# MikeBakerHQ > Author of the Human First books, CEO of Heritage Health, and EndoDad. Essays, music, a podcast, and endometriosis advocacy from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### Contact URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/contact/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:32:05.000Z # Say Hello Book stuff, podcast stuff, press, speaking, or just to say a book helped. I read all of it myself. [ Email mikebakerhq@gmail.com → ](mailto:mikebakerhq@gmail.com) [ Booking Speaking inquiry ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/speaking/) [ Media Press & interviews ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/press/)[ Podcast hosts Guest info & booking ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/interviews/) Find me elsewhere [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeBakerHQ?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/1iE5t5Nrbs0MyLORJpfiYu?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Linktree](https://linktr.ee/MikeBakerHQ?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ### About URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/about/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T07:03:43.000Z About # All Of It. All At Once. CEO of Heritage Health. Thirteen books. A podcast. Songs. AI art I make myself. An advocacy habit I can’t shake. Everyone tells me to pick one. This page is the case for why I won’t. ![Mike Baker standing by a river](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/mike-cream-jacket-v2.jpg) The job In 1999 I signed up for AmeriCorps and got placed inside a community health center. I didn’t know what an FQHC was yet. I know now: it’s a clinic that sees you whether or not you can pay, because the people who built it decided access to care shouldn’t depend on income. I’ve worked inside that idea ever since, and today I get to lead one as CEO of Heritage Health. An MBA taught me how to run the business side. A psychology degree taught me the part that actually matters — that the person in front of you is never just a chart. The family Kellie is my wife. Jacob, Cameron, and Sammie are our kids — Jake first, then Cam, then Sam. They are my home. My grounding. They are most of the reason I keep showing up, on the days that are easy and the days that are not. ![Mike Baker with his wife Kellie and their three kids, Jacob, Cameron, and Sammie, outdoors in a field](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/baker-family.jpg) Jacob, Sammie, Kellie, and Cameron. (I’m the one in the middle, getting squeezed.) > My brain doesn’t do one thing. It never has. I stopped apologizing for it. Believing women Kellie lives with endometriosis. So does Sammie. I watched both of them spend years being told the pain was normal, or anxiety, or something to manage quietly. It wasn’t normal. *Believe Her the First Time* came out of that. So did the portraits I make under Infinite Canvas AI, and so did more conversations in Washington, D.C. hallways than I can count. It shows up everywhere in my work because it never really left our house. Beautifully unfocused I have ADHD. For a long time I treated it like a bug in an otherwise fine system — something to manage, hide, apologize for. Then I noticed that everything I’m proudest of came out of the same brain that can’t sit still: the books, the podcast, the songs, Heritage Health, all of it running at once instead of one at a time. *Beautifully Unfocused*, the book and the album, are both about that turn — from managing the brain to building a life shaped around it. Staying whole I left Mormonism as an adult, after it had shaped nearly everything about how I saw the world. *Still Good* is the book about what that cost and what survived it. I’m not writing to talk anyone out of anything. I’m writing because I know what it’s like to rebuild a self after the framework you used to hold it is gone, and I didn’t have a book like that when I needed one. Still my mom My mom has Alzheimer’s. *Still My Mom* is about the strange work of grieving someone slowly, in real time, while they’re still in the room — and about the days when she’s more herself than the diagnosis says she should be able to be. Where this is going Here’s the honest version of why there’s a podcast, an album, a shelf of books, and my face on YouTube now: I’m building this on purpose, over the next five years. Books, a podcast, songs, art. Not a side hustle. Just more rooms in the same house. Since 1999 Working inside FQHCs, starting as an AmeriCorps member Education MBA · BS, Psychology Today CEO, Heritage Health Where to start [ Read Start with a book ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) [ Watch Subscribe on YouTube ](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeBakerHQ?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ Listen Hear the music ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art-and-music/) [ Join Get the letter ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/#subscribe) Mike, elsewhere ## The same person, everywhere else If you found one part of the work and want the rest, these are the official places. Same Mike Baker, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Books [Amazon author page](https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mike-Baker/author/B0F66J8Q6M?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[All thirteen books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) Music [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2hbJLbX7FkveIAz0xnJce9?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mike-baker/1739813579?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeBakerHQ?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Podcast [Still Here, Still Trying](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/still-here-still-trying/id1826938874?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Episodes and notes](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/podcast/) Advocacy [EndoDad on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/endodad76?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[The endometriosis work](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/advocacy/)[Perimenopause resources](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/womens-health/) Work and words [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebaker1398?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Heritage Health](https://www.myheritagehealth.org/?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Idaho Capital Sun](https://idahocapitalsun.com/author/mikebaker/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Social [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mikebakerhq?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@mikebakerhq?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/mikebakerhq)[Linktree](https://linktr.ee/MikeBakerHQ?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ### Podcast URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/podcast/ Last updated: 2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z The Podcast # A show about staying human Honest conversation about grief, creativity, leadership, family, faith, ADHD, art, and advocacy — for people who are still here and still trying. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/1iE5t5Nrbs0MyLORJpfiYu?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeBakerHQ?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ![Still Here, Still Trying podcast cover](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/still-here-still-trying-cover.jpg) Listen to the latest Recent episodes [ Jul 29, 2026 Everyone I Met Told Me About Someone They Loved A week in Washington, D.C., and what I brought home that wouldn’t fit in a notebook. Read & listen → ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/everyone-i-met-told-me-about-someone-they-loved/) [ S2 · E13 · Jul 24, 2026 What Is It Like to Live With You? ADHD, marriage, and the honest answer to a question most of us are afraid to ask. Read & listen → ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/) S2 · E11 · Jul 3, 2026 ### Why I Released 10 Books at Once The Human First story behind a year of unusually fast writing. [Listen →](https://open.spotify.com/show/1iE5t5Nrbs0MyLORJpfiYu?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Jul 14, 2026 ### Something Is Shifting, and I Want to Help It Grow Five small practices for a moment that feels like it’s turning. [Read & listen →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/) Apr 12, 2026 ### Still Here, Still Trying: Why Season 2 Starts Now What changed, and why the show needed a second season. [Read & listen →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/archive/) [All episodes on Spotify →](https://open.spotify.com/show/1iE5t5Nrbs0MyLORJpfiYu?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ### Music URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/music/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T08:08:30.000Z [← Art & Music](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art-and-music/) # Mike Baker Music Every song starts the same way the books do — with a true story I couldn’t stop thinking about. Some of them just wouldn’t stay on the page. Albums & EPs [Full streaming page →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/streaming/) [ ![Beyond the Shadows by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-beyond-the-shadows.jpg) Beyond the Shadows The first album. Twenty tracks about struggle, discovery, and the choice to keep going. ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/beyond-the-shadows/) [ ![Live From My Head by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-live-from-my-head.jpg) Live From My Head Fourteen songs from the part of my brain that never stops talking. ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/live-from-my-head/) [ ![Standing on the Edge by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-standing-on-the-edge.jpg) Standing on the Edge One night. Five songs. A whole lifetime in fifteen minutes. ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/standing-on-the-edge/) [ ![Side Quest by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-side-quest.jpg) ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/side-quest?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ Side Quest ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/side-quest?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [The next chapter in the ADHD run, alongside the ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/side-quest?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Beautifully Unfocused](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) book. [ ![Shut Out the Noise by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-shut-out-the-noise.jpg) Shut Out the Noise For the days the world gets too loud to think in. ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/shut-out-the-noise?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ ![Love Is Louder Than Fear by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-love-is-louder.jpg) Love Is Louder Than Fear Eight tracks about showing up anyway. ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/love-is-louder-than-fear?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ ![The Noise Between Heartbeats by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-noise-between-heartbeats.jpg) The Noise Between Heartbeats The quiet that sits underneath everything else. ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/the-noise-between-heartbeats?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ Book soundtrack The Optimist’s Way The Optimist’s Way Six songs written alongside the book of the same name. ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/the-optimists-way/) Singles worth starting with [ Single Don’t Lose Your Smile The first song I built completely from scratch. I’ve been learning guitar, working through basic chords, trying to get better one day at a time. SoundCloud → ](https://on.soundcloud.com/RVJhsrodR9CaTxkmSo?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ Single I’ll Stand With Her ](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeBakerHQ?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [A song for warriors everywhere — written out of the same place the ](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeBakerHQ?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[endometriosis work](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/advocacy/) comes from. YouTube → Listen anywhere [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2hbJLbX7FkveIAz0xnJce9?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mike-baker/1739813579?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeBakerHQ?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ### Infinite Canvas AI URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T23:56:21.000Z Infinite Canvas AI is where I make the visual work. Most of it is portraits of women who spent years being told nothing was wrong. It comes out of the endometriosis advocacy at home, and it is trying to say one thing: I hear you, and you deserve better. The work is grouped into collections — No Permission Needed, The Body Remembers, She Who Burns, Mythic Origins, Human Presence — alongside commissions and a complete archive of every piece. The tools are new. The voice is still mine. ### Art & Music URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art-and-music/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T23:49:50.000Z # When a story won’t sit still Some things won’t stay on a page. They need a melody, or a face, or a canvas on a wall. Same work as the books — different way in. [ ![Mike Baker Music — album artwork](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-beyond-the-shadows.jpg) Mike Baker Music Music Albums, EPs, and singles — written the same way the books are, then handed to a melody instead of a page. Streaming everywhere. Hear the music → ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/music/) [ ![Infinite Canvas AI — portrait from the endometriosis series](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/art-believe-her-sm.jpg) Infinite Canvas AI Art Portraits built out of the endometriosis work — faces of women who spent years being told nothing was wrong. Prints available. See the gallery → ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art/) ### Speaking URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/speaking/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:14:36.000Z Speaking # CEO by day. Storyteller always. I run a community health center. I’ve written thirteen books. I make music and art most nights after my family goes to bed. When I speak, all of that shows up in the room — healthcare leadership that’s actually lived, not theoretical, and the belief that the most human thing you can do in any room is tell the truth. [Check my availability](#book) ![Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/images/mike-portrait-v3.jpg) What I speak about Keynote, breakout, panel, or fireside Healthcare leadership ### Mission and Margin: Running a Community Health Center Without Losing Either I started in community health in 1999 as an AmeriCorps volunteer and I’m now the CEO. Twenty-five years in one field teaches you that the hardest problem isn’t access or funding or staffing — it’s holding the mission steady while you make the business work. This talk is about how that’s actually done, from someone still doing it. **Rooms leave with:** a working model for decisions where money and mission pull opposite directions, language for talking about equity that survives a board meeting, and permission to lead like a person rather than an org chart. FQHC and primary care associations · health system leadership · rural and community health · nonprofit boards Women’s health ### Believe Her the First Time Endometriosis takes most women somewhere near a decade to get diagnosed. My wife lives with it. So does my daughter. I watched both of them spend years being told the pain was normal, or anxiety, or something to manage quietly — and I run a health system that could have been the place doing the telling. This is the talk I give as both. **Rooms leave with:** what the diagnostic delay actually costs a real life, where primary care keeps missing it, and a concrete answer to the question men in the room are usually too embarrassed to ask — what am I supposed to do about it? Women’s health conferences · clinical education · patient advocacy · men’s and caregiver audiences ADHD & creativity ### Beautifully Unfocused: Leading With a Brain That Won’t Sit Still Thirteen books, a podcast, four albums, a gallery show, and a day job running a health center. People ask how. The honest answer is that I stopped trying to manage my ADHD into silence and started building a life shaped around it. This talk is about the difference between those two strategies, and what it costs to get it wrong. **Rooms leave with:** a way to talk about neurodivergence at work that isn’t an apology, practical structures that work with a wandering brain instead of against it, and relief — usually from the people who thought it was just them. Leadership and management · neurodiversity and DEI programming · creative industries · employee resource groups AI & staying human ### Human First: Keeping People Visible in What We Build I use AI to make art and to work faster, and I’ve stood in a gallery while artists protested outside over it. I’m not an evangelist and I’m not a refuser. My position is narrower and harder to argue with: the tools can help with the work, but they don’t get to decide what matters. This is the talk for rooms tired of both sides shouting. **Rooms leave with:** a usable line between what to hand a machine and what to keep, a framework for disclosure that doesn’t read as defensive, and a first-hand account of what happens when you adopt these tools publicly and take the heat for it. Healthcare technology · corporate leadership · creative and arts organizations · higher education Any of these can be shaped to your room rather than delivered off the shelf. Tell me what you are building and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right fit. [Check my availability →](#book) Who you’re booking #### The day job CEO of Heritage Health, a network of community health centers serving North Idaho. Twenty-five years in the field, from AmeriCorps volunteer to chief executive. #### The work Thirteen books in the Human First series. Sixty-plus episodes of *Still Here, Still Trying*. Four albums. A gallery exhibition on women’s health. #### On the record Bylines in the Idaho Capital Sun. Featured by the Spokesman-Review, the Coeur d’Alene Press, and the Inlander. Represented Heritage Health at the national ACU conference in Washington, D.C. #### Formats Keynote (30–60 min), breakout or workshop (60–90 min), panel, fireside, or podcast guest. Happy to shape any of the four talks to the room rather than deliver it off the shelf. #### Travel Based in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Spokane airport is 40 minutes away. Available across the Inland Northwest and nationally, and for virtual sessions. #### Fees Flexible, and scaled to the organization. Community health centers, patient advocacy groups, and nonprofits — ask anyway. Some rooms matter more than the fee. Rooms I’ve already been in ## Not theoretical. - [Northwest Regional Primary Care AssociationEnsuring Excellence · conference session](https://www.nwrpca.org/uploads/1/4/5/9/145911052/sp25%5Fpreliminary%5Fagenda.pdf?ref=mikebakerhq.com) - [Northwest Regional Primary Care AssociationCenter Responses to Federal Executive Orders · conference session](https://www.nwrpca.org/uploads/1/4/5/9/145911052/fl25%5Fdraft%5Fagenda%5Fupdated.pdf?ref=mikebakerhq.com) - [Coeur d’Alene Regional ChamberUpbeat Breakfast · 2024](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/feb/14/live-your-best-life/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) - [Coeur d’Alene Regional ChamberLegislative Forum · 2018](https://cdapress.com/news/2018/sep/26/health-care-leaders-tackle-proposition-2-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) - [Coeur d’Alene ChamberNEXT GEN Leadership Program](https://cdachamber.com/next-gen-coeur-dalene-leadership-program/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Recognized with a [NACHC Advocacy Award](https://www.nachc.org/policy-advocacy/become-an-advocate/grassroots-advocacy-awardees/?ref=mikebakerhq.com), and named an [Idaho Business Review CEO of Influence](https://idahobusinessreview.com/2021/03/18/2021-ceo-of-influence-award-winners-are-announced/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) in 2021. ## Building an agenda? Let’s talk. Tell me the event, the date, the audience, and what you’re hoping the room walks out with. I read every message myself and usually reply within a few days. Your name \* Email \* Organization Event name Date (or window) Audience size Location FormatNot sure yetKeynote (30–60 min)Breakout or workshop (60–90 min)PanelFiresidePodcast guestVirtual session Which talkNot sure — help me pickMission and MarginBelieve Her the First TimeBeautifully UnfocusedHuman FirstSomething else Budget rangePrefer to discussUnder $2,500$2,500–$5,000$5,000–$10,000$10,000+Nonprofit or community rate What should the room walk out with? Send this to Mike → This opens your email app with everything filled in — nothing is stored on this site and nothing is sent to anyone else. Rather write it yourself? [mikebakerhq@gmail.com](mailto:mikebakerhq@gmail.com?subject=Speaking%20inquiry) New here? [Start here](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/who-is-mike-baker-of-mikebakerhq/), or [start with a book](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/). Running a podcast rather than an event? [Everything a host needs is here](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/interviews/). ### Press URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/press/ Last updated: 2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z Press # Fifteen years on the record. Coverage, interviews, and public writing going back to 2010 — from a community clinic called Dirne to Heritage Health, from local op-eds to a national advocacy award. 