Tag: mental-health

Writing Without Fear: Lessons from the 7-40 Challenge

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Hey there, friends! I’m 33 days into the 7-40 Challenge—seven daily habits over 40 days to spark growth and transformation. I am so thankful for this challenge. It has me back in a good space practicing daily. 

One habit I’ve clung to is reading or listening to a book for at least 30 minutes every day. There have even been days where I have gotten in a couple of hours, soaking up ideas like a sponge. It’s become a welcome pause, a moment to breathe and grow. For me, this daily ritual is my way of arming myself with knowledge, clarity, and a whole lot of heart.

A Space to Ponder

This reading habit isn’t just about flipping pages or hitting play on an audiobook. It’s about carving out space to think. I’ve revisited books I read years ago, and let me tell you, it’s like meeting an old friend who’s got new stories to share. With a clearer sense of who I am now, those familiar words hit differently. It’s humbling, sometimes exhilarating, to see old lessons in a new light. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.” That’s what this practice does—it stretches me, challenges me, and pushes me to become a better version of myself.

Journaling with Courage

Today I began diving into Suleika Jaouad’s The Creative Alchemy, a book that’s both a gut-punch and an inspiration. It’s built around a 100-day journaling challenge, born from the author’s battle with a rare form of leukemia. The book is a collection of 100 essays from her community, each paired with a prompt to get you writing. One question stopped me in my tracks: What would you write if you weren’t afraid?

Whoa. That made me think. Are there topics I am staying away from because I am afraid of them? After considering for a few, I believe this would be my answer:

If fear wasn’t in the driver’s seat, I’d write about my life through the lens of lessons learned. Some parts of my story? They’re sacred, private, and mine to keep. But others—those universal moments of struggle, triumph, and the messy beauty of being human—those are meant to be shared. I want to write stories that uplift, that remind people they’re not alone. I’m inspired by Zig Ziglar, who said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” His words weren’t just about sales—they were about connection, service, and lifting others up. That’s the kind of writing I’d do: stories that resonate, that spark hope, that build bridges.

Faith, Love, and Shared Humanity

Writing without fear would mean living with intention. It would force me to be deliberate about my time, my words, and how I share my faith in God and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I’ve never been shy about being a Christian, but I’ll admit I’ve sometimes held back personal stories, worried they might make someone squirm. Here’s what I’m learning: discomfort often comes from how a story is shared. If I approach it with love, empathy, and a desire to share God’s love, the walls come down, and understanding takes root.

My goal—whether I’m writing or speaking—is to share God’s love through my story. I want to shine a light on the struggles we all face, the shared humanity that binds us. As Charles Dickens put it in A Tale of Two Cities, “We are all fellow-passengers to the grave.” If we embraced that truth—that we’re all in this together—the world would feel less divided. I believe in right and wrong, and my faith is my anchor. Sharing stories of hope, resilience, and redemption is how I’d write if fear didn’t hold me back.

Choosing Courage

This 7-40 Challenge has shown me that fear is a choice. Every day, when I carve out time to read, I’m choosing to grow. I’m choosing to challenge myself. I’m choosing to live with intention. If I can take that courage to the page, I can write the stories that matter—stories that inspire, uplift, and remind us we’re all fellow travelers on this crazy road called life.

So, here’s to writing without fear. Here’s to sharing the lessons learned. And here’s to trusting that our stories, when told with love, can light the way for others. As C.S. Lewis once said, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” Let’s start where we are. Let’s write without fear.

So, tell me—what would you write if you weren’t afraid?

Day 30 of the 7-40 Challenge: A Walk, a Stranger, and a Lesson in Gratitude

~ David Willis ~ 1 Comment

Today marks day 30 of my 7-40 Challenge—a 40-day journey where I’ve committed to practicing seven habits daily to better myself and the world around me. Ten days to go, and I’m already overflowing with gratitude. This milestone feels like a victory, not just for sticking with it but for the unexpected moments that have reshaped my perspective along the way. Today, I want to share a story from my lunch break—a simple walk that turned into a profound reminder of what it means to be thankful.

It was an unusually cool August day in Oklahoma, where triple-digit heat is the norm this time of year. The temperature hovered in the low 70s, a rare gift that made my daily half hour walk feel like a treat. I was strolling through downtown, earphones in, soaking in the fresh air and the rhythm of my steps. The walk itself is always a highlight—part exercise, part mental reset. But today, it became something more.

