Assessment Week – Day 5Friday, February 14, 2026
Round 2 starts tomorrow. February 15th. Not the 17th.
Assessment Week did what it needed to do. I’ve evaluated Round 1, worked through the questionnaire, got clarity on what worked and what needs building. I’ve rested. I’ve reflected.
I’m ready. Sitting still for two more days feels like resistance disguised as rest.
What Round 1 Proved
Forty consecutive days. All seven habits. Perfect execution. 12.4 pounds lost. Two complete manuscripts. 50,000 views on BiblePictures365. Three books read and applied.
The 7-40 Challenge works. The structure holds. The habits compound.
What Round 2 Builds
Primary Focus: KDP research and publishing. Getting both novels formatted and launched on Amazon.
I have two complete manuscripts sitting on my hard drive. Round 2 is about turning creative output into published work.
Secondary Systems: Revenue tracking. Email list setup. Blog-to-video workflow. Assessment Week frameworks.
The Reading: Linchpin by Seth Godin. Becoming indispensable in both day job and side business.
The Habits: Same seven. Proven. Working.
Why Start Early?
Because Assessment Week did what it was supposed to do. Five days was enough.
I’m not starting from scratch. I’m building on foundation. Round 1 proved I can execute. Round 2 proves I can produce—actually put work into the world where people can access it, respond to it, potentially pay for it.
The creative breakthrough happened in Round 1. The business breakthrough happens in Round 2.

Assessment Week: CompleteRound 2: Starts February 15, 2026
Forty more days. Same seven habits. New focus.
See you tomorrow for Round 2, Day 1.

Assessment Week – Day 4
Friday, February 13, 2026

The opportunity to get to be creative every day has been one of the best parts of Round 1.

I was telling my son a few days ago—he read a copy of the book I had revised, the one I’m very eager to get out either through self-publishing or to see if I can get traditionally published this year.

And we were talking about the plot points. He was giving me feedback on what he liked and what he didn’t.

What I Told Him

I smiled at him and said, “Man, you gotta understand—I have not felt this creative or alive in any time that I can remember.”

That’s the truth.

I am purposely attacking creativity every day, and ideas are showing up. I’m able to make room for what I need to do. And it’s been just so fantastic. It’s been so, so good.

What Changed

Here’s the thing: I’ve always wanted to write a book. I’ve always wanted to be creative. I’ve always wanted to pursue these projects.

But I never did. Not really. Not with this kind of consistency and follow-through.

What changed?

I set my mind to it. I got after it. And I started using the tools at my disposal.

Voice-to-text for capturing thoughts. Daily creative hour on the calendar. OpusClip for video distribution. AI for Bible images.

The tools were always there. I just wasn’t using them strategically.

And the moment I committed to one hour of creative time every single day—not when I felt like it, not when inspiration struck, but DAILY—everything unlocked.

The novel got revised. The Light Bearer got outlined. Blog posts got written. Bible images got created and distributed to 50,000 people.

All because I stopped waiting for the perfect conditions and started using what I had.

The Conversation Validated the Journey

Talking with my son about the book I wrote—hearing his feedback, discussing plot points, seeing him engaged with the story—that validated everything.

This isn’t just me working in isolation anymore. This is real creative output that real people are reading and responding to.

And the fact that my own son is one of those readers? That makes it even better.

What I Want You to Hear

If you’ve been waiting to start something creative—waiting for the right time, the right tools, the right level of skill—stop waiting.

Set your mind to it. Get after it. Use the tools at your disposal.

You don’t need fancy equipment. You don’t need perfect conditions. You don’t need to feel inspired every day.

You just need to show up daily and do the work.

Train yourself in the essentials so that when opportunities come along, you’re prepared.

Because here’s what I’ve learned over 40 days: When you create space for creativity every single day, ideas show up. Projects get finished. Goals get achieved.

And one day, you get to have a conversation with someone you love about the thing you created.

And you realize: This is what being alive feels like.

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Assessment Week – Day 4: Complete

I have not felt this creative or alive in any time I can remember.

And it’s because I finally stopped waiting and started doing.

See you tomorrow for Day 5.

Assessment Week – Day 3
Thursday, February 12, 2026

I’m still continuing with Assessment Week. I’ve been thinking hard about what I want to get done, where I’m at, what I’ve been doing.

The amount I’ve accomplished versus the level of effort I put in versus what I could have put in.

The Nagging Voice

I think I’m like everybody else. I have this nagging voice in the back of my head that always asks me if I’m doing enough.

The one that rarely goes quiet. Doesn’t want to give me any peace.

