Tag: adventure

I’m Not Broke, I’m Short of Cash: There’s a Difference

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“If we can be peaceful and happy not only we, but everyone, can profit from it.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

I recently discovered the difference between being broke and being short of cash. Coming home after our recent trip to Europe, I thought I was broke. I fell for a scam in processing a travel authorization for the UK that added hundreds of dollars of processing fees. And then there was the day that I had to re-buy the train tickets for a train because we got lost and missed our scheduled one.

So I came home and thought I was broke. However, I have a hard time remembering that. Because I feel rich when:

  • A friend came by and said, “I want to hear about your trip.” And then really listened to the stories my kids and I told her.
  • My mom volunteered to do yard work to get ready for the next round of guests. It happened to rain hard during a thunder and lightning storm while she was working so she came in for a cup of tea and soup and we talked.
  • My almost seven-year-old son kicked a football at the local wading pool and it nearly missed a squirrel which did a hilarious jump. His narrative after the fact made me feel warm from the inside out because of his love for family, “I feel bad for that squirrel. Because I think it comes from a small family. Doesn’t even have cousins.”
  • My almost 11-year-old daughter brushed by me at breakfast and said “I love you, Mom. You are the best Mom.” When I asked why she was compelled to say that right then, she just smiled and shrugged and said, “Because it’s true.”

That’s just a partial list from last week. Just naming these things makes me feel blessed all over again. I learned years ago to never go grocery shopping after meditation class. When I’m filled with the abundance and inner peace that comes from cultivating my connection to God, I forget I have a budget.

And so it is in this case. Since I am self-employed and do contract work, I don’t get paid when I’m traveling. But I’m not broke. I’m just short of cash.

(featured photo from Pexels)

If my work has encouraged, inspired, or helped you try something new, consider supporting it with a small “cup of coffee” donation. Your support helps me keep creating conversations, stories, and resources that cheer people on as they do brave, meaningful work.

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram wynneleon

Please check out the The Life of Try podcast Where trying becomes the spark for personal growth, discovery, and re-invention!

Finding Calm, Gratitude, and a New Plan

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“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden

Have you noticed that some truths sink in immediately and others take some time to circle around before they land? About six months ago, I listened to a podcast featuring Angus Fletcher who is the Professor of Story Science at Ohio State University talk about planning. Then I read his book, Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know.

Here’s what I took away from how he characterized planning. When we have no plan, we are afraid (and depressed). When we have one plan, we tend to get angry because anger is fuel for making it happen the ONE way we have planned. But when we have multiple plans or ways to get something done, we are more likely to get to an outcome.

It wasn’t until I recently lived through a travel crisis that I truly understood what Professor Fletcher meant. When a plan goes wrong, how do you stay calm, resilient, and brave enough to keep trying?

In this episode of The Life of Try, I share the story of a chaotic family travel day from Paris to England—missed trains, wrong directions, tired kids, unexpected costs, and the kind of uncertainty that can make anyone want to give up.

Through this real-life story, I explore how adaptability, creative problem-solving, gratitude, and “one next step” thinking can help us recover when our best-laid plans fall apart.

Here are three takeaways that helped me:

  • One-thing at a time: Our bad travel day started on train #2 on a day when we needed five trains to get where we were going. I couldn’t fix the whole route at once so I was forced to just handle one step of the journey at a time.
  • Regrouping: There is a Five Guys Burger at the Paris train station. No kidding, I think it saved my life – or at least my sanity.
  • Gratitude: Counting all the days and things that had gone right for our trip helped put in perspective the day that went wrong.

Inspired by Professor Fletcher’s work on resilience and alternative plans, this episode is for anyone navigating change, setbacks, anxiety, mishaps, or the messy middle of trying something new.

Listen in for an honest reminder that trying does not require certainty—it only asks for movement, one breath and one new plan at a time.