01 · Featured credibility [Heritage Health CEO Biomyheritagehealth.org](https://www.myheritagehealth.org/team-2/mike-baker?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Elevating EndoWarriorsCoeur d’Alene Press · 2023](https://cdapress.com/news/2023/dec/08/elevating-endowarriors/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [NACHC Advocacy Awardnachc.org](https://www.nachc.org/policy-advocacy/become-an-advocate/grassroots-advocacy-awardees/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Behavioral Health AI BoardCore Solutions](https://www.coresolutionsinc.com/news/core-solutions-open-minds-announce-launch-of-ai-advisory-board-to-revolutionize-behavioral-health-with-ethical-ai-practices?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Baker: His Message ResonatesCoeur d’Alene Press · 2021](https://cdapress.com/news/2021/dec/19/baker-his-message-resonates/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [The Light We ShareCoeur d’Alene Press · 2025](https://cdapress.com/news/2025/jan/18/the-light-we-share/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) 02 · Podcast & media appearances [Super Hero Dad Advocating for Teen Daughter, Wife, and The Endo WarriorsEndoBattery](https://endobattery.com/podcast/super-hero-dad-advocating-for-teen-daughter-wife-and-the-endo-warriors/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [The Optimist’s Way with Mike BakerApple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/ru/podcast/the-optimists-way-with-mike-baker/id1622138242?i=1000718788115&l=en-GB&ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Mike Baker | The Optimist’s WayApple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/250-mike-baker-the-optimists-way/id1517311450?i=1000717743823&ref=mikebakerhq.com) [How Heritage Health CEO Mike Baker Is Revolutionizing HealthcareLinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/videos/mike-rathbun-173549201%5Fwhat-happens-when-compassion-meets-healthcare-activity-7364239430448005120-yedo?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [AI and the Future of Integrated CareCore Solutions](https://info.coresolutionsinc.com/an-executive-perspective-how-ai-is-shaping-the-future-of-integrated-care?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Still Here, Still TryingApple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/still-here-still-trying/id1826938874?ref=mikebakerhq.com) 03 · Speaking & public appearances [Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber Upbeat BreakfastCoeur d’Alene Press · 2024](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/feb/14/live-your-best-life/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Growth Comes From Leading, Not ReactingYouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3hlfnpfsZw&ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Ensuring ExcellenceNWRPCA](https://www.nwrpca.org/uploads/1/4/5/9/145911052/sp25%5Fpreliminary%5Fagenda.pdf?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Center Responses to Federal Executive OrdersNWRPCA](https://www.nwrpca.org/uploads/1/4/5/9/145911052/fl25%5Fdraft%5Fagenda%5Fupdated.pdf?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber Legislative ForumCoeur d’Alene Press · 2018](https://cdapress.com/news/2018/sep/26/health-care-leaders-tackle-proposition-2-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Coeur d’Alene Chamber NEXT GEN Leadership ProgramCDA Chamber](https://cdachamber.com/next-gen-coeur-dalene-leadership-program/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) 04 · Leadership, boards & public service [Idaho Primary Care AssociationProPublica](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/820376764?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Northwest Regional Primary Care Associationnwrpca.org](https://www.nwrpca.org/about-us.html?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Idaho Business Review CEO of InfluenceIdaho Business Review · 2021](https://idahobusinessreview.com/2021/03/18/2021-ceo-of-influence-award-winners-are-announced/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Coeur d’Alene Regional ChamberBoard of Directors](https://cdachamber.com/board-of-directors/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Inland Northwest Girls Hockey FoundationCoeur d’Alene Press · 2023](https://cdapress.com/news/2023/sep/09/breaking-ice/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellowcdarotary.org](https://cdarotary.org/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) 05 · Public essays & opinion [North Idahoans Must Speak Out Against Extremism, Support One Another With KindnessIdaho Capital Sun · 2021](https://idahocapitalsun.com/2021/12/16/north-idahoans-must-speak-out-against-extremism-support-one-another-with-kindness/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [My Turn: Unity, Diversity, Plea for UnderstandingCoeur d’Alene Press · 2023](https://cdapress.com/news/2023/jun/10/my-turn-unity-diversity-plea-understanding/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Breaking Through the NoiseCoeur d’Alene Press · 2024](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/aug/24/my-turn-breaking-through-the-noise/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [My Turn: Shut Up? No, Step Up and LeadCoeur d’Alene Press · 2024](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/apr/25/my-turn-shut-up-no-step-up-and-lead/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Opinion: The Courage to Lead DifferentlyCoeur d’Alene Press · 2024](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/may/09/opinion-the-courage-to-lead-differently/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [My Turn: Why Pride Month Matters to MeCoeur d’Alene Press · 2021](https://cdapress.com/news/2021/jun/19/my-turn-why-pride-month-matters-me/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) 06 · Healthcare leadership coverage [Mike Baker: Health Care for AllCoeur d’Alene Press · 2011](https://cdapress.com/news/2011/mar/06/mike-baker-health-care-for-all-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Big Boost for Behavioral Health ServicesCoeur d’Alene Press · 2022](https://cdapress.com/news/2022/oct/19/big-boost-behavioral-health-services/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Heritage Health ExpandingCoeur d’Alene Press · 2023](https://cdapress.com/news/2023/aug/10/heritage-health-expanding/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Quick Turnaround at Heritage HealthCoeur d’Alene Press · 2017](https://cdapress.com/news/2017/aug/12/quick-turnaround-at-heritage-health-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Heritage Health Advocates for MedicaidCoeur d’Alene Press · 2018](https://cdapress.com/news/2018/feb/23/heritage-health-advocates-for-medicaid-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Lakeland School Board Denies Mental Health ContractsCoeur d’Alene Press · 2024](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/nov/16/lakeland-school-board-denies-mental-health-contracts/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Archive — back to 2010 (14 more) → [Grants May Let Dirne Expand2010](https://cdapress.com/news/2010/dec/16/grants-may-let-dirne-expand-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Demand Up for Dirne2011](https://cdapress.com/news/2011/aug/14/demand-up-for-dirne-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Rep. Labrador Gets a Look at Dirne Clinic2011](https://cdapress.com/news/2011/apr/29/rep-labrador-gets-a-look-at-dirne-clinic-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Dirne Eyes New Home2011](https://cdapress.com/news/2011/oct/19/dirne-eyes-new-home-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [New Name, Same Mission2013](https://cdapress.com/news/2013/sep/10/new-name-same-mission-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Mobile Mental Health Heads to Lakes Middle2016](https://cdapress.com/news/2016/may/12/mobile-mental-health-heads-to-lakes-middle-5/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Mental Health Crisis2022](https://cdapress.com/news/2022/may/11/mental-health-crisis/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Heritage Health Launches Nurse Practitioner Program2023](https://cdapress.com/news/2023/jan/28/heritage-health-launches-nurse-physi/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Stifle Division2021](https://cdapress.com/news/2021/nov/10/stifle-division/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Best Medicine: Lifting Others2021](https://cdapress.com/news/2021/dec/14/op-ed-best-medicine-lifting-others/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Seven People Didn’t Need to Die2021](https://cdapress.com/news/2021/dec/22/seven-people-didnt-need-die/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [My Turn: Warming Many Hearts2024](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/feb/07/my-turn-warming-many-hearts/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [My Turn: Come Together Against the Tide2024](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/mar/28/my-turn-come-together-against-the-tide/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Coeur d’Alene Girl First to Letter in Hockey at Gonzaga Prep2024](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/jul/08/coeur-dalene-girl-first-to-letter-in-hockey-at-gonzaga-prep/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ### Advocacy URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/advocacy/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T17:22:35.000Z ![EndoDad](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endodad-logo-full-512.png) ENDODAD · ADVOCACY # Believe her. Then do something useful. Endometriosis can turn an ordinary day, a relationship, an appointment, or an entire life upside down. This page is practical help for the person living it—and for the father, partner, friend, employer, or healthcare leader who wants to show up better. No awareness-day slogans. No asking her to explain it one more time. Start with what you need right now. [ Someone I love lives with it Learn what to say and what to do today. Start here →](#someone-i-love)[ I live with endometriosis Find words, tools, and appointment support. Start here →](#living-with-endo)[ I have an appointment coming up Get organized and walk in prepared. Start here →](#appointment)[ I lead a healthcare team Look at where belief and care break down. Start here →](#healthcare-leaders)[Perimenopause or menopause is hereTrackers, partner tools, and the book for the husband trying to help.Start here →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/womens-health/) These resources are free. Use them, print them, and send them to anyone who needs them. SHARE THIS WITH SOMEONE WHO NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND ## She sent you here because explaining this is exhausting. If someone you love sent you this page, pause before you defend, compare, question, or fix. She is not asking you to become an endometriosis expert tonight. She is asking you to understand that the pain is real, the impact is bigger than a bad period, and being doubted adds another layer to something already hard. Start here - **Believe what she tells you about her body.** Pain does not have to be visible to be serious. - **Ask what would help right now.** Listening, heat, food, medication, quiet, a ride, canceled plans, or simply not being alone may matter more than advice. - **Do not make her manage your reaction.** She should not have to comfort you because her illness scares or frustrates you. - **Learn on your own.** Caring means taking some of the burden of explanation off her shoulders. - **Keep showing up after the flare ends.** Chronic illness is not over when the worst hour passes. Say this “I believe you.” “You do not have to prove how bad it is to me.” “Do you want help, company, or space?” “What can I take off your plate today?” “I’m going to learn more so you do not have to teach me everything.” Not this “Are you sure it’s that bad?” “But you looked fine yesterday.” “Everyone gets cramps.” “Have you tried exercising, changing your diet, or stressing less?” “Tell me exactly what to do.” [Download the Believe Her Conversation Guide](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/04-believe-her-conversation-guide.pdf) [Share this section](#someone-i-love) Suggested share text: “I’m sending this because I need you to understand what this can feel like and how to support me. Please read it before we talk.” IF TODAY IS A HARD DAY ## You do not have to solve the whole disease today. When pain is high, even small decisions can feel like work. Make the next hour lighter. If you are the person in pain - **Name the most urgent need:** pain support, food, water, medication, warmth, rest, transportation, privacy, or medical care. - **Use one sentence if that is all you have:** “I’m in a flare. I need help with \_\_\_\_\_\_.” - **Cancel what needs to be canceled** without writing an apology essay. - **If symptoms are new, suddenly worse, or feel unsafe,** contact a qualified healthcare professional or emergency service. If you are supporting her - **Ask one clear question:** “What would make the next hour easier?” - **Offer specific help:** “I can bring food, handle dinner, call the clinic, drive, take notes, or sit quietly. Which one?” - **Reduce decisions.** Do not hand the planning back to the person in pain. - **Protect her “no.”** A canceled plan is not a personal rejection. - **Remember what helped** so she does not have to rebuild the plan during every flare. [Download the Pain Flare-Up Plan](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/07-pain-flare-up-plan.pdf) PREPARE FOR THE APPOINTMENT ## Walk in with the story organized—even if the system is not. An appointment can move fast. Pain histories do not. These tools will not guarantee that someone listens, but they can help you make the pattern harder to miss and leave with clearer next steps. Before 1. Write down when symptoms began and how they have changed. 2. Track pain, bleeding, bowel or bladder symptoms, fatigue, pain with sex, missed work or school, and anything else affecting daily life. 3. List medications, treatments, tests, surgeries, side effects, and what did or did not help. 4. Choose the three questions you most need answered. 5. Bring a support person if you want one. Decide in advance whether they should listen, take notes, or speak up if something gets missed. During — use direct language “This is affecting my ability to work, sleep, study, exercise, have sex, care for my family, or live normally.” “What conditions are you considering, and how will we evaluate them?” “What can we do for symptom relief while the evaluation continues?” “What are the benefits, risks, limits, and alternatives of this plan?” “If this does not help, what is the next step and when should I follow up?” If you feel dismissed, try “I understand stress can affect the body. I do not want that assumption to end the evaluation. What else could explain these symptoms, and how will we rule it in or out?” Before you leave, make sure you know - What the working diagnosis or next question is - What tests, referrals, or treatments were ordered - What each treatment is intended to help - What side effects or warning signs to watch for - When and how follow-up will happen - Who to contact if symptoms worsen [Doctor Appointment Preparation Sheet ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/03-doctor-appointment-preparation-sheet.pdf) [Symptom & Pain Tracker ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/01-endometriosis-symptom-pain-tracker.pdf) [Symptom Timeline Builder ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/06-symptom-timeline-builder.pdf) [Questions for Your Healthcare Professional ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/10-questions-for-your-healthcare-professional.pdf) FOR PARTNERS, FATHERS, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS ## Love is not just feeling bad that she hurts. Love becomes useful when it changes what you do. During a flare Handle the practical things you already know how to handle. Food. Kids. Pets. Calls. Rides. The plans that need to change. Do not wait to be assigned every task. Between flares Ask what support is working and what is not. Learn the care plan. Notice patterns without policing them. Keep intimacy, friendship, humor, and ordinary life in the relationship without pretending the illness is not there. At an appointment Take notes. Help preserve the timeline. Ask whether an important question was answered. Back up what you have observed, but do not take over the room or speak about her as if she is not sitting there. When you get it wrong Do not explain your intentions for ten minutes. Try this: “I can hear that what I said felt dismissive. I’m sorry. I believe you. What would help me respond better next time?” You do not need perfect words. You need humility, consistency, and the willingness to learn. [Download the Relationship Check-In Cards](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/09-relationship-check-in-cards.pdf) [Download the Support Circle Map](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/12-support-circle-map.pdf) [![Cover of Believe Her the First Time by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/images/cover-believe-her-thumb.jpg)](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/believe-her-the-first-time/) THE BOOK ## For the family in the waiting room *Believe Her the First Time* is for the husbands, fathers, partners, and families who love someone with endometriosis and want to understand what support looks like when good intentions are not enough. [Learn about the book](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/believe-her-the-first-time/) [Get the book](https://a.co/d/05pqSUNS?ref=mikebakerhq.com) FOR HEALTHCARE LEADERS ## Belief should not depend on which room she walks into. I have spent years leading in healthcare. I know how hard the work is. I also know that good people inside a strained system can still create harmful experiences when pain is normalized, histories are rushed, referrals are unclear, or nobody owns the next step. This is not about blaming a clinician. It is about building a better path. Five questions for your next leadership meeting 1. **Where does the patient have to repeat her story?