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.

Today I Learned It Has a Name: Day 29 and the Power of Pathos

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Day 29 of the 7-40 Challenge
Thursday, January 29, 2026

I’m reading Carmine Gallo’s Talk Like TED, and today I learned something that made me laugh.

Aristotle called it “pathos.”

I’ve been calling it “finding the hook.”

Same thing.

What Pathos Actually Means

Pathos is the emotional appeal in a presentation. It’s the moment when the audience stops analyzing and starts feeling. When they see themselves in your story. When they care.

Gallo breaks down how the world’s best TED speakers use pathos. They don’t lead with data. They lead with stories that create emotional hooks.

And I realized: I already do this.

“There Is Always a Story”

In 2016, I gave a Toastmasters presentation called “There Is Always a Story.”

I opened with a mistake: As an 18-year-old college freshman working for the student newspaper, I brought a date to cover a guest speaker. I cared more about her than doing my job, so I snuck out early.

The next day, my advisor asked, “Did you get my story?”

I said, “I listened. I just didn’t think there was much of a story.”

She exploded: “Are you out of your mind? He was a rescue worker at the Oklahoma City bombing! What do you mean there’s no story? There is always a story.”

That was the hook.

I called the man. He was a youth pastor who loved his life. When the bombing happened, he wanted to help. But at the site, he wasn’t prepared—rubble, bodies, parts of bodies. The team’s morale was crushed when they learned it was an American who had been the cause of the carnage..

Not long after, he found himself on a dark highway at 118 miles an hour, hands white-knuckled, heading for a bridge embankment. The pain had to end.

But the wheel pulled back. Again and again. Someone was praying. Their prayers were answered.

He realized he needed help. Eventually, he started helping others with his story.

When I told that story in my presentation, I wasn’t talking journalism. I was asking the audience: “What story are you telling with your life?”

I used the emotions of the story I told to challenge others to use their stories for good. That’s pathos.

How This Applies to the 7-40 Challenge

I’m creating content every day now, and I’m realizing:

The 7-40 Challenge isn’t compelling because of the system. It’s compelling because of the story.

People don’t care that I’m doing seven habits for 40 days. They care that I’m a 47-year-old two-time cancer survivor who wasted 20 years writing “someday I’ll…” notes and finally started.

They care that I fell in a winter storm but didn’t quit.

They care that I’m doing this for my wife and son—not for fame.

They care because the story is really about them and not me. Hopefully I am just giving an example of something that they could do. Maybe even better than I am doing it.

That’s the emotional hook. That’s pathos.

What I’ve Been Doing Without Knowing It

For years as a Toastmaster, I’ve made people feel before I asked them to think. I opened with relatable human moments, then built to the bigger question.

Today, Gallo reminded me this isn’t accidental. It’s Aristotle’s framework. It’s how the best communicators make ideas stick.

And it’s what I need to keep doing with the 7-40 Challenge.

Find the emotional hook. Connect the audience to the topic. Make them feel before you make them think.

That’s how stories stick. That’s how transformation becomes contagious.

And that’s what Day 29 taught me.

Day 29: Complete ✓

All seven habits executed (walking + reading + creative work done).

Round 1 Progress: 29/40 days (72.5%)

You can watch my Toastmasters presentation “There Is Always a Story” here: https://youtu.be/9-HtN0kA3pI

See you tomorrow for Day 30.