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

Links for this episode:

When Plans Fall Apart Transcript

 Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know by Angus Fletcher on Amazon

🎥 Other episodes you might enjoy

➡️ How to Create Opportunities in Life | Motive + Means = Success Mindset

➡️ Encouraging Effort, Not Results | How to Build Resilience and Confidence

➡️ How to Celebrate Small Wins | Tiny Habits, Resilience & Personal Growth

(featured photo from Pexels)

Taking the First Step

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“For some things we never feel ready.” – Moana 2

My kids and I watched Moana 2 this week when we were in Hawaii. It felt like another way to weave in the Island culture. But it turned into something more when I heard the quote above. Moana is getting ready for an expedition and her mom says to her, “For some things we never feel ready.”

That line hit me right in the heart. I always want to feel ready – and never do. My best adventures come from when I do it anyway. Like this summer as my kids and I travel from Seattle to Hawaii and then on to visit friends in Amsterdam, Paris and England. I’ve learned so much. Mostly about how not to get frozen in fear but instead have faith that I can follow the steps in front of me one at a time.

So in this episode of The Life of Try, I share the story about turning a long-held dream of visiting friends in France into a real-life adventure through courage, creativity, and community support. What began as an expensive and seemingly impossible trip became an opportunity to rent out my home, ask for help, and take the next step before the whole path was clear.

This episode explores what it means to stop waiting for perfect timing, listen to the quiet tug of what matters, and move forward even when life feels uncertain. Through stories about Airbnb, travel logistics, helpful neighbors, pet care, and unexpected solutions, I reflect on the powerful formula: Motive + Means = Opportunity.

Key Takeaways

  • Don’t wait for easy—move because it matters. The right time may never arrive, but meaningful goals often begin with one brave first step.
  • Pay attention to the sparks. A casual comment, a book passage, a flyer, or someone else’s story can become part of the solution once you start moving.
  • Say the dream out loud. People can’t support a goal they don’t know about, so communicate what you’re trying to do and be willing to accept help.
  • Use the formula: Motive + Means = Opportunity. When your why meets the resources, people, and ideas already around you, new possibilities begin to unfold.
  • Take the next step, not the whole staircase. You don’t need to solve every problem in advance; you only need to meet the next real step in front of you.

If you’re looking for encouragement to get unstuck, try something new, pursue a meaningful goal, or find courage in the messy middle, this episode offers inspiration, practical wisdom, and a reminder that you don’t need to see the whole staircase to begin.

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

How To Tell Relatable Stories About Life – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

What makes a story truly relatable? In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon explores how the smallest moments in life can become the most powerful stories — from a beloved Seattle raccoon named Jimothy to a little boy celebrating soccer goals with his grandmother. Through humor, heart, and the idea of narrative transportation, this episode looks at why specific, human stories help us feel seen, connected, and inspired to keep trying.If you’ve ever wondered how to tell better stories about everyday life, how to make your experiences more meaningful, or why small moments can carry big emotional truth, this episode is for you.Key takeaways:• Relatable stories often begin with small, specific moments rather than big life lessons.• Details help listeners see, feel, and remember a story.• Everyday stories can reveal courage, connection, confidence, and support.• The most powerful stories do not need to be perfect — they need to be honest and human.• Living The Life of Try means celebrating small wins, showing up for each other, and trying again from wherever we are.🔔 Subscribe to The Life of Try for weekly conversations about resilience, courage, creativity, reinvention, mindset, and living with intention.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➡️ How to Overcome Burnout & Build an Upward Spiral of Growth, Fun & Resilience➡️ Near-Death Experience with Jesus | Liza Anderson on Faith, Healing and Recovery➡️ How to Embrace What Makes You Different | Finding Your Purpose with Kym Gordon Moore
  1. How To Tell Relatable Stories About Life
  2. Why Second Place Might Be Preparation, Not Failure
  3. When Your Plan Falls Apart | How to Stay Resilient and Keep Trying
  4. Barbara Nickless on A Voice In The Dark, Online Gaming and The Power of Story
  5. Embracing What Makes You Different | Kym Gordon Moore

Links for this Episode:

Motive + Means = Opportunity transcript

The Fun Habit by Mike Rucker, PhD

Other Episodes you Might Enjoy:

How to Let Go of Expectations & Keep Trying | Personal Growth Mindset

How to Find and Share Your Unique Superpower | Roger Kastner on Purpose & Personal Growth

⁠How to Reclaim Fun in Adult Life | Mike Rucker, PhD, on Joy, Burnout and the Fun Habit⁠

Activity Bundling – The Fun of Cleaning Up

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“You can’t compete with someone who is having fun.” – unknown

Up until last week I had cobwebs in my kitchen. They were higher than I could reach without a ladder or tool. I’d notice them but always on my way to getting something else done so they persisted.

