Still Here, Still Trying

Mike Baker | Still Here, Still Trying
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Still Here, Still Trying is about what it actually takes to keep showing up when life gets heavy. Hosted by Mike Baker, this podcast is built on real stories, music, and honest conversations about mental health, leadership, family, and the stuff people don’t usually say out loud. If you’re looking for news or politics, this isn’t that. If you’re trying to make sense of life while still moving forward, you’re in the right place. Still here. Still trying.

  1. 48m ago

    The Work Should Lead Back to People

    The Work Should Lead Back to People MikeBakerHQ has changed, and this episode marks where the work is headed next. For the last few years, Mike Baker has explored artificial intelligence through art, music, writing, and a long list of creative experiments. Those tools helped him bring ideas to life that once would have stayed inside a notebook or in his head. They remain part of his creative process, while the website now places more of his real life, family, voice, and Human First purpose at the center. In this episode of Still Here, Still Trying, Mike talks about rebuilding his website to feel more personal, honest, and recognizably his. He shares what he has learned about using technology in service of human connection and why the work we create should give another person something meaningful to carry with them. Mike also introduces Just an Ordinary Tuesday: Notes from a life I’m still trying to pay attention to, the new home for his writing. It is where he shares stories about family, grief, healthcare, leadership, creativity, women’s health, and the moments we often understand only after they are gone. Visit mikebakerhq.com/writing to read the latest pieces and subscribe so the next one arrives directly in your inbox. The episode also highlights the growing advocacy section at MikeBakerHQ.com, including practical resources for people living with endometriosis and for the partners, parents, employers, and healthcare leaders trying to support them. The goal is to help people move from awareness toward a useful next step. Mira opens the episode with news of her own upgrade and a reminder that Mike still has a questionable understanding of when one workday ends and the next one begins. The episode closes with “Ordinary Tuesday,” a new song from an album Mike is still building. The song reflects on Kellie laughing from another room, one of the kids calling because nothing is wrong, and Mike’s mom saying his name before Alzheimer’s slowly took that away. It is a quiet reminder that the moments we will miss most rarely announce themselves while they are happening. The song has not received its official release yet, but the full lyric video is now available on YouTube: Watch “Ordinary Tuesday”. Listen, leave a comment, and share the episode or song with someone who needs the reminder. Then visit mikebakerhq.com/writing and subscribe to Just an Ordinary Tuesday. The work should lead back to people. That is the direction from here.

  2. Jul 24

    What Is It Like to Live With You?

    Good intentions matter, but the people closest to us experience our follow-through, attention, tone, and the work we leave behind. In this episode of Still Here, Still Trying, Mike begins with a very 2026 attempt to connect Google, Apple, Outlook, and an AI assistant named Mira to finally solve the family calendar. Somewhere between the daily brief and the birthday reminders, the technology led him to a harder question: What is it like to share a life with me? Mike talks honestly about ADHD, responsibility, and the danger of using an explanation as a permanent excuse. He shares the moment he realized Kellie was competing with his phone for his attention, what playing beer-league goalie taught him about owning the result after the puck is already in the net, and what he saw while watching Kellie with all three of their kids together on the Oregon Coast. This conversation is for men who care deeply and still create extra weight for the people they love. It offers a practical way to hear difficult feedback without turning it into a trial about your character. Growth begins when you stay present long enough to understand what happened and let changed behavior provide the evidence. The one action from this episode is simple: Ask someone close to you, “What is one ordinary thing I do that makes life heavier for you?” Then listen without preparing your explanation. Mike draws from The Better Man Field Guide: A Practical Guide for Men Who Mean Well and Still Screw Things Up. Find Mike’s books: https://amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq Learn more about Mike’s work: https://mikebakerhq.com

  3. Jul 14

    Something is Shifting

    Something is shifting. You can feel it in relationships beginning to heal, communities finding their voices, and people becoming less willing to live under fear, division, and toxic leadership. You can also feel it in the growing desire for something more grounded: real connection, honest conversation, time outside, meaningful work, and a little more joy. In this episode, Mike explores the Human First thread running through Still Here, Still Trying, The Optimist’s Way, and the wider body of work he is building. The future does not arrive fully formed. We influence what comes next through the attention we give, the choices we repeat, and the way we treat people in the rooms we enter every day. This week, listeners have work to do. Choose one practice and stay with it for seven days: Step away from the news and social media long enough to hear your own thoughts. Have a real conversation with someone who sees the world differently and look for the human being beneath the disagreement. Go outside without headphones or an agenda. Feel the sun, listen to the birds, watch the trees, and let your body return to the present. Reach toward one relationship that matters. Put hope to work close to home through one act of courage, care, repair, or joy. Then pay attention. Notice what changes in you. Look for conflict beginning to loosen, people finding their courage, or a moment when connection becomes stronger than the noise around it. These moments rarely become headlines, but they shape families, workplaces, communities, and the future we are building together. Share what you notice with Mike through MikeBakerHQ.com or wherever you found this episode. Your story could help someone else recognize that healing, courage, and human connection are still happening. The episode closes with Mike’s new song, Something Is Shifting. We are still here. We are still trying. This week, we help create what comes next. www.mikebakerhq.com getalittlesunshine.com

