Tag: innovation

The Genius of Patience: Five Lessons from Thomas Edison

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“Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn

Last night, my six-year-old son, Mr. D, and I were out in our back yard at dusk. When night fell, the solar-powered string of LED lights that my friend Katie helped me string up about 4 years ago switched on. Mr. D wanted to know why some of the bulbs had water in them – a situation that has developed over time.

I’m amazed they still work. Especially after spending a couple of weeks delving into Thomas Edison and his efforts to invent the light bulb. In the time of Edison, bulbs had carbonized bamboo filaments in vacuum sealed glass. We’ve come along way in almost 150 years since his initial design but the light bulb still shines bright.

This episode of The Life of Try podcast is based on Thomas Edison and his methods to reframe progress: not as one perfect breakthrough, but as a steady practice of continuing to try. Behind the famous light bulb moment is a mindset of learning from what doesn’t work, building momentum through small improvements, and staying in motion long enough for the next step to appear.

I gleaned five practical lessons from Edison—be systematic, don’t do it alone, keep improving, apply what you learn across disciplines, and rest (yes, naps count)—plus a bonus insight on the tension between creativity and control.

  • Get unstuck by focusing on the next controllable step
  • Make progress through iteration—small wins that compound over time
  • Keep going with support, structure, and rest
  • Create more, control less

Here’s a snippet of Edison’s commitment to capture ideas:

If you’re working on a project, a habit change, or a long-shot goal, this conversation is an invitation to get unstuck by taking the next try. Here are some ways you can listen and watch this motivating episode:

Identity Before Strategy: How To Break Through Invisible Ceilings with Kevin Yoder – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

What if the reason you feel stuck isn’t a lack of discipline, strategy, or ambition—but an outdated identity you’ve outgrown? In this episode of The Life of Try, host Wynne Leon talks with Kevin Yoder, creator of Infinite U, about identity-first transformation and why lasting personal growth begins with who we believe we are becoming.Kevin brings more than two decades of experience in real estate, leadership, coaching, and personal development to a powerful conversation about self-image, paradigms, confidence ceilings, income ceilings, and the invisible patterns that keep capable people from reaching their next level. Together, Wynne and Kevin explore the question he learned from Bob Proctor—“How are your results?”—and how honest awareness can open the door to meaningful change.If you’ve ever started strong and stalled out, felt like you had “weights around your ankles,” or wondered why the next version of your life still feels just out of reach, this episode offers a hopeful, practical look at how to begin again from the inside out. Listen for insights on identity transformation, personal growth, self-concept, mindset, attitude, and building a life that reflects who you are ready to become.Key Takeaways• Lasting change begins with identity: the way we see ourselves often shapes what we believe is possible, more than strategy alone.• Invisible ceilings—around confidence, income, consistency, or growth—can point to outdated self-image patterns that are ready to be examined.• The question “How are your results?” offers a simple but powerful way to practice honesty, awareness, and intentional transformation.• Attitude becomes the bridge between belief and behavior when our thoughts, words, feelings, and actions become more aligned with who we are trying to become.🌐 Infinite U Assessment: https://infiniteuassessment.comShow 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.📌 Subscribe To YouTube Channel & Stay Updated: → https://www.youtube.com/@thelifeoftry?sub_confirmation=1ABOUT 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 NextThe Power of Looking At Your Life Through a New LensHow to Create Opportunities In Life | Motive + Means = Success MindsetHow to Tell Relatable Stories #personalgrowth #mindset #identity #selfimprovement #coaching #transformation #confidence #purpose #entrepreneurship #podcast
  1. Identity Before Strategy: How To Break Through Invisible Ceilings with Kevin Yoder
  2. The Power of Looking At Your Life Through a New Lens
  3. How To Tell Relatable Stories About Life
  4. Why Second Place Might Be Preparation, Not Failure
  5. When Your Plan Falls Apart | How to Stay Resilient and Keep Trying

Please listen, watch, provide feedback and subscribe.