It was the same with rehanging the hooks in the hallway that pulled away from the wall, the fascia board in my bathroom that came off when the kids climbed on the counter one too many times, peeling off the stickers Mr D applied to the cabinets when he was three-years-old, replacing two of the six light bulbs in the bathroom that used non-standard light bulbs, and on and on.

Because we rented out our house as an AirBnB, we’ve been chipping away at this list of little projects that I constantly noticed but never got done. Our first booking is in mid-June.

The whole project started because we have friends that have lived in France for three years. We wanted to visit them before they move in August. But every time I went to book the airfare this spring, the price jumped because of oil prices and I couldn’t afford them.

I’d been entertaining the idea of listing my house on AirBnB during the World Cup games here in Seattle but it seemed like so much work. But then I read The Fun Habit by Mike Rucker, PhD and his concept of activity bundling brought it all together for me. By combining the adventure of getting to see our friends in Europe with the work of getting the house ready, we could make the whole thing fun. [If you haven’t yet listened to the podcast with Mike, I found our conversation to be as inspiring as his book.]

I figured it was worth a try. Even if we didn’t get any bookings, at least we’d get a fixed-up house.

But then we did get bookings. Now I’ve booked our tickets because we have to be gone and we are madly finishing all these little projects. Michelle from the BoomerEcoCrusader blog is 100% right – decluttering feels great. Mr. D wants to know why we go to the donation center every week with a car loads of clothes, toys and books. Because we’ve had all that stuff pile up too much over the years.

Every night I fall into bed exhausted. But I also feel lighter. Like all those little projects were weighing me down in a way that I didn’t even realize. We’re earning this adventure one step at a time – with the bonus of coming home to a house that has all (or most) of the little things done.

(featured photo is one of our bedrooms after an extensive decluttering!)

Quote is from EnlightenedMind622

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

Please check out the The Life of Try podcast Where trying becomes the spark for personal growth, discovery, and re-invention!

How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive

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“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

When my daughter was two-and-a-half, I installed a seat on the back of my bike. I strapped her in and we pedaled around our neighborhood. She yelled, “this is fantastic!”

A pure jolt of energy and vitality shot threw me. For me, it was such a good example of the fullness of life that surges when we embrace the freedom that comes with getting out on two wheels. As a bonus, it reminded me of how easy it is to get stuck in the humdrum of life. And the cure is just an adventure (big or small) away.

So in this episode of The Life of Try podcast, I talk with tech entrepreneur and author Michael Yang about his memoir Coming Alive on the Ride and the way motorcycle travel became both a literal journey and a powerful metaphor for personal growth. Michael shares how stepping outside your familiar environment can help you hear “life’s invitation” to dream, venture, and rediscover what makes you feel fully awake.

Together we explore resilience through the Korean concept of han—the accumulated weight of difficult circumstances—and how setbacks can become fuel for perseverance. Michael reflects on immigrating from Korea at 14, building a life through gratitude and hard work, and learning (again and again) that rejection doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

From riding thousands of miles with a lifelong friend to a memorable run-in with Steve Jobs at Macy’s in 1982, Michael’s stories remind us that courage grows through companionship and curiosity. We also discuss the Korean guiding philosophy of Hongik—living in a way that benefits all humankind—and how our bravest tries can ripple outward in ways we may not expect.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Why “accepting the invitation” is simple—but the road rarely runs straight
  • Han, perseverance, and turning setbacks into strength
  • The immigrant mindset: gratitude, effort, and going for opportunity
  • Friendship as a confidence builder—on the road and in life
  • Curiosity, rejection, and holding onto a vision (plus the Steve Jobs story)
  • Hongik: living for the wider benefit and making a positive dent in the world

Here’s a small taste of Michael’s brave and bold reminder that saying “yes” to adventure often brings out our best selves:

Whether you’re craving a literal road trip or a fresh start at home, this conversation will nudge you toward your next brave yes.

