“You were born with potential. You were born with goodness and trust. You were born with ideals and dreams. You were born with greatness. You were born with wings. You are not meant for crawling, so don’t. You have wings. Learn to use them and fly.” – Rumi
A friend of mine recently returned from two weeks of vacation in Iceland. He and his wife enjoyed a long list of fun activities: hiking, camping, eating new foods, exploring unusual terrain.
When I asked him what his favorite thing from the trip was, he quickly responded, “Releasing baby puffins.”
Apparently when these baby puffins learn to fly, they are supposed to head out to sea. But a good number of them get confused and fly into town instead.
This is a common enough occurrence that the townspeople have a process: they box up the baby puffins and take them to a particular vet. The vet checks them out to make sure they don’t have any issues. If they are good, the townspeople take the box with the baby puffin to the edge of the water and release them.
My friend and his wife were at the vet when a guy brought in ten boxes with baby puffins. Once the vet gave them the okay, my friend and his wife got to take one box to the sea. There they released the baby puffin.
As he finished his story, I felt a shiver from head to toe. It feels akin to writing to me — releasing the warm and tender things we box up. Fly – and be free!
(featured photo is 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.
“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” – Mahatma Gandhi
When I was 22-years-old, a cute boy that I had just started dating invited me on a backpacking trip on the Olympic Peninsula to visit some natural hot springs. The group that was going included another couple that I liked hanging out with because they their conversational patter was a perfect mix of smart, fun, and cool.
I hesitated because I didn’t think I was outdoorsy. Outside of organized groups, I hadn’t really camped or hiked much in my life so far. But the prospect of spending time with my date and other interesting people outweighed my reluctance. And I was rewarded with a great weekend fording streams, soaking in hot springs, and having interesting conversations by the campfire. It was enough to plant a seed that maybe I was outdoorsy. It was an important identity shift that made way for my thought seven years later when I saw Mt. Rainier in the morning sun, “I should climb that.”
And… that opened the door for me to climb not only the Pacific NW volcanoes, but also peaks in Mexico, Russia, Nepal, Italy and Peru. Thank goodness for that cute guy! Even though the relationship wasn’t a significant one in my life, the change in mentality was.
So in this episode of The Life of Try, I talk with Kevin Yoder, creator of Infinite U, about identity-first transformation and why lasting personal growth begins with who we believe we are becoming. What if the reason you feel stuck isn’t a lack of discipline, strategy, or ambition—but an outdated identity you’ve outgrown?
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, Kevin and I explore the question he learned from Bob Proctor—“How are your results?”—and how honest awareness can open the door to meaningful change.
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.
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.
Here are some other ways you can listen and watch this episode:
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.
“Relations are like electric currents. Wrong connections will give you shocks throughout your life. But the right ones light up your life. ” – unknown
I didn’t realize that I was pulling a loose thread in my life until we landed in France on our recent trip. But I teared up when I was explaining to our friends there that I felt compelled to visit them so that Miss O could know a little bit about what their son’s life was in France. I continued on to say that I believed that it would be easier for their son to come home to start middle school if at least one other friend had seen where he’d been.
Miss O and their older son had been in every class together from ages three through seven when the family moved to France. And then we saw them every summer when they’d come to visit so Mr. D got to know their younger son too.
I didn’t take me long to puzzle out my tears. When my family moved back from the Philippines to the States I was almost seven-years-old. It wasn’t long into trying to make friends at Jefferson Elementary when I heard kids teasingly jeer, “In the Philippines…” I must have started many sentences that way and it got old – for them and for me. Because the two lives were so different.
I didn’t know it was a loose thread all these years later. But I had an inexplicable certainty that I needed to take my family to France to build a bridge for these kids. If my kids could at least see a bit of where these boys had spent four years, perhaps their shift back to school in Seattle could be a bit more integrated.
The parents of these boys told me that one of their sons’ teachers in France counseled them not to talk about their French experience at all with new friends. I understand that advice but also know that we suffer a cramping of spirit when we bottle ourselves up like that.
Then we traveled on from France to our friends in England. Five years ago, this English family moved from London to our street in the States. Our kids went to school together and traveled back and forth between houses in a constant rotation. After four years of life in America it was time for them to move back. They settled into a delightful little village in Southwest England.
