Tag: Books

Day 23: The Video I’ve Been Avoiding For Years (And Why It’s Finally Out There)

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

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.

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.

Day 13: One Brick at a Time (And Why Compound Interest Changes Everything)

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

One of the things I’m learning most on the 7-40 Challenge—and what excites me most—is seeing how daily goals turn into long-term progress.

Here’s the math: A 1% improvement every single day compounds to a 37x return in a year. That’s not motivation speak. That’s mathematics.

You can erode a foundation one brick at a time. Well, you can also build one brick at a time. The principle is the same—small, consistent actions create massive results over time.

The Thirty-Year Dream

I’ve wanted to write a novel since I was fourteen years old. That’s over thirty years of “someday I’ll do that.”

Thirty years of wishing. Failed attempts. Abandoned drafts. Good intentions that never materialized.

In the late 2000s, I wrote a small children’s Christmas book—about ten to fifteen pages. I was proud of it. I think it sold two copies. But that wasn’t the dream. I wanted a full-on, full-length novel.

Last year, I finally decided I was going to do it.

It didn’t take nearly as long as I thought.

How It Actually Happened

Here’s the thing about writing a novel: you write a scene. You read it over. You write some more. The story keeps building. You have a decent idea, you turn it into a better idea through revision and notes. And gradually, something really cool emerges.

But it still follows this principle: you have to have repeatable daily goals and tangible milestones you can accomplish every single day to build toward larger goals.

They don’t just happen. You have to actually make time for them.

I started small. One scene at a time. One chapter at a time. I kept building, and before I knew it, I had a complete first draft: 105 chapters.

Where I Am Now

It’s a YA novel about teens with superpowers in the nineties. I’m not going to tell you more than that yet—I’m in the editing process and want to roll it out properly. But here’s what matters:

I’m currently revising chapters 61 through 65. That means I’m over halfway through the revision process on a 105-chapter manuscript.

Thirty years of “someday.” One year of actual work. And now, halfway through polishing something I’m genuinely proud of.

Why The 7-40 Challenge Made This Possible

This is why the 7-40 Challenge has been perfect for this season. I work on seven daily habits. I’ll keep working on these seven daily habits. And in my creative hour, I continue to refine and revise this novel.

One chapter at a time. One day at a time. Compound interest in action.

By early this year, I’ll be working on getting it submitted for publication or publishing it myself. We’ll see what unfolds.

But what I know for sure is this: the dream didn’t change. My daily actions did.

For thirty years, I talked about writing a novel. Last year, I started. This year, I’m finishing.

That’s not luck. That’s compound interest. That’s one brick at a time.

Day 13 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise (Walking) ✅ Reading ✅ Calories ✅ Water ✅ Gratitude ✅ Creative hour (chapters 61-65 )

Thirteen consecutive perfect days. One brick at a time.

The best time to start building? Not looking back to what I should have done thirty years ago. Not someday. Now.

See you tomorrow for Day 14.

Day 12: More Than Just Checking Boxes (Why This Challenge Is Emotional)

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

I’m in the Emotional chapter of “Made to Stick” this morning, and something caught my attention.

The Heath brothers tell a story about a soldier cook. He had retired, but when offered an opportunity to cook for soldiers in Iraq, he jumped at the post. When asked about his job, he didn’t say “I prepare food.” He said: “My job is morale.”

He understood something deeper than the task list. Yes, he cooked meals. But his real job was building the strength soldiers needed to keep fighting, to survive, to stay mentally sharp in war.

That hit me hard. Because the 7-40 Challenge can’t just be about checking boxes.

The Real Job

Bible study. Exercise. Reading. Water. Calories. Gratitude. Creative work.

Seven habits. Forty days. Repeated seven times.

On the surface, that’s what I’m doing. But here’s the truth: my job is to be living proof that change is possible.

I was made to help people. To make their lives better, easier, more purposeful. I feel that call deep inside me—the need to take care of people, to build them up, to show them what’s possible.

But I can’t do that and ignore myself.

I have to fill my cup so I can fill others.

Why This Is Emotional for Me

This isn’t self-improvement for self-improvement’s sake. If the goal were just about me, it would be much too small.

I’m doing this because:

My family needs me healthy and strong. Fewer illnesses means less stress on my wife. More energy means I can be active, do the home improvement projects we love, spend time doing whatever activities we choose. Better mood means better interactions with everyone around me.

My son needs to see this. Not hear about transformation someday—watch it happen in real time. So when life gets hard for him, he knows it’s possible to choose differently.