That just says: Are you performing? Are you doing what you said you would do?

And for the first time in a long time—maybe ever—I can actually answer that question with a resounding YES.

I am doing what I’m supposed to do.

I have been doing everything I can to leverage these seven habits into better daily decisions, into goal pursuit, into finally accomplishing things I’ve been trying to accomplish for a long time.

And it has been rewarding and frustrating and inspiring and so many other things.

But it’s been so needed.

The Level of Effort

I’m simply saying I know the level of effort I’m putting in now. And I have not done this maybe ever. At least in a very long time.

This is one of the breakthroughs of Assessment Week: My desire to accomplish is growing, not diminishing.

That’s what makes this different from every other time I’ve tried to change something.

Usually, momentum fades. Usually, the initial excitement wears off and the habit dies.

Not this time.

Round 1 proved the system works. And instead of being satisfied and coasting, I’m more eager to get after Round 2 than I was to start Round 1.

The Seven Habits Are Working

There’s a reason I start my day with my Bible. There’s a reason I want to ground myself in Scripture every day. I’m a follower of Jesus. I have to stay grounded to His word. I have to stay in the Scripture. Or I spin out of control.

I have to exercise every day. Even in Assessment Week, I’ve been averaging 45 minutes a day—not quite the hour, but as soon as we start next week, I’ll pop back up to my hour a day.

It’s a way that I keep myself in check and make sure I’m doing the right things. Because if I’m exercising, I’m also not as tempted to overeat or eat things I shouldn’t. My calorie counting and water intake prove that exercise, eating, and hydration all work in tandem with each other. They work really, really well.

I have been pleasantly surprised with reading my books every day. While I’ve taken a couple of days off during Assessment Week because I’ve been doing other things, I’m also looking forward to getting back to that every day as well.

The idea that we are only six weeks into the new year and I’ve already finished three books and started a fourth makes me very happy. And that doesn’t include the times I’ve read my own book that I’ve been writing—which I’ve read at least a couple of times as well.

I have read more and consumed more in the last six weeks than I have in quite some time. And I’m very pleased.

I’ve also done my very best to stay grateful every day. I’ve had gratitude listed as one of my daily habits, and upon reflection, I feel like I’m doing well because gratitude is one of those centering things.

By reading my Bible, by knowing where I am with God, by pursuing a relationship with Him, I stay in a constant state of gratitude because I know that He takes such exquisite care of me and my family. That He loves me dearly.

So that’s enough to be grateful for every day all in itself. But also all the people He puts in my path, the opportunities He gives me, just the opportunity to take my next breath because life is so very precious.

I am just grateful.

The Central Message

I say all this to say: It’s better to pursue something. It’s better to set your eyes on a prize out in front of you and go after it.

It’s better to have these daily things that you make yourself do so that you can get to do other things aside from it.

To train yourself in the essentials so that when opportunities come along, you’re prepared.

The 7-40 Challenge is working.

I am so entirely grateful.

And I cannot wait to get started on Round 2.

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Assessment Week – Day 3: Complete

For the first time in a long time, I can answer YES to “Am I doing enough?”

And that feels so good.

See you tomorrow for Day 4.

Assessment Week – Day 2
Wednesday, February 11, 2026

The time to rest and reframe during Assessment Week has been very good.

I’m finding I do so much better by getting my ideas out and clarifying them as I go. I used to think that ideas had to come out fully formed, but I’m learning more and more to start with a premise and work through it.

The Voice-to-Text Game Changer

Voice-to-text on my iPhone has been a Round 1 game changer.

I think out loud. That app lets me capture it all. Then taking that raw material and asking questions through it? That’s gold.

For years, I felt like I had to have things polished before they were even workable. Like I had to know what I was saying before I could say it.

That’s just not true.

Reading Seth Godin Differently Now

That line from Linchpin about people being afraid to figure things out for themselves hit me different this time.

I used to read Seth Godin a lot and then put him down. His abstraction frustrated me. But now I have more experience under my belt, and it means more.

Maybe that’s what happens when you do 40 consecutive days of anything—you prove to yourself that iteration beats perfection. That starting messy and clarifying as you go actually works better than waiting for the polished version.

What I’m Grateful For

I’m grateful for Assessment Week. For the space to rest, reflect, and discover things like this.

For voice-to-text that lets me think without self-editing.

For the process of getting ideas out, even when they’re not fully formed, and working through them.

For 40 days that proved I don’t need to have it all figured out before I start.

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Assessment Week – Day 2: Complete

Sometimes the best insights come when you give yourself permission to think out loud.

See you tomorrow for Day 3.