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Episode 38: We’re Going to Be Okay

Everything feels loud right now.

Scroll for five minutes and you’d think the whole thing is unraveling. Anger sells. Extremes trend. The sharpest voices get the most attention.

But that’s not the whole story.

In this episode, Mike reflects on a recent trip to New Zealand to visit his son Cameron, the people he met there, and the powerful reminder that real life looks very different from the noise online. From black sand beaches at Piha to a packed table at Kisa in Auckland, the takeaway was simple: most people are just trying to build a good life.

This episode explores:

• Why the internet distorts reality
• Why the loud edges don’t represent the center
• How calm is a form of leadership
• Why steadiness matters more than spectacle
• And why ordinary, decent people are stronger than the noise

No preaching. No denial. Just a grounded look at why we don’t have to live in permanent panic mode.

Mike closes the episode with his song “I Refuse to Be Afraid,” a declaration of choosing courage and clarity over fear-driven living.

If you’ve felt the tension lately but don’t want to be consumed by it, this one’s for you.

We’re going to be okay.

Still here. Still trying.

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If this episode gave you something to think about, please like, follow, subscribe, and share it with three people who could use it in their lives.

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📚 https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g

Thanks for being here.
Still here. Still trying.

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Episode 37: The Difference Between Peace and Avoidance

A lot of us have learned how to get quiet. We’ve pulled back, muted the noise, stepped away from things that felt too loud or too heavy. Some of that has been necessary. Some of it has been healing.

But not all quiet means the same thing.

In this episode, Mike talks about the difference between real peace and quiet avoidance. How the two can feel identical at first. Why exhaustion and long-term pressure blur the line. And how to tell whether calm is helping you stay present or slowly pulling you out of your own life.

This conversation is about learning to rest without disappearing. About staying grounded without checking out. And about asking better questions when silence shows up and you’re not sure what it means.

The episode closes with the title track from Mike’s upcoming album, The Noise Between Heartbeats. The song lives in that pause after the noise drops, when there’s nothing left to outrun and the quiet finally speaks. It’s a breath in the middle of the set. A moment to sit with what’s still standing when everything slows down.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’ve found peace or simply gone numb, this episode will help you hear the difference.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Still Here, Still Trying.

If this episode gave you something to think about, please like, follow, subscribe, and share it with three people who could use it in their lives.

You can find more of my work — music, writing, art, and reflections — at:
🌐 mikebakerhq.com

Grab a copy of my book, The Optimist’s Way:
📚 https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g

Thanks for being here.
Still here. Still trying.

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Episode 36: What Nobody Mentions About Stability

We spend a lot of time learning how to survive chaos. We don’t spend nearly enough time learning how to live once things finally calm down.

In this episode, Mike talks about stability—why it can feel uncomfortable, why calm can feel unfamiliar, and why some people end up sabotaging good situations without realizing what they’re doing.

This conversation explores what happens when urgency fades, when life steadies, and when you’re left with space you don’t quite know how to fill. Mike shares insight into why stability can feel like loss at first, how growth continues even when it’s quiet, and why trusting good things can be harder than enduring hard ones.

If you’ve ever felt restless when life finally stopped shaking, or wondered why peace didn’t feel the way you expected it to, this episode will help you make sense of it.

The episode closes with the song “Even the Strong Break,” a reminder that strength doesn’t mean being unbreakable, and that pausing, resting, and letting yourself feel is part of staying whole.

I’m still here.

Still trying.

And if you’re listening, chances are you are too.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Still Here, Still Trying.

If this episode gave you something to think about, please like, follow, subscribe, and share it with three people who could use it in their lives.

You can find more of my work — music, writing, art, and reflections — at:
🌐 mikebakerhq.com

Grab a copy of my book, The Optimist’s Way:
📚 https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g

Thanks for being here.
Still here. Still trying.

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Episode 35: Things I’d Stop Teaching If I Was Being Honest

There’s a lot of advice we keep repeating because it sounds wise, responsible, or motivating. Some of it worked once. Some of it helped at a different time in life. And some of it quietly stops serving us long before we admit it.

In this episode, Mike takes a closer look at a few ideas he’d stop teaching if he was being honest. Not to tear anything down, and not to be contrarian, but to update the guidance based on lived experience.