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

How To Tell Relatable Stories About Life – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

What makes a story truly relatable? In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon explores how the smallest moments in life can become the most powerful stories — from a beloved Seattle raccoon named Jimothy to a little boy celebrating soccer goals with his grandmother. Through humor, heart, and the idea of narrative transportation, this episode looks at why specific, human stories help us feel seen, connected, and inspired to keep trying.If you’ve ever wondered how to tell better stories about everyday life, how to make your experiences more meaningful, or why small moments can carry big emotional truth, this episode is for you.Key takeaways:• Relatable stories often begin with small, specific moments rather than big life lessons.• Details help listeners see, feel, and remember a story.• Everyday stories can reveal courage, connection, confidence, and support.• The most powerful stories do not need to be perfect — they need to be honest and human.• Living The Life of Try means celebrating small wins, showing up for each other, and trying again from wherever we are.🔔 Subscribe to The Life of Try for weekly conversations about resilience, courage, creativity, reinvention, mindset, and living with intention.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➡️ How to Overcome Burnout & Build an Upward Spiral of Growth, Fun & Resilience➡️ Near-Death Experience with Jesus | Liza Anderson on Faith, Healing and Recovery➡️ How to Embrace What Makes You Different | Finding Your Purpose with Kym Gordon Moore
  1. How To Tell Relatable Stories About Life
  2. Why Second Place Might Be Preparation, Not Failure
  3. When Your Plan Falls Apart | How to Stay Resilient and Keep Trying
  4. Barbara Nickless on A Voice In The Dark, Online Gaming and The Power of Story
  5. Embracing What Makes You Different | Kym Gordon Moore

Links for this episode:

48-How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience, and Coming Alive transcript

Michael Yang’s website

Coming Alive on the Ride at Barnes & Noble and Amazon

The Life of Try is a personal growth and self‑help podcast about getting unstuck, navigating uncertainty, and choosing to try—even when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, or not your idea.

Hosted by Wynne Leon, the show explores how real growth, reinvention, and discovery often begin not with confidence or clarity—but with a single attempt. Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real‑world case studies, each episode examines what it looks like to keep going when doubt shows up, plans fall apart, or life forces a change you didn’t ask for.

This podcast is for anyone who:

  • Feels stuck or uncertain about what’s next
  • Is navigating change, burnout, or reinvention
  • Wants to live more intentionally without pretending growth is easy
  • Believes progress starts by trying—again and again

The Life of Try isn’t about hustle or perfection. It’s about learning as you go, surfacing what matters, and sharing what you discover along the way.

If you’re ready to surf the uncertainty, outlast the doubts, and step into your own try‑cycle, you’re in the right place.

(featured photo from Michael Yang — more incredible photos in his book and on his website!)

Preparing to Have Fun

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“It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” – Paul “Bear” Bryant

I wasn’t a particularly athletic or outdoorsy kid. It wasn’t until my late 20’s that the climbing bug bit me. I was driving my car to work. I came around a corner, saw Mt. Rainier dominating the skyline and thought, “I should climb that.” From there climbing became not only one of my passions but also in many ways my metaphor for tackling the challenges of life.

Summits, blisters, carrying a pack, one step at a time, working as a rope team, objective versus subjective dangers – all of it gave me such great perspective on life.

Give me a pebble in my shoe and I’ll turn it into an essay about self-care. I’ve failed to take the time to stop to get rid of something little before it gets big enough times to have a lot to say about that lesson.

All of this to say that I came to hiking and climbing mountains as an adult. So when I proposed to my kids in mid-December that we climb Tiger Mountain on New Years Day and they enthusiastically said they wanted to, I had to think carefully about how to make it a good experience for them.