As I paused at a crosswalk, a voice broke through my music. “Young fella, young fella! Can I talk to you for a minute?” I turned to see an elderly man, his clothes worn and his face weathered, clearly someone who’d been living on the streets. I popped out an earphone, smiled, and said hello. He grinned back, his eyes bright despite his circumstances, and said, “Young fella, can you spare 87 cents?”

Eighty-seven cents. The specificity caught me off guard. Either this man knew exactly what he needed—down to the penny, tax included—or it was the cleverest pitch I’d ever heard. I couldn’t help but chuckle, especially since he called me “young fella” at an age when I’m starting to feel more “old fella” than “young.” I reached into my pocket, and pulled out what I had…a $5 bill. I handed it to him and said, “How about five dollars?”

His reaction was pure gold. His eyes widened in what seemed like genuine disbelief, and he broke into a wide, toothy smile. “Thank you!” he said, offering me a fist bump. “God bless!” That moment hit me like a ton of bricks. Here was a man, likely facing hardships I can’t even imagine, radiating gratitude for a simple $5 bill. If that’s not a reality check, I don’t know what is.

I wish I could’ve stayed longer, sat on that curb, and heard his story. Why 87 cents? What brought him to that corner? What was his life like? Despite his circumstances, his smile was infectious, his gratitude palpable. It made me pause and reflect on my own life. I’m not sharing this to pat myself on the back—far from it. This encounter humbled me. It reminded me that even in the face of struggle, gratitude can shine through. This man, with so little, was thankful for what I could give. That’s the posture I want to carry in my heart.

The 7-40 Challenge has been about building habits, but moments like this remind me why I’m doing it. Life is a gift. I’ve been provided for, even through tough times. I’ve worked hard, sure, but I’m blessed beyond measure—a family that is healthy and safe, a roof over my head, food on my table, a warm bed to sleep in. These are things I can so easily take for granted. Meeting this man today was a clear reminder to stay grounded, to use the talents and resources I’ve been given to better myself and the world around me.

I don’t know if that gentleman will ever read these words, but I’m grateful for him—for his smile, his gratitude, and the chance to pause and reflect on that downtown corner. As I head into day 31 of the challenge, I’m carrying his lesson with me: gratitude isn’t just for the big wins or the easy days. It’s for the small moments, the unexpected encounters, the reminders that we’re all connected.

So, I’d love to hear from you. Have you had a moment recently that made you stop and feel grateful? Share your story in the comments—I’m all ears. Day 30 is in the books, and I’m ready for tomorrow. Here’s to day 31 and the lessons it brings.

See you then.

What Do You Want and How Bad Do You Want It? The Fuel That Ignites Your Dreams

~ David Willis ~ 2 Comments

Hello there. Pause for a moment and ask yourself: What do you want, and how bad do you want it? This isn’t about fleeting wishes or goals jotted down on a whim. It’s about that deep, burning desire that jolts you awake in the morning and dances in your dreams at night. The kind of want that demands every ounce of your focus, your drive, your relentless spirit. What do you want so bad that you could become obsessed with it? Because half-hearted efforts don’t leave a legacy—they barely leave a mark. To make something real, you’ve got to dive in with everything you’ve got.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” You have to know the goal you are after. But, it’s not just about what you want; it’s about how fiercely you’re willing to chase it. Let’s unpack this through a story from my own life that still stings years later, a lesson in what happens when you don’t bring your all.

The Half-Hearted Hustle: A Wake-Up Call

Remember being a kid, sent on a mission by your parents? “Find that lost toy” or “Clean your room.” You’d poke around for a minute, call it impossible, and slink back with excuses. That’s the default for too many of us—minimal effort, maximum cop-outs. But life doesn’t reward those who give up quickly; it honors those who push through.

When I was 18, a rookie reporter for my college newspaper, I learned this the hard way. My editor tasked me with covering a speaker whose story was, in her words, interesting and story worthy. She wanted the heart of his experience—what he’d done, seen, and endured—to captivate our readers. Simple enough? Nope. Instead of diving in, I treated it like a casual outing. I brought a date to the event, chatted through the talk, and left early to get my date home. When I sauntered back to my editor with a lazy “No story there,” she looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“Are you out of your mind?” she snapped. “He was a rescue worker at the Oklahoma City bombing. Of course there’s a story—a remarkable one!”

