Author: David Willis

Day 21: The Dream That Won’t Let Me Sleep (And Why I’m Grateful For It)

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Twenty-one days into the 7-40 Challenge, and today I did something I haven’t done in a long time: I stopped moving long enough to ask myself where I’m actually going.

Not physically. I know where I’m going physically – I’ve got 20 cubic yards of dirt to move into garden beds today. My back will remind me of that tomorrow.

I mean really going. By Day 280. By the time this challenge ends somewhere between mid-November and early December.

Here’s what I figured out.

The Weight of the Number

This morning I weighed 283.5 pounds.

On Day 1, I was 289.5. That’s 6 pounds down in 21 days – about 0.29 pounds per day.

Here’s the math: If I keep this pace through all 280 challenge days, I’ll lose approximately 80 pounds. That puts me at roughly 209 pounds.

My goal is 240.

Translation: I’m crushing this at nearly double the pace I need.

At my current rate, I could screw up a little bit – have some plateau weeks, enjoy a few celebration meals, take some recovery time – and still hit my 240-pound goal with room to spare.

My body and muscle structure don’t lend themselves to weighing 210 pounds anyway. I’m built bigger. 240 is where I want to be – lean, strong, and sustainable.

The data tells me I’m on track. More than on track. I’m building margin into the system.

But here’s the thing: the number on the scale isn’t the real goal. The real goal is vitals where they should be. Energy that doesn’t quit. Eating yummy food while maintaining my weight. A body that works the way God designed it to work.

The number is just data. The transformation is what matters.

Who I’m Actually Trying to Reach

I spent 30 minutes this morning getting crystal clear on something I’ve been fuzzy about: Who is this for?

Not everyone. That’s too broad.

This is for people who have goals but feel beat down by life. People who’ve tried to get their head wrapped around what they need to do but just need a little extra motivation. A community of like-minded people to help them do the same thing.

I have a feeling there are thousands – if not tens or hundreds of thousands – of people out there who are comfortably miserable.

Stuck by choice. Not by circumstances. By choice.

Waiting for enough inspiration or motivation to hit them so they’ll finally do something different.

That’s who I’m talking to.

The Transformation I Want You to Experience

Here’s the thing: my 7-40 Challenge is based on my specific needs.

Weight loss. Novel completion. Social media presence. Daily reading. Creative output.

But you? You might need something completely different.

Maybe you need to get your finances in order. Maybe you need to repair relationships. Maybe you need a career transition or mental health stability or spiritual growth.

The core principle is this: Pick foundational habits to practice every day that lead you to the life you want.

I want you to NAME what transformation you need. Then EXPERIENCE it by building the habits that get you there.

Watch yourself move along the continuum from “have not” to “have.”

That’s the transformation I’m trying to inspire.

What Makes This Different

I’ve theorized far too long in my life. It’s gotten me nowhere.

I would rather build an audience slowly, build a tribe slowly, build something strong – than be flashy and bring people in on personality alone.

Why? Because I’m a good dude and a nice guy, but I am NOT an on-call entertainer keeping everybody buzzing all the time. That’s just not who I am.

I’m a witness by experience, not by theory.

Every day I practice the things I’ve said will lead me where I need to go. And through my revision times – my reflection times – I ask myself the hard questions:

  • Is this actually what I want to be doing?
  • Is this who I’m intended to be?
  • Have I missed something important?

The beauty of the 40-day cycle versus trying to do something for 6 months or a year? We may get just a few blocks from home and realize we’re driving the wrong way.

Do I need to wait till I get to the next town before I turn around? No. I just make the adjustment and go where I need to go.

The Dream I Can’t Forget

I had a dream a while back.

I was floating on my stomach down a rushing river. I don’t know how I was breathing – obviously this was a dream – but I realized I needed to lift my head up and find out where I was.

It was really, really hard to drag my face up out of the water. I remember giving all kinds of effort. Finally pulling my head up just to check where I was and check my surroundings.

Then it was like my face wanted to be pushed back into the water.

The effort to pull up and realize my surroundings was the hard part.

But I knew in the dream that I had to do it. And I had to do it often. Because I knew that I would end up somewhere unknown if I didn’t wake up and look around.

I feel the same way about my life.

We let things rush at us so fast. We let things overwhelm us. We let life just lead us along.

If we’re not careful:

  • We don’t lift our head up long enough
  • We don’t see where we are
  • We don’t see that we’ve been dragged by the tide
  • We’ve gone far, far further than we intended to go

So it’s my intention to use that dream as a warning. To be present and aware of where I’m headed. To not let the tide of life sweep over me.

And to inspire other people to do the very same thing.

The Urgency at 47

Maybe it’s just me getting older and being more observant because I see time passing.

But I see how precious things are. I see how valuable time really is. How it needs to be captured and squeezed so we get every ounce out of it that we can.