Go ahead and groan now because here comes the point cloaked in a climbing story. The first time that I tried to climb Mt. Rainier, it hurt like hell. We made it to our base camp at 10,000 feet and then a storm came in. We couldn’t leave for our summit bid at midnight as planned because it was still snowing so at 6am, the lead guide came in and said, “Whoever wants to try for the top can go ahead and gear up. But we’ll have to go twice as fast as our normal pace to get this done in half the time.”

My friends and I made it 11,000 feet before dropping out. Only 3 out of the 24 climbers made it to the top that day.

And I learned that the better shape you are in, the more fun you’ll have climbing. There are two levels of readiness – the first is to get yourself up (and down) a mountain. The second is to train enough to climb the mountain AND have some more in the tank in case you need to do a little more. It’s more likely to be fun if you’ve trained to the second level.

This applies to other things as well. Like getting ready for a presentation. The first level accounts for doing the preparation of putting together the slide deck. The second is doing that, practicing the presentation out loud, preparing the Q&A, and doing it well enough in advance to have a cup of tea to calm the nerves before starting. I’ve done that both ways as well and the second one is way more fun.

Circling back to inviting my kids along for a hike up Tiger Mountain, I wanted them not only to be able to do it but also to have fun. That meant that we all had to do the work to train to that second level. Working out on the stairs in our home, going to the Capital Hill stairs to train, walking the trail at Discovery Park, doing a pre-NY day hike up Little Mt. Si – I tried to vary it and make it fun. We had some bad moments along with the good but ten-year-old Miss O and six-year-old Mr. D were pretty good sports about it all.

I told my friend, Bill, that we’d done the hike and he sent me the Bear Bryant quote for this post. It matches what I’ve experienced. There are a lot of things we can white knuckle and get through. Having fun doing it requires some preparation.

(featured photo is the kids and I on a training hike)

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

Please check out the How to Share podcast, a podcast celebrates the art of teaching, learning, giving, and growing!

The Rope Team

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“Sometimes life is too hard to be alone, and sometimes life is too good to be alone.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

When I was climbing mountains, I noticed a funny thing when we roped up on the higher slopes of a mountain. We transformed from being individual hikers to becoming a team. The physical manifestation made a psychological difference.

Fortunately, I’ve never had to arrest the fall of someone else while on a rope team. But I have willingly climbed into a crevasse. It made me immensely grateful for the people above holding on to the rope.

A similar team phenomenon happened to me and my kids a couple of weeks ago when we were on vacation.

It was perfectly smooth when the kids and I decided to go paddleboarding after dinner. But by the time we got our paddleboards into the water, it was starting to blow again.

We’d been paddling every day for ten days to get the feel for the tides and current. At the beginning of the vacation, six-year-old Mr. D was paddling with me riding on the back of his board. Once he’d gotten proficient enough with his strokes, he graduated to be on his own.

So Mr D was on his own paddleboard. Ten-year-old Miss O had decided she just wanted to ride along on mine. On this night, Mr. D wanted to go all the way down the bay to the pirate flag, a notable marker about a mile down the beach from where we launched.

When we were about halfway there, the wind was present but not too much of a factor. We held a family meeting to make sure we wanted to continue. Mr. D had looked at that flag for 10 days and was determined to get there.

We celebrated momentarily when we reached the pirate flag. Then Mr. D said he was tired and just wanted to rest. At nearly the same moment, the wind whipped up and started pushing us farther away from home.

I said aloud, mostly for Miss O’s benefit, “Please, God, help us.” We weren’t in immediate danger but it was going to be a hard paddle back. At any point, we could have paddled 20 yards to the to the beach and walked back. It would have been a slog pulling the boards but it was a viable option.

Miss O got philosophical about how we ask God for help. We weren’t asking for it to be easy – just for help in any form. As it was, Miss O volunteered to get on Mr. D’s board to both give it more weight and to paddle.

Even with the two of them, they were being pushed backwards by wind. So I attached my leash to their board and we paddled back as a team. I paddled on my board, Miss O and Mr. D took turns paddling on theirs. Roped together, we slowly made our way home.

