Day 27 of the 7-40 Challenge
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
I’m reading Carmine Gallo’s book Talk Like TED right now, and in Chapter 1, he asks a question that stopped me on my walk this morning:
“What makes your heart sing?”
The answer came immediately: Being a husband to to my bride. Being a father to my son.
That’s what makes my heart sing personally.
But then he asks another question: “What is your obsession? What are you passionate about?”
And that’s where things get interesting.
The Answer I Didn’t Expect
My obsession isn’t separate from what makes my heart sing. They’re connected.
I’m obsessed with becoming the best version of myself—not for followers, not for book sales, not for speaking fees—but because I can’t be the husband she deserves if I’m dragging.
I can’t be the father my son needs if I’m physically exhausted, mentally foggy, emotionally drained, or spiritually disconnected.
The better I become—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually—the more I can show up as the man they need. The more I can model the kind of intentional, loving marriage that’s lacking in so much of the world today.
And here’s the thing: I can’t fragment myself. I can’t be excellent at home and mediocre at work. I can’t be disciplined with my spiritual life and careless with my body.
Excellence has to run through everything, or it doesn’t run through anything.
What My Day Job Taught Me About Transformation
I’m a data professional. I’ve been doing this work for over 18 years.
And here’s what I know from my day job: There is process. There is order. There are rules.
Data management isn’t chaos. It’s systematic. Organized. Deliberate.
When you have clear rules—agreed-upon ways to do things—everyone knows how to play the game. Everyone knows what success looks like. Everyone has a shot at excellence.
If I don’t know the traffic laws, I’ll run into people.
If I don’t know the rules of football, I’ll tackle the wrong person and the other team will win.
If I don’t have clear habits, I’ll drift through life wondering why nothing ever changes.
Rules aren’t there to penalize us. Rules are there to help us play the game better.
And by knowing the rules and following the system—the workflow, the structure—we actually have an opportunity to be excellent.
The 7-40 Challenge: The Rules of My Game
So what are the rules I’ve set for myself?
I have to be spiritually healthy.
I have to be physically healthy.
I have to be mentally healthy.
I have to be emotionally healthy.
Because if I’m healthy in those four areas, I can do all the major things I need to do in my life: be a husband, be a father, be a good worker, be a good friend.
That’s why the seven habits aren’t random. They’re strategic:
- Bible Study & Prayer → Spiritual health
- Exercise (1 hour daily) → Physical health
- Calorie Tracking → Physical health
- Water (100oz daily) → Physical health
- Reading/Learning → Mental health
- Gratitude Practice → Emotional health
- Creative Work → Mental and emotional health
These aren’t restrictions. They’re the agreed-upon structure that makes excellence possible.
Just like the data governance frameworks I use at work, just like traffic laws, just like the rules of any game—the 7-40 Challenge works because it has rules.
And when you know the game, you can play it well.
How This Helps 1,000 People
Here’s why this matters for my mission to help 1,000 people:
I’m not trying to inspire anyone with motivational speeches. I’m not selling quick fixes or secret formulas.
I’m defining the rules of the game clearly so that anyone who wants to play can play.
Seven habits. Forty days. Analyze. Rinse. Repeat 7 times.
That’s it. That’s the game.
You don’t need to figure out your own system. You don’t need to guess what works. The rules are clear. I am proving the framework as I go.
And just like at my day job, when you define the process clearly, everyone else can follow it too.
That’s not restriction. That’s freedom.
Freedom to focus on execution instead of decision fatigue. Freedom to know exactly what “winning the day” looks like. Freedom to become excellent because the path is clear.
What Gallo’s Question Revealed
So when Carmine Gallo asked, “What makes your heart sing?” I thought the answer was simple: my family.
But what I realized on my walk this morning is that the 7-40 Challenge IS about my family.
It’s about becoming the man she deserves and the father my son needs.
It’s about not fragmenting myself—being one integrated person who brings the same commitment to excellence to every area of life.
And it’s about using the same process discipline that makes me excellent at data work to become even more excellent as a husband, father, and human. And vice versa.
The rules don’t limit me. They make excellence possible.
And if they work for me, they can work for you too.
Because the game has rules. And when you know the rules, you can win.
Day 27: Complete ✓
All seven habits executed. The rules are working.
Round 1 Progress: 27/40 days (67.5%)
See you tomorrow for Day 28.
The 740 Challenge 