading the first draft—it’s the first time I’ve ever written something like this and had people actually review it. I’m eager to get through it and keep going.

And as I mentioned yesterday, I’ve also started outlining a new novel (The Light Bearer) that’s been dormant in my head for five years. That’s got me excited too.

My daily habits are keeping my health and fitness on track. Overall? I’m thrilled with the progress.

The Question I Had to Ask

But here’s what I’ve been wondering: Was it really this easy all along?

Could I have just looked myself in the mirror years ago and said, “Alright, buddy, it’s time to achieve some goals. We’re going to sit down, write them out, and get after it”?

The hard truth? Yes. It really was this simple.

Easy? Heck no.

But simple? Absolutely.

Why We Don’t Start

I firmly believe we don’t achieve because we don’t risk. And we don’t risk because we’re afraid we’re going to fail.

It’s so much easier to stay where we are than to deal with failure.

But the hard truth is: everybody fails.

There’s a theory out there that if you’re willing to fail often and fail fast, you’ll find success faster than everyone else. I don’t know if that’s true or not.

But I do know this: If you put all your effort behind something you truly want to do, failure is not defeat. Failure is learning and growing along the path you’ve laid out for yourself.

Which is ultimately what we want to do.

What Writing Down Goals Actually Does

The thing I really appreciate about writing out a very detailed list at the beginning of the year is this: I get to tell myself what it is I want to do.

I get to be my own driver, pushing toward goals that I say are important to me.

And if I don’t work on them? I’ve essentially lied to myself.

So it behooves me to actually tell the truth. To set goals I actually want to accomplish. And I’m excited to say that so far, I’ve been able to do that.

I Don’t Want to Die with My Music Inside

I don’t want to die with my music still inside me. I don’t want to die one day with creativity that could have been something.

I don’t want to be sitting as an old man wondering “what if.”

I don’t want to look in the mirror one day and realize I no longer have the opportunity because I let it slip by.

I don’t want to have to tell my wife we can’t do something because I was unwilling to try.

I don’t want to tell my son he can’t achieve what he wants in his life because I couldn’t achieve it in mine.

I want to take every opportunity God has given me to do good and be good for this world. I want to set goals. I want to achieve them. And I want to make the most of the time I have.

Because God has been so good to me. He’s blessed me so richly.

And I can’t be anything but thankful. And in my thankfulness, it needs to spur me into action and good works.

Day 33: The Truth

So here’s what Day 33 taught me:

It was always this simple. Write down what you want. Show up every day. Do the work.

Not easy. But simple.

The best time to start was 20 years ago when I first started writing “someday I’ll…” notes.

The second best time? Day 1 of this challenge.

The third best time? Right now, wherever you are.

Start getting in the reps. Start working. Before you know it, there’s going to be so much done. You’re going to build so much momentum. You’re going to get so far.

And you won’t have to wonder “what if” anymore.

Day 33: Complete ✓

All seven habits executed. Still on track. Still building.

Round 1 Progress: 33/40 days (82.5%)

Seven more days until Round 1 is complete.

See you tomorrow for Day 34.

The Little Things She Remembers: Gratitude Sunday and 27 Years of Small Holy Moments

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Day 32 of the 7-40 Challenge
Sunday, February 1, 2026
Gratitude Sunday – The Thank You Campaign

I’m taking every Sunday this year as an opportunity to express gratitude for a person, situation, or memory that has influenced me in a positive way. Today’s subject: my beautiful bride.

The Memory I Forgot

We were driving to lunch today, enjoying each other’s conversation like we always do. We’ve been married for 27 years now, and it hit me: because we’re both 47 years old, we’ve got more memories with each other than we have without.

Over a quarter century of friendship. Laughter. Love. Memories. Shared sorrows. A life we’ve gotten to build together.

As we talked, we were sharing disdain for the amount of snow still left in our area. That snowstorm last week was something else, making it very hard for both of us to do things we enjoy. She loves being outside, taking care of her garden. I love walking and exercising in nature.

And then she brought up a memory that she remembered and I did not.

