Creating Without Elbow Grease

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“Do the difficult things when they are easy and do the great things when they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

What if “trying” doesn’t have to mean pushing harder?

I’ve been in a flow state often enough to know it exists but not so often to know how to reliably get there. Is it really possible to regularly create — to write, to connect with others, to co-author life in a way that doesn’t leave me sweaty and tired? My guest on this week’s podcast had some insight about finding flow. Even if it falls into the category of easier said than done, it’s the quietness of the approach that makes me think it’s possible

In this Life of Try episode, I talk with author and New York Insight Meditation Center co-founder Joseph Schmidt about The Torchbearer—a collection of short stories born from an unexpectedly effortless creative process. Together we explore the mindset shift from effort to openness: how letting go of the agenda can create space for insight, transformation, and a deeper, more alive way of meeting each moment.

  • Try smarter, not harder: why forcing outcomes can block creativity—and what changes when you partner with the process instead.
  • Mindset shift to “empty hands”: Joseph’s Zen chaplaincy training and the practice of entering a room (or a moment) without an agenda.
  • Personal growth through discovery: how his characters—and we as readers—find the next move by noticing what’s already here.
  • Feeling alive at the edge of the unknown: mindfulness as the place where consciousness meets what happens next.
  • Belonging as a practice: building a bond of belonging by showing up with curiosity, care, and presence.

If you’ve been working hard but feeling flat, this conversation is an invitation to loosen your grip, step back into the present, and discover a more natural flow—one where growth comes from attention, not strain. Listen in for a gentler (and often more powerful) way to create, connect, and keep beginning again.

Here’s great clip of Joseph describing the lesson he learned from a Zen monk about a powerful mindset shift:

This is a great episode if you’re craving a mindset reset, rebuilding your creative confidence, deepening a mindfulness practice, or simply want to feel more awake and engaged in your everyday life.

Here are some ways you can listen and watch this inspiring episode:

Please listen, watch, provide feedback and subscribe.

Barbara Nickless on A Voice In The Dark, Online Gaming and The Power of Story – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

In this episode of The Life of Try, host Wynne Leon talks with Wall Street Journal bestselling author Barbara Nickless about her new psychological suspense novel, A Voice in the Dark. Their conversation moves from the dark corners of online gaming and internet manipulation to the real-world vulnerabilities of teenagers, families, and people searching for belonging. Barbara shares how deep research, FBI consultants, and her own curiosity shape her fiction, especially as she writes about FBI profiler Helen Belle, criminal humanist Benedict Hoffman, addiction, trauma, and the question of what draws people toward danger.This thoughtful author interview explores how storytelling can help us understand complicated human experiences, including moral injury, PTSD, addiction, grief, law enforcement, cybercrime, and the healing power of writing. Barbara also reflects on teaching writing to military veterans and civilians, researching dangerous places and difficult subjects, and using narrative to “de-other” people we might otherwise misunderstand. Key Takeaways:→A Voice in the Dark explores the dangers young people can face in online communities, especially when vulnerable teens and young adults are targeted by manipulative influencers.→Storytelling can help us “de-other” people by taking us inside their motivations, histories, and struggles in ways that facts and news stories alone often cannot.→Curiosity is at the heart of Barbara Nickless’s writing process. Her research into online gaming, FBI investigations, addiction, trauma, and moral injury helps make her fiction vivid, compassionate, and grounded in real human experience.→Researching modern crime fiction requires balancing accuracy with readability, particularly when writing about cybercrime, AI, online manipulation, and evolving law enforcement tools.→The conversation highlights a core Life of Try theme: trying begins with curiosity, openness, and a willingness to enter unfamiliar worlds in order to understand ourselves and one another more deeply.If you love conversations about books, personal growth, curiosity, crime fiction, psychological thrillers, resilience, and what it means to keep trying, this episode offers a rich and compassionate look at the stories that help us make sense of ourselves and one another.📘 Order A Voice In the Dark: https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Benedict-Hoffman-Helen-Belle-ebook/dp/B0FTGGHSWL/🌐 Show notes and more inspiration: https://wynneleon.com🔔 Subscribe for more: Subscribe to The Life of Try for more conversations on: personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset.ABOUT MEHi, I’m Wynne Leon — host of The Life of Try, a personal growth and self-improvement podcast exploring resilience, reinvention, uncertainty, and the courage to keep trying.Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real-life stories, I share insights to help you navigate change, get unstuck, and move forward with more intention.🌍 Website: https://wynneleon.com🎥 Watch Next➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving➡️ 48: How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive➡️ How to Finally Write That Book You've Been Dreaming About | Writing Motivation
  1. Barbara Nickless on A Voice In The Dark, Online Gaming and The Power of Story
  2. Embracing What Makes You Different | Kym Gordon Moore
  3. Motive + Means = Opportunity: A Life of Try Story
  4. How Writing Helps Us Survive Chronic Illness and Loss
  5. Near Death, Deep Faith, New Life | Liza Anderson’s Extraordinary Story