I don’t want to wake up one day and have regretted.

The only regrets I want to consider are the ones that are going to lead me to making things right and doing things better.

So I will think of those future regrets as a warning, and I will make better choices now.

Day 21 Vision

By Day 280, here’s where I’m headed:

  • 240 pounds, vitals where they should be, eating sustainably
  • 20-30 books read
  • YA novel published, working on next novel
  • Memoir written
  • Booking speaking engagements based on this year’s work
  • Social media channels with actual community – not just followers, but people talking to each other and helping each other

But more than that?

1,000 people look at my 280-day journey and say “If he can do it, I can do it. The best time to start is now.”

Then they name their transformation. Build their habits. Move from “have not” to “have.”

And the world gets 1,000+ people who stopped being comfortably miserable and started being intentionally alive.

That’s the vision.

Day 21 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Workout B ✅ Dirt work (wheelbarrow + 20 cubic yards = brutal) ✅ Reading (Your Best Year Ever audiobook) ✅ Vision clarity (30 minutes) ✅ Calories ✅ Water ✅ Gratitude

Twenty-one consecutive perfect days. The vision is clear. The work continues.

The best time to lift your head up and check where you’re going? Now.

See you tomorrow for Day 22

Day 20: Why DDP Yoga (And Why This Time Is Different)

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Twenty days into the 7-40 Challenge, and I’m realizing something: I’ve been doing DDP Yoga on and off for years. But I’ve never done it like this.

Let me explain.

Why DDP Yoga?

When I started looking for a yoga program that fit my life, I had a few non-negotiables.

First, I needed something approachable. Yoga is incredibly good for your health, but I’m a 47-year-old married man. I don’t need to do yoga with young women in spandex. I need to hang out with a guy in his 60s in gym shorts, focusing on nothing but the physical benefits. That’s exactly what DDP Yoga gave me.

Second, I remembered Diamond Dallas Page from his WCW wrestling days in the ’90s. I was a bit of a fan back then. But what really caught my attention was when he went on Shark Tank to get funding for his business.

That’s where I saw Arthur’s story.

The Arthur Story That Changed Everything

Arthur was a veteran who used to jump out of airplanes. He did a lot of damage to his body through his service to the country. By the time DDP met him, Arthur was using arm canes just to move around. He was much larger than was healthy. Doctors didn’t know if he’d ever walk normally again.

But on Shark Tank, Arthur stood next to DDP—a fit, trim man full of vitality. There was a video of him running. Full speed.

It’s hard to argue with those results.

Why That Story Mattered to Me

Around the time I picked up the DDP Yoga app in 2019—after spending the back half of 2018 healing up from surgery—I felt extremely broken.

During my cancer surgery and recovery, I lost 50 pounds. Then I had all the lymph nodes surgically removed from my abdomen—a massive abdominal surgery with a huge midline scar running down my stomach.

I didn’t know if I’d regain my core strength. I didn’t know if I’d ever feel normal again.

Through DDP Yoga, I’ve been able to regain a lot of my core strength and flexibility. And I did it in a way that’s uplifting and positive—because that’s who DDP is. The program is low-impact. It doesn’t overtax my muscles, but it definitely works them out. I get my heart rate up without hurting myself.

There are different workout programs on the app for people at every fitness level. I’ve gotten much more flexible and stronger over time.

But here’s the confession: I’ve never actually finished a full 13-week cycle.

Why This Time Is Different

I made it through one 13-week cycle once, but I didn’t do all the prescribed workouts. I’d push things off. Rearrange the schedule. Skip one here and there. Just mess around.

This time, I have my workout plan already established. I know exactly what days I’m doing things on. I look at my phone, see what’s up for that day, and that’s the workout I do.

Part of the beauty of DDP’s app is you can set the workout schedule to be what you want it to be on the days you want. It was very easy to take the 3-4 yoga sessions I wanted per week and arrange them around my lifting days.

So I’m lifting, doing yoga, and walking—without overburdening myself on any specific day. It’s balanced. It’s sustainable.

But here’s the real difference:

I’ve decided to be completely transparent with myself and the world.

I need transformation. I do not want to wait any longer to step into this.

The best time to start is now. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.

Arthur went from arm canes to running. I went from post-cancer brokenness to regaining my core strength. But both of us had to actually show up and do the work.

Day 20. DDP Yoga Energy 2.0 is up next. I’m not skipping it. I’m not rearranging it. I’m doing it.

Because this time, I’m not just trying to finish a cycle. I’m building a foundation that lasts 280 days—and beyond.

Day 20 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise (Walking) ✅ Reading ✅ Calories ✅ Water ✅ Gratitude ✅ Creative hour ✅ DDP Yoga Energy 2.0

Twenty consecutive perfect days. No skipping. No rearranging. Just showing up.