** Map every handoff from first call to diagnosis, referral, treatment, and follow-up. 2. **How do we respond to chronic pelvic pain?** Review triage language, clinical pathways, and what happens when common tests are inconclusive. 3. **What does “normal” mean in our documentation?** Audit words such as *anxious, dramatic, difficult,* and *reassured*. Do they clarify care, or quietly discredit the patient? 4. **Who owns the next step?** A referral without navigation can become another dead end. Make the plan, timing, and contact point visible. 5. **Are patients helping us redesign this?** Include people with lived experience—and compensate them for the expertise they bring. A 30-minute team huddle - Read one de-identified patient story. - Identify one moment where the patient could feel dismissed. - Rewrite the response using plain, respectful language. - Choose one process change the team can test this month. - Decide how patients will tell you whether it helped. [Bring Mike to Your Team](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/speaking/) [Start a conversation](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/contact/) Talks and working sessions on women’s health, belief, patient experience, and Human First healthcare leadership. STORIES ## The ordinary Tuesdays matter too. Endometriosis stories are often reduced to a diagnosis date, a surgery, or the worst day. But a life is also changed in the quieter moments: the shift missed, the dinner canceled, the heating pad at 2 a.m., the appointment replayed all the way home, the person who stayed, and the person who finally said, “I believe you.” This work makes room for those stories. [Read the stories](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/) [See the EndoDad portraits](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art/) [Share your story with Mike](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/contact/) A story should never be the price of being believed. Share only what feels safe. Nothing is published without clear permission. FROM THE ENDODAD ARCHIVE ## EndoWarriors who helped people see what pain can hide. Before this page became a resource hub, EndoDad was already making space for people whose stories had been minimized, doubted, or carried quietly for years. Not as inspiration content. Not as proof that someone is “strong enough.” As real people who trusted this project with part of their lives. ![Warrior in golden armour with deep red wings, portrait](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-01.jpg) ![Pale sepia warrior standing before a crowd of figures](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-02.jpg) ![Warrior in red and gold armour with flowing auburn hair](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-03.jpg) ![Textured painted profile of a woman in a yellow head wrap](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-04.jpg) ![Hooded figure shielding her face, blood on her hand](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-05.jpg) ![Stylised portrait of a woman in a yellow turban against deep blue](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-06.jpg) ![Braided warrior in fur with a carved shield](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-07.jpg) ![Woman holding cards reading Inconclusive, Unexplained, Follow Up Needed](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-08.jpg) ![Yellow poppies above a candle held in cupped hands](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-09.jpg) ![Painted study of lit yellow candles](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-10.jpg) ![Woman resting among red poppies in an art nouveau style](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-11.jpg) ![Older woman in a yellow coat, arms folded, meeting the viewer's eye](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-12.jpg) ![Figure curled inward, rendered in yellow and grey](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-13.jpg) ![Older woman in gold armour and a crimson cloak](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-14.jpg) ![Illustration of a woman gripping her head, red threads unspooling](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-15.jpg) ![Figure with hands covering her face, yellow breaking through black](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-16.jpg) ![Portrait in an ornate gold crown and jewelled collar](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-17.jpg) ![Goddess figure in an elaborate gold and blue headdress](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-18.jpg) ![Warrior with curling hair in fitted silver armour](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-19.jpg) ![Portrait of an older warrior in gold, calm and direct](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-20.jpg) ![Portrait crowned with rainbow feathers and painted markings](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-21.jpg) ![Red-haired warrior in engraved gold armour](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-22.jpg) ![Goddess wearing a radiating sun crown](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-23.jpg) ![Woman in a wide brimmed hat against bursting light](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-24.jpg) ![Portrait in a heavy gold collar, hair loose](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-25.jpg) ![Woman in a yellow dress seated in her wheelchair](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-26.jpg) ![Woman in yellow seated in her wheelchair among pink blossom](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-27.jpg) ![Warrior in a blue feathered headdress, smiling](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-28.jpg) ![Crowned warrior with a long braid, smiling](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-29.jpg) ![Woman in a yellow dress in her wheelchair, flowers at her shoulder](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-30.jpg) ![Illustrated portrait with glasses framed by a patterned halo](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-31.jpg) ![Illustrated figure with butterfly wings](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-32.jpg) ![Warrior with red curls in pale silver armour](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-33.jpg) ![Warrior in bronze armour holding twin blades](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-34.jpg) ![Illustrated portrait with glasses inside a sunflower halo](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-35.jpg) ![Woman with yellow petals scattered across her face](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-36.jpg) ![Warrior standing in a field of yellow blossom](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-37.jpg) ![Pop art portrait in hot pink and magenta](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-38.jpg) ![Figure standing small in a wide yellow field below mountains](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-39.jpg) ![Warrior in gold armour with feathered wings](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-40.jpg) ![Portrait with a pink crest against magenta wings](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-41.jpg) ![Portrait lit by low golden sun among tall flowers](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-42.jpg) ![Warrior in a winged headdress, smiling warmly](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-43.jpg) ![Older warrior with firelight behind her](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-44.jpg) ![Seated goddess in gold before a full moon](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-45.jpg) ![Winged goddess in flowing yellow](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-46.jpg) ![Black and white study of a figure seen from behind in a meadow](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-47.jpg) ![Black and white figure bent forward on a wooden chair](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-48.jpg) ![Portrait in a beaded headdress and gold collar](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-49.jpg) ![Warrior in bronze armour with braided hair](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-50.jpg) ![Yellow blossoms above a single lit candle](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-51.jpg) ![Warrior with gold painted skin carrying arrows](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-52.jpg) ![A yellow ribbon and a lit candle on a worn wooden chair](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-53.jpg) ![Older woman in polished silver armour](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-54.jpg) ![Elder warrior in red and blue with a jewelled circlet](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/endowarrior-t-55.jpg) ✕ ‹ › [Nominate yourself or share your story](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/contact/) FROM THE ENDODAD COMMUNITY ## The conversation keeps moving. Short videos and posts can reach someone on the exact night they need them. This is where the newest EndoDad portraits, practical reminders, family conversations, and advocacy work show up between longer stories. Instagram · @endodad76 [Follow @endodad76 on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/endodad76?ref=mikebakerhq.com) TikTok · @endodad76 > [@endodad76](https://www.tiktok.com/@endodad76?refer=creator%5Fembed&ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Follow @endodad76 on TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@endodad76?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Social platforms may collect data when their feeds load. Use the profile links above if you would rather view the posts on Instagram or TikTok. FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY ## Take what helps. Leave the rest. Every person and every care path is different. These are starting points—not rules and not medical advice. Most useful right now [Believe Her Conversation Guide ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/04-believe-her-conversation-guide.pdf) Send this when explaining it again feels like too much. [Doctor Appointment Preparation Sheet ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/03-doctor-appointment-preparation-sheet.pdf) Organize the facts and the questions before the visit. [Endometriosis Symptom & Pain Tracker ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/01-endometriosis-symptom-pain-tracker.pdf) Capture patterns and daily-life impact. [Pain Flare-Up Plan ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/07-pain-flare-up-plan.pdf) Decide what helps before the next hard day. [Workplace Support Planner ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/08-workplace-support-planner.pdf) Prepare for a conversation about practical support at work. Trusted medical starting points [World Health Organization who.int](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/endometriosis?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[NICHD / NIH nichd.nih.gov](https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/endometriosis?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists acog.org](https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/endometriosis?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Endometriosis Foundation of America endofound.org](https://www.endofound.org/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [See all free downloads](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/resources/) WHY I AM HERE ## I did not begin this work because I had all the answers. My wife, Kellie, lives with endometriosis. So does my daughter, Sammie. I watched people I love hurt. I watched them lose pieces of ordinary life. I watched them enter rooms looking for help and leave wondering whether anyone believed them. I also had to face the ways I did not always understand soon enough or respond well enough. EndoDad came out of that—not as my story to take over, but as my responsibility to do something with what I had seen. So I write. I make portraits. I talk with families. I carry these stories into healthcare meetings and rooms where decisions get made. I keep saying the sentence that should not be radical: Believe her the first time. Then listen. Learn. Help. Change the room. — Mike BEFORE YOU LEAVE ## Do one useful thing before you leave. You do not have to fix everything today. Send the conversation guide. Fill out the appointment sheet. Make the flare plan. Ask a better question. Change one process in your clinic. Believe someone without making her fight for it. That is how this gets better—not all at once, but in the next conversation, the next appointment, and the next room. [Share this page](#top) [Get ready for an appointment](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/03-doctor-appointment-preparation-sheet.pdf) [Help someone through a flare](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/07-pain-flare-up-plan.pdf) [Explore every resource](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/resources/) This page offers general education and practical support. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or a substitute for care from a qualified healthcare professional. Symptoms and treatment needs vary. If symptoms are sudden, severe, new, rapidly worsening, or feel unsafe, contact a qualified healthcare professional or emergency service. A private tool ## If she is the one in pain, give her this. Everything else on this page is written for you — the partner, the parent, the friend in the waiting room. This one is not. *I Believe You* is hers: a private guide she opens on her own phone that turns what she is feeling into words a doctor can act on. No account. Her answers stay in her browser and are never sent to me. There is a Quick Exit button in the corner for a reason. Send her the link and let her open it alone. - [ I Believe You → A private guide for periods that feel like too much. Free, no sign-up, nothing to download. ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/ibelieveyou/) Read them here ## Guides you can read without downloading anything Every tracker and toolkit below also lives as a page on this site — open one, read it, and take what you need. - [Myth vs. Fact SheetsWhat gets repeated about endometriosis and menopause, and what the evidence actually says.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/endometriosis-menopause-myths/) - [Questions for Your Healthcare ProfessionalThe questions worth writing down before you go in.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/questions-for-your-doctor/) - [Doctor Appointment Preparation SheetHow to walk into an appointment ready to be believed.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/appointment-prep/) - [Man vs. Menopause Partner ToolkitFor partners who want to help and do not know how.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/partner-toolkit/) - [Workplace Support PlannerWhat support at work can actually look like.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/menopause-at-work/) ### Custom Projects URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/custom-projects/ Last updated: 2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z # Custom Projects Custom Infinite Canvas AI art, made from your story instead of mine. Custom art sounds simple at first. It rarely is. Most of what I make under Infinite Canvas AI starts as somebody’s real story — a person, a loss, a fight, a milestone — turned into a portrait or a piece that holds it. If you want a custom piece, tell me the story first. The image comes after I understand what it’s actually about. Before you ask 01 What’s the story? Names, details, what it should feel like. 02 Reference photos or art help, but aren’t required. 03 Prints ship through Pictorem once the piece is finished. ## Start a custom piece Tell me the story. I’ll tell you if it’s something I can build. [Email me →](mailto:mikebakerhq@gmail.com?subject=Custom%20piece%20inquiry) ### AI Creative Disclosure URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/ai-creative-disclosure/ Last updated: 2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z The AI But Human Manifesto # The Tools Are New. The Voice Is Still Mine. Where I stand on making art with AI, written plainly, so nobody has to guess. I use AI. In some of my art. In some of my music production. In parts of how I organize and edit my writing. I’m not going to pretend otherwise, and I’m not going to bury it in fine print either. Here’s the plain version: the tools are new. The voice is still mine. > A tool doesn’t get to decide what a piece means. I do. Every book on the Books page, I wrote. The sentences, the structure, the argument — mine, sometimes with an editor’s help, the same as any writer. Under Infinite Canvas AI, the images are generated with AI tools, directed and selected by me, usually built around a real story from my life or the endometriosis work. The music runs the widest range: some of it is me on guitar, learning as I go; some of it leans more heavily on production tools. I’d rather tell you that than let you assume either way. What I won’t do: pass off a machine’s output as a memory I don’t have, a feeling I didn’t feel, or a person I never met. The stories underneath all of this — Kellie, Sammie, Jacob, Cameron, my mom, the women in the endometriosis work — are real. AI helps me say some of it. It doesn’t get to invent any of it. If that changes for a specific piece, I’ll say so on that piece. That’s the whole policy. ### Resources URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/resources/ Last updated: 2026-08-13T23:35:30.000Z [← EndoDad](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/advocacy/) # Resources Plain-language starting points on endometriosis, perimenopause and menopause, and chronic pain — and what to do when a doctor doesn’t believe you. Not medical advice. A place to start, and real organizations to go to next. Start here · free · no sign-up ## I Believe You A private guide for periods that feel like too much. It turns what you are feeling into words a doctor can act on. No account, nothing to download, and your answers never leave your browser. [Open it →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/ibelieveyou/) ## Endometriosis Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it — on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or elsewhere in the pelvis. That tissue responds to the menstrual cycle the same way, which means pain, inflammation, and sometimes scar tissue, every month. It affects roughly 1 in 10 women of reproductive age. The average time from first symptoms to diagnosis is commonly cited at 7 to 10 years — not because it’s rare, but because it’s so often dismissed as normal period pain. **Common signs:** pelvic pain that’s worse around your period, pain during or after sex, pain with bowel movements or urination during your period, heavy bleeding, and fatigue. Symptoms vary widely — some people have severe disease with little pain, others have mild disease with debilitating pain. There is no cure, but there are real treatments: hormonal therapy, pain management, and excision surgery performed by a specialist. A general OB-GYN can start the conversation; an endometriosis specialist (excision surgeon) is worth seeking out for a confirmed or suspected diagnosis. [ ![Believe Her the First Time by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-believe-her.jpg) The book Believe Her the First Time Written for the husbands, fathers, and families in the waiting room. Get it on Amazon → ](https://a.co/d/05pqSUNS?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ Endometriosis Foundation of America endofound.org ](https://www.endofound.org/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ Endometriosis UK endometriosis-uk.org ](https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ NIH / NICHD overview nichd.nih.gov ](https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/endometriosis?