Links for this episode:

The Transformation That Changes Everything transcript

The Torchbearer: and other Stories of Borderline Redemption by Joseph Schmidt on Amazon

Joseph Schmidt bio – New York Insight Meditation Center

(featured photo from Pexels)

50 thoughts on “Creating Without Elbow Grease”

  1. An interesting clip, Wynne. It sounds like some version of acceptance of the other, seeing the other, and allowing the energy that is thus created to move the outcome in a way that is satisfying. Thanks for this.

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    Liked by 3 people

      1. Yes, Wynne. One of the first things I needed to realize was that if I was working harder than a patient was, we were both in trouble!

        Liked by 1 person

  6. It’s incredible the difference in how it feels to work frantically versus with calm intention. Thanks for the great reminder, Wynne!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. A few years ago I learned to just trust my hands. I saw that they knew what they were doing, even if they hadn’t told my mind yet. Often I’d get an urge to sit down to write or to create art or pottery, and just allowed my hands to be busy and do their thing. Once it was revealed to me what was bring created, I could then get involved more intentionally with it, but I learned to always give the piece the right to lead me, and not the other way around.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I’ve seen that happen with many people. Overworking something is also a problem of not trusting the outcome. The middle part of a project can look like a hot mess and that’s when people often get discouraged and give up, then feel like a failure.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. What a beautiful conversation, Wynne. “Give everything we have to those that we meet” is a wonderful thought to start the book and to end your chat.

    As I get older, I discover that we’re in a constant state of becoming – and that movement from known into unknown can feel so scary when you’re right at edge. But being mindless of the universe’s signals and intentions – and having that conviction and curiosity to make the leap can be so powerful and rewarding.

    So interesting to think of the universe as a living thing that also seeks recognition from us tiny beings that exist within it. And how we are all seeking to belong and to forge those bonds of belonging.

    It’s been a long day and this was a lovely way to unwind and to be present in the moment.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I found this phrase, from Joseph in the interview, really worth pondering. “I have this, idea that the universe wants to be recognized.” This makes sense for anyone that feels a spiritual connection to something bigger than themselves. The universe has been around longer than any of us humans, it knows things that we couldn’t possibly imagine. All we have to do is listen…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Edward. I realized after the fact that Joseph did the same thing with our conversation as he describes in the clip. He came in without an agenda and it made for a great dialogue. I appreciate you listening. Wishing you a wonderful Easter weekend!

      Liked by 1 person

  19. This really speaks to me right now! I’ve been trying to force my kitchen renovation to go faster, but it’s just making me stressed. Your post is a great reminder to let go and trust the process. I’m going to try and bring this “empty hands” mindset to waiting for my cabinet refacers to finish their work. Maybe the kitchen will feel done when it’s ready, not when I’m trying to will it into existence. Thanks for the perspective shift

    Liked by 1 person

    1. What a great example, Jeanie! I can imagine that it’s tempting to want to push that along. I hope they finish – and that you are able to trust the process. Love your comment about the kitchen feeling done with it’s ready. So good!

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  20. Oh my, how interesting. I feel as if the flow of my life keeps changing as I age. There was an adjustment after marriage, the first child was born, going back to work after 20 years, and now after retirement, we had to recreate our flow and believe me it’s been a tad rocky in my opinion. This is a really important topic and vital at every stage of life. Hugs, C

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