Episode 6: Hope in a Crazy World
Still Here, Still Trying with Mike Baker

There’s a strange heaviness in the air lately. People are tired in ways they can’t explain. The news is relentless. Politics feel like a battleground. The pressure to stay informed, stay productive, stay afloat — it adds up.

In this episode, I talk about what it means to survive without shutting down, and how we stay hopeful when the world around us feels chaotic. This is not a pep talk. It’s a pause. A place to name the weariness honestly — and still choose to keep our hearts open.

Hope, the kind I believe in, doesn’t shout. It doesn’t demand attention. It shows up in how we treat people. It grows slowly in the spaces we protect from cynicism. And it gives back in ways fear never will.

I share a few things that have grounded me lately — moments from my book The Optimist’s Way, the music I’ve been writing, the art that helps me process what words can’t always carry. There’s nothing polished about this season. But there’s still beauty in it, and I want to help us find it together.

Whether you’re a parent trying to hold it all together, a leader trying to stay steady for others, or just a human trying to stay soft in a world that keeps pushing you to harden up — this space is for you.

📖 The Optimist’s Way is available here: https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g
🎶 Stream the songs that grew from these reflections: https://linktr.ee/mikebakermusic

If this conversation means something to you, pass it along. Share it with someone who might need a little light. That’s how we keep building something worth believing in — not all at once, but one honest moment at a time.

Still here. Still trying. See you next time.