The best time to start is now.

See you tomorrow for Day 21.

Day 19: The Limiting Belief I’m Done Carrying

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been reading “Your Best Year Ever” by Michael Hyatt during my walks, and today I hit the chapter on limiting beliefs.

It punched me in the face.

The Limiting Belief I’ve Been Carrying

“Social media is too difficult to figure out.”

I watch others build audiences, create videos that get views, write posts that get engagement – and I wonder why they can figure it out so easily while I struggle. I have the desire to lead by example, but I can’t get my message out.

Here’s the truth I need to admit: I’ve been using this as a cop-out.

Sometimes I think limiting beliefs are just forms of laziness. We allow ourselves to believe them because it’s easier to stay small and not put the time in to really master what we say we want to do.

For me? I’ve always prioritized other things over social strategy. And the difference I’m encountering now – on Day 19 of perfect execution – is this: I want to stop wasting time.

I want to achieve these things for myself. And I want to use that experience to provide hope for other people.

The Real Cost of Staying Small

The crazy part is, I don’t know if I’ll ever really know what staying small has cost me.

I’m a firm believer in the butterfly effect. By making ripples and striving toward good things, we inspire others to do the same. And while I’ve tried to do that in my personal life for many years – hopefully people have seen it – I have not articulated the reason WHY behind what I do.

That’s a missed opportunity to lift somebody else up.

I can’t measure the cost of ripples I never created. The people I never inspired. The conversations that never happened. The transformations that never started because someone didn’t see that it was possible.

Why Now? Why This Challenge?

I think I’m like everybody else – you get old enough and you realize your opportunities are starting to slip past you.

You’re not as trim as you used to be. Your hair’s not as dark as it once was. You’re moving slower, aching more. All these signs of time passing, and yet a full list of things you still say you want to do.

For years I’ve read Dan Miller, who wrote “48 Days to the Work You Love.” One of his favorite sayings: “Don’t die with your music still in you.”

At 47, I’ve got music still inside. And I’m done letting limiting beliefs keep it there.

The New Belief I’m Building

Starting Day 20, here’s what I’m choosing to believe instead:

I have a message worth sharing.

We have agency in our lives, and it’s our responsibility to use that agency for good. By forming habits that serve us instead of working against us, we leverage that agency and make the world a better place.

Social media isn’t too difficult. It’s just unfamiliar. And I’ve figured out harder things than this.

I revised a 105-chapter novel in 19 days. I’ve executed seven daily habits with zero misses. I’ve written 19 consecutive blog posts while learning compound interest principles and teaching myself systematic transformation.

If I can do that, I can figure out how to create a 60-second TikTok video.

The Shift Starts Tomorrow

Day 20, my creative hour shifts focus. I’ve finished the first revision pass on my novel. Beta readers (my wife and son) are reading it now. While they give feedback, I’m building the distribution infrastructure I’ve been avoiding.

No more cop-outs. No more staying small. No more prioritizing comfortable over uncomfortable.

I have a message worth sharing. And starting tomorrow, I’m learning how to share it.

Day 19 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise (Workout A) ✅ Reading (Your Best Year Ever – limiting beliefs chapter) ✅ Calories ✅ Water ✅ Gratitude ✅ Creative hour (first novel revision COMPLETE – 97 chapters)

Nineteen consecutive perfect days. The limiting belief ends here.

The best time to stop staying small? Now.

See you tomorrow for Day 20.

Gratitude Sunday: The Teacher Who Built the Bridge

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

It’s Gratitude Sunday, and I’m thankful for a woman who changed my life – though I didn’t realize how much until my wedding anniversary last week.

My wife reminded me of something I’d forgotten: things in my life that led me to where I am today that I didn’t identify until she pointed them out.

How Singing Led Me Down a Path

I used to be a singer. It was the thing I wanted to do most in this world.

I discovered my love for singing in high school – choir and show choir (yes, I was in show choir). For the first time in my life, I’d found something I truly enjoyed. Something that came somewhat naturally. I had a decent voice – as Danny Kaye said in White Christmas, I did fairly well in living rooms.

When I started applying myself, things changed fast.

Sophomore year: Made All-District Honor Choir. Tried out for All-State. Didn’t make it. I was devastated.

Junior year: My music teacher gave me an opportunity to attend a choir clinic before school started – learning the audition music for All-State Choir. I wanted to go desperately. But I didn’t have the money.

She let me mow her yard. Paid me. I did other work. I earned my way to that camp.

That was the first time I’d done anything like that – putting my own physical work into my success. Through that hard work, I made All-District again. I made All-State. That summer, I attended the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute.

Senior year: District choir. All-State Choir again. Arts Institute again. And I made a National choir.

Freshman year of college: Full music scholarship to sing bass in my hometown choir.