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Nancy’s Nookendomission.org](https://endomission.org/resources/nancys-nook/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ EndoBattery podcast Listen on Spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/show/1X4gHlVdM7ir0VX5db6mI7?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ## Perimenopause & menopause Perimenopause is the transition leading up to menopause, when hormone levels start to shift unevenly. It can start in a woman’s late 30s or 40s and last anywhere from a few months to over a decade. Menopause itself is marked retroactively — 12 months without a period. **Common signs:** irregular periods, hot flashes and night sweats, sleep disruption, mood changes, brain fog, vaginal dryness, and changes in sex drive. Many of these get written off as stress or aging instead of named for what they are. Treatment options include hormone therapy (still under-prescribed and often misunderstood, even by doctors), non-hormonal medications, and lifestyle support. A menopause-informed provider — not every OB-GYN has current training here — makes a real difference. [ ![Man vs. Menopause by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-man-vs-menopause.jpg) The book Man vs. Menopause A husband’s field guide, written for the partner trying to help. Get it on Amazon → ](https://a.co/d/036N4Arj?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ The Menopause Society menopause.org — find a certified provider ](https://www.menopause.org/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ National Institute on Aging nia.nih.gov ](https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/menopause?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ## Chronic pain & medical gaslighting Medical gaslighting is when a patient’s symptoms are dismissed, minimized, or attributed to anxiety or stress without real investigation. Women, and especially women of color, are diagnosed later and believed less across nearly every chronic pain condition — not because their pain is less real, but because the system is slower to look for it. **If you feel dismissed:** Write your symptoms down before the appointment — what, when, how often, how bad, on a 1–10 scale. Bring someone with you if you can; being believed is sometimes easier when someone else is in the room. Ask directly: “What else could this be, and how do we rule it out?” If you’re told it’s “just stress” or “just anxiety” with no workup, it’s reasonable to ask for one, or to get a second opinion. You’re allowed to switch doctors. You’re allowed to bring research. You’re allowed to be believed. [ Our Bodies Ourselves ourbodiesourselves.org ](https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ Believe Her the First Time The book, for the family in the waiting room ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ## More to hear and read [ Podcast EndoBattery Living with endometriosis, week to week — on Spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/show/1X4gHlVdM7ir0VX5db6mI7?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ## Downloadable resources Free, printable PDFs — trackers, conversation guides, and planners for the days that are hard to talk through out loud. [ Endometriosis Symptom & Pain Tracker PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/01-endometriosis-symptom-pain-tracker.pdf) [ Perimenopause & Menopause Symptom Tracker PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/02-perimenopause-menopause-symptom-tracker.pdf) [ Doctor Appointment Preparation Sheet PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/03-doctor-appointment-preparation-sheet.pdf) [ Believe Her Conversation Guide PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/04-believe-her-conversation-guide.pdf) [ Man vs. Menopause Partner Toolkit PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/05-man-v-menopause-partner-toolkit.pdf) [ Symptom Timeline Builder PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/06-symptom-timeline-builder.pdf) [ Pain Flare-Up Plan PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/07-pain-flare-up-plan.pdf) [ Workplace Support Planner PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/08-workplace-support-planner.pdf) [ Relationship Check-In Cards PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/09-relationship-check-in-cards.pdf) [ Questions for Your Healthcare Professional PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/10-questions-for-your-healthcare-professional.pdf) [ Myth vs. Fact Sheets PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/11-myth-vs-fact-sheets.pdf) [ Support Circle Map PDF download ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/downloads/12-support-circle-map.pdf) This page is general information, not medical advice, and it isn’t a substitute for care from a licensed provider. If you’re in crisis or need urgent care, contact a medical professional or emergency services directly. ### Streaming URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/streaming/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T04:31:42.000Z SoundCloud · @mike-baker-162751807 # Every Song, Streaming Every song I’ve released, growing all the time, playing right here. [Follow on SoundCloud →](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Every song starts the same way the books do — with a true story I couldn’t stop thinking about. *Beyond the Shadows* was the first one I let out, back when I was still figuring out whether any of this belonged outside my own head. It didn’t stay there. ## Spotify ## Full SoundCloud profile [Mike Baker](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807?ref=mikebakerhq.com) · all tracks on SoundCloud ## Albums & EPs [ ![Beyond the Shadows by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-beyond-the-shadows.jpg) Listen → ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/beyond-the-shadows/) [ ![Live From My Head by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-live-from-my-head.jpg) Listen → ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/live-from-my-head/) [ ![Standing on the Edge by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-standing-on-the-edge.jpg) Listen → ](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/standing-on-the-edge/) [ ![Side Quest album cover by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-side-quest.jpg) Listen → ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/side-quest?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ ![Shut Out the Noise by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-shut-out-the-noise.jpg) Listen → ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/shut-out-the-noise?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ ![Love Is Louder Than Fear by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-love-is-louder.jpg) Listen → ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/love-is-louder-than-fear?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [ ![The Noise Between Heartbeats by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-noise-between-heartbeats.jpg) Listen → ](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/the-noise-between-heartbeats?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ## Recent releases [Rabbit Hole](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/rabbit-hole-4?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [I’ll Just Check](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/ill-just-check-3?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [See You Tomorrow](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/see-you-tomorrow-13?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [While It’s Happening](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/while-its-happening-7?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Hey Tessie](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/hey-tessie-2?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Side Quest](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/side-quest-6?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Hyperfocus](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/hyperfocus-5?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Wide Open](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/wide-open-8?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ### Archive URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/archive/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T23:48:40.000Z [← Writing](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/) # The Archive Everything since 2024 — the books, the songs, the podcast notes, the ordinary Tuesdays. Sixty-some posts, in order, nothing deleted. 2026 Jul 14, 2026Human First ### [Something Is Shifting, and I Want to Help It Grow](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/something-is-shifting-and-i-want-to-help-it-grow-join-me/) I have been hearing people from very different parts of my life describe the same feeling. They do not share the same politics, faith, background, or explanation for what is happening. Some talk… Jul 9, 2026·Books and Writing ### Get Out of the Way I wrote Get Out of the Way: A Man’s Case for Women Leading What Comes Next because the women in my life have shaped almost everything good in me, and the longer I have lived, loved, parented, and… Jul 9, 2026·Human First ### The Human Voice in AI Work Why the tools changed but the voice is still mine. Jul 7, 2026·Human First ### What Needs to Move for Women’s Leadership? Authority, credit, protection, belief, and resources. Jul 7, 2026·Podcast ### Why I Released 10 Books: Mike Baker HQ Human First Story I know how it looks from the outside. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### Still Good: A Book About Leaving Mormonism and Staying Whole Leaving a faith that shaped your life is not simple. It can change your language, your family dynamics, your memories, and your sense of belonging. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### The Better Man Field Guide: A Book for Men Who Want to Grow A lot of men mean well and still leave damage behind. Most men do not wake up hoping to be distant, defensive, or hard to live with. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### Get Out of the Way: A Book for Men Who Say They Support Women A lot of men say they support women. Fewer men notice how often they still take up the room. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### The Future Still Needs Us: AI and the Human Future AI is already changing the world. The question is what kind of people we are going to become while it is here. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### Still Here, Still Trying: A Book for People Who Are Tired but Not Done Some books are written for people who need a plan. This one was written for people who need a place to breathe for a minute. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### Human First: A Book for Staying Connected in a Divided World Nearly everything I write keeps circling back to the same question: how do we stay human when the world keeps pulling us apart? Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### Man vs. Menopause: A Husband’s Guide to Perimenopause A lot of men are getting blindsided by perimenopause because nobody gave them a map. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### Believe Her the First Time: A Book for Families Who Love Someone With Endometriosis Endometriosis is personal in my family. My wife has lived with it. My daughter has lived with it. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### Beautifully Unfocused: A Book for People Whose Brains Never Stop Moving ADHD is often described by what it disrupts. This book describes what it also builds. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### Still My Mom: A Book for Families Facing Alzheimer’s Grieving someone slowly, in real time, while they are still in the room. Jul 3, 2026·Books and Writing ### Start Here: A Guide to Mike Baker’s Books I have written a lot of books in a short amount of time, and yes, I know that sounds a little insane. Jul 3, 2026·Human First ### Before You Ask for Custom Art, Know What You’re Really Asking For Custom art sounds simple at first. It rarely is. May 26, 2026·Human First ### What Are We Doing With the Life We Still Have? Memorial Day, hockey, family, and the ordinary joy we almost miss. May 20, 2026·Human First ### The Middle Has to Move Episode 50, public ugliness, women’s health, and the work of staying human. May 18, 2026·Human First ### Don’t Lose Your Smile Some songs start with a plan. This one started with a phone call. Apr 14, 2026·Human First ### What Could We Build If We Got Serious About the Future? We are wasting too much of what makes us human. Apr 12, 2026·Human First ### [Still Here, Still Trying: Why Season 2 Starts Now](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/still-here-still-trying-why-you-might-have-missed-something-las/) Apr 6, 2026·Human First ### Which Future Are We Building? We are at a crossroads, and people know it. Apr 6, 2026·Human First ### Standing on the Edge One night. Five songs. A whole lifetime in fifteen minutes. Mar 29, 2026·Human First ### What Happens When Everyone Finally Shows Up I’m writing this tonight, still here, with one more day left at the Endometriosis Summit. Mar 25, 2026·Human First ### The Pressure to Be Okay There’s a quiet habit a lot of us have picked up over time. Mar 9, 2026·Human First ### The AI But Human Manifesto Why the tools changed but the voice is still mine. 2025 Dec 27, 2025·Human First ### After the Show: From Shedding to Motion The show is over. Oct 19, 2025·Human First ### The Power of an Image Resist, by Mike Baker. Oct 18, 2025·Human First ### Human First: The Middle Still Matters Liberty in the Static, by Mike Baker. Oct 17, 2025·Human First ### The Cost of Looking Away A note before you read. Oct 14, 2025·Human First ### Seeing Differently: Art Beyond Vision “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Oct 13, 2025·Human First ### Human First By Mike Baker. Aug 26, 2025·Human First ### The Beer League Goalie Manifesto Notes from the weirdest position in hockey. Jun 27, 2025·Human First ### [Slop, Soul, and the Reason I Keep Creating](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/slop-soul-and-the-reason-i-keep-creating/) By Mike Baker. Jun 19, 2025·Human First ### [Still Here, Still Leading with Heart](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/still-here-still-leading-with-heart/) By Mike Baker. Jun 16, 2025·Human First ### Right Here Counts Too By Mike Baker. Jun 14, 2025·Human First ### No Kings: Notes From a Middle Seat on a Shaking Train A wobbling middle seat on a train that feels like it’s racing around a blind curve. Jun 10, 2025·Human First ### What Fatherhood Really Feels Like By Mike Baker. May 27, 2025·Human First ### Too Much Noise: A Letter from Inside the Record By Mike Baker. May 26, 2025·Human First ### Weekend Magic on the Ice The 5th Annual Panhandle Spring Classic, an adult hockey tournament in Coeur d’Alene benefitting the Inland Northwest Girls Hockey Foundation. May 20, 2025·Human First ### Shaenol: A Memory That Found Its Way Back A song that came from further back than most. May 15, 2025·Human First ### [What I Carried Home from Washington](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/what-i-carried-home-from-washington/) Some trips are about meetings and agendas. This one left a mark on my heart too. May 13, 2025·Human First ### Why I Wrote The Optimist’s Way A personal note about failure, hope, and choosing to keep going. May 9, 2025·Human First ### When the World Gets Louder, Get Kinder “People are angrier. Whatever happened to peace and love?” May 9, 2025·Human First ### The Village of Moms: Celebrating Love in Action Mother’s Day reaches beyond a single household — it’s a village, a circle of care. Apr 24, 2025·Human First ### Penalty Box Confessions: The Soundtrack to the Game That Raised Me By Mike Baker. Apr 24, 2025·Human First ### You’re Still Moving, Even When It Feels Like You’re Not By Mike Baker. Apr 24, 2025·Human First ### The Kind of Leader the World Needs: A Tribute to My Brother Jon There’s a rare kind of person who leaves people better than they found them. Apr 24, 2025·Human First ### The Quiet Work of Hope There were a lot of late nights. Jan 9, 2025·Human First ### The Light We Share: Connecting the World Through Music Hi friends… Jan 2, 2025·Human First ### Echoes Reimagined: Revisiting the Past, Telling Untold Stories Beyond the Shadows was inspired by the experiences of people close to me — family, friends, and community. 2024 Dec 29, 2024·Human First ### The Story Behind Louder Than Lies Music has always been a way to say what’s hard to put into words — corporate greed, broken systems, the struggles we face every day. Dec 23, 2024·Human First ### Reflecting on 2024: Progress, Connection, and Gratitude Looking back on 2024 with a mix of pride, gratitude, and excitement for what lies ahead. Dec 16, 2024·Human First ### To Those Who’ve Served: You Are Not Alone For anyone who has answered the call to serve, on the front lines or supporting from the shadows. Dec 5, 2024·Human First ### Never Again: A Personal Journey Through the Holocaust Museum Walking through those halls in Washington, D.C., seeing the faces of those who lived and died. Nov 25, 2024·Human First ### Written in the Wind: A Journey of Connection and Hope An album made to reach deeper — life’s struggles, unexpected joys, and the quiet strength we find when we keep going. Nov 20, 2024·Human First ### Carrying the Weight: The Story Behind The Man Behind the Mask Husband, father, friend, CEO, community leader, hockey goalie — so many masks, one man. Nov 2, 2024·Human First ### The Story Behind The Cost of Silence The gaps between us are growing wider, and the silence is becoming too heavy to bear. Aug 24, 2024·Human First ### Breaking Through the Noise By Mike Baker. Apr 27, 2024·Human First ### Leading with Unity: My Call for a Positive Shift in Leadership Reflecting on my “My Turn: Shut Up? No, Step Up and Lead!” piece in the Coeur d’Alene Press. Apr 27, 2024·Human First ### Integrity and Unity: My Election Stand Setting aside my professional role to share some thoughts directly, personally. Apr 19, 2024·Human First ### Welcome to MikeBakerHQ: Your Gateway to Art, Music and More The central hub for all my creative and advocacy endeavors. ### Beyond the Shadows URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/beyond-the-shadows/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T04:34:17.000Z [← Mike Baker Music](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/music/) ![Beyond the Shadows by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/album-beyond-the-shadows.jpg) Album # Beyond the Shadows Album · 22 tracks · March 2024 · by Mike Baker The first Mike Baker Music album, preserved as the raw beginning of a creative life that grew much larger than expected. [Listen on SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/beyond-the-shadows?