This conversation covers passion, work, confidence, and grit, and offers practical filters you can actually use instead of slogans that look good but leave people stuck. It’s about learning when to push, when to pause, and how to tell the difference.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated by advice that sounds right but doesn’t quite fit anymore, this episode will help you rethink what you’re carrying and decide what’s worth keeping.

The episode closes with the song “When the World Gets Loud,” a reminder that strength doesn’t always need volume and that kindness can be a deliberate, steady choice.

Still here.
Still trying.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Still Here, Still Trying.

If this episode gave you something to think about, please like, follow, subscribe, and share it with three people who could use it in their lives.

You can find more of my work — music, writing, art, and reflections — at:
🌐 mikebakerhq.com

Grab a copy of my book, The Optimist’s Way:
📚 https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g

Thanks for being here.
Still here. Still trying.

Support the Podcast Here:

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Episode 34: The Freedom of Caring Less About the Wrong Things

In this episode, Mike talks about the quiet shift that happens when you stop caring so much about things that never actually made life better.

Approval.

Being right.

Keeping up.

Explaining yourself to people who were never going to understand you anyway.

This conversation isn’t about checking out or lowering the bar. It’s about growing up, paying attention, and realizing how much energy gets wasted managing perceptions, narratives, and expectations that don’t move anything forward.

Mike reflects on what changes when you stop auditioning for rooms you don’t need, stop replaying conversations that are already over, and stop carrying emotional weight that isn’t yours. What shows up instead is time, focus, and a quieter confidence that doesn’t need permission or applause.

This episode is honest, grounded, and a little relieving. It’s for anyone who feels stretched thin, tired of performing, or ready to live with more intention and less noise.

The episode closes with the song “Highway Ghosts,” a reminder that the past might ride along, but it doesn’t get to drive.

If you’re done explaining, done proving, or done running races you never signed up for, this one’s for you.

Still here.

Still trying.

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 34: The Freedom of Caring Less About the Wrong Things

In this episode, Mike talks about the quiet shift that happens when you stop caring so much about things that never actually made life better.

Approval.

Being right.

Keeping up.

Explaining yourself to people who were never going to understand you anyway.

This conversation isn’t about checking out or lowering the bar. It’s about growing up, paying attention, and realizing how much energy gets wasted managing perceptions, narratives, and expectations that don’t move anything forward.

Mike reflects on what changes when you stop auditioning for rooms you don’t need, stop replaying conversations that are already over, and stop carrying emotional weight that isn’t yours. What shows up instead is time, focus, and a quieter confidence that doesn’t need permission or applause.

This episode is honest, grounded, and a little relieving. It’s for anyone who feels stretched thin, tired of performing, or ready to live with more intention and less noise.

The episode closes with the song “Highway Ghosts,” a reminder that the past might ride along, but it doesn’t get to drive.

If you’re done explaining, done proving, or done running races you never signed up for, this one’s for you.

Still here.

Still trying.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Still Here, Still Trying.

If this episode gave you something to think about, please like, follow, subscribe, and share it with three people who could use it in their lives.

You can find more of my work — music, writing, art, and reflections — at:
🌐 mikebakerhq.com

Grab a copy of my book, The Optimist’s Way:
📚 https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g

Thanks for being here.
Still here. Still trying.

Support the Podcast Here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2516381/support

A year into this chapter, the tone feels louder, sharper, and more centered on ego than responsibility. This episode isn’t about politics as a debate. It’s about what this style of leadership does to us over time.

I talk honestly about exhaustion, disappointment, and the quiet ways trust erodes when chaos and self-interest become normalized. I wrestle with optimism, not as denial, but as a discipline. A choice to stay human when it would be easier to harden or check out.

This is a reflection on leadership, culture, and the question a lot of us are asking quietly.

Does this actually feel like who we want to be.

I close the episode with Written in the Stars, a song from the early days of this project, as a reminder that not everything has to be forced and not everything unfolds on our timeline.

Still here. Still trying. Still choosing humanity.

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A year into this chapter, the tone feels louder, sharper, and more centered on ego than responsibility. This episode isn’t about politics as a debate. It’s about what this style of leadership does to us over time.

I talk honestly about exhaustion, disappointment, and the quiet ways trust erodes when chaos and self-interest become normalized. I wrestle with optimism, not as denial, but as a discipline. A choice to stay human when it would be easier to harden or check out.

