The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

Wynne Leon
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Biweekly

What happens when trying matters more than getting it right? The Life of Try is a personal growth and self-help podcast about getting unstuck, navigating uncertainty, and choosing to try—especially when it’s uncomfortable or not your idea. Hosted by Wynne Leon, episode alternate between interviews and real-world stories to explore reinvention, resilience, and what it takes to keep going when plans fall apart. If you’re ready to surf the uncertainty and start your try-cycle, you’re in the right place. The Life of Try isn’t about hustle or perfection. It’s about learning as you go.

  1. 5d ago

    Creating Lift: Leadership, Mentorship and the Courage to Keep Growing

    What does it take to create “lift” in our work, leadership, creativity, and personal growth? In this episode of The Life of Try, host Wynne Leon talks with Bruce Dorey, PhD, mechanical engineer, coach, and author of Lift and A Whole New Way to Work, about how we learn, lead, mentor, and keep honing our craft in a rapidly changing world.Bruce shares why leadership, like aerodynamic lift, doesn’t exist inside one person alone—it happens at the intersection of a person and their environment. Together, Wynne and Bruce explore the importance of mentorship, craftsmanship, and passing down hard-won wisdom from one generation to the next. They discuss why modern workplaces often lose the beauty of the master-apprentice model, and how reclaiming that spirit can help us become better leaders, teachers, collaborators, and human beings.The conversation also dives into the role of AI, augmented reality, virtual reality, and immersive technology in productivity, creativity, flow, and resilience. Bruce explains how tools like AI can help us capture tribal knowledge, reflect on our work, build better habits, and continue improving our craft without needing a formal guild or large support system. He also shares how VR can support rest, reset, awe, play, focus, and a deeper sense of connection.From the Miracle on the Hudson to mountain climbing, from craftsmanship to the gig economy, this episode is a thoughtful conversation about leadership development, personal growth, mentorship, technology, awe, and the courage to keep trying.If you’re interested in how to become a better mentor, build resilience, use technology more intentionally, find flow, overcome burnout, or create more meaning in your work, this episode offers practical inspiration and a new way to think about growth. 🔔 Subscribe to The Life of Try on YouTube for more conversations on: personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset. ABOUT ME Hi, 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 ➡️ Brand Strategy for Humans with Nancy Martira➡️ Identity Before Strategy: How to Break Through Invisible Ceilings with Kevin Yoder ➡️ How to Embrace What Makes You Different | Finding Your Purpose with Kym Gordon Moore 🔗 CONNECT WITH ME: • Website:→ https://wynneleon.com/ • Instagram:→ https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/ • Facebook:→ https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/ • Amazon: → https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B002IKWX14

  2. Aug 19

    Brand Strategy for Humans with Nancy Martira

    In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon talks with brand strategist Nancy Martira of Clew Strategy about how to market yourself, promote your work, and build a personal brand without losing your humanity. Nancy helps expert-led businesses, authors, job seekers, and knowledge-based professionals find what makes them impossible to ignore. Together, Wynne and Nancy explore the difference between brand and reputation, the “say-do gap” between what we claim and how people experience us, and why authentic personal branding begins with believing you have something of real value to offer. This conversation is especially helpful for writers, creators, entrepreneurs, and professionals who feel uncomfortable with self-promotion. Nancy offers a practical and compassionate reframe: instead of trying to be everywhere or shouting into every algorithm, go where you’re wanted. Find the people who are already looking for what you have to give. Wynne and Nancy also talk about finding your unique value proposition, identifying your “iconic space,” using storytelling in book marketing and job searches, and navigating AI tools without sacrificing your voice, ethics, or originality. Nancy’s approach to brand strategy is deeply human, clear, and encouraging — perfect for anyone trying to become more visible while staying true to themselves. If you’ve ever wondered how to market a book, promote your business, refresh your LinkedIn profile, stand out in a crowded job market, or build a personal brand that feels authentic, this episode will help you think more clearly about reputation, positioning, storytelling, and the courage to be seen. Key Takeaways • Marketing works better when you go where you’re wanted. Instead of trying to be everywhere, focus on the audiences already looking for what you offer—readers, clients, employers, or communities who are most likely to value your work. • Find your iconic space. The goal isn’t just to list credentials or follow a formula. It’s to discover the unique value, story, and perspective that only you can bring. • Use AI as a tool, not a substitute for voice. Technology can help with SEO, titles, and tactics, but the strategy, values, and humanity behind your work need to come from you. 🌐 Nancy Martira at Clew Strategy: https://www.clewstrategy.com/ Show notes and more inspiration: https://wynneleon.com🔔 Subscribe to The Life of Try for more conversations on: personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset. 📌 Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel & Stay Updated: ABOUT ME Hi, 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 Identity Before Strategy: How to Break Through Invisible Ceilings with Kevin Yoder The Power of Looking At Your Life Through a New Lens How to Tell Relatable Stories