We had so much fun visiting our English friends a year after they left Seattle. In one especially poignant moment, I found all the kids huddled around the school yearbook we’d brought for them. The kids were so interested in seeing how everyone looked and hearing stories of what had happened since they’d left. When it was time for us to leave after two nights, there were tears on all sides. The mom of the family told her kids, “See, I told you your American friends would come visit.”
When I heard that, the tears welled up in me again. A feeling overcame me that was similar to when I see stories of long-lost friends reuniting, or blogger friends meeting in person. We are all more connected than we think. And when we honor the threads that bind us, we help complete each other’s tapestries in a beautiful way.
“During a crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams.” – Nigerian Proverb
My 10-year-old daughter has observed two things that are different in Europe – they count the ground floor as “0” and they often separate the toilet rooms from the sink rooms. But more than that, traveling has given us the chance to observe how unique people are from their language, to customs, and dress. It’s a fantastic exercise, especially for kids, in appreciating we are all different.
Books are another way to celebrate this uniqueness. So, in this inspiring episode of The Life of Try, I talk with author and educational advocate Kym Gordon Moore about her children’s book, Hennie and Her Poetry Eggs, a powerful story about courage, compassion, bullying prevention, purpose, and embracing what makes us different.
Through the story of Hennie, Kym invites children, parents, teachers, and adults to have meaningful conversations about social rejection, self-worth, empathy, literacy, and building bridges for people who may feel left out.
This conversation explores why standing out can feel vulnerable, how support from others helps us recognize our gifts, and why trying again after disappointment is part of growing into our purpose.
If you’re looking for encouragement, personal growth, children’s literature with a message, or a hopeful conversation about kindness and resilience, this episode offers a beautiful reminder that our differences can become the very thing that helps us shine.
Here are some other ways you can listen and watch this episode:
What if the key to overcoming procrastination isn’tfinishing—it’s simply starting? In this episode of The Life of Try,Wynne Leon shares a practical 10-minute strategy for beginning before you feel ready, taking imperfect action, and building momentum when a goal feels overwhelming.Explore why starting can feel so difficult, how the Zeigarnik effect may keep unfinished tasks active in your mind, and why one small first step can help you move forward with greater clarity and confidence. You’ll leave with a simple challenge: set a timer, make one imperfect move, and give yourself a clear next step.If you’re ready to stop procrastinating, get unstuck, and take action on something that matters, this episode is your invitation to begin. Then continue building momentum with How to Build Habits That Stick featuring Dr. Mike Rucker.What will you start today?
“Sometimes it takes an overwhelming breakdown to have an undeniable breakthrough.” – unknown
I think there are a few existential experiences that are so rare that we almost have an obligation to share them. Like if we’ve:
Held hands with an octopus
Skiied from the top of the world
Had a near-death experience and met Jesus
There are movies made about the first two (My Octopus Teacher (2020) and Everest North (not yet released) by Jimmy Chin). And for the third, I was exceptionally lucky to have recently had a conversation with Liza Anderson about her near-death experience on the Life of Try podcast.
Liza Anderson shares the extraordinary true story behind her book The Crossing: My Near Death Experience with Jesus. After a sudden medical emergency left her in an induced coma for weeks, she experienced what she describes as a choice between life and death—and an encounter with Jesus that transformed her understanding of suffering, healing, and purpose.
Liza tells us what happens when life strips everything away—your plans, your certainty, even your sense of who you are—and asks you to choose. We talk about near-death experiences, faith, trauma recovery, critical illness, prayer, and how to stay grounded when everything around you is swirling.
Takeaways:
You don’t have to control the outcome to choose the next step.
Some of life’s deepest lessons come through suffering, but they can reshape how we live every ordinary day.
Trying can mean returning to life one small moment at a time.
Being fully present matters more than predicting or controlling what comes next.
Sometimes courage looks less like certainty and more like choosing life again and again.
The adventure of life may be less about outcomes and more about how we show up to the moment we’re in.
Here are some other ways you can listen and watch Liza’s amazing journey:
What if the key to overcoming procrastination isn’tfinishing—it’s simply starting? In this episode of The Life of Try,Wynne Leon shares a practical 10-minute strategy for beginning before you feel ready, taking imperfect action, and building momentum when a goal feels overwhelming.Explore why starting can feel so difficult, how the Zeigarnik effect may keep unfinished tasks active in your mind, and why one small first step can help you move forward with greater clarity and confidence. You’ll leave with a simple challenge: set a timer, make one imperfect move, and give yourself a clear next step.If you’re ready to stop procrastinating, get unstuck, and take action on something that matters, this episode is your invitation to begin. Then continue building momentum with How to Build Habits That Stick featuring Dr. Mike Rucker.What will you start today?
