Tag: Life

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.

#ThankYouCampaign #GratitudeSunday #ItsAWonderfulLife #GeorgeBailey #MothersLove #Faith #Jesus #Grateful #FamilyLegacy #Influence #740Challenge #Purpose #ChristianLife #Thankful

Day 10: Data First, Theory Second (Why Sherlock Holmes Got It Right)

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

I listened to “Made to Stick” this morning during my walk, and I hit the chapter on credibility. The Heath brothers made a point that stopped me cold:

Don’t make up your mind and then go looking for data to prove you’re right. Look for the data to help you make up your mind.

It reminded me of Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in “A Study in Scarlet”: “It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”

Two different sources, separated by over a century. Same truth.

The Temptation

It would be very easy to say: “By March 15th, I’ll weigh 245 pounds. By April 1st, I’ll have my novel published. By June, I’ll have 10,000 social media followers.”

Make up the goal. Hunt for the data to prove it’s possible. Force yourself into unsustainable practices to hit the deadline.

I’ve done this before. Multiple times in my life, actually. And here’s what happens: I hit the deadline (maybe), but the transformation doesn’t stick. The moment the deadline passes, I’m back where I started. Downward spiral. Rinse, repeat.

Why the 7-40 Challenge Is Different

The physiology of weight loss doesn’t work on my timeline. Exercise recovery doesn’t care about my deadline. Sustainable habits don’t emerge from forcing performance.

So instead of demanding that the data conform to my goal, I’m letting the goal emerge from the data.

Seven daily habits. That’s my theory.

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

I’m not promising you specific results by specific dates. I’m collecting data through daily practice. And I’m letting that data tell me where I’m headed.

Weight loss? It’s happening (3.7 pounds in 9 days), but I’m not demanding it hit a certain number by a certain date. The data will tell the story.

Novel revision? I’m at 50 chapters. Not because I promised myself 50 by Day 10, but because the daily habit of creative hour produces consistent output. The data shows up.

Social media strategy? Still figuring it out. No false promises. Just daily attempts and learning.

The Sustainable Difference

By committing to the practices instead of the deadlines, I’m building something that becomes part of who I am. Not a sprint to a finish line. A permanent shift in daily behavior.

Sherlock Holmes didn’t demand the facts bend to his theory. He collected evidence and followed where it led. That’s credibility. That’s how you build real transformation instead of false performance.

I don’t want to hit a goal and bounce back. I want sustainable change that sticks because it’s now my daily rhythm, not an unsustainable forced performance.

Day 10 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise ✅ Reading ✅ Gratitude ✅ Water, calories, creative hour

Ten consecutive perfect days. Data collecting. Theory emerging.

The best time to stop making up your mind and start collecting data? Now.

See you tomorrow for Day 11.

Day 9: Twenty-Seven Years and Just Getting Started

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Today is my 27th wedding anniversary.

Twenty-seven years ago, I married my best friend. And sitting at the table with her this morning, talking about all the unlikely things that had to align for us to even meet, I’m reminded why Day 9 of the 7-40 Challenge matters more than any other day so far.

This isn’t just about me. It never has been.

The Butterfly Effect (Or God’s Perfect Timing)

April 1, 1998. I walked into a church in Bethany, Oklahoma, volunteering with the college minister—for what, I don’t really remember. As we walked in together, a beautiful lady with blonde hair walked toward us.

The minister introduced us. She quickly said hello, then politely ignored me. Talked with the minister and was on her way. Little did I know I had just met my future wife.

It was like we were destined to meet. But here’s the thing: I was only at that church because of a singing scholarship that brought me to that university where the college minister was a student. My bride had only transferred to that university three months earlier because she wanted to be closer to home. I’d been at a different church where I was the youth leader until just a month before. Then a rappelling trip in late April. A whitewater rafting trip in June.

Every random piece had to fall into place exactly right.

Twenty-seven years later, we’re still here. Still talking. Still building a life together. I can’t even describe how grateful I am.

Here’s the truth: I’m 47 years old, staring down the reality that 27 more years won’t be enough time to know her, to be her friend, to do everything we still want to do together. It just isn’t long enough to love her completely.

But I’ll take every second I can get.

Why I’m Doing This Challenge

For years, I’ve worked on bettering myself in various ways—career, faith, creativity. But I’ve simultaneously neglected things that matter just as much. My physical health. My strength. My energy.

And here’s what crossed my mind this morning: I have to be here. Not just alive, but present, capable, and strong. I want as many more years as I can have. God willing, that’s a whole bunch.

We love being married. We love building our family. We love being creative together. We love working on homes together—improving things, building things, creating beauty out of work. That requires strength. Stamina. Being physically able to show up and contribute, not just watch from the sidelines because I didn’t take care of myself.

I need to be a helpmate to my wife—not a burden she has to accommodate because I let myself fall apart.

I need to be an example for my son. I want him to see his dad doing the hard thing at 47, not talking about it someday. I want him to watch me transform, so when life gets hard for him, he knows it’s possible to choose differently. To start now, not later.

I want to see my grandchildren. I want decades more with my best friend. I want to keep growing, keep achieving, keep building.

The best time to start taking care of myself? Not someday. Not when things settle down. Now.

Because 27 years from now, I want to be sitting at that same table with her, talking about all the things we built together in these next decades.

And that starts with Day 9.

Day 9 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise (Workout A) ✅ Reading ✅ Gratitude ✅ Water ✅ Calories ✅ Creative hour

Nine consecutive perfect days. For her. For my son. For the life we’re still building.

Happy anniversary, my darling. Here’s to 27 more—and I’m going to be strong enough to live every one of them well.

The best time to start is now. Not for yourself alone. For everyone counting on you to be here.

See you tomorrow for Day 10.

Day 8: Why I’m Still Walking (And Why You Should Too)

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Seven days down. One week of perfect execution.

This morning I laced up for my walk thinking about something unexpected: I never saw this coming.

When I was younger, walking was what old people did. Real exercise meant running, lifting, sweating buckets. Walking? That was just… transportation.

At 47, walking is one of my favorite parts of the day.

Not the lifting (though Workout B yesterday destroyed me in the best way). Not the yoga. The walk.

Here’s why that matters for the 7-40 Challenge: Simple works. Sustainable beats intense.

Hippocrates said it 2,000 years ago: “Walking is man’s best medicine.” He was right then. He’s right now.

Three reasons walking wins:

Fresh air. Whether it’s scorching summer or crisp winter, stepping outside and filling my lungs pulls me away from screens and routines. It resets my energy in a way indoor workouts can’t match.

Audiobook time. I’m working through “Made to Stick” while walking. Physical movement + mental input = how I learn best. Double productivity.

My brain needs motion. I’m still that energetic kid who thinks better while moving. At 47, I feel it every time—blood pumping wakes up my brain. Nietzsche nailed it: “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.”

The practical magic: Walking is low-impact. Easy on joints. No jarring bounces or overuse injuries. It strengthens your heart, aids weight management, releases endorphins that lift your mood. And it’s accessible—no gym required, no equipment needed.

Just shoes and intention.

I never thought I’d be the guy who loves his daily walk. But here I am, Day 8, proving that the best habits are often the simplest ones.

The best time to start walking? Now. Not when you’re “in better shape.” Not when the weather’s perfect. Now.

Lace up. One mile. See how you feel.

Day 8 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise (walk + more today) ✅ Reading ✅ Water, calories, gratitude ✅ Creative hour

Eight consecutive perfect days. The simple habits stack.

What’s your go-to movement? Drop a comment—let’s build a community of people actually doing the work.

See you tomorrow for Day 9.