  3. Aug 12

    Identity Before Strategy: How To Break Through Invisible Ceilings with Kevin Yoder

    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.com Show 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=1 ABOUT ME Hi, 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 The Power of Looking At Your Life Through a New Lens How to Create Opportunities In Life | Motive + Means = Success Mindset How to Tell Relatable Stories #personalgrowth #mindset #identity #selfimprovement #coaching #transformation #confidence #purpose #entrepreneurship #podcast

  4. Aug 5

    The Power of Looking At Your Life Through a New Lens

    How do the stories we inherit from our families shape who we become—and how can we rewrite those stories with more compassion, courage, and purpose?In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon talks with Jennifer Griffith, author of Both Sides of Then and host of the podcast About Your Mother, about inherited family stories, hidden shame, resilience, motherhood, memoir writing, and the healing power of bringing secrets into the light.Jennifer shares how learning her mother’s story changed the way she understood her own identity, why family history can influence the way we parent and see ourselves, and how her LENS framework helps people revisit old narratives, look at them from a new perspective, and use those stories for good.This thoughtful conversation explores family secrets, legacy, forgiveness, generational stories, personal growth, writing a memoir, and what it means to keep trying when a story is still unfolding.Key Takeaways:- We all inherit stories—and they shape how we see ourselves.Jennifer reminds us that family history, secrets, wounds, and even everyday phrases from our parents can quietly influence our identity, choices, and relationships.- Seeing our parents as people can create compassion and clarity.When we understand the experiences, pain, and resilience that shaped our parents, we can better understand ourselves—and begin to loosen the grip of old assumptions.- Shame loses power when it is brought into the light.Family secrets can create distance, but honest storytelling—shared with care and appropriate boundaries—can create healing, connection, and freedom.- A new lens can help us rewrite old narratives.Jennifer’s LENS framework encourages us to listen to the stories we repeat, engage with them, narrate them from multiple perspectives, and step out of them so we can use them for good.- Trying again often means slowing down and letting the work become ready.- Jennifer’s story about being told “you’re not ready” became a powerful lesson in patience, humility, and the creative courage required to keep going.📘 Order Both Sides of Then: Finding Love After Abandonment: 🌐 Show notes and more inspiration: https://wynneleon.com 🔔 Subscribe to The Life of Try for more conversations on: personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset. 📌 Subscribe to The Life of Try on YouTube & Stay Updated: → https://www.youtube.com/@thelifeoftry?sub_confirmation=1ABOUT ME Hi, 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 NextHow to Tell Relatable StoriesThe Quiet Mindset Shifts that Changes Everything | Mindfulness & Personal Growth with Joseph SchmidtHow to Embrace What Makes You Different | Finding Your Purpose with Kym Gordon Moore

  5. Jul 29

    How To Tell Relatable Stories About Life

    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 ME Hi, 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

  6. Jul 22

    Why Second Place Might Be Preparation, Not Failure

    What if second place is not failure, but preparation? In this motivational episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon explores the hidden power of effort, persistence, and staying ready when life does not put you out front. Through a business lesson about losing a big opportunity, Nathan Martin’s dramatic 2026 LA Marathon finish, and the long-build success story of Dutch Bros Coffee, this episode is a reminder that effort keeps you eligible for the opening when it appears. In this episode, you'll learn: → Second place is not always failure; sometimes it is the place where patience, preparation, and readiness are built. → Effort keeps you eligible for opportunity, even when you are not out front or visible to everyone else → Staying in the race matters because the opening often appears after most people have already slowed down or stopped trying → A disappointing loss can still position you for a future win if you keep showing up with humility and persistence → Nathan Martin’s dramatic LA Marathon finish is a reminder that you do not have to be in the picture early to have a meaningful finish → Long-term success, like the Dutch Bros story, is often built through years of unseen work, reinvention, and consistent effort → The better question may not be, “Am I winning right now?” but “Am I still in position?If you are learning how to keep going, build resilience, try again after disappointment, or trust the unseen work behind personal growth, this episode will encourage you to stay in position, keep showing up, and keep trying.🔔 Subscribe to The Life of Try YouTube channel for more 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 ➡️Brian Hannon's post It's a Sprint to the Finish and the Winner Is... 🎥 Watch Next➡️ Encourage Effort, Not Results | How to Build Resilience and Confidence➡️ The Courage to Try Something New with Lindsey Goldstein➡️ How to Write the Book You’ve Been Dreaming About with Dr. Vicki Atkinson🔗 CONNECT WITH ME:• Website:→ https://wynneleon.com/• Instagram:→ https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/• Facebook:→ https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/ • Amazon: → https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B002IKWX14