“A heart that loves is always young.” – Greek Proverb
My kids and I attended a memorial service for a 98-year-old friend, Jean, this past weekend. There is a lot of life to honor when someone lives that long.
It’s tempting to do it by what she did: she was a mother to four children, a member of her church for more than 70 years, she was an elementary school teacher, and when she retired from teaching, chose to work at the information booth at the local mall for more than 20 years.
Or by what she loved: she loved to play bridge and to cook. She cooked for the church youth group every week for 4 years and then published a cookbook of how to feed large groups.
But what struck me most was the quality of her relationships. She made friends wherever she went. In fact, I didn’t get to know her well until she was in her 90’s. Jean made the effort to reach out to me with little things she passed along from her family to my kids. I wrote a post about her in 2021 when she gave me a copy of the cookbook she published in the 1980’s. There was a woman at the service who had been a friend of Jean’s for 94 years.
But Jean’s life wasn’t just a walk in the park. Forty years ago, one of her daughters was murdered by a stalker when she was in her late 20’s. Going through that ordeal was when Jean got to know my dad so I know she forged relationships in good times and in bad.
Here’s what I loved about going to Jean’s service. It was a reminder to me that even when life seems complicated, messy and hard, we make it through because of the relationships we build. And it’s never too late.
“It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but that you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
As you can imagine, there’s a lot of chatter going on in Seattle about the Seahawks after they won Super Bowl LX this past weekend. I heard a story the other day about head coach, Mike Macdonald. He was being interviewed and the reporter asked him something like “What’s so special about you?” Apparently, Mike just sat there silently thinking about that question and never came up with an answer. Chalk one up for Mike Macdonald’s humility.
But this week’s How To Share guest, Roger Kastner, says only about half the people he asks can name their superpower. As a podcast host and producer of the What Do You Know to Be True? podcast, Roger has a gift for teasing out people’s superpowers. He is a fantastic facilitator of meaningful conversations—inviting accomplished guests to explore the truths that shape how they lead and live.
In this episode you can see and hear his deep passion for connection, curiosity, and the power of reflective dialogue. Roger’s mission is to share the learning and practices that help people thrive, build capabilities, and unlock purpose and potential.
Roger’s theme for this season of What Do You Know To Be True? is joy. Fitting because Roger shows how good he is at fostering joy through laughter, appreciation and the act of creating.
This is a fantastic episode with a powerful guest who knows how to bring out the best in others. I know you’ll love it!
Takeaways
Heart and mind alignment is essential for personal growth.
Superpowers are connected to our purpose in life.
Curiosity and empathy are key themes in discovering our superpowers.
Creating frameworks helps individuals and teams thrive.
Connection with others enhances our ability to share our superpowers.
Joy is accessible even in challenging times.
AI can handle probabilities, but humans excel in exploring possibilities.
Sharing knowledge and experiences fosters community and growth.
So — tell me, what is your superpower?
Here’s a great clip of Roger describing the mission behind What Do You Know To Be True?
Here are some ways you can watch or listen to all of this insightful and helpful episode:
What if the key to overcoming procrastination isn’tfinishing—it’s simply starting? In this episode of The Life of Try,Wynne Leon shares a practical 10-minute strategy for beginning before you feel ready, taking imperfect action, and building momentum when a goal feels overwhelming.Explore why starting can feel so difficult, how the Zeigarnik effect may keep unfinished tasks active in your mind, and why one small first step can help you move forward with greater clarity and confidence. You’ll leave with a simple challenge: set a timer, make one imperfect move, and give yourself a clear next step.If you’re ready to stop procrastinating, get unstuck, and take action on something that matters, this episode is your invitation to begin. Then continue building momentum with How to Build Habits That Stick featuring Dr. Mike Rucker.What will you start today?
“Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid of standing still.” – Chinese Proverb
When A. Marc Ross in college, he made a deal with his dad so that he could spend a couple of summers writing. He’d spend half a day writing and half a day working around the house. By the end of the deal he realized that he wasn’t ready to match the literary giants of the time.
So he went to law school. After a successful career as an international lawyer, Marc was ready to circle back to that dream of writing. He’s now published two thrillers with two more on the way.