She was right. The 1995 bombing was a national tragedy, and this man had been in the thick of it. My apathy had blinded me. Desperate to save face (and my job), I did what I should’ve done from the start: I tracked him down, got him on the phone, and asked every question I could think of.

What I heard was unforgettable, even 28 years later I can remember his voice as he told me the events. He described arriving at the chaotic scene, pulling bodies and parts of bodies from the rubble amid dust and despair. He described hope mixed with exhaustion as the work wore on. How the team’s morale crumbled when they learned it was a domestic attack, not foreign terrorism. The weight of it impacted him greatly. He couldn’t stay in his job. It drove him to attempt suicide multiple times one night. Only through his family’s prayers—especially his mother’s—did he find the strength to seek help and heal. Two years after the tragedy, he was sharing his story to inspire others.

That interview turned “no story” into the story—a raw testament to resilience. As Winston Churchill said during World War II’s darkest hours, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” That rescuer lived it, and I almost missed it because I didn’t want it bad enough.

From “No Way” to “I Made It Happen”

That screw-up was a gut check. If I’d given that assignment my full focus from the start, I wouldn’t have needed a second chance. But that’s the power of tenacity: It uncovers gold where laziness sees only dirt. When you decide what you want and pursue it with everything you’ve got, you don’t just chase a goal—you transform yourself. You go from “There’s no story” to “This is my story, and here’s how I shaped it.”

Think about your own dreams. What do you want? A thriving career? A stronger family? A passion project that lights you up? Now, how bad do you want it? Progress comes from relentless commitment, not fleeting bursts of effort.

Albert Einstein, who changed the world by wrestling with impossible problems, put it best: “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” That’s the edge—sticking with it when others walk away.

Live with Fire: Your Call to Action

I’m older now, and I’ve lived enough to know I don’t want passive, uninspired days. I want to live on purpose. With focus. With impact. I want to pour out the love of God and goodness into the world, sharing my story to lift others up. Because when you chase what you want with every fiber of your being, you don’t just achieve—you become something greater. I am still a work in progress, but thankfully I keep walking further down this road.

So, ask yourself again: What do you want, and how bad do you want it? What are you willing to sacrifice, to endure, to make it real? Answer that, and you’re already closer to turning your dreams into reality. As Nelson Mandela said after decades of fighting for freedom, “It always seems impossible until it is done.” Now let’s go write our stories—with fire.

Breaking Free: Conquering Old Habits and Savoring Success in the 7-40 Challenge

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Hey there, welcome to my corner of the internet, where I’m chronicling my wild ride through the 7-40 Challenge. For those just tuning in, this is my self-crafted quest: committing to seven key habits over 40 straight days to realign my life, smash through goals, and dial in that perfect daily rhythm. We’re at day 23, and let me tell you—it’s been a game-changer. I’ve shed 10 pounds, devoured an entire book (and I’m already a quarter through the next one), and religiously tracked my food intake for over three weeks. These wins might sound modest to some, but for me? They’re needed victories, stacking up like bricks in the foundation of a stronger, more intentional me.

Today, I want to zoom in on one habit that’s been a real breakthrough: my evolving relationship with food. But before we dive into the triumphs, let’s rewind a bit. Food isn’t just fuel for me—it’s a passion. I adore eating it, cooking it, inhaling its aromas, admiring its colors, and chatting endlessly about it. I daydream about meals, experiment with recipes, and revel in the joy it brings. Did I mention I really like food? Yeah, it’s that deep.

This love affair has roots that run way back to my childhood. There were sunny days and stormy ones, and during the tough stretches, food wasn’t always abundant. We never went hungry—there was always something—but options were slim, often boiling down to staples like Ramen or boxed mac and cheese. To this day, those trigger an instant “no thanks.” Those experiences etched a lesson into my soul: scarcity hurts. Fast-forward to now, and I’ve become a flavor explorer. Savory, sweet, American classics, Indian spices—I’ll try it all, make it from scratch, or hunt it down. Food became my playground, but also my crutch.

Here’s the raw truth: Pairing that early scarcity with my sheer delight in eating created an unhealthy loop. I’d overeat, pile my plate sky-high, or feel this nagging fear of “not enough,” even when my fridge was stocked. It’s irrational—I haven’t skipped a meal by accident in ages—but that old whisper lingers: Food equals comfort. Security. Safety. My amazing wife can vouch for the relapses; I’ve had moments where portion control went out the window. But as the saying goes, the first step to change is acknowledgment. I own it. I’m tackling it head-on. And I’m determined to forge a healthy bond with food, no ifs, ands, or buts.