  7. Jul 15

    When Your Plan Falls Apart | How to Stay Resilient and Keep Trying

    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, Wynne Leon shares 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, Wynne explores how adaptability, creative problem-solving, gratitude, and “one next step” thinking can help us recover when our best-laid plans fall apart. Inspired by Professor Angus 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 a warm, honest reminder that trying does not require certainty—it only asks for movement, one breath and one new plan at a time. 📚 Topics Covered • Personal Growth • Self Improvement • Building Courage • Motivation • Taking Action • Making Plans • Overcoming Fear • Growth Mindset • Resilience • Opportunity Creation • Gratitude • Life Lessons • Personal Development • Inspirational Storytelling ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔔 Subscribe to The Life of Try for weekly conversations about resilience, courage, creativity, reinvention, mindset, and living with intention. 📌 Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel & Stay Updated ABOUT ME Hi, 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 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 🔗 CONNECT WITH ME: • Website:→ https://wynneleon.com/ • Instagram:→ https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/ • Facebook:→ https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/ • Amazon: → https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B002IKWX14

  8. Jul 8

    Barbara Nickless on A Voice In The Dark, Online Gaming and The Power of Story

    In this episode of The Life of Try, host Wynne Leon talks with Wall Street Journal bestselling author Barbara Nickless about her new psychological suspense novel, A Voice in the Dark. Their conversation moves from the dark corners of online gaming and internet manipulation to the real-world vulnerabilities of teenagers, families, and people searching for belonging. Barbara shares how deep research, FBI consultants, and her own curiosity shape her fiction, especially as she writes about FBI profiler Helen Belle, criminal humanist Benedict Hoffman, addiction, trauma, and the question of what draws people toward danger. This thoughtful author interview explores how storytelling can help us understand complicated human experiences, including moral injury, PTSD, addiction, grief, law enforcement, cybercrime, and the healing power of writing. Barbara also reflects on teaching writing to military veterans and civilians, researching dangerous places and difficult subjects, and using narrative to “de-other” people we might otherwise misunderstand. Key Takeaways: →A Voice in the Dark explores the dangers young people can face in online communities, especially when vulnerable teens and young adults are targeted by manipulative influencers. →Storytelling can help us “de-other” people by taking us inside their motivations, histories, and struggles in ways that facts and news stories alone often cannot. →Curiosity is at the heart of Barbara Nickless’s writing process. Her research into online gaming, FBI investigations, addiction, trauma, and moral injury helps make her fiction vivid, compassionate, and grounded in real human experience.→Researching modern crime fiction requires balancing accuracy with readability, particularly when writing about cybercrime, AI, online manipulation, and evolving law enforcement tools. →The conversation highlights a core Life of Try theme: trying begins with curiosity, openness, and a willingness to enter unfamiliar worlds in order to understand ourselves and one another more deeply. If you love conversations about books, personal growth, curiosity, crime fiction, psychological thrillers, resilience, and what it means to keep trying, this episode offers a rich and compassionate look at the stories that help us make sense of ourselves and one another. 📘 Order A Voice In the Dark: https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Benedict-Hoffman-Helen-Belle-ebook/dp/B0FTGGHSWL/ 🌐 Show 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. ABOUT ME Hi, 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 ➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving ➡️ 48: How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive ➡️ How to Finally Write That Book You've Been Dreaming About | Writing Motivation

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About

What happens when trying matters more than getting it right? The Life of Try is a personal growth and self-help podcast about getting unstuck, navigating uncertainty, and choosing to try—especially when it’s uncomfortable or not your idea. Hosted by Wynne Leon, episode alternate between interviews and real-world stories to explore reinvention, resilience, and what it takes to keep going when plans fall apart. If you’re ready to surf the uncertainty and start your try-cycle, you’re in the right place. The Life of Try isn’t about hustle or perfection. It’s about learning as you go.

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