This is a reflection on leadership, culture, and the question a lot of us are asking quietly.

Does this actually feel like who we want to be.

I close the episode with Written in the Stars, a song from the early days of this project, as a reminder that not everything has to be forced and not everything unfolds on our timeline.

Still here. Still trying. Still choosing humanity.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Still Here, Still Trying.

If this episode gave you something to think about, please like, follow, subscribe, and share it with three people who could use it in their lives.

You can find more of my work — music, writing, art, and reflections — at:
🌐 mikebakerhq.com

Grab a copy of my book, The Optimist’s Way:
📚 https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g

Thanks for being here.
Still here. Still trying.

Support the Podcast Here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2516381/support

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 32. Who You Become in the Middle

This episode was recorded after a full week of perspective.

Turning fifty.

Time away with Kellie.

Music that demanded presence.

A surprise that reminded me how much quiet work love actually takes.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I saw a simple image about goals. It wasn’t clever. It wasn’t new. It was true.

We spend so much time chasing outcomes. Promotions. Numbers. Milestones. Finish lines. And then we’re surprised when getting there doesn’t change us the way we thought it would.

This episode is about the middle.

The part that feels repetitive.

The part nobody posts.

The part where progress looks invisible and questions start showing up quietly.

I talk about leadership when results lag behind effort.

Creative work that asks for honesty before it offers validation.

Relationships that are built through unseen consistency.

And how growth usually happens without announcing itself.

I also send you into the week with a new song, Hope’s Last Broadcast, written in response to the division, noise, and fear that feel everywhere right now. It’s a reminder that we’re not enemies, we’re the same crowd, and that choosing humanity still matters.

If you’re tired.

If you’re questioning.

If you’re wondering whether the work you’re doing is actually shaping anything.

This episode is for you.

Thanks for being here.

Still here. Still trying.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Still Here, Still Trying.

If this episode gave you something to think about, please like, follow, subscribe, and share it with three people who could use it in their lives.

You can find more of my work — music, writing, art, and reflections — at:
🌐 mikebakerhq.com

Grab a copy of my book, The Optimist’s Way:
📚 https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g

Thanks for being here.
Still here. Still trying.

Support the Podcast Here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2516381/support

Stop Making Yourself Small;

Finding Oxygen After You Leave Broken Systems

In this episode of Still Here, Still Trying, Mike sits down with longtime friend Chad Anderson for a wide-ranging conversation about identity, trauma, creativity, and what it takes to live fully after leaving systems that no longer fit.

Chad shares what it cost him to choose honesty, what it gave back over time, and why creating joy has become a deliberate act of resistance. This episode is about staying human, building safety, and refusing to shrink when the world asks you to.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Why many people survive by making themselves smaller.

• What it feels like to finally come up for oxygen.

• The real cost of choosing truth and why staying quiet costs more.

• How trauma shows up long after the system is gone.

• Why creativity helps carry stories that words alone cannot.

• The difference between community and compliance.

• How safety, joy, and boundaries work together.

• Why creating joy right now takes intention.

• What it means to still be here and still be trying.

About today’s guest

Chad Anderson is a licensed clinical social worker, writer, filmmaker, and podcast host based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He lives with his husband and their two teenage children. Chad owns and operates Healthy Conflict Counseling, where he works with individuals navigating conflict, trauma, identity, and hard conversations.

He is the host of the weekly podcast Graymalkin Lane, the author of Gay Mormon Dad (forthcoming as a graphic novel), and the producer of the documentary film Dog Valley.

Links and resources

• Healthy Conflict Counseling

• https://www.healthyconflictcounseling.com

• Graymalkin Lane podcast

  https://www.instagram.com/graymalkin_lane/

• Dog Valley documentary

  Available on Tubi, YouTube, and Amazon

  https://www.amazon.com

• Gay Mormon Dad (graphic novel coming soon)

  Updates available via Chad’s website

About the show

Still Here, Still Trying is hosted by Mike Baker. The podcast explores real life, creativity, leadership, family, and the quiet work of staying human when life does not go according to plan.

If this episode resonated:

• Follow the podcast.

• Share it with someone who needs it.

• Leave a review if you have a minute. That support keeps the work going.

Mira had the week off for this episode. She’ll be back soon.