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Every song, streaming](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/streaming/) - [Full discography](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/discography/) - [Mike Baker Music](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/music/) ## The story Beyond the Shadows is where Mike Baker Music began. I released it on March 28, 2024, before I knew what my sound would become or how much music I would eventually make. I was learning a new creative process in public. Years of writing gave me a foundation, while a song asked something different of the words. They had to move, repeat, breathe, and live inside a voice and arrangement. The unfamiliar process kept pulling me forward. The first album is long. Twenty-two tracks is a lot for an established artist and a slightly ridiculous way to begin. It also tells the truth about where I was. I was curious, moving quickly, and unwilling to wait until I understood everything before making something. Each finished track led to another question. A phrase suggested a new song. A sound opened another direction. Before long, I had an album. The titles reveal the emotional territory I kept returning to: sorrow, shadows, broken pieces, tired souls, persistence, and the possibility of finding enough strength to continue. Some of the language is broad because I was still learning how to make a song specific. I reached for recurring images because they gave me a way into feelings that were harder to name directly. That repetition matters when I look back. The album was already circling themes that would follow me through later music, books, advocacy, leadership, and the Human First work. I have always paid attention to what people carry quietly. I am drawn to the moment when someone feels worn down and still decides to participate in life. These songs approach that idea from several angles, sometimes with restraint and sometimes with the volume turned all the way up. I would write parts of Beyond the Shadows differently now. That is one reason I want the original record to remain available. A catalog should show growth. Cleaning up the beginning until it sounds like the person I became would erase the most useful part of it. Later records, including Echoes Reimagined and From the Ashes, returned to some of these songs and ideas with more experience behind them. Those versions show what changed in the craft. Beyond the Shadows shows the initial impulse, before I had learned to shape it as carefully. The album also marks the point when AI-assisted music became a serious creative tool for me. I was writing, directing, choosing, revising, and listening for the version that matched what I heard in my head. The technology gave me access to a form I had never expected to use this way. An idea worth pursuing and enough curiosity to stay with it gave me a place to begin while I learned the rest. There is no tidy origin myth here. I tried something, heard possibility in it, and kept going. Beyond the Shadows preserves that moment in full, including the repetition, rough edges, ambition, and emotional directness of a person discovering a new language while already speaking it. If you only have a few minutes ## Start here 1. ### 01Fields of Sorrow The opening track introduces the emotional ground of the whole record. It begins with grief and heaviness, then asks what a person does while standing inside them. Starting here makes sense because the rest of the album keeps returning to that question through different images and sounds. 2. ### 02Sunflowers in the Rain This song contains one of the clearest early versions of an idea that stayed with me: difficult circumstances do not remove every worthwhile thing from view. The title is simple, visual, and less abstract than much of the surrounding record. It points toward the kind of grounded attention I would learn to trust more in later writing. 3. ### 03Corners of My Mind The album turns inward here. Rather than reaching immediately for a large statement about resilience, the song looks at the private places where thoughts remain after the rest of life has moved forward. It is a useful entry point for listeners who want the quieter side of the record. 4. ### 04I'll Still Fight This track carries the most direct statement of persistence on the album. Continuing matters even while certainty and victory remain out of reach. My later work developed that idea with greater discipline, and its early form is already present here. ## Tracks 1. 01Fields of Sorrow 2. 02In the Shadows 3. 03Sunflowers in the Rain 4. 04Shades of Grey 5. 05Shadows and Sunlight 6. 06Shadows and Sunbeams 7. 07Against the Night 8. 08Shining Through the Darkness 9. 09Struggle to the Stars 10. 10Hope in the Shadows 11. 11Corners of My Mind 12. 12Weary Soul, Winding Road 13. 13Shades of Blue 14. 14Broken Pieces 15. 15Shadows Follow Me 16. 16I'll Hold on Tight 17. 17Hard to See the Sun 18. 18Silly Thrills 19. 19The Light Within 20. 20I'll Still Fight 21. 21Rise Above the Shadows 22. 22Shadows ## Track by track 1. ### 01Fields of Sorrow The opening song places the listener in the middle of grief and establishes the record's central concern: how people keep moving while carrying something heavy. 2. ### 02In the Shadows An early exploration of the parts of life and self that remain hidden, especially the struggles other people rarely see. 3. ### 03Sunflowers in the Rain A more visual and tender song about noticing beauty during a difficult season without pretending the weather has changed. 4. ### 04Shades of Grey This track steps away from easy answers and sits with the uncertainty that fills most real decisions, relationships, and periods of change. 5. ### 05Shadows and Sunlight The song follows the way hardship and relief move through the same life, sometimes close enough to be felt in the same day. 6. ### 06Shadows and Sunbeams Another early variation on the album's central image, with greater attention to the smaller moments that help someone continue. 7. ### 07Against the Night A song about resistance and endurance, built around the decision to keep standing when the outcome still feels uncertain. 8. ### 08Shining Through the Darkness This track focuses on the part of a person that remains visible even during a period that has made everything else harder to recognize. 9. ### 09Struggle to the Stars One of the album's larger, more ambitious statements, connecting effort with the desire to reach beyond present circumstances. 10. ### 10Hope in the Shadows The title states the album's thesis plainly: the smallest reason to continue often appears before life has become easier. 11. ### 11Corners of My Mind A quieter inward song about thoughts and memories that collect in private places and continue shaping how we move through the world. 12. ### 12Weary Soul, Winding Road The record acknowledges exhaustion here. The road continues, though the person walking it has stopped pretending the effort feels easy. 13. ### 13Shades of Blue A reflection on sadness as something with different depths and textures rather than one fixed emotional state. 14. ### 14Broken Pieces This song considers what remains after hurt and how a person begins living with pieces that do not fit together the way they once did. 15. ### 15Shadows Follow Me Some struggles remain present after the immediate crisis passes. This track gives that persistence a name. 16. ### 16I'll Hold on Tight A song centered on commitment, closeness, and the choice to keep hold of what matters during instability. 17. ### 17Hard to See the Sun The record makes room for days when encouragement feels distant and a better future is difficult to picture. 18. ### 18Silly Thrills A needed change in temperature, reminding the listener that play and pleasure still belong inside a complicated emotional life. 19. ### 19The Light Within This track turns toward internal strength and the resources a person discovers after outside certainty has fallen away. 20. ### 20I'll Still Fight A direct promise to continue, expressed with the urgency and plainness that defined much of my earliest songwriting. 21. ### 21Rise Above the Shadows The album begins moving toward resolution through an active choice to grow beyond what has been limiting or hurting us. 22. ### 22Shadows The final track returns to the image that holds the collection together, closing the record without pretending every difficult thing has disappeared. ## Where it leads Beyond the Shadows opened the door. The next releases show me testing how wide that door could become, beginning with the R&B and soul textures of [Velvet Echoes: Rhythms of the Heart](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/velvet-echoes-rhythms-of-the-heart/). ## More from the catalog - [All 65 releases](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/discography/) - [Velvet Echoes: Rhythms of the Heart →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/velvet-echoes-rhythms-of-the-heart/) ### Live From My Head URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/live-from-my-head/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T04:33:30.000Z [← Mike Baker Music](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/music/) ![Live From My Head by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-live-from-my-head.jpg) Album # Live From My Head Album · 14 tracks · 2026 · by Mike Baker Fourteen songs from the part of my brain that never stops talking. [Listen on SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/live-from-my-head?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Every song, streaming](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/streaming/) - [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2hbJLbX7FkveIAz0xnJce9?ref=mikebakerhq.com) - [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mike-baker/1739813579?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ## The story Live From My Head is a live album. Kind of. It’s the show I’ve played a thousand times in my imagination — the perfect night where the crowd gets it, the jokes land, the songs hit the way they’re supposed to, and nobody’s distracted or halfway out the door. It’s that version of a show musicians replay in their heads on the drive home… except I decided to actually make it. This record lives in the space between what’s real and what’s imagined. It sounds like a live concert, it feels like a live concert, but it was built in pieces — alone in a studio, with stories, memories, and a lot of help from AI. Not to replace creativity, but to unlock it. AI didn’t write my life for me. It helped me tell it. That’s the heart of this album. ### The dream behind it I wanted to capture the energy of a great night out — the laughter, the crowd moments, the little unscripted bits between songs — without pretending it actually happened that way. Because sometimes the truest version of a moment isn’t the literal one, it’s the one you felt. Using AI let me build the show the way it exists in my head: - a full room - perfect timing - space to be funny, honest, and a little ridiculous - no pressure to rush past the meaningful parts It’s live, but it’s also private. Big crowd energy, built from small, personal moments. ### What the songs are really about On the surface, these songs are funny. Underneath, they’re about connection. They’re about: - lifelong friends who grew up together and somehow still find each other - family jokes that make no sense unless you’re in it - getting older and realizing the dumb stuff mattered - marriage, parenting, missing people, screwing things up, and trying again Songs like “Don’t Be a Stranger” aren’t just about one group of friends — they’re about your people. The ones you don’t want to lose touch with. The ones you assume will always be there, until life reminds you to pay attention. Even the goofiest tracks are grounded in real moments — because humor has always been how I process things, celebrate things, and survive things. ### Why AI matters here, without the hype AI isn’t the point of this album — the stories are. But AI made it possible to: - experiment freely - build a live atmosphere without waiting for the “right” venue or moment - try ideas that would normally get left on a voice memo or notebook page - finish something instead of waiting for perfect conditions It let me be playful. It let me be honest. It let me make the album I wanted to hear. ### What I hope you take from it If you listen to this record and laugh — great. If you think about your friends, your family, or someone you haven’t called in a while — even better. This album is a reminder that: - the little things are the big things - showing up matters - imagination counts - and sometimes the best nights are the ones you build for yourself Thanks for being here — whether this feels live to you, imagined, or somewhere in between. Either way… You were there. If you only have a few minutes ## Start here 1. ### 01Hot for My Pilates Instructor The imagined set begins with a playful attraction song that establishes the album's willingness to turn private life into a public joke. 2. ### 02Don't Be a Stranger Humor steps aside long enough to recognize the friendships adulthood tests through distance, time, and neglected contact. 3. ### 03Nobody Thanks the Goalie Mike's own position becomes a clear account of responsibility, invisible prevention, and the mistake everyone remembers. 4. ### 04My Therapist Drives a Tacoma A specific comic premise makes therapy part of everyday life and shows how the album uses laughter to approach vulnerable subjects. ## Tracks 1. 01Spoken Intro: Live From My Head 2. 02Hot for My Pilates Instructor 3. 03I'm Not Yelling, This Is Just How I Talk 4. 04All the Ways to Say Fuck You 5. 05Perfect Blend 6. 06Don't Be a Stranger 7. 07I Was Listening, I Swear 8. 08This Meeting Could've Been a Text 9. 09Nobody Thanks the Goalie 10. 10If I Flip You Off, I Love You 11. 11I Fucked Up Christmas 12. 12My Therapist Drives a Tacoma 13. 13Still Fucking Around 14. 14Spoken Outro: Live From My Head ## Track by track 1. ### 01Spoken Intro: Live From My Head Mike invites listeners into a concert assembled from imagination and makes the constructed format part of the story from the first voice. 2. ### 02Hot for My Pilates Instructor Attraction and self-awareness meet in a playful song whose personal target needs approval before the backstory becomes public. 3. ### 03I'm Not Yelling, This Is Just How I Talk A naturally forceful voice becomes a running defense, a source of misunderstanding, and an affectionate piece of self-recognition. 4. ### 04All the Ways to Say Fuck You Profanity changes meaning through tone and relationship, moving between anger, comedy, boundary, and the language of close friends. 5. ### 05Perfect Blend Different personalities and habits find a workable balance, giving the set a warmer relationship song after its opening jokes. 6. ### 06Don't Be a Stranger Old friends face the quiet distance created by adulthood and receive a direct request to keep the connection alive. 7. ### 07I Was Listening, I Swear Attention drifts while care remains, leaving the narrator to explain a gap other people experience as indifference. 8. ### 08This Meeting Could've Been a Text Workplace ritual meets blunt frustration as the song names the time and attention consumed by avoidable conversation. 9. ### 09Nobody Thanks the Goalie Success looks like nothing happened, while one missed save defines the night for everyone watching. 10. ### 10If I Flip You Off, I Love You A rude gesture becomes affectionate shorthand inside relationships built on history, trust, and a shared sense of humor. 11. ### 11I Fucked Up Christmas A holiday mistake collides with family expectations and leaves the narrator trying to repair more than a ruined plan. 12. ### 12My Therapist Drives a Tacoma Therapy receives an ordinary, memorable setting that allows vulnerability to enter the show without a solemn announcement. 13. ### 13Still Fucking Around Getting older has not ended the jokes, the friendships, or the impulse to play, even as everyone understands more of what time costs. 14. ### 14Spoken Outro: Live From My Head The imagined crowd fades while Mike explains why building the show mattered and leaves the listener included in the night. ## Where it leads Live From My Head turned private experience into an imagined public performance. The next record, [The Noise Between Heartbeats](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/the-noise-between-heartbeats/), moved beneath the jokes toward anxiety, mental pressure, and the physical sensation of a mind that will not fully settle. ## More from the catalog - [← Beautifully Unfocused](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/beautifully-unfocused-album/) - [All 65 releases](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/discography/) - [The Noise Between Heartbeats →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/the-noise-between-heartbeats/) ### Standing on the Edge URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/standing-on-the-edge/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T04:33:28.000Z [← Mike Baker Music](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/music/) ![Standing on the Edge by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-standing-on-the-edge.jpg) EP # Standing on the Edge EP · 5 tracks · 2026 · by Mike Baker One night. Five songs. A whole lifetime in fifteen minutes. [Listen on SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/mike-baker-162751807/sets/standing-on-the-edge?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Every song, streaming](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/streaming/) - [Read the essay behind it](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/standing-on-the-edge-essay/) - [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2hbJLbX7FkveIAz0xnJce9?ref=mikebakerhq.com) - [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mike-baker/1739813579?ref=mikebakerhq.com) A note before you read: this album follows one night of doubt and the decision to keep going. The songs and the writing below deal with wanting to give up. Support resources are on this page. ## The story Standing on the Edge is a piano-driven journey through one long night of doubt, noise, and survival. The songs follow a quiet story: a man overwhelmed by the chaos of the world and the war inside his own mind, standing at the edge of giving up. From the breaking point in “The Weight of Today”, to the fragile calm of “The Quiet After the Storm,” the EP moves through reflection, healing, and the slow return of hope. Each track builds on the last—ghosts that shrink in the morning light, small fires that keep burning in the dark, and the quiet strength it takes to turn around when everything inside you says to let go. Minimal arrangements. Honest vocals. Just piano, silence, and the truth that sometimes the biggest victory is simply choosing to keep going. Because some nights feel endless. But the story doesn’t end at the edge. Before you listen, and after ## If tonight is the night this record is about These five songs sit with a person at the point of giving up, and they end with him turning around. If that is where you are, please talk to someone tonight rather than waiting to see how the night goes. - **988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline** — in the US, call or text [988](tel:988), or [chat online](https://chat.988lifeline.org/?ref=mikebakerhq.com). Free, confidential, 24/7\. Text and chat are also available in Spanish, and there is a Deaf and Hard of Hearing option. - **If someone is in immediate danger** — call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. - **You do not have to be certain** — you can call because you are not sure, because you are tired, or because you do not want to be alone with it. Outside the US, the [Find A Helpline](https://findahelpline.com/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) directory lists free crisis lines by country. If you only have a few minutes ## Start here 1. ### 01The Weight of Today The opening song establishes the night's danger through the unbearable scale of the present moment. 2. ### 02The Quiet After the Storm Silence follows emotional overload and leaves the listener inside an uncertain pause before direction returns. 3. ### 03Small Fires Small sources of connection remain visible in the dark and create enough time for another decision. 4. ### 04I Turned Around The closing action gives the EP its purpose by moving one person away from finality and toward continued life. ## Tracks 1. 01The Weight of Today 2. 02The Quiet After the Storm 3. 03Ghosts in the Morning Light 4. 04Small Fires 5. 05I Turned Around ## Track by track 1. ### 01The Weight of Today The current day's burden fills the narrator's view until history, support, and future possibility become difficult to access. 2. ### 02The Quiet After the Storm Emotional intensity recedes into a silence that offers space while leaving the central risk unresolved. 3. ### 03Ghosts in the Morning Light Morning changes the shape of memories and fears that appeared permanent during the darkest hours. 4. ### 04Small Fires Remaining points of love, duty, memory, and contact give the narrator reasons to stay through the next moment. 