I love Marc’s story because it reassures me that it’s never too late to pursue our lifelong dreams. It also reminds me that our experience along the way is helpful. In his book, Attacking the Dragon, Marc’s knowledge of China gained from his work as an international lawyer is part of what makes the action and intrigue so compelling.
My co-host Vicki Atkinson and I had a fascinating conversation with Marc on the How to Share podcast about his fabulous geopolitical thriller and his journey as a writer. We celebrate the art of reinvention—exploring how accomplished professionals like Marc transform their expertise into page-turning fiction and embark on a thrilling second act as authors. We get to hear firsthand how Marc turned his lifelong dream of writing novels into reality, overcoming challenges along the way.
This episode is packed with intrigue, inspiration, and actionable insights for anyone looking to excel not just in one career, but two! Don’t miss your chance to meet Marc Ross and fall in love with Attacking the Dragon—a must-read for fans of international suspense and powerful storytelling
Takeaways:
Marc Ross’s book ‘Attacking the Dragon’ explores China’s geopolitical landscape.
The Belt and Road Initiative is a significant yet under-discussed topic.
Ross aims to portray China as a victim rather than an aggressor in his narrative.
His legal background provides a unique perspective on the thriller genre.
Character names in Chinese culture are complex but manageable for storytelling.
Ross’s writing journey reflects a long-held dream to become an author.
He emphasizes the importance of creating unique protagonists in thrillers.
The art of storytelling involves engaging readers through vivid descriptions.
Ross enjoys the process of writing and values reader feedback. His experiences as a lawyer enrich his fictional narratives.
Here’s a short clip of Marc giving the elevator pitch for this great book:
Here are some ways you can watch this compelling and inspiring episode:
“If you were waiting for a sign, this is it.” – unknown
I would never describe my father as a mystic. He was a Presbyterian pastor through and through. His theology and rituals were aligned with the institutions he served.
But my mom told me a funny story about when he decided to retire. She reports that he came home and said, “I’ve decided to retire because the clock stopped working and the stapler ran out.”
Isn’t it interesting how we interpret the signs in our life? Something happens and it resonates with what we’ve been thinking, feeling, or intuiting. And often, speaking for myself, that resonation can have great power to shift what previously seemed immoveable.
Three things I need to align with the signs in life: quiet, curiosity about new ideas and ventures, and awareness of the world around me. I’m quite sure I’ve never seen a sign when my head is down, the blinders are on, and I’m marching towards a deadline. Or maybe I have, and just failed to take it in. Maybe mystics are simply the people who open to possibility more often than not.
One of my favorite signs comes from when I was in my late 20’s. I was driving to work on a sunny Spring morning with the top down on my little VW Cabrio convertible. I’d just broken up with a boyfriend and was wondering what to do next. I took the exit for I-90 bridge over Lake Washington and as the traffic slowed, Mt. Rainier loomed over the view. I thought, “I should climb that.” It launched my amateur climbing pursuits that took me throughout the Pacific Northwest as well as Russia, Nepal, Peru, and Mexico.
Every time I see Mt. Rainier, especially from the freeway, I’m reminded of the power of signs. I get a powerful goose to put the top down, whatever my proverbial top is at the moment, and look around.
“If we did all the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” – Thomas Edison
I used to work with someone in IT consulting who had a policy of a four hour minimum. Anytime a client would ask him a question, he’d bill at least four hours. He had reasoning to back it up – that switching tasks was time consuming for him and that he wanted clients to think before contacting him or declaring everything to be an emergency.
He came from a family where his father was very successful, monetarily speaking. And my colleague has also raised sons who seem already poised for financial success.
What stands out for me about this colleague is that he had a healthy amount of self regard – more than most people that I’ve met. Speaking for myself, I was raised in a family where humility was a guiding principle. And I’m grateful that it was.
But WHAT IF we could all be audacious for just a minute? What would you say about your skills, talents, and what makes you special and unique if for a brief period of time you could see them without your humble glasses on? What would you say about yourself if you were your best cheerleader?
Would you remark on your ability to do hard things? Or the talent you have for putting others at ease? Could you commend yourself for all the skills you’ve honed with years of practice and patience? Is there any chance you would see your gifts as ones bestowed upon you by God or whomever else you believe gave you them?
AND if, for just a moment we could do that, would we step into bigger roles and bring our talents to bear for others in a way that we aren’t doing?
There is something to be said for being audacious. It doesn’t have to be only for our financial and personal success. It might mean we would use our talent to its fullest extent.
What if we could set aside our self-limiting beliefs?