The overall feeling when we hit the beach? Gratitude. Thank God Miss O had opted to ride along and had fresh arms. Thank God she made the transfer from one board to another without mishap. Thank God for making us a team.

Because that was what stuck with us. Just like with climbing, roping together turned paddling into a team building exercise -and it worked. There are so many ways we are buffeted by the winds of life. A team can make all the difference.

(featured photo is mine)

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

I host the How to Share podcast, a podcast about collaboration – in our families, friendships, at work and in the world.

I also co-host the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast, an author, creator and storytelling podcast with the amazing Vicki Atkinson.

And for anyone curious about the inside of a crevasse, here’s what it looks like:

The Difference Between Want and Need

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“Recognize what is simple. Keep what is essential.” – Lao Tzu

Yesterday morning, our first morning after returning from our road trip, I looked around the house and had a good laugh at the evidence of our settling in. I’d relished being home by sitting on my meditation cushion with all my meditation books around me. Five-year-old Mr. D played with all the sports equipment. And nine-year-old Miss O had gathered up all the materials and made slime.

It’s a defining act to travel. We pare down to essentials so that we can go on adventures. It forces us to know what’s vital to our health and sanity and pack accordingly. I’ve seen climbers who cut the pages out of a book because reading is important to them, but they don’t want to carry the whole weight.

Of course for our cushy road trip visiting friends who took great care of us, it’s not nearly as stark. But still, I couldn’t bring all my meditation books, D had to pare down to only some baseball gear, and Miss O could only bring a couple of stuffies.

But I love the way we better appreciate the luxury of all of our comfort when we come home. It feels as if part of traveling is helping us know what is essential for peace of mind wherever we go. We’ve come home a little wiser about the difference between what we want and what we need. Which is an important thing to know.

(featured photo from Pexels)

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

I host the How to Share podcast, a podcast about collaboration – in our families, friendships, at work and in the world.

I also co-host the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast, an author, creator and storytelling podcast with the amazing Vicki Atkinson.

Living Life Fully

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“Some pursue happiness, others create it.” – unknown

Writing a going away card for our neighbors that are moving back to England forced me to put words to what makes them so special. When they moved here three years ago and their kids were 5, 7, and 9 years old, what was most noticeable were their charming accents.

But their charm ran a lot deeper than that. They came to Seattle with a spirit of adventure. The dad’s job allows him to work anywhere in the world. I heard the mom describe their decision making process of looking at the whole globe and choosing Seattle. The water, the mountains, the green drew them in.

So luckily they landed in our neighborhood – right on our street! I met the kids when I was helping out with school picture day as I escorted anyone that was new to the school or out sick on regular picture day down to the photographers. In the process I met these three delightful children who were verbosely happy and excited to be here.

But here’s what was so inspiring about them. They weren’t just happy and adventurous people when they landed. They maintained it for the three years they lived here and by doing so they enraptured our whole community.

I’d see them after a break and they’d have taken a road trip down through Oregon, California, Nevada and back up through Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho. The mom would joke that they’d rolled in at 11pm the night before school started again so she wasn’t going to win any Best Mum awards for that.

They did things like climbing to Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier, and spending one holiday at a dude ranch. One holiday they went to Las Vegas and let each of the kids pick a show to see for their night. Then they spent the rest of their time exploring the wilderness near Red Rocks.

It was like without the ruts of having lived in the area long enough to know their favorites, they were free to bounce around and try everything. And the same went for friendship. Not knowing anyone meant that they were open to meeting everyone.

The Buddhists and Stoics talk about contemplating our demise as a way to live more fully. It strikes me that my neighbors exemplified an aspect of this. They likely knew they’d return to England at some point so they lived this adventure to the fullest while they were here.

Here’s what I finally landed on for their going away card. This family with their adventurous, happy and authentic hearts was a gift to us and our community. They reminded us how many wonderful places, experiences and people are around when you are willing to look. And because openness translates to any language, a blessing wherever they go.

May we all be.

(featured photo is mine)

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

I co-host a author, creator and storytelling podcast with the amazing Vicki Atkinson. To tune in, search for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music or Pocketcasts (and subscribe) or click here. Or the YouTube channel features videos of our interviews. Please subscribe!

