Twenty-three days into the 7-40 Challenge, and I did something I’ve been calling “too difficult” for years.
I filmed my first YouTube video. Posted it. Extracted clips with OpusClip. Distributed them to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.
It’s rough. It’s not my best work. The descriptions aren’t perfect. The tags aren’t optimized. I’m not even sure anybody will see it.
But it’s out there. Right here actually.
And that’s what matters.
The Friday Weigh-In
This morning I stepped on the scale: 282.2 pounds.
Day 1, I was 289.5. That’s 7.3 pounds down in 23 days.
I’m establishing Friday as my official weekly weigh-in day. Every Friday, I’ll report the number – up, down, or plateau. No spin. Just data.
7.3 pounds in 23 days. The system works.
But today isn’t about the weight. Today is about the thing I’ve been avoiding.
The Thing I’ve Been Avoiding
Social media.
Not just posting on social media – I’ve done that before. But actually BUILDING a presence. Filming videos. Putting myself on camera. Creating content that might inspire the 1,000 people I want to reach.
I’ve been calling it “too difficult” for years. I’ve said I don’t understand it. I’ve watched other people build audiences and thought “why can they figure it out so easily when I can’t?”
The truth? I’ve been protecting myself from vulnerability.
It’s easier to blog in obscurity than to film a video where people can see my face, hear my voice, and judge whether I’m authentic or full of it.
But here’s what I realized reading Michael Hyatt’s chapter on Risk this morning:
Publishing today is more important than perfect.
The Hook That Broke the Pattern
I asked myself: “Can you name one thing right now that you’ve always wanted to do that you’ve been avoiding?”
For me, it was this. The video. The social presence. The public documentation that goes beyond written words.
So I took the outline we’d built, hit record, and started talking as if I was speaking to a friend.
I didn’t script every word. I didn’t rehearse. I just went with the rough outline in my head and answered each section naturally.
Toastmaster training kicked in – I’m actually pretty good at speaking extemporaneously if I have an outline. I talked through:
- The hook (name your avoided thing)
- My story (47, stuck in “someday” mode for 20 years)
- The 7-40 Challenge system
- The data (7.3 lbs, 97 chapters, 23 perfect days)
- The mission (1,000 people need living proof, not theory)
- The call to action (start now, comment your avoided thing)
Seven minutes. One take. Done.
OpusClip Made It Easy
Then I did something I wasn’t planning to do today: I signed up for OpusClip.
The whole workflow I’d been overthinking? It was actually easy.
Upload the video. Let the AI identify viral moments. Download the clips. Post to Instagram and TikTok directly from the platform.
I’m on the starter plan right now – wanted to try it before committing to pro. But honestly? It worked exactly like it was supposed to.
Three platforms. Multiple clips. One creative hour.
Why It’s Not My Best Work (And Why I Posted Anyway)
I don’t have the appropriate hashtags. The titles aren’t SEO-optimized. The descriptions are bare-bones. All the “crap that normally goes with it” – I skipped most of it.
I’m not certain anybody will see it.
But here’s the thing: even with perfect optimization, nobody was going to see my first video anyway. I have no subscribers. No algorithm momentum. No existing audience.
The point of Day 23 wasn’t views. It was breaking the pattern.
I did the thing I’ve been calling “too difficult” for years. I filmed. I posted. I extracted. I distributed.
I proved to myself that I can be uncomfortable and survive.
Day 24’s video will be slightly better. Day 30 will be better still. By Day 100, I’ll have reps under my belt and know what works.
But none of that happens without Day 23.
The Best Time To Start
Michael Hyatt’s Risk chapter hit me hard this morning. He talks about how meaningful achievement requires stepping into discomfort. How comfort equals boredom.
I’ve been bored with my own avoidance for too long.
So today I chose action over perfection. I chose vulnerability over polish. I chose NOW over “when it’s ready.”
The video is out there. It’s imperfect. It’s uncomfortable.
And I’m happy it’s done.
Day 23 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Workout A ✅ Reading (Your Best Year Ever – Risk chapter) ✅ Friday Weigh-In: 282.2 lbs (7.3 lbs down) ✅ Walking ✅ Calories ✅ Water ✅ Gratitude ✅ Creative hour (First YouTube video filmed, posted, and distributed via OpusClip)
Twenty-three consecutive perfect days. The thing I’ve been avoiding for years? Done.
The best time to stop avoiding the thing you’ve been avoiding? Now.
See you tomorrow for Day 24.
The 740 Challenge 