As Aristotle wisely put it, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  That’s the mantra fueling my progress. 

Over the years, I’ve chipped away at this cycle, but the real magic in this challenge? A simple, liberating discovery: I can indulge in whatever I crave—as long as it fits within my daily calorie budget and macro goals. This approach hands me freedom and flexibility to enjoy those bold flavors without derailing my path. Tools like MyFitnessPal have been a lifesaver, making tracking effortless and insightful.

The key? Pinpoint the root cause, craft a straightforward plan, and build in grace for the inevitable slip-ups. Over-calories days happen—life’s not perfect—but I keep them rare, focusing on steady progress over flawless perfection. Slow and steady wins the race, right? It’s about identifying those sneaky insecurities from the past and refusing to let them steer the ship. As C.S. Lewis once said, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”  Lewis was talking about Heaven (which I agree with him on), but the same principle applies. 

And let’s talk moderation—because who better to chime in than culinary icon Julia Child? “Moderation. Small helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health.”  This mindset shift has turned food from a potential enemy into an ally, helping me savor without excess.

If my story resonates, pause and reflect: What’s anchoring you down from your dreams? Is it a lingering habit, an old insecurity popping up like an uninvited guest? What bold step can you take to face it square? For me, naming it and strategizing was the unlock. I won’t let ghosts from yesterday dictate tomorrow’s choices. 

So, here’s to progress, not perfection. Join me in the challenge—whether it’s day 1 or 23 for you. Share your hurdles in the comments; let’s inspire each other to break those cycles and step into our best selves. You’ve got this. Onward! 

Day 21 of the 740 Challenge: Grit, Authenticity, and the Drive to Transform

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Hey there, friends—welcome to Day 21 of the 740 Challenge. I hope this post finds you in a great spot today. Maybe you carved out some rest over the weekend or knocked out those tasks you’ve been meaning to tackle. As for me, I’ve been deep in the grind, chasing my seven daily goals over these 40 days. It’s been a wild ride—part adventure, part self-discovery.

Let’s get real: this journey isn’t easy. The urge to cut corners or half-effort it creeps in when things get tough. But transformation doesn’t happen by dialing it in. As Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” That’s the fire I’m holding onto. I’m not here for quick fixes—I’m here to reshape parts of my life that have been begging for change.

For some transparency (because keeping it authentic is everything), I’m a two-time cancer survivor. For the last seven years, I’ve worked hard to take care of my body. I’ve been lifting weights, building muscle like never before. But here’s the truth: I didn’t watch my eating habits closely enough, and I hit nearly 300 pounds. After my last round of chemo, I was down to 215—not a place I want to romanticize, just a reference point. My goal? Around 240 pounds, lean, muscular, and with solid cardio health. This week, I saw 285 on the scale, and while that’s progress, I’ve watched it tick back up before. It’s a wake-up call that knowing what to do isn’t enough—doing it consistently is.

I know the formula: stay disciplined with my calorie intake, be intentional with daily exercise, and hydrate like it’s my job. When I nail that combo, the scale moves the right way. It’s simple, but it takes grit. Now in my mid-40s, I’m likely stronger than I’ve ever been, thanks to years of lifting. But my body’s older, slower to recover, and my cardio needs a boost. This challenge is my reset: a deliberate blend of food, water, and movement to build myself up while getting lighter.

This isn’t just about the physical, though. I want these posts to inspire you, to spark ideas that push you forward. At the same time, I’m keeping it real about where I’m at. So many of my goals—physical, creative, professional—have been on hold for too long. I’m hungry for transformation across the board. I want to take charge of my business life, seize initiative, and make the next right choice, every single time. As the legendary Maya Angelou once said, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” That’s my focus—staying true to my journey while pushing through setbacks with unwavering determination.

Imagine this: rediscovering my creative fire, figuring out how to juggle side hustles with my day job, and building something sustainable. It’s messy, it’s uncertain, but it’s me. I’m moving forward with purpose, one step at a time. Friends, if you’re feeling that itch for change—whether it’s your health, your passion projects, or a bold career move—know you’re not alone. Confucius said it best: “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” Let’s keep grinding, stay authentic, and transform together. What’s your next right choice today? Share it in the comments—I’d love to hear.

Until tomorrow, keep pushing forward. You’ve got this.