My other projects include work as a CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer), speaking about collaboration and AI through the Chicago Writer’s Association, and my book about my journey to find what fueled my dad’s indelible spark and twinkle can be found on Amazon: Finding My Father’s Faith.

My Go-To Metaphor

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“One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art in conducting oneself in lower regions by memory of what one has seen higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.” – Rene Daumal

This was originally posted on another blog on 7/19/2023 and I’m republishing here to consolidate. Heads up – you may have already read this.

I recently had one of those weeks. You know the kind I mean? The ones where you have to dig extra deep to stay focused and get everything done but there’s a payoff at the end? Like the week before vacation where you have to get your work projects in order, home projects in order, buy extra food for the cat sitter, set the watering system, and pack all the while still feeding, watering, and caring for yourself and your family.

So, during this particular week I kept coming back to my go-to metaphor for life: mountain climbing. That’s the one that sticks for me even though I haven’t climbed a proper mountain in ten years.

One step at a time: For any mountain that I’ve climbed, there is a moment in the parking lot that I look up at the summit, or what I can see of it from the base, and doubt that I have any chance of reaching that point in two or three days time. The mountain looks massive and my stride looks incomparably small. But seeing the task ahead of me, I shoulder my pack, and start one step at a time.

Rest breaks: The first time I climbed a mountain it was with a guide named Jason. For every hour we climbed, we took a 10 minute rest break and he would lie down on the breaks. He had a simple philosophy: Why stand when you can sit and why sit when you can lie down? He was a master of not only making sure we stopped to care for ourselves, but also capitalizing on that time.

Team work: On the higher reaches of most mountains we rope up in teams of five or so, with about 30 feet of rope between each climber so that if someone falls, the rest of the team can dig into the snow with their ice axes. This method either keeps them from falling very far, or serves an anchor to pull the climber out if they’ve fallen into a crevasse. Is there a better metaphor for remembering that others are there to help us?

Self-care tricks: When you stop to rest, especially during the pre-dawn hours, the sweat instantly freezes on your skin and you get really cold, really quick. So the trick is to have your parka handy. And here’s the key, you load your parka pockets with yummy snacks so that when you put it on, it’s like one-stop shopping. By yummy snacks, I mean trail mix with candy mixed in or your favorite nuts, not protein bars that are going to look, feel and chew like leather. Because when you’re so incredibly tired that feeding yourself feels like a chore, it has to be appetizing and handy.

Set a turn-around time: The idea of a turn-around time makes me think of the guide Rob Hall who died on Everest in 1996. He was so focused on getting his client to the top that he ignored the time he had told his team they would turn-around no matter whether they’d summitted or not. While the consequences are usually not nearly as dire, there is often a similar limit in life, whether it be bedtime or the time you have to leave for the airport. There’s a moment where you just have to stop what you are doing and call it good.

The slide down: One of my favorite mountains to climb is Mt. Adams in Washington State. We leave our camp in the middle of the night to head for the summit. About 20 minutes out of camp there’s a 50-degree slope that takes hours to tackle. But what takes about five hours to climb only takes 45 minutes to slide down on our butts for one of the best payoffs ever.

So that’s my metaphor for life – climbing. I haven’t even touched on false summits, the rest step, and the pressure breath. When I’m tackling something hard, it works for me to envision the components that will get me through: put one step in front of the other, take regular rest breaks, rely on my teammates, make it easy to take care of oneself when things are hard, set a limit for when you have to stop and then enjoy the payoff.

What’s your go-to metaphor?

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

I co-host a storytelling podcast featuring authors and artists with the amazing Vicki Atkinson. To tune in, search for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music or Pocketcasts (and subscribe) or click here. Or the YouTube channel features videos of our interviews. Please subscribe!

My other projects include work as a CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer), speaking about creativity and AI through the Chicago Writer’s Association, and my book about my journey to find what fueled my dad’s indelible spark and twinkle can be found on Amazon: Finding My Father’s Faith.