Day 7: When the Wall Hits, Build a Door

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Hey friends—Welcome back to the 740 Challenge, Round 3.

Today I’m not coming to you with fireworks and fist-pumps. I’m coming with tired eyes, a couple of sore feet, and the quiet thrill of someone who just stared down a brick wall… and decided to install a hinge.

Last Saturday I hit empty. Not “oops, I forgot lunch” empty—soul-level, drag-myself-to-the-couch empty. Between the original seven goals and real life, something had to give. So I gave it permission.

“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.”

— Charles Spurgeon, 1858

That wave slammed me hard, but the Rock didn’t move. I did and I am thankful for it. I think God was getting my attention that I needed to slow down for a couple of days and revisit my goals. 

Here’s the new flight plan for the rest of Round 3—trimmed, honest, and still pointed at transformation.

1.  Bible study + prayer
Still the non-negotiable North Star. Mornings begin in the Word and prayer. 

2.  60 minutes of exercise
Walking long distances paired with yoga or resistance training. 

3.  Track every calorie & chug every ounce
MyFitnessPal and I are in a committed relationship. Calories in, 100+ oz down. No drama, just data.

4.  Reading: 30-minute floor, 60-minute ceiling
I was forcing an hour and resenting every page. Thirty minutes feels like the sweet spot. Any additional is a bonus. 

5.  Gratitude notes that actually mean something
Gratitude has to be authentic. When the moments present themselves we take them. 

6.  Write every single day
Keeping up with the journey and sharing the details. 

7.  Social media: learn before I launch
Daily posting felt like shouting into a hurricane. So I’m pivoting: it’s time to craft a message worth hearing and then send it out. 

“We are always beginning again; every day is a fresh start.”

— St. Benedict of Nursia, c. 530 AD

Old me would have labeled Saturday a failure and ghosted the whole challenge. New me labeled it feedback. I tightened the laces, lightened the pack, and kept walking.

So here’s to Day 7: the day the goals got human.

If you’re dragging too, borrow my hinge. Cut what’s crushing you, keep what’s calling you, and step through the door you just built.

Drop a comment if you’ve ever scaled back to speed up.

See you tomorrow—same trail, lighter load.

—Your friend who’s still in the fight

#740Challenge

Day 6: The 7-40 Challenge – A Necessary Pause

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

“The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley.”

– Robert Burns, To a Mouse (1785)

Hello Friends,

Welcome to Day 6 of the 7-40 Challenge.

Today was a wall. So was yesterday. Burnout hit hard—full stop. I had to take the day off from most of the planned activities. Tomorrow I’ll push to regain momentum.

For consistency’s sake: I miss the routine. I miss the doing.

Not everything goes as intended, but every detour is a chance to course-correct. I’m more exhausted than anything else right now. A little R&R was non-negotiable.

“Rest and be thankful.”

– William Wordsworth

Back at it tomorrow.

Onward.

Day 5 of the 7-40 Challenge: Why Cramming Won’t Cut It for Real Change

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Hey friends, David here—your guide on this wild ride of self-improvement, goal-crushing, and straight-up transformation. Welcome to Day 5 of my third round of the 7-40 Challenge. That’s roughly 85 days of sticking to seven daily habits over the past three and a half months (with a couple of well-deserved breathers mixed in).

Tonight’s big realization? Consistency in when I do these habits is starting to matter as much as doing them at all.

Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. — James Clear

The Cramming Trap (Been There, Done That)

Remember college? I’d skip class for what seemed like weeks, then panic-borrow notes the night before the exam and inhale caffeine like it was oxygen. I’d squeak out a passing grade… and forget everything by the next day. Hundreds of dollars down the drain, zero real learning.

As the saying goes: Opportunity is often wasted on the young (and in my case stupid). Guilty.

Achievement isn’t a rush job. You can’t cram transformation any more than you can cram a semester’s worth of calculus. Worthwhile goals demand adequate time—and the right timing.

Building Habits Into the Rhythm of My Day

Here’s what my seven habits look like right now:

  • Bible study & prayer: First thing in the morning. Non-negotiable.
  • Exercise: Splitting up sessions so it isn’t all at once.
  • Reading: Tackling progressively throughout the day
  • Writing: Will occur in the evenings as a reflection of the day.
  • Tracking Food and Water: As it happens.
  • Gratitude: As early in the day as I can.
  • Posting on Social: I need to do this earlier and often. More organic is more me.

The experiment? Some days are better than others. Today? Not great. When I push walks to the evening (like tonight), everything else piles up. I’m out under the streetlights, rushing through steps just to check the box before yoga. It feels crammed. Forced. Wrong.

I don’t just want to complete these habits—I want them to flow. To slide into natural pockets of my day until they’re second nature. Because here’s the truth:

The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken. — Warren Buffett

This Round: Refinement Over Reinvention

I’m not reinventing the wheel. I’m refining it. Tweaking the schedule so these habits don’t just happen—they enhance my life. If I grind for a month, declare victory, then slide back to old ways? That’s not transformation. That’s a hobby.

Real change rewrites the script. It turns “I have to” into “This is just who I am.”

Your Turn

Wherever you are tonight—crushing it, coasting, or somewhere in between—I pray you’re achieving something that lights you up.

See you tomorrow. Let’s keep building.

Day 4 of the 7-40 Challenge: When Plans Crumble, But I Still Choose to Rise

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Hello, friends! Welcome to Day 4 of the 7-40 Challenge.