  4. Jul 7

    Why I Released 10 Books at Once: The Human First Story Behind Mike Baker HQ

    Season 2, Episode 11Why I Released 10 Books at Once: The Human First Story Behind Mike Baker HQ Why did Mike Baker release 10 books at once? In Season 2, Episode 11 of Still Here, Still Trying, Mike talks through the heart behind his 10-book release and the larger Human First world taking shape through Mike Baker HQ. This is part release-week author note, part map for readers and listeners who found one piece of the work and want to understand how it all connects. These books move through endometriosis, menopause, women’s pain, men showing up better, grief, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, AI, faith transition after Mormonism, leadership, hope, and staying connected in a divided world. At the center is one question: how do we stay human when life gets heavy? Mike shares why the books are personal, how they connect to the podcast and music, and how to start with the book that meets what you are carrying right now. Find Mike Baker’s books on Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq Learn more about Mike Baker HQ: https://mikebakerhq.com Books Mentioned Human First: How to Stay Connected in a World That Keeps Pulling Us Apart A book about connection, leadership, disagreement, community, and choosing humanity in a divided world. The Future Still Needs Us A Human First look at AI, technology, creativity, leadership, and why the future still needs human judgment, care, imagination, and responsibility. Believe Her the First Time: A Man’s Guide to Endometriosis A book for dads, husbands, partners, sons, brothers, and men who love someone living with endometriosis or chronic pelvic pain. Man vs. Menopause: A Husband’s Guide to Perimenopause and How Not to Mess This Up A practical and honest guide for husbands trying to understand perimenopause, menopause, marriage, intimacy, sleep, hormones, and support. Get Out of the Way: A Man’s Case for Women Leading What Comes Next A direct call for men to face power, entitlement, misogyny, and the ways women are asked to wait, shrink, soften, or prove readiness. The Better Man Field Guide A practical guide for men who want to grow with honesty, responsibility, humility, and real change that shows up at home, work, and in relationships. Still Here, Still Trying: Honest Stories for People Who Are Tired but Not Done A collection of honest stories about grief, family, work, love, exhaustion, hope, and the quiet courage of continuing. Still My Mom: Alzheimer’s, Love, Loss, and the Work We Do Before Goodbye A personal book about Alzheimer’s, anticipatory grief, family caregiving, memory loss, love, and the painful work families do before goodbye. Still Good: After All We Could Do: A Memoir of Leaving Mormonism and Staying Whole A memoir about faith transition, leaving Mormonism, family, identity, grief, gratitude, and trying to stay whole after certainty changes. Beautifully Unfocused A book about ADHD, creativity, leadership, AI tools, writing, emotional intensity, and building with the brain you actually have.

  5. Jun 25

    Make Time to Think

    This week on Still Here, Still Trying, Mike records a quick road episode from his hotel room in Carlisle, Pennsylvania while attending the U.S. Army War College. This one is intentionally simple. No studio setup, no Mira intro, no closing song, no extra polish. Just a portable mic, bad hotel lighting, and a few thoughts worth capturing while they are still fresh. After a week surrounded by military leaders, civilian leaders, professors, strategists, and people thinking deeply about complex problems, Mike reflects on what he is bringing home. This is not about turning healthcare into the Army or forcing military language onto everyday leadership. It is about the lessons that translate: flip the map, understand what is happening close to the ground, be honest about ends, ways, and means, watch for bad starting points, and make time to think before moving too fast. Mike connects those War College lessons back to Heritage Health, healthcare leadership, the Human First books, AI, women’s pain, complex adaptive problems, and the ongoing work of keeping the human being at the center of the decision. The Human First books release June 30, and the early interest has been amazing. Mike takes a moment to say thank you for the messages, encouragement, and support. These books are deeply personal, and knowing people are already connecting with the work means a lot. Sometimes the work does not need polish. Sometimes it just needs to be said while it is still alive.