5. ### 05I Turned Around A small physical decision interrupts a permanent outcome and opens the story toward help, relationship, and morning. ## Where it leads Standing on the Edge ended with one person turning back toward life. Twenty-six days later, [Shut Out the Noise](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/shut-out-the-noise/) examined the environment surrounding that private struggle and asked which signals deserve access to the mind. ## More from the catalog - [← Love Is Louder Than Fear](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/love-is-louder-than-fear/) - [All 65 releases](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/discography/) - [Shut Out the Noise →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/shut-out-the-noise/) ### The Human First series URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books-index/ Last updated: 2026-08-02T18:12:27.000Z _No content available._ ### Welcome URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/welcome/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:22:40.000Z # Welcome Hi there, and thank you for signing up. I built this place to share the things I keep returning to: family, healthcare, leadership, creativity, and the question underneath all of it. How do we stay useful to people while becoming more fully ourselves? Some weeks I’ll send you something I wrote. Other weeks it might be an idea I’m working through, a story that stayed with me, a new book or song, or something I learned from the people around me. I’m still figuring out what this becomes, and I think that is part of the point. I want these emails to feel like hearing from a person, because that is exactly what they are. You won’t get a polished content machine or a steady stream of sales pitches. You’ll hear from me when I have something worth sharing. You are always welcome to reply. I read the responses, and some of the best things I’ve written started with someone telling me what a story brought up for them. I’m grateful you trusted me with a little space in your inbox. [Reply and say hello →](mailto:mikebakerhq@gmail.com) Mike Baker Still here, still trying. While you are here [The essays](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/) · [The books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) · [The music](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/music/) ### Women's Health URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/womens-health/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T07:03:42.000Z ENDODAD · ADVOCACY · WOMEN’S HEALTH # Believe her at every age. Women spend far too much of their lives translating what is happening in their bodies into language other people will take seriously. The symptoms change. The pattern often does not. Pain gets normalized. Exhaustion becomes stress. Brain fog becomes carelessness. Changes in mood become a personality problem. Sexual symptoms go unspoken. A woman enters an appointment knowing something has shifted and leaves wondering whether she explained it badly. This page is here to make the next step easier. You will find practical tools for perimenopause and menopause, honest help for partners, books that open better conversations, and trusted medical resources for making informed decisions about care. [Start with what you need](#start)[Download the symptom tracker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/02-perimenopause-menopause-symptom-tracker.pdf) ![Fourteen portraits from No Permission Needed, an Infinite Canvas AI show about women’s health, with the title piece Not Your Hero and She Walks Free at the center](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/wh-hero-collage-v4.jpg) From “No Permission Needed” — an Infinite Canvas AI show about women’s health · The Art Spirit Gallery, February 2026 · [See the art →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art/) PRACTICAL HELP ## What would help today? [I am trying to understand my symptomsLearn what commonly changes during perimenopause and menopause, track what is happening, and organize the questions you want answered.Understand the changes →](#understand)[I have an appointment coming upWalk in with your history, symptoms, priorities, medication list, and questions in one place.Prepare for the appointment →](#appointment)[My partner is going through thisLearn how to offer support without dismissing, diagnosing, withdrawing, or asking her to manage your response too.Read the partner guide →](#partners)[Sex or intimacy has changedFind language for talking about dryness, discomfort, desire, sleep, body changes, fear, and connection without turning the conversation into blame.Start the conversation →](#intimacy)[Work has become harderPrepare for a respectful conversation about temperature, scheduling, concentration, uniforms, breaks, privacy, and other practical workplace needs.Use the workplace section →](#workplace)[I lead a team or healthcare organizationLook at where women get dismissed, where care becomes fragmented, and what your organization can change.Explore the leadership sections →](#healthcare-leaders) UNDERSTAND THE TRANSITION ## You are allowed to take the changes seriously. Perimenopause is the transition leading to menopause. It often lasts several years. During that time, changing hormone levels can affect menstrual cycles, temperature regulation, sleep, mood, concentration, sexual and urinary health, and daily life. Menopause is confirmed after 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period or spotting, when there is not another medical explanation. Symptoms do not always stop at that point, and health needs continue after menopause. Some people enter menopause earlier because of surgery, cancer treatment, health conditions, or other factors. Their care and treatment considerations may be different. Experiences vary widely. Some women have few symptoms. Others find that symptoms affect work, relationships, confidence, sleep, and the ability to function normally. Both experiences are real. This page often uses the words women and woman because that is the community at the center of Mike’s work. Some transgender men and nonbinary people also experience perimenopause and menopause and deserve informed, respectful care. Perimenopause Periods may arrive closer together, farther apart, heavier, lighter, or differently than before. Symptoms can begin before someone realizes the hormonal transition has started. Menopause Menopause marks the end of menstrual periods and is confirmed after 12 months without a period or spotting. It is one point in a longer transition, not a single day when every symptom ends. After menopause Bone health, cardiovascular health, sexual and urinary health, sleep, mental health, and quality of life all deserve ongoing attention. Early, premature, or medically induced menopause Menopause that happens early or follows surgery or medical treatment can bring different risks and decisions. Ask for care that reflects the reason, timing, symptoms, medical history, and your priorities. [Track what is changing](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/02-perimenopause-menopause-symptom-tracker.pdf) MORE THAN HOT FLASHES ## The body is going through change. Daily life feels it too. Perimenopause and menopause can involve much more than periods. The changes can affect how a person sleeps, thinks, works, moves, relates, and feels inside her own body. Cycles and bleeding Irregular periods, missed periods, heavier or lighter bleeding, spotting, changes in timing, or changes in cramps. Temperature and sleep Hot flashes, night sweats, chills, waking often, trouble falling asleep, or exhaustion after disrupted sleep. Brain and mood Difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, anxiety, irritability, low mood, reduced confidence, or feeling unlike yourself. Sexual and urinary health Vaginal dryness, pain during sex, changes in desire, urinary discomfort or urgency, bladder changes, or recurring urinary problems. Body and energy Fatigue, headaches, joint or muscle discomfort, palpitations, changes in body composition, or changes in exercise recovery and tolerance. Life around the symptoms Missed work, canceled plans, relationship strain, reduced patience, difficulty caring for others, loss of confidence, or feeling isolated inside an experience other people cannot see. Symptoms associated with menopause can overlap with other health concerns. A thoughtful evaluation should consider the whole picture instead of assuming every new symptom comes from hormones. DO NOT WAIT FOR UNBEARABLE ## You do not have to earn care by suffering longer. Make an appointment when symptoms disrupt sleep, work, relationships, sex, exercise, mental health, or ordinary life. Bring up new symptoms even when you are unsure whether they are connected to menopause. Bleeding or spotting after 12 months without a period should be evaluated by a healthcare professional, even if it happens once or seems minor. Heavy bleeding, bleeding between periods, bleeding after sex, or a major change in your usual pattern also deserves a conversation with a clinician. New, severe, rapidly worsening, or frightening symptoms need prompt medical attention. If you think you may be having a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number. You know what normal has felt like in your body. You are allowed to say, “This has changed, and I want to understand why.” [Prepare for a doctor visit](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/03-doctor-appointment-preparation-sheet.pdf) MAKE THE TIME COUNT ## Walk in with the story organized. Appointments move quickly. A hormonal transition rarely fits neatly into a ten-minute conversation. Before the visit, write down - When the changes began and how they have progressed. - Menstrual patterns, including heavy bleeding or spotting. - Sleep, hot flashes, mood, concentration, sexual, urinary, and physical symptoms. - What the symptoms prevent you from doing. - Current prescriptions, supplements, contraception, and previous treatments. - Relevant personal and family medical history. - The three questions you most need answered. Language you can use > “This has begun affecting my sleep, work, relationship, or ability to function normally.” > “I would like to discuss whether perimenopause could be contributing to these symptoms and what else should be considered.” > “What treatment choices fit my symptoms, medical history, preferences, and risk factors?” > “What should we try first, how will we know whether it is helping, and when should we follow up?” > “If this plan does not help, what comes next?” Before leaving, confirm - What the clinician thinks may be happening. - Whether any further evaluation is needed. - The benefits, risks, and limits of each treatment choice. - What improvement should look like. - When follow-up will happen. - Who to contact if symptoms worsen. Download the tools [Perimenopause & Menopause Symptom Tracker ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/02-perimenopause-menopause-symptom-tracker.pdf)[Doctor Appointment Preparation Sheet ↓ PDF](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/03-doctor-appointment-preparation-sheet.pdf) INFORMED CHOICES ## You deserve a real conversation about your options. No single treatment fits every person. Care should reflect symptoms, medical history, age, personal risks, priorities, preferences, and what matters most to the person seeking help. Hormone therapy Menopausal hormone therapy is the most effective treatment for hot flashes and night sweats and can help with some other symptoms. Benefits and risks depend on the person, the treatment type, dose, route, timing, whether the person has a uterus, and medical history. The decision belongs in an individualized conversation with a qualified healthcare professional. Nonhormonal prescription treatment Nonhormonal prescription options are available for some menopause symptoms, including hot flashes. These can matter for people who prefer not to use hormone therapy or whose medical history makes it inappropriate. Ask what each treatment is intended to help, what its risks are, and how follow-up will work. Vaginal and urinary treatment Vaginal moisturizers and lubricants can help some people with dryness or discomfort. Prescription choices include low-dose vaginal estrogen and other treatments for vaginal or urinary symptoms. Local vaginal treatment is different from systemic hormone therapy and deserves its own conversation. Sleep, mood, and mental health Sleep disruption, anxiety, depression, and changes in concentration deserve care in their own right. Treatment may include addressing hot flashes, evaluating other sleep or mental health conditions, counseling, medication, or other evidence-based support. Daily health Movement, strength work, nourishing food, sleep routines, smoking cessation, and support around alcohol or stress can contribute to long-term health. They should support good care—not become another way to send someone home without answers. A treatment decision should leave you informed and involved. Fear, shame, sales claims, or internet certainty should not make the decision for you. [Read trusted medical sources](#trusted-resources) FOR HUSBANDS, BOYFRIENDS, SONS, BROTHERS, AND FRIENDS ## Men, this is your part. I wrote *Man vs. Menopause* because too many men experience menopause as something happening somewhere near them. We notice the disrupted sleep. The change in intimacy. The shorter fuse. The forgotten conversation. The distance growing between two people. We do not know what to say, so we say very little—or say the thing that makes the moment worse. Your partner does not need you to become a hormone specialist. She needs you to believe that something real is happening. She needs you to learn without making her teach every lesson. She needs you to notice the practical load, protect the relationship from careless jokes, and stay present when neither of you has the right words. Her body is not something being done to you. This season may affect you. It may confuse you. It may ask more patience, honesty, and flexibility from both of you. But support starts when you stop making your confusion the center of her physical experience. Start here - Ask what she is experiencing before telling her what you have observed. - Learn about perimenopause without making her responsible for your education. - Treat sleep disruption, sexual pain, exhaustion, and mood changes as health concerns, not personal rejection. - Attend an appointment when invited. Listen, take notes, and help preserve the questions she wanted answered. - Take responsibility for part of the practical load without waiting to be assigned every task. - Talk honestly about the relationship while remembering that her body belongs to her. - When you get it wrong, own it quickly. A useful apology matters more than a long defense of your intentions. Believe first. Listen fully. Help with what comes next. [Download the partner toolkit](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/05-man-v-menopause-partner-toolkit.pdf)[Read Man vs. Menopause](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/man-vs-menopause/) READ THE SEASON. UNDERSTAND THE PATTERN. CHANGE HOW YOU SHOW UP. ## Three books. One hard question: are you easy to trust when life gets hard? [![Cover of Man vs. Menopause by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-man-vs-menopause.jpg)](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/man-vs-menopause/) Man vs. Menopause A husband’s field guide to hot flashes, hormones, sex, sleep, and staying married through the weirdest part. Start with the season you are in. This is an honest guide for the man trying to understand perimenopause and menopause inside a real relationship. It gives men a place to begin when sleep changes, sex becomes complicated, emotions feel closer to the surface, and neither partner has language for what is happening. [Learn about the book →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/man-vs-menopause/) [![Cover of Believe Her the First Time by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-believe-her.jpg)](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/believe-her-the-first-time/) Believe Her the First Time A Father’s Guide to Endometriosis, Pain, and Showing Up When It Matters Understand the belief gap. This book begins with endometriosis, but its central lesson reaches much further. Women should not have to build a courtroom case before the people who love them take their pain, symptoms, or knowledge of their own bodies seriously. Read it to understand how dismissal happens, what it costs, and why belief has to come before advice. [Learn about the book →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/believe-her-the-first-time/) [![Cover of The Better Man Field Guide by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/cover-better-man.jpg)](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/the-better-man-field-guide/) The Better Man Field Guide A blunt, funny, practical guide to becoming easier to trust, easier to love, and safer to tell the truth to. Carry the lesson into the rest of your life. Women’s health asks more of men than sympathy. It asks for attention, accountability, courage, and a willingness to change how we show up in relationships and the world around us. This book widens the conversation beyond one diagnosis or one season. [Learn about the book →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/the-better-man-field-guide/) Read all three. Become easier to trust when life gets hard. [Explore all of Mike’s books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) STAY ON THE SAME SIDE ## Stay connected while everything is changing. Menopause can enter a relationship disguised as a hundred unrelated problems. Someone is exhausted. Someone feels rejected. A minor disagreement grows teeth. Sex becomes painful, infrequent, or complicated. Both people begin protecting themselves instead of explaining what hurts. Slow the conversation down. Try asking > “What has felt hardest lately?” > “What do you wish I understood without making you explain it again?” > “Has anything become painful or uncomfortable that we need to talk about differently?” > “What could I take responsibility for this week?” > “Would support, company, practical help, or some space feel best right now?” Avoid - Treating every emotion as hormonal. - Making jokes about menopause in front of other people. - Taking pain during sex as a verdict on the relationship. - Waiting to be assigned every household responsibility. - Diagnosing her instead of listening to her. - Acting as though your confusion carries the same weight as her physical experience. [Download the Man v. Menopause Partner Toolkit](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/05-man-v-menopause-partner-toolkit.pdf) THIS BELONGS IN THE CONVERSATION ## Pain should not become the price of protecting someone else’s feelings. Menopause can affect vaginal tissue, comfort, desire, arousal, urinary symptoms, sleep, mood, and how someone feels inside her own body. Some women enjoy sex more during this stage. Others experience dryness, pain, lower desire, or uncertainty about what has changed. There is no universal level of desire or sexual activity that someone is supposed to maintain. Painful sex should not become something a woman silently endures to protect a partner’s feelings. Treatments and support are available, and sexual or urinary symptoms deserve a place in the medical conversation. Good intimacy starts with honesty, consent, patience, and safety. It allows the definition of closeness to change while two people learn what feels comfortable, wanted, and connecting now. Start with these questions > “What kind of touch feels good right now?” > “Is anything painful, dry, frightening, or uncomfortable?” > “What would help this feel less pressured?” > “How can we stay close without treating intercourse as the only measure of intimacy?” > “Would you like support bringing this up with a healthcare professional?” [Read about sexual health from the Menopause Society](https://menopause.org/patient-education/menopause-topics/sexual-health?ref=mikebakerhq.com) WORK SHOULD NOT REQUIRE SILENCE ## A talented employee should not have to quietly fall apart at her desk. Hot flashes, sleep loss, unpredictable bleeding, migraines, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, urinary symptoms, and other menopause-related concerns can