Links for this episode:

From Stuck to Momentum: Thomas Edison’s Method for Progress transcript

Edison by Edmund Morris

Thomas Edison on Wikipedia

After the Super Bowl, Seahawks Coach Mike Macdonald Kept Repeating 2 Words. It’s a Lesson in How to Win on Inc.com

In-Person Meetings and AI

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“We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.” – Jean Baudrillard

For this week, I’ve actually had to leave the house to go to work. It’s made me realize how much technology has changed our lives. I’ve worked remotely for years so somehow it was lost on me how different it is to have to walk out the door every morning, until I experienced a stab of anxiety at the beginning of this week.

Especially with two kids and a dog, the number of things I had to plan for was enormous. Knowing that I can dial-in to a meeting even if any one of the three is sick is an amazing benefit. I’ve been spoiled not having to plan transportation and care outside of their schools for my three when I work from home.

But this week I’ve been attending a Microsoft conference that is here in Seattle. No surprise – but the most predominant topic is Artificial Intelligence (AI). [Is it somewhat ironic that as I started to type Art…that Word suggested Artificial Intelligence to fill in?]

Microsoft has made something like a $20 billion investment in AI. The conference was awash with examples of all the things we can do with AI. I will never claim to be a prognosticator, but as someone that’s been in the computer consulting field for 30 years, it’s interesting to puzzle through the application of this technology. All of the below is just my opinion so take it for what it’s worth.

Fine line between helpful and creepy

The most recognizable use of AI is in natural language search. We can type in or say search terms and Bing (Microsoft’s search product) will return results that are (hopefully) right on target for what you want. I question whether it’s helpful to have that abstraction from where the data comes from which makes it harder to verify the veracity of the source of the research.

And then there’s a line between helpful and creepy. The other day a search result popped up about whether to store your open cheese block in a Ziploc bag. It was something I’d recently pondered but hadn’t done any research on. It must have been just a coincidence? Either way, I refused to click on the result – it was too creepy.

Fine line between cool and useful

I was talking about AI with a Microsoft program manager that was in the booth next to me. As we talked through some of the examples, he offered “that’s there’s also a fine line between cool and useful.” All the prototypes and fun demos that have been shown, there’s a cool factor – that still leaves most people scratching their heads over the utility. No doubt humans will figure out how to leverage it but for now, it’s still an idea that is not very real-world.

We’re not getting replaced

This brings me full-circle to the start of the post and why I’ve been leaving the house every day. Because there’s no substitute for in-person relationships. Meeting others, reading body language, having collaborative conversations – there’s no short-cut for that. Even online there’s a palpable difference between a real conversation and a bot supported one.

As I’ve been away from my computer this week, there’s no AI I can set to read my favorite blogs and leave meaningful comments. Not to mention that I wouldn’t get the benefit of reading them. [Yes, this is a roundabout apology for being behind on my blog reading.] So for many reasons, I’m looking forward to staying home, sitting on my couch, and catching up.

In a timely but also ironic way, we’ve started using Otter AI to provide transcripts of our Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast. See how it does by visiting our latest podcast: Episode 44: Hot Tips for Writing about Family With Brian Hannon

(featured photo from Pexels)

Thank Goodness They Survived

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“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts

The other day I was out for breakfast with my brother, his wife and my kids. We went to my neighborhood cafe that we used to meet at every weekend before the pandemic but have only been back about a handful of times since. Greeted warmly by the staff who marveled at how big the kids have gotten, it was such a feeling of homecoming. As we left, my sister-in-law said, “Thank goodness they survived.”

I find myself saying that a lot these days about businesses that I love but imagine didn’t have an easy time weathering the pandemic. There has been much hardship but it’s also been combined with innovation. Like with the theater. As an example, my friend and colleague Jack Canfora is releasing a theatrical podcast this fall – his theater company is performing one of the plays he’s written and then releasing it in seven podcast episodes.

I had a chance to interview Jack about how he came up with this idea and that not only democratizes our access to theater but also lets us all participate and be patrons of the arts. It’s the topic of my Pointless Overthinking post this week: Adding Innovation to the Grand Theatrical Tradition

(featured photo from Pexels)