Whew—what a day today has been. It didn’t unfold anything like I pictured. Frustrations popped up out of nowhere, the kind that could easily derail a guy. But here’s the beauty: I had my goals staring me in the face, and I tackled them just like any other day. No excuses. No backing down.

Let me share a few raw thoughts from the trenches of a not-so-perfect day.

First: We Can’t Control the Problems… But We Can Control Our Attitude

Life doesn’t hand us a menu of challenges. Some days, it just dumps a pile on your doorstep. Today was one of those. But we get to choose how we show up.

We can greet people with kindness, compassion, and empathy. We can stare down problems with honesty and a willing spirit.

Viktor Frankl, who survived the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust, nailed it:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Echoing that wisdom from ancient times, the Stoic philosopher Epictetus put it this way:

“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.”

Today, frustrations gave me a golden opportunity to choose better. To value people over pettiness. It drained every ounce of emotional energy I had… but guess what? I still crushed my goals:

✅ Bible study and prayer – Check. Fuel for the soul.

✅ Exercise – Sweated it out, feeling stronger.

✅ Reading – See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar.

✅ Writing – You’re holding the proof right here.

✅ Encouraging words – Shared ’em far and wide.

✅ Social media post – Done and dusted.

It’s 10 PM as I type this. The day? A total curveball. But I marched forward anyway. I owned my response.

The Old Me vs. The New Me

Let’s be real—there was a time when a day like this would’ve wrecked me. I’d have stress-eaten a fridge full of junk, poured a glass (or more) of wine, and spiraled into frustration. Have you been there?

Not today. And that shift? It’s everything. Special thanks to my bride for talking through the day with me as well. Her viewpoint resets me.

But Here’s the Real Game-Changer: Gratitude

When the smoke clears, I step back and see how insanely blessed I am. The “problems” shrink to specks:

  • A relationship with God who has forgiven me, saved me and loves me fiercely.
  • My beautiful bride, who cares for me like no one else.
  • A son I’m so proud of, lighting up my world.
  • Friends closer than family.
  • A family I’m honored to call mine.
  • A job I’m passionate about—work that lights a fire.
  • Purpose. Meaning. Every single day.

I am grateful. Things don’t always go as planned, but my blessings? They dwarf the chaos.

Your Turn, Friends

How do you handle it when a day derails? When life’s curveballs smack you sideways, but you’ve still got tasks calling your name?

Drop a comment below—your story might just fire someone up. Let’s encourage each other!

Until tomorrow… Day 5 awaits. See you there.

Keep choosing your response. Keep marching.

Day 3 of the 7-40 Challenge: Gratitude That Shifts Your World and Choices That Build Your Future

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Hey friends!

Welcome to Day 3 of the 7-40 Challenge. I’m posting this straight from my gym—sweat still drying, heart still pumping—right after crushing my workout for the day. What a good day it’s been. I’ve got a couple reflections burning in my chest that I have to share with you tonight. Let’s dive in.

The Game-Changer Called Gratitude

Over the last two rounds of this challenge (and now into round three), something wild has happened to my attitude. It’s shifted—big time—because I’ve zeroed in on gratitude.

“It’s one thing to say that you’re thankful for things. It is a very different thing to… tell those things to God. Thank him for what he’s done for you. To share with other people, the way that they have affected your life positively.” – David Willis

That’s me, word for word, because this isn’t fluffy talk—it’s real. Gratitude isn’t just a feel-good vibe; I’m mostly convinced that gratitude… is for my betterment, even as it betters the world.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says it plain: Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I’m so grateful for the life I’ve been given. The opportunities to make a difference. To wake up every day and do better. Who’s with me on that?

The Power of Choices: Lessons from Zig Ziglar

This afternoon, I fired up the audiobook of Zig Ziglar’s See You at the Top. Written 50 years ago, and it’s hitting harder than ever. Sure, some stories feel like flashbacks to my childhood, but they’re poignant. Relevant. Inspiring—maybe more now than the first time I devoured them.

Zig drops this bomb: “For over 20 years of my life, I chose to weigh well over 200 pounds.” The crowd’s like, “What do you mean, Zig? You chose that?”

He grins in that classic Southern drawl: “I have never been forced to eat anything in my life. Me weighing too much was a product of my choices.”

Mic drop.

Then he shares how, for 10 months after deciding to get healthy, he hated joggers. Saw them out there, buzzing with life, loving every stride… and it annoyed him. Until he became one.

Picture this: Running at Portland State University. Road blurring under his feet. Sun shining. Warm breeze. Boom—reality hits. “He wasn’t paying the price for health. He was enjoying the benefits.”

Fast-forward: At 61 years old (just 16 years after that choice), Zig’s resting heart rate? In the 40s. He could blaze five miles faster and easier than guys half his age.

Zig Ziglar said it best: “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

Discipline. Choices. Daily grind. That’s the ticket.

Why I’m All In on This Challenge

Zig’s been gone for several years, but his example? Still lighting a fire under me. I never met the man, but I’m chasing that same character. I, too, want to make choices that will lead me into a better future.

A future with a heart full of gratitude. A healthier, more vibrant me. Step by step, through this 7-40 Challenge, daily workouts, and every habit I’m stacking—I’m building it.

Healthy. Happy. Reasonably prosperous. And yeah—inspiring you to run your own race.

Who’s ready for Day 4? Let’s keep choosing better.

See you at the top.

P.S. Grab See You at the Top if you haven’t. Life-changer.