affect work. Support does not have to be complicated. Depending on the person and the job, useful changes may include access to temperature control, flexible breaks, nearby restrooms, breathable uniform choices, scheduling flexibility, privacy, remote or hybrid work where the role allows it, and a manager who can listen without demanding intimate medical details. For employees You decide how much personal information to share. Focus the conversation on the effect at work and the practical adjustment that may help. > “I am managing a health condition that is affecting sleep and temperature regulation. I would like to discuss a few practical changes that could help me keep doing my job well.” For managers Listen without diagnosing. Protect privacy. Ask what work-related support may help. Follow the organization’s established accommodation, leave, and benefits processes. Do not turn one employee into the company’s menopause educator. For employers - Train managers in respectful, private conversations. - Review temperature control, uniforms, scheduling, breaks, restroom access, leave, flexibility, and benefits. - Make evidence-based menopause education easy to find. - Include menopause-informed care in benefits and provider-navigation conversations. - Measure whether employees know where to ask for help and trust the process. - Review all legal and HR language with qualified counsel; requirements vary by location and individual circumstances. [Download the Workplace Support Planner](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/08-workplace-support-planner.pdf)[Menopause Society workplace resources](https://menopause.org/workplace?ref=mikebakerhq.com) BUILD A PATH PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY FIND ## Women should not have to find good menopause care by accident. I have spent nearly three decades in community healthcare. I know good people work inside systems where appointments are rushed, histories become fragmented, and symptoms fall between specialties. Leaders can make the path clearer. Questions for your team - Where does a patient first bring up possible perimenopause symptoms? - Does the team know which changes may be expected and which symptoms need further evaluation? - Are clinicians comfortable discussing bleeding, sexual and urinary health, sleep, mood, and treatment choices? - How do patients learn about hormonal and nonhormonal options? - What happens when the first treatment does not help? - Is follow-up built into the pathway, or does the patient have to start over? - Do employees and patients have access to plain-language, evidence-based education? - Are women with lived experience helping shape the care model? - Can the organization identify gaps by race, geography, language, disability, insurance status, or other barriers to access? Build the path - Create a visible clinical pathway for perimenopause and menopause. - Train primary care, gynecology, behavioral health, pharmacy, and care-navigation teams. - Provide shared decision-making tools. - Make referrals and follow-up easy to understand. - Establish a method for updating education when clinical guidance changes. - Measure whether patients felt heard, informed, and involved. [Bring Mike to your team](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/speaking/)[Start a conversation](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/contact/) TEN BOOKS WORTH PUTTING INTO THE CONVERSATION ## Read widely. Ask better questions. Make your own informed decisions. This shelf brings together medical education, brain health, movement, lived experience, relationships, and the larger problem of women being dismissed in healthcare. It is a reading list, not an endorsement of every claim in every book and not a substitute for individual medical care. Menopause guidance changes as evidence develops. Use books to prepare better questions, then discuss personal treatment decisions with a qualified healthcare professional. 01 [The New Menopause](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738539/the-new-menopause-by-mary-claire-haver-md/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) — Mary Claire Haver, MD A broad, accessible guide to symptoms, health risks, treatment conversations, and life during and beyond the menopause transition. 02 [Believe Her the First Time](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/believe-her-the-first-time/) MIKE’S — Mike Baker This is intentionally included even though its central diagnosis is endometriosis. Women often reach perimenopause after years of having pain, symptoms, and knowledge of their own bodies minimized. This book addresses the pattern underneath that experience: the belief gap. 03 [Man vs. Menopause](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/man-vs-menopause/) MIKE’S — Mike Baker A husband’s field guide to hot flashes, hormones, sex, sleep, and staying married through the weirdest part. Written for the man trying to understand what is happening inside the woman he loves and inside the relationship they share. 04 [The Menopause Brain](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/712561/the-menopause-brain-by-lisa-mosconi-phd-foreword-by-maria-shriver/9780593541241/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) — Lisa Mosconi, PhD A neuroscience-focused look at menopause, cognition, mood, sleep, brain health, and the role of hormonal change. 05 [How to Menopause](https://www.tamsenfadal.com/book-how-to-menopause?ref=mikebakerhq.com) — Tamsen Fadal A practical, expert-informed guide covering health, daily life, confidence, relationships, and navigating the transition with better information. 06 [The Menopause Manifesto](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/659724/the-menopause-manifesto-by-dr-jen-gunter/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) — Jen Gunter, MD A direct, science-centered discussion of menopause, medical history, myths, symptoms, and women’s right to informed healthcare. 07 [The New Perimenopause](https://www.penguinrandomhouseretail.com/book/?isbn=9780593736616&ref=mikebakerhq.com) — Mary Claire Haver, MD Focused on the years before menopause, including changing cycles, symptoms, prevention, treatment conversations, and the experience of being overlooked before periods stop. 08 [Estrogen Matters](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/avrum-bluming/estrogen-matters/9780316578905/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) — Avrum Bluming, MD, and Carol Tavris, PhD A strongly argued examination of estrogen therapy and the history and interpretation of major research. Read it as one evidence-focused perspective and bring treatment questions to a qualified clinician who knows your medical history. 09 [Next Level](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/667685/next-level-by-stacy-t-sims-phd-with-selene-yeager/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) — Stacy T. Sims, PhD, with Selene Yeager A physiology-based guide for active women approaching or experiencing menopause, with a focus on training, recovery, strength, fueling, and performance. 10 [The Complete Guide to the Menopause](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/441633/the-complete-guide-to-the-menopause-by-dr-annice-mukherjee/9781785043291?ref=mikebakerhq.com) — Annice Mukherjee, MD A practical overview of symptoms, work, medically induced menopause, lifestyle, treatment choices, and longer-term health from a physician who also experienced early menopause. [Explore Mike’s books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) READ THE MEDICINE FROM THE PEOPLE WHO STUDY IT ## Start with sources built to inform, not frighten or sell. Online menopause information can move quickly from education to certainty. Start with organizations that publish patient guidance, update clinical information, and explain what is known, what is still debated, and what should be discussed with a healthcare professional. [National Institute on Aging: What Is Menopause? Clear information on the transition, common experiences, long-term health, and treatment conversations.](https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/menopause/what-menopause?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[Office on Women’s Health: Menopause Federal patient information covering menopause basics, symptoms, treatment, and health after menopause.](https://womenshealth.gov/menopause?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[The Menopause Society: Patient Education Expert-developed information on symptoms, hormone therapy, sexual health, mental health, premature menopause, and finding a menopause-informed practitioner.](https://menopause.org/patient-education?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[ACOG: The Menopause Years Patient guidance on perimenopause, symptoms, health considerations, and treatment choices.](https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/the-menopause-years?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[The Menopause Society: Making Menopause Work Evidence-based workplace resources for employees, managers, and employers.](https://menopause.org/workplace?ref=mikebakerhq.com)[NHS: Postmenopausal bleeding Any bleeding after 12 months without a period should be evaluated. The NHS provides a clear patient overview of why checking matters.](https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/post-menopausal-bleeding/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) A confident social post is not the same thing as medical evidence. Ask who created the information, when it was reviewed, what evidence supports it, and what the person is trying to sell. ENDODAD · HUMAN FIRST ## This started inside our family. It did not stay there. I came into women’s health advocacy as a husband and a dad who watched people I love fight to be heard. Endometriosis taught me how quickly women’s pain can be normalized, minimized, or handed back to them as a problem of communication. Menopause has its own medical reality, but the belief gap can look painfully familiar. I am not here to speak over women or replace qualified medical care. I am here to listen, learn, build practical tools, help men show up better, and use my work in healthcare and leadership to keep asking where the system makes people prove too much before anyone helps. The standard is simple to say and harder to live: Believe her the first time. Stay long enough to understand what comes next. [Explore EndoDad advocacy](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/advocacy/)[Bring Mike to your team](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/speaking/) This page provides general education, advocacy, and practical support. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or a substitute for care from a qualified healthcare professional. Symptoms can have many causes, and treatment decisions depend on individual circumstances. Seek prompt medical attention for new, severe, rapidly worsening, or frightening symptoms. If you think you may be experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number. Before your next appointment ## Three pages to read first If you are heading into an appointment or a conversation at work, start with these. - [Doctor Appointment Preparation SheetHow to walk into an appointment ready to be believed.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/appointment-prep/) - [Questions for Your Healthcare ProfessionalThe questions worth writing down before you go in.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/questions-for-your-doctor/) - [Workplace Support PlannerWhat support at work can actually look like.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/menopause-at-work/) ## Posts ### Who the Hell Are We Under All Those Lights? URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/who-the-hell-are-we-under-all-those-lights/ Last updated: 2026-08-15T06:50:37.000Z Las Vegas is built to compete for your attention. Everything flashes, moves, rings, promises, and dares you to look away. Even before the concert started tonight, the city felt like it was operating at full volume. Then Benson Boone walked onto the stage and somehow found another level. He sang like he was trying to reach the last row and spent enough time flying through the air to make every fifty-year-old man in the arena quietly assess the condition of his knees. It was loud, joyful, and completely over the top in the best possible way. Kellie was beside me, and for a few hours we got to be the people who go to a show in Vegas and sing without caring who hears us. The schedules and decisions waiting back home had no claim on us inside that room. We were there together, laughing and taking in a young artist who seemed determined to give every person in the arena the kind of night they would talk about on the way home. ![Benson Boone singing into a microphone on stage, shown large on the arena screen under orange lights](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/vegas-stage.jpg) Then I heard the line from *Pretty Slowly*: “When I look at you, and you look at me, there’s two lovers. Who the hell are we?” I looked over at Kellie, and the question stayed with me. Who the hell are we? We have been married for nearly twenty-seven years. Long enough to remember each other before the kids and before the careers became what they became. Life eventually gave us reasons to watch the phone when it rang late at night. We have known versions of each other that no longer exist anywhere else. The young couple who made promises in 1999 is still part of us, even though neither of us understood what those promises would eventually require. Marriage changes the meaning of looking at someone. Early on, you look across the room and see the person you hope will choose you. Years later, you look across hospital rooms, crowded kitchens, graduations, funerals, and ordinary evenings when one of you is too tired to talk. You see who they were when you met and every person they had to become along the way. Love gathers history, and all of it somehow shows up in a glance. That is what I felt when I looked at her tonight. The woman I fell in love with was right there, along with the woman who raised our children beside me. She has carried pain I could not remove and still found room for laughter. She knows the difference between my public confidence and the moments when I am trying to figure out whether I have anything left to give. After watching me get things right and get plenty wrong, she has still been there the next morning as I tried again. There we were in Las Vegas, singing the words of someone young enough to be one of our kids, and the question felt both funny and deeply honest. Who the hell are we now? We are older than the two people who started this. We have a lot more history in our faces and a much better understanding of how quickly life moves. Somehow, we still know how to look at each other in the middle of a loud room and find the private conversation happening underneath everything else. Benson also talked about the fear underneath *Beautiful Things*. He said that once you have found someone you love and built a life you cannot imagine living without, the greatest fear becomes losing them. Then he sang, “Please stay. I want you. I need you.” The words are simple enough to scream with an arena full of people, but standing beside Kellie, I felt everything beneath them. I do not like thinking about a life without her. Even writing that sentence makes me want to move past it quickly, as if refusing to look at the fear gives me some control over it. I have spent much of my adult life trying to solve problems and take care of the people I love. The possibility of losing Kellie lives in the place where none of that effort gives me authority. Working harder will never guarantee us more years, and no amount of love will persuade time to leave us alone. Nearly twenty-seven years together gives gratitude some weight. I know what I have because I remember who I was before we built it. Kellie is present in nearly every part of my adult life, including the pieces that look like mine from the outside. She is part of the father I became and the leader I kept trying to grow into. She knows the kid underneath the fifty-year-old man who still wants to believe he can protect everybody. That is the ache inside *Beautiful Things*. Loving someone this deeply gives you a life richer than anything you could have built alone, and it also gives fear a name. “Please stay” holds the words we rarely say when life feels safe. We say them quietly in hospital rooms or feel them when the phone rings at the wrong hour. Sometimes they arrive in the middle of a concert in Las Vegas while the person you love is standing close enough to touch. I looked at Kellie while thousands of people sang that plea. I wanted more ordinary mornings with her, along with more ridiculous nights like this one. Even the arguments that eventually end and the private jokes nobody else understands belonged to the unfinished life between us, and all of it felt suddenly precious. The song brought my attention back to the fact that she was there. Later in the show, the arena went dark and the phone flashlights began to rise. A few appeared near the stage, then the light moved through the room until thousands of people were holding their phones above their heads. From where we stood, every flashlight looked small on its own. Together they filled the entire arena. Phones take plenty of blame for pulling us out of the moment, and much of it is deserved. Tonight, the same device that so often sends us into separate worlds gave everyone a way to say, “I am here.” Nobody coordinated a message or asked the person beside them what they believed. People lifted their lights and sang together. The whole room became something none of us could have made alone. After *Beautiful Things*, those lights belonged to people in a different way. Every phone had a hand around it, and every hand belonged to someone carrying a life beyond that arena. The crowd surely included people celebrating something they had waited years to reach. Others had walked in with grief, fear, a strained relationship, or news they had not figured out how to share. Some were parents watching their kids experience their first big concert. Couples like us were remembering earlier versions of themselves while standing beside the person who knew how much had happened since. None of those lives became simple because we held our phones in the air. Morning was still waiting, along with every unfinished conversation and responsibility we had left outside. Yet for the length of that song, nobody had to carry any of it in isolation. We could feel the presence of thousands of other people without knowing their names. Music gave us permission to bring whatever we were feeling into the same room, and the lights let us see that we had company. I could not look across that arena without thinking about how rarely we see one another this way. Most days, we sort ourselves into smaller groups and study what makes us different from the people on the other side of a screen. Assumptions arrive before questions. Strangers pass us all day without much thought about what happened before they crossed our path. The arena interrupted that habit for a few minutes, and thousands of people chose to pay attention to the same thing. Each person added one small piece to it. That kind of unity leaves plenty of room for disagreement. It begins with recognizing that another person is fully alive beside us. Their life contains people they love and memories that still hurt. Something brought them to this song tonight. The person holding a light in the next section might live in a way I do not understand. I could still see their light from where I stood, and they could see mine. Most adults do not give themselves many moments like this. Responsibility follows us everywhere, and I am especially good at giving it a seat beside me. I monitor the calendar and move toward the next problem because people depend on me. In that arena, joy got loud enough to break through all of it. I got a few hours to feel something without turning it into a task. Fun deserves a place in a serious life. Kellie and I have walked through enough together to know how hard life gets, which makes nights like this matter more. We danced and laughed at the physical unfairness of Benson Boone casually flipping across a stage. Singing with thousands of people whose names we will never know, we let the music take up all the space for a while. When I looked at Kellie under those lights, I understood why those songs had found me. “Who the hell are we?” is the question that carries our history. “Please stay” is what that history has taught me to cherish. We are the young couple who had no idea what was ahead, carried forward into the people standing here now. The life we built was singing back to me, and I was still surprised by how much fun we were having together. The phones eventually came down. The song ended, and the arena returned to being thousands of individual people looking at their photos and trying to find the exit. Kellie and I walked back into the noise of Las Vegas with the same life waiting for us. As we left, I kept seeing her face in the light and thinking about how much of my life is held in the simple fact that she is still the person beside me. That is why a concert sometimes stays with us after the ringing in our ears stops. Music reaches places that ordinary conversation misses, especially when a lyric catches you before you have time to protect yourself from it. Then thousands of strangers raise their lights. Looking across the room, you remember that the world is full of people trying to love someone well while carrying things nobody else can see. Tonight, we carried all of that together for a little while. Then I looked at Kellie, she looked back at me, and there were still two lovers standing there. I know my greatest fear because I know the depth of what I have with her. Beside me, her hand was within reach while the whole arena filled with light. Who the hell are we? After nearly twenty-seven years, I am grateful we are still finding out. One more thing, because it would be wrong to write all of this and not say it plainly. Thank you, Benson Boone. You gave a Las Vegas arena everything you had and you did it without a trace of cynicism. You talked to us like people. You sang songs that were obviously costing you something. You flipped across a stage in a way that should probably be illegal to do in front of men my age. My wife and I are going to keep this night, and you are the reason we have it. The world needs more Benson Boone. *Lyrics quoted here are from Pretty Slowly and Beautiful Things, both written by Benson Boone, Evan Blair, and Jack LaFrantz. His words are his. The rest of this is mine.