  6. Jun 18

    When the House Gets Full, Then Quiet Again

    This week on Still Here, Still Trying, Mike talks about the kind of week that makes life feel full, beautiful, hard, and a little too fast. After a few episodes focused on the upcoming Human First books, this one brings the question home. Sammie graduated. The family went to the Oregon Coast. Jacob was there, recently moved to Moscow and building his electrical company. Cameron was home before heading back to New Zealand. Kellie was happy having all three kids together. And then, after all that noise and love, the house got quiet again. This episode is about parenting adult kids, being proud while still feeling the ache of change, loving your spouse through the life you built together, missing the people who should still be here, and trying to stay present while everything keeps moving. Mike also talks about finishing the Human First books, releasing June 30, and why this work has been healing. These books have pieces of his soul in them, and this week reminded him where they came from: family, grief, love, healthcare, ADHD, hope, and the need to make something useful out of the life we are given. The episode closes with a new unreleased song Mike built for this moment, “All of This Is Us.” It was written after the Oregon Coast trip, while the feelings were still fresh: the joy, the leaving, the pride, the missing, the quiet after everyone goes, and the love that still fills the house. Learn more about Mike’s books, music, and creative work at: https://www.mikebakerhq.com PreOrder Books Here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michael-Baker/author/B0F66J8Q6M?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=9d6c4ebb-33e7-485f-adca-d0630da90659

  7. Jun 9

    Nine Books, One Question: Are We Still Human?

    This week on Still Here, Still Trying, I’m pulling the camera back on the full Human First book series, releasing June 30. Last week, we started with Believe Her the First Time and the question at the heart of that book: when a woman says her body hurts, do we believe her before she has to prove it? This week, I’m walking through the bigger body of work behind the series and the question underneath all nine books: are we still human? This episode is about the creative burst that followed The Optimist’s Way, the way my ADHD brain moves at night after long workdays, and how AI tools helped me manage the storm without replacing the heart of the work. These books were not written by pushing a button and letting AI spit out something empty. They came from my family, my work, my marriage, my kids, my grief, my hope, my mistakes, my leadership, my creativity, and the rooms I have actually stood in. AI helped me organize the chaos. The soul of the work is mine. I also take a moment to congratulate Sammie on graduating this weekend. Last week’s episode started with her hand in mine. This week, I get to celebrate her walking across a stage, and I could not be prouder of who she is becoming. The Human First series moves through women’s pain, menopause, women leading, men growing up, ADHD, AI, daily survival, hope, leadership, creativity, and the future we are building. The topics are different, but the thread is the same: start with the human being. The episode closes with my song “The Man They Think I Am,” because underneath the books, the work, the leadership, and the creative output is a very human story about trying to become the person people need you to be while still being honest about the quiet fight inside. Find the Human First books and Kindle preorders on my Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michael-Baker/author/B0F66J8Q6M?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=y90pG&content-id=amzn1.sym.7e190e19-9f6f-4df8-807a-5a7608594741&pd_rd_wg=ZP25J&pd_rd_r=9b2095db-12a0-4d34-a37d-362d9fc8b331&ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true Learn more at www.mikebakerhq.com.

  8. Jun 3

    Human First: Believe Her the First Time

    Human First: Believe Her the First Time The first book in the Human First series starts with women’s pain, endometriosis, and what love does when belief becomes action. The Human First book series releases July 1, and this episode kicks off the run by going straight to the heart of the first book: Believe Her the First Time: A Father’s Guide to Endometriosis, Pain, and Showing Up When It Matters. Since writing The Optimist’s Way, Mike has been building a new series of books mostly at night, after long and busy workdays, when the house gets quiet and the creative part of his brain still has something to say. These new books grew out of real life: family, healthcare, leadership, ADHD, creativity, AI, women’s health, and the question underneath all of it: what happens when we put the human being back at the center? This first episode begins with women’s pain because that is one of the places where we have failed the Human First test for too long. Mike talks about endometriosis, medical dismissal, fatherhood, marriage, healthcare, and the responsibility men carry when someone they love is hurting. The story starts with his daughter’s hand in his and grows into the deeper message behind the book: belief has to become behavior. This episode is for women who have had to prove pain that should have been taken seriously sooner. It is for dads, husbands, partners, sons, brothers, friends, and healthcare leaders who want to love better, listen sooner, and become more useful when pain changes the room. The episode closes with Mike’s song “Hope in Slow Motion,” a quiet reminder that healing often moves slower than we want, and slow hope still counts. The Human First book series releases July 1. Listen over the next few weeks for sneak peeks, stories behind the books, and giveaways connected to the series. Learn more at www.mikebakerhq.com.

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Still Here, Still Trying is about what it actually takes to keep showing up when life gets heavy. Hosted by Mike Baker, this podcast is built on real stories, music, and honest conversations about mental health, leadership, family, and the stuff people don’t usually say out loud. If you’re looking for news or politics, this isn’t that. If you’re trying to make sense of life while still moving forward, you’re in the right place. Still here. Still trying.

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Baker | Still Here, Still Trying
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    64
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Mike Baker | Still Here, Still Trying
  • Show Website
    Still Here, Still Trying