I did that for a year, then decided I’d outgrown my hometown. Even though the university was good and the people were kind, I needed to get away. So I moved to Edmond, Oklahoma. Got a full scholarship to sing there too.

Why This Matters

My love for singing led me to work hard. Working hard led to opportunity. Opportunity led me to the place where I’d meet my wife.

Not long after we got married, my love for singing faded away. It was something I could do. Something I was definitely better at than in high school. But I looked at the singers around me and saw the dividing line – they were pursuing this as a career. And that, in truth, was no longer what I wanted.

I didn’t realize at the time that my singing had taken me from where I was to where I needed to be – to meet the woman who’s been my best friend on this earth and my wife for over 27 years now.

The Star of Today’s Gratitude Post

Mrs. Wilkins saw enough in me to work with me – helping me take the talent I had and make more of it.

My favorite story about her happened senior year. She called me into her office and, without much formality, said: “I have something to tell you. People don’t really like you that much.”

That seems counterintuitive for a gratitude post, but hear me out.

I said, “Why?”

She said, “Because you’re entirely too arrogant.”

I said, “I’m not arrogant. I’m confident.” (Which is, new flash, the code word for arrogant.)

She then asked if I would check my ego and begin treating others with respect, courtesy, and kindness.

I didn’t understand it at the time, but it was exactly the conversation I needed.

The Foundation She Helped Build

Mrs. Wilkins gave me some of the building blocks I needed to get to my wife. She also gave me character blocks – so that when I start feeling too full of myself, I remember her lesson: Yes, you may be talented. But there are others far more talented. How you treat people is the important part. Do this with humility and grace.

Mrs. Wilkins, if you’re reading these words, know that you’ve had a profound effect on my life – not only in aiding the butterfly effect that got me to where I am today, but also in calling me to aspire to develop the character I so desperately needed.

Thank you for the way you did this – not just for me, but for countless students who came into your choir room. You pointed us to excellence and helped us be the best we could be. And you did it with more grace and compassion than I know I deserved.

You will forever be one of my favorite teachers and a profound influence on my life.

Thank you.

Day 17: Creativity Isn’t a Lightning Strike (It’s Showing Up When You’re Tired)

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Ninety-four chapters revised. Eleven to go.

I’m tired. My brain hurts from thinking about series setup, sequel planning, and whether this YA superhero story can actually be different from every other superhero story out there.

But I still protected my creative hour tonight. And that’s what I want to talk about.

Creativity Isn’t What You Think It Is

For years, I thought creativity was this mystical force that descended when inspiration struck. Lightning from the sky. The muse visiting. Magic.

Nope. That ain’t it.

Here’s what I’m learning on Day 17: Creativity is problem-solving. That’s it.

Sometimes it’s inventing brand new things where there’s a need. When I was drafting my novel originally, I had to create activities, scenes, dialogue from nothing. That was hard. That required imagination and invention.

Sometimes it’s taking something established and making it better. Now, in revision, I’m refining what’s already there. I’m solving the problem of “how do I set this up for a potential series without losing the current story?”

Both are creative. Both require showing up. Both feel completely different.

The Real Reason I Protect This Hour

I dedicate an hour to creativity every night for two reasons:

One: I want to inspire 1,000 people who are stuck. Sometimes you need to see somebody else in the trenches working through similar problems. You see them finding success, and you start to understand that you can have success too.

Two: I love the superhero genre, but it’s inundated with the same takes. I’m trying to write something fresh, accessible, clean – a YA story that doesn’t make parents nervous. That requires solving creative problems every single day.

These projects aren’t just about making stories. They’re about answering my larger questions: How do I make a contribution to the world? How do I make myself better?

Day 17 Reality Check

Today was harder than Day 16. I’m at that point in the book where critical thinking about series setup slows me down. Am I still in the honeymoon phase? Probably. Has this gotten brutally hard yet? Not really.

But I’m close to the finish line (11 chapters left), and that’s giving me energy. The ebb and flow of the creative process – some days flow, some days grind.

And I still showed up.

For Everyone Thinking “I’m Too Tired to Be Creative Today”

Here’s the truth: You’re always going to be too tired. You’re always going to have some excuse that comes up.

What’s one problem you need to solve right now? How can you think outside the box to solve it?

That’s creativity. Not waiting for lightning. Not waiting for inspiration.

Just showing up and solving problems.

Day 17 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise ✅ Reading (finished Made to Stick, started Your Best Year Ever) ✅ Calories ✅ Water ✅ Gratitude ✅ Creative hour (chapters 91-94, 89% complete on first revision)

Seventeen consecutive perfect days. Creativity isn’t magic. It’s showing up tired and solving problems anyway.

The best time to start is now. Not when you’re inspired. Not when you feel creative. Now.

See you tomorrow for Day 18.