“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:
- The podcast player embedded below
- Click this link to watch in a browser: The Quiet Transformation That Changes Everything
- Subscribe to The Life of Try on Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Podcasts
- Subscribing to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thelifeoftry
Please listen, watch, provide feedback and subscribe.
How To Tell Relatable Stories About Life – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.
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)
Surprised By Joy 