The 1,000 people I want to impact need proof. By clearly defining the transformation I’m undergoing and letting people watch it play out in real time, I’m demonstrating the courage they need to name their own transformation—which may be completely different than mine. But watching mine unfold might inspire them to face theirs.

The Ripple Effect

When I’m healthy, strong, and energized, my world improves. And everything my world touches improves.

My marriage gets stronger. My parenting gets more present. My work gets sharper. My ability to help others grows exponentially.

That’s not narcissism. That’s stewardship.

I can’t pour from an empty cup. And at times over the past twenty+ years, I’ve run on fumes, talking about “someday” while my cup stayed empty.

Not anymore.

Motivation and Movement

The soldier cook understood: his real job was giving soldiers the strength to keep fighting.

My real job? Giving people stuck in “someday” mode the courage to actually move. To break from routine’s gravity. To start now instead of waiting for perfect.

And I can only do that if I’m doing it myself.

Day 12. Twelve perfect days behind me. Not because I’m special, but because the mission is bigger than me.

Day 12 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise (Workout B – back, biceps, legs) ✅ Reading (Made to Stick – Emotional chapter) ✅ Water ✅ Calories ✅ Gratitude ✅ Creative hour

The best time to fill your cup? Now. Not for yourself alone. For everyone who needs you at your best.

My job isn’t just the habits.

It’s to be living proof that change is possible.

See you tomorrow for Day 13.

Gratitude Sunday: My Mom and George Bailey

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

One of my favorite Christmas movies is It’s a Wonderful Life.

When I was younger, I liked it because an angel comes down and helps a guy get through a hard time. You get to see his whole story unfold and figure out who he really is. I didn’t see the deep significance as a young person watching this movie for the first time.

As I’ve gotten older, George Bailey’s story has become far too familiar.

I see it in life all around me. People—many wonderful people—don’t realize the good they do. They don’t understand how their influence has shaped the world around them far more than they know.

One person I can see this to be true about is my mother.

A Life of Selfless Love

My mother is one of the most selfless, wonderful people I have ever met or had the pleasure to know. She is kind and caring and deeply concerned with the well-being of others.

This flows from her relationship with God, which has been solid for as long as I can remember. She loves Jesus dearly. And because of that, she has consistently, over the years, shown people God’s love in countless ways.

I’ve seen her stop in the grocery store and share God with people or stop and pray with them just because she knew they needed it. I’ve seen her give of herself and run herself ragged to make sure that the people she served and the people she loved were taken care of.

But I’m going to tell this story from my perspective, from what I’ve seen in my own life.

Songs and Stories in the Early ’80s

My mother, in the early ’80s, started telling me stories about Jesus. She would sing songs and read the Bible with me. She was very involved in making sure that I knew that Jesus loved me—and also building me up to be a confident and strong young man.

She was consistent in her love.

I reminded her the other day that she’s the reason I know Jesus, just as she’s the reason many other people in this world know Jesus as well. She’s the reason people have found hope when they didn’t have any. She’s the reason people have found kindness when they most needed it.

She has been God’s love to people repeatedly throughout her life.

And just like George Bailey, I don’t think she understands just how far her influence has gone.

The Billy Graham Question

It makes me think.

If I asked you, “Do you know who Billy Graham is?” most of us—whether we are Christians or not—have heard the name. We know he was a very famous minister. We know that he touched countless lives with the love of God and with the message of God’s salvation.

But if I asked you, “What was the name of the man who introduced Billy Graham to Jesus?” I don’t think many of us would know who that is.

You never know the effect you have on someone’s life. You never know the influence. You never know the good that you do. You’ll never see the full picture.

But that shouldn’t stop you from doing good.

My Gratitude

So to say the least, I’m grateful for my mother.

I’m grateful for the way she’s loved me and taken care of me. Even though it’s been many, many years since I’ve lived in their home, she still loves me and prays for me to this day like I’m her baby boy.

Her influence on me has been outstanding.

And I can only imagine the influence she’s had on others—the people whose names I’ll never know, whose stories I’ll never hear, whose lives were changed because she stopped in a grocery store or prayed with someone who was hurting or sang songs about Jesus to a little boy in the early ’80s.

She’ll never know how far her influence has gone.

But I do know this: I wouldn’t be here without her. I wouldn’t know Jesus without her. I wouldn’t be attempting this 7-40 Challenge without the foundation she helped build in my life.

So thank you, Mom.

For being God’s love when I needed it most.

For never giving up on me.

For showing me what it looks like to live a life of purpose.

You’re far more influential than you know.

And I’m forever grateful.

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