Apparently, a little over a year after we got married—late 1999 or early 2000—there was another snowstorm. And I was eager to make snow ice cream.

It was the first time we’d been together when it snowed. In Oklahoma, snow is not the rule—it’s very much the exception.

She remembers me going out onto our balcony with a blue Tupperware bowl (probably knockoff Tupperware we got for our wedding) and filling it with snow. I made a little over a gallon of snow ice cream.

I told her it always reminded me of my childhood—something my mom and I did together during the rare times it snowed. It has a very familiar, very nostalgic place in my heart.

But here’s what got me: She had a memory of me making it for her for the first time.

When She Remembered and I Did Not

When she brought this up, it hit me hard.

The times we share with people can be meaningful to them without us even noticing. Which means we need to share those times and be as intentional as we can be with the people we love.

It didn’t surprise me that she remembered it—that’s what she does. But what surprised me was that such a simple little recipe with snow left a smile from that long ago.

I thought: I’m grateful that there are little moments in our lives that become meaningful just because we share them with somebody we love.

Something that was meaningful to me as a kid has now become much more meaningful to me as an adult because it made my bride smile.

Becoming One

There’s a principle in the Bible that says a man should leave his father and mother and become one with his wife. While the Bible is obviously talking about knowing her intimately and physically, I think we also need to acknowledge that becoming one with your spouse is also about bond, partnership, and shared experience.

It is a holy and awesome union that I think most people today don’t really understand.

We live in a world where people are encouraged to figure out life for themselves, their careers, their bucket list, their desires first—before they ever take the time to settle down and get married. Everything else before settling. A position I wholeheartedly disagree with.

What I found is by making that most important decision in my life early, I now had someone to share those amazing times and those struggles with. I have a beautiful champion in my corner who lifts me up and walks with me, who experiences blissful highs with me and holds me through the lows.

People do not understand what becoming one in purpose, mission, and in our lives really does.

We Didn’t Know Then What We Know Now

Back in those younger days, as we were building our young marriage, building memories, building our relationship, enjoying our friendship, we didn’t know.

We didn’t know we would go through hardship and trials. That we would struggle from time to time and overcome. That our wedding vows would be lived out year over year as they have been. Sometimes through some very scary moments.

I didn’t realize that small memories would become so sweet and full of so much meaning and texture.

I didn’t realize that those shared experiences would bind us together even more tightly, deepening the love we have for each other.

All of it comes together. And all I can do is stand in awe of the relationship I have with this beautiful woman, with a thankful heart to God for the day He brought her into my life and for every day He allows me to be her husband and her best friend.

What Gratitude Discipline Reveals

I think taking a chance weekly to be purposely grateful—not just in my marriage, but in my life in general—reminds me that I am ridiculously blessed.

I am so rich in so many ways that have nothing to do with money.

I am sitting on a gold mine of opportunity if I only tune my mind to it: an opportunity to love people, to take care of people, to serve people, to work through creative ideas, to share with people, to provide for my family, and to live a life that many people would not choose to live because they do it without gratitude or true thankfulness.

I have been blessed so richly in so many ways. How could I be anything but grateful?

It is my honor to share that gratitude tangibly with the world around me and help them, hopefully, be inspired to see the same thing. I can think of no more fitting place to start than with my marriage.

The Key to Building a Marriage

I think one of the keys to building a marriage—especially a marriage that lasts—is by cherishing and honoring not only the relationship but all those small holy moments that make it up.

Snow ice cream on a balcony in a knockoff Tupperware bowl.

A conversation on the way to lunch about too much snow.

Twenty-seven years of moments like these, stacking up into a life we’ve built together.

Sweetheart, I know you’re reading this.

I love you with every fiber of my being and more. I am grateful that you are my partner in this life and that you are my love.

For Everyone Reading This

Not everybody reading this is married. But you will have a friendship with someone special who has your back. You will have opportunities that have been given to you that you could be grateful for. You will have memories that can help spur you on to good things.

It’s all in our perspective.

Cherish the relationships you have. Honor the small holy moments that make them up.

Because someday, someone might remember a simple thing you did together—and that memory will make them smile 27 years later.

Day 32: Complete ✓

All seven habits executed. Gratitude Sunday honored.

Round 1 Progress: 32/40 days (80%)

Eight more days until Round 1 is complete.

See you tomorrow for Day 33.

The Light Bearer: How Daily Creativity Unlocks Dormant Ideas

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Day 31 of the 7-40 Challenge
Saturday, January 31, 2026

I’ve been carrying a book title in my head for five years: The Light Bearer.

Not just the title. A specific scene. A climactic moment I could see clearly—the kind of scene that makes you think, “That would be an amazing book if I could figure out the rest of the story.”

For five years, I tried. I attempted to develop it a few different times. I could never come up with the story elements I wanted. The pieces wouldn’t fit. So it sat there in my head, filed under “someday.”

Today, during my creative hour, The Light Bearer unlocked.

The Holding Pattern

Right now, I’m in a holding pattern with my novel revision. My wife and son are reading through the manuscript, and I’m waiting for their feedback before I dive back in.

Some of what they’ve told me so far has been necessary—things I know I need to fix. Other feedback has made me smile because the story is doing exactly what I intended it to do.

But while I wait, I’ve had time. Time I’ve been using for social media tasks, writing blog posts, working on other creative projects.

This being the weekend, I had a little more leisure time to think outside the box. And on a whim, I started working on an outline for The Light Bearer.

And because I’ve been taking time every day to do creative work, that session moved so much faster than I expected.

The pieces started pouring out. Story structure. Character arcs. How the climactic scene I’d been carrying for five years actually fits into a larger story.

It was like turning on a faucet that had been stuck for half a decade.

What Changed?

Before Day 1 of this challenge, I had been doing creative writing in the later part of last year when I started my novel. But before that? I hadn’t done hardly any creative writing in a long time.

My creative hour—and my creative bursts—really started when I began working on my novel. And they haven’t stopped.

The daily hour I spend for the 7-40 Challenge is only making it better.

Here’s what I’m realizing: I attempted to work on The Light Bearer a few different times over those five years. It never worked. I couldn’t find the story.

But since I’ve been writing fairly consistently over the past few months—daily novel revision, daily blog posts, daily creative output—it was much easier this time.

The creativity muscle got stronger. And when I turned it toward an old idea, that idea finally cooperated.

Creativity Begets More Creativity

I’m certain that other dormant ideas will float to the surface. There are projects I’ve filed under “someday” that are going to wake up just like The Light Bearer did.

Because here’s what I’m learning on Day 31: Practicing creativity begets more creativity.

When you show up daily to do creative work—whether it’s writing, painting, music, building, whatever—you’re not just completing that one project. You’re training your brain to generate ideas, connect dots, see patterns.

And then one day, you sit down to work on Project A, and Project B—the one that’s been stuck for five years—suddenly unlocks.

Almost all of my creative endeavors have been locked up in “someday.” But I keep stressing with the 7-40 Challenge that the best time to start is now. And that includes this too.

The Light Bearer didn’t unlock because I waited for inspiration. It unlocked because I’ve been showing up every single day for 31 days straight to do creative work.

The Lesson: Lightning vs. the Wall Socket

Here’s what Day 31 taught me:

Plan the time. Show up. Do the work. Creativity will follow.

Sometimes creativity hits like lightning—sudden, electric, out of nowhere.

But most of the time? You have to plug it into the wall and pull the power yourself.

You don’t wait for the muse. You show up at 9 PM and open the laptop. You carve out the hour. You do the work even when you don’t feel inspired.

And then—then—the ideas start flowing. The stuck projects unlock. The dormant stories wake up.

Not because you got lucky. Because you built the habit.

What Happens Now?

I plan to keep developing The Light Bearer as I have time between my other creative tasks. My novel revision will resume when I get feedback. The blog posts continue daily. Social media keeps rolling.

But now there’s another project in the mix. Another story demanding to be written.

And I’m not scared of that. I’m excited.

Because I’ve proven over 31 days that when you make space for creativity every single day, the creativity keeps coming.

Five years of “someday” became one Saturday morning of “today.”

That’s what happens when you stop waiting for inspiration and start building the habit.

Day 31: Complete ✓

All seven habits executed, even on an 8-degree day with ice-covered streets.

Round 1 Progress: 31/40 days (77.5%)

Nine more days until Round 1 is complete.

The Art of Asking (for Feedback): What Amanda Palmer’s TED Talk Teaches Us About Preparation

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Day 30 of the 7-40 Challenge
Friday, January 30, 2026

“Put in the time. Your ideas are worth the effort.”

That’s Carmine Gallo in Talk Like TED, talking about the preparation that goes into great speeches. I’m on Day 30 of the 7-40 Challenge, reading Gallo’s book, and learning that what separates good ideas from great ones isn’t just having the idea—it’s being willing to test it.

But what does that actually look like in practice?

Let me show you what it looked like for Amanda Palmer.

The Tour Before the Tour

If you’ve watched Palmer’s TED talk “The Art of Asking,” you know how it feels—raw, authentic, like she’s having a conversation with 1,400 of her closest friends. She tells stories about being a living statue, about crowdfunding her album, about the vulnerability of asking. It doesn’t feel rehearsed. It feels real.

That’s exactly what great preparation is supposed to look like.

But here’s what you don’t see: the tour before the tour. Palmer didn’t just show up at TED and wing it. She took that talk on the road. Different venues. Different audiences. She gave variations of her prepared speech over and over, using each performance as a testing ground. Every time she delivered it, she was watching for what landed, what fell flat, where people leaned in, where they checked out.

And then—and this is the brilliant part—she used her community as her feedback engine. Palmer has spent years building genuine relationships with her fans, and she enlisted them in making this talk better. She asked them what worked. What didn’t. What confused them. What moved them. She treated her community not as passive consumers but as collaborators in refining her ideas.

This is the opposite of the lone genius model. This is preparation as conversation. Iteration as relationship. The speech got better because she let people help her make it better.

The Risk of Real Feedback

Think about what that actually means: Palmer valued her idea enough to test it. To expose it to feedback when it was still rough. To risk hearing that parts of it didn’t work.

Most people are so protective of their ideas that they either never share them at all, or they wait until they think it’s “perfect”—which usually means they’ve polished it in isolation until it’s lost all its rough, human edges.

Palmer did the opposite. She put her rough draft in front of real people and let them tell her the truth.

This applies to so much more than public speaking.

Writers do this with beta readers—trusted people who read your manuscript before it’s finished and tell you what’s working. Stand-up comics do this every single night in small clubs, working out new material in front of live audiences, adjusting based on what gets laughs. Software developers do this with user testing. Artists do this with gallery shows and studio visits.

The best work comes from feedback loops, not from isolated genius.

What This Looks Like for Me

Right now, I’m waiting for my wife and son to finish reading my novel manuscript before I dive back into revisions. I could have ignored their feedback and just polished it on my own. But my idea—this story I’ve spent so much time on—is worth the effort of getting real feedback from people I trust. Their insights will make it better than anything I could do alone.

And the 7-40 Challenge itself is a feedback loop. Every blog post I publish gets responses. Every video on social media gets views. I’m documenting my transformation in real-time, and feedback tells me what’s resonating and what’s not. I’m not waiting until Day 280 to share “perfect” results. I’m sharing the messy middle right now and letting the feedback help shape what this becomes.

That’s preparation as conversation. That’s using community as my feedback engine.

The Takeaway

Your community, your beta readers, your test audiences—they’re not a weakness in your process. They’re not a sign that you couldn’t figure it out on your own. They’re part of the preparation. They’re how good ideas become great ones.

So here’s what Day 30 taught me: If your idea is worth doing, it’s worth testing. Put it in front of people before you think it’s ready. Use your community as your feedback engine. Be willing to hear what’s not working. Iterate.

Put in the time. Your ideas are worth the effort.

And sometimes that effort looks like asking for help.

Day 30: Complete ✓

All seven habits executed. Three-quarters through Round 1.

Round 1 Progress: 30/40 days (75%)

Assessment Week begins in 11 days.

See you tomorrow for Day 31.