* ### The Work Should Lead Back to People URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-work-should-lead-back-to-people/ Last updated: 2026-08-13T15:00:00.000Z I changed my website recently, although calling it a website update does not quite cover what happened. I moved things around, replaced images, cleaned up pages, and gave the work a clearer structure, but the deeper change was about what people encounter when they arrive. I wanted the site to feel more like my actual life and less like a demonstration of everything technology has helped me create. Artificial intelligence has been a fun toy for me over the last few years. I have used it to make art, develop music, explore ideas, build projects, and turn things I could see in my head into something I could share with another person. It gave me access to creative forms I had never fully understood how to use before. I have had a hell of a lot of fun learning what these tools do, breaking things, starting over, and occasionally ending up somewhere better than I planned. That work will continue. AI remains part of how I create, and I have no interest in pretending otherwise. Mira received a major upgrade this week too, and she is becoming far more than the voice introducing my podcast. She is learning the connections between my work, remembering what matters to me, and helping me take a messy collection of ideas and move them toward something another person might find useful. She also enjoys reminding me that a new project started after midnight still counts as a new project, even when I insist it was already living in my head. The tools were beginning to take up too much space in the way I presented myself. A visitor could land on the old version of the site and see striking AI imagery before understanding the person behind it. They could see what I had made without immediately understanding why I made it. That mattered because the reason behind the work has always been connected to people, even when the tools were the most visible part. I wanted more of my actual life on the site. I wanted family photographs, honest stories, unfinished questions, music, books, healthcare work, advocacy, and the parts of my experience that do not fit inside a clean professional biography. The new site feels warmer because it carries more evidence of the life behind it. It gives the work a place to sit together without forcing every part of me into its own separate room. That shift helped me see something I had been trying to name for a while. Everything I care about eventually leads back to another person. The books grew from experiences I could not stop thinking about. The songs came from moments that needed more than a paragraph. My leadership writing comes from nearly thirty years in community healthcare, including choices I am proud of and decisions I would approach differently today. My advocacy work began because my wife and daughter were living with endometriosis, and I had to face how much I did not understand about their pain. Technology helped me express parts of that work, but human connection gave it a reason to exist. That idea has become central to the Human First approach behind everything I am building. It asks us to pay closer attention to the person affected by a decision, the person carrying pain we do not understand, and the person sitting in front of us while our mind is already moving toward the next thing. It also asks us to keep our judgment and responsibility attached to the tools we use, especially when those tools make it easier to move quickly. The website now reflects that direction more clearly. The art still has a home because it matters to me and represents a meaningful part of my creative life. The technology still appears because it remains part of the process. People now meet more of me before they meet the machinery around the work, which feels closer to the truth of why I started creating any of it. ## A Place for the Writing The most personal part of the site is the writing page, which I named Just an Ordinary Tuesday. The subtitle is “Notes from a life I’m still trying to pay attention to,” and that sentence captures what I have been working toward better than any polished description I could write. Most of our lives happen on days nobody circles on the calendar. We remember graduations, weddings, promotions, funerals, diagnoses, and the moments that separate life into a before and an after. Those days carry weight, but they make up a small part of the time we are given. The rest happens while we are driving somewhere, answering a phone call, sitting around a table, recovering from a bad meeting, or hearing someone we love laugh from another room. We often understand the value of those moments after they are gone. My mom had early-onset Alzheimer’s, and losing her happened through a long series of small goodbyes. A story she had told for years disappeared. A conversation ended because she could no longer find the words. One day she knew my name, and later she looked at me with the sense that I mattered without remembering why. > There were ordinary Tuesdays when she could still call me Mike. I did not know how much I would someday want one of those days back. That experience changed the way I think about attention. I still move too quickly. I still get distracted, take on too much, and convince myself that something urgent deserves more of me than the person sitting nearby. Paying attention has become something I have to practice rather than a lesson I learned once and completed. That is what I want the writing page to hold. I write about family, grief, healthcare, leadership, women’s health, creativity, faith, technology, and the questions that follow me home after the rest of the day quiets down. Some pieces come from experiences I understand better now. Others begin because I am still confused, hurt, hopeful, or trying to decide what the experience meant. I also built a way for people to subscribe to Just an Ordinary Tuesday. A couple of times each month, I will send a new piece directly to the people who want to read it. Most of those emails will carry an essay, though a song, podcast episode, new book, or advocacy resource will occasionally find its way in too. I plan to send them on Tuesdays, though I know myself well enough to avoid making promises that rely on perfect consistency. I have a family, a full-time job, ADHD, and more projects than any responsible adult should willingly admit to having. I care more about sending something worth your time than meeting a content schedule for the sake of saying I did. ## Advocacy That Leads Somewhere The advocacy section is one of the most important parts of the site because it gives people something useful to do. The work began with EndoDad and my family’s experience with endometriosis. My wife and daughter have both lived with the disease, and I watched pain interrupt school, work, relationships, sleep, plans, and parts of ordinary life that other people take for granted. I also watched how much effort women spend explaining pain before anyone decides to believe them. They repeat the same history to new doctors. They defend canceled plans to people who think the illness would be easier to understand if it were visible. They learn to measure their words because an honest description risks being dismissed as dramatic. I had to learn how to show up better. That meant listening without deciding whether the experience made sense to me. It meant learning enough that the women I loved did not have to educate me while they were hurting. I also had to accept that caring about someone does not guarantee that every response will be helpful. The advocacy page is built around a simple responsibility: believe her, then do something useful. The page includes resources for people living with endometriosis, along with tools for partners, parents, employers, and healthcare leaders. Visitors will find appointment preparation sheets, symptom trackers, pain flare plans, conversation guides, relationship tools, and questions to bring into healthcare visits. I want people to download these resources, print them, fill them out, and share them. Awareness matters when it changes what someone does next. A partner might use the pain flare plan before the next difficult day arrives. A patient might bring an organized history into an appointment after years of trying to tell the whole story inside a short visit. A manager might begin to understand why flexibility matters for someone living with unpredictable pain. The larger lesson reaches beyond endometriosis. Every one of us will eventually sit across from someone describing an experience we cannot see or fully understand. The way we respond in that moment tells them whether they are safe with us. We could ask better questions, remember what they told us, and follow through on the help we offered. That is where belief becomes something another person feels rather than something we claim to value. ## A Marker for Where This Is Going This week’s episode of Still Here, Still Trying records the transition because I want to mark where the work is headed. I talk about the website, my experience with AI, the Human First approach, and why I wanted more of my actual life to be visible. I also spend time on Just an Ordinary Tuesday and the advocacy resources I hope people use and share. The episode closes with a new song called “Ordinary Tuesday.” The song has not been released yet because I am still working on the album, but I wanted to share it now. It came together in a way that made me stop what I was doing and sit with it for a while. The song remembers Kellie laughing from another room and one of the kids calling because nothing was wrong. They wanted me to know they loved me. It remembers my mom saying my name when she still could, along with the long goodbye that followed as Alzheimer’s slowly took pieces of her away. The song asks what might change if we understood the value of an ordinary day while we were still living it. I hope it makes you think about the moments happening around you now. Leave a comment after you hear it and tell me what it brought up for you. Share it with someone who needs the reminder, especially someone moving through life so quickly that they have forgotten to notice it. MikeBakerHQ will keep changing because I will keep learning. The books will grow, the music will develop, and Mira will become increasingly competent and opinionated. AI will remain part of the process because it helps me create and explore ideas that matter to me. The direction feels clearer now. I want to create work that helps another person feel understood, gives them something useful, or helps them pay closer attention to the life they are already living. I want the public version of my work to feel like the human being behind it, including the rough edges, unfinished questions, and ordinary moments that shaped everything else. Visit MikeBakerHQ.com and spend some time there. Read something on Just an Ordinary Tuesday and subscribe so the next piece finds you. Visit the advocacy page, choose one resource, and send it to someone who needs it. Then look around your own life for a minute. Notice the person nearby, answer the phone when one of your kids calls, and listen when someone you love is laughing from another room. Someday, one of these ordinary Tuesdays might be the day you would give anything to have back. ### How Many Years Does It Take to Get an Endometriosis Diagnosis? URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/how-many-years-does-it-take-to-get-an-endometriosis-diagnosis/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:40:53.000Z The honest answer is usually somewhere between four and twelve years. That is the current range reported by the World Health Organization, and newer research suggests the average can still reach a decade. In our family, it took two years. My daughter Samantha began having symptoms when she was 12\. She was diagnosed at 14\. In the world of endometriosis, that can sound unusually fast. It was fast compared with what many families endure, but I would not call it a success story. We got lucky, and luck should not be a diagnostic pathway. Kellie had earned her PTA certificate and was working around pelvic-floor physical therapy. Because of that experience, she recognized connections most parents would have no reason to recognize. She had language for symptoms that another family might have been told were unrelated. She knew enough to keep asking different questions, and that helped move Samantha toward a diagnosis sooner. I think about the families who do not have that accidental connection. I think about the girl whose mom does not happen to work around pelvic-floor care, whose dad does not work in healthcare and whose primary care provider may only have a few minutes to sort through pain, nausea, periods, school absences and everything else happening in a young life. She may be living the same reality, but without anyone close enough to connect the dots. That is how two years becomes seven, ten or twelve. I am not a doctor, and this article is not medical advice. I am a dad who watched his daughter suffer, a husband who watched his wife help our family navigate something none of us expected, and a healthcare CEO who believes in the people doing this work while also knowing the system can fail patients even when the people inside it care deeply. This is our lived experience, supported by published research. It is not a diagnosis guide or treatment plan. If you or someone you love is experiencing symptoms, please seek care from qualified healthcare professionals who can evaluate the individual situation. ## The Number Everyone Repeats For years, the number most people heard was seven. It appeared on clinic websites, in awareness campaigns and in articles about endometriosis until it started sounding like a settled fact. It never told the whole story. A systematic review published in *BJOG* examined 17 observational studies and found reported diagnosis times ranging from 0.3 years to 12 years. The range was so wide partly because the studies did not all start counting at the same point. Some started with the first symptom. Others began with the first doctor’s appointment or the first visit to a specialist. That difference matters. If the clock starts with the first gynecology appointment, the record may erase years spent going elsewhere for nausea, bowel symptoms, pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, fatigue or pain that was treated as a normal part of menstruation. The patient lived those years whether the research counted them or not. The [World Health Organization](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/endometriosis?ref=mikebakerhq.com) now reports an average diagnostic timeline of four to twelve years. A large 2026 study of approximately 6,949 participants in the French ComPaRe-Endometriosis cohort reported an average delay of [10 years for endometriosis and 11 years for adenomyosis](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15409996251380129?ref=mikebakerhq.com). Those numbers are hard to read as a father. Samantha’s two-year path felt endless while we were inside it, and many families are living that uncertainty for five times as long. Two years between the ages of 12 and 14 is not nothing. Those are not disposable years. They are school, friends, activities and the ordinary freedom a child should have before her body forces her to start thinking about pain, nausea, doctors, medication and what she may have to cancel. A decade is an entire section of a life. ## We Got a Diagnosis, but She Was Still Miserable A diagnosis can matter enormously, but it is not the same thing as relief. Samantha was still miserable. The nausea was relentless, and the pain was sometimes beyond anything a kid should have to explain. Having a name for the disease did not remove it from her body. It did not give back the school days or make every treatment work. It did not stop us from feeling helpless when the pain took over the room. EndoDad began on one of those nights. Samantha was in unbearable pain and asked me to sit with her and hold her hand. That was the whole assignment, and I hated how small it felt. I wanted something useful to do. I would have called anyone, driven anywhere or made any trade available to me if it meant taking the pain away from her. There was no trade. There was my daughter’s hand in mine and a dad trying to look steady while feeling completely useless. That night taught me something I have carried into my marriage, my work and everything I have written about endometriosis since: belief does not fix the pain, but disbelief makes the pain heavier. Believing Samantha meant she did not have to spend whatever strength she had left convincing her own family that what was happening was real. My healthcare experience did not make me the expert in that room. My title did not give me the answer. Kellie’s exposure to pelvic-floor physical therapy helped us connect the dots, but she was still Samantha’s mom, not her treating clinician. We were parents trying to get our daughter through something that did not care how badly we wanted to help. That is the perspective I bring to this. I know enough about healthcare to respect its complexity. I also know what it feels like when complexity is hurting your child. ## Why Diagnosis Takes So Long Endometriosis does not stay in one clean medical lane. Symptoms may include severe menstrual pain, chronic pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, fatigue, nausea, bloating and pain involving sex, bowel movements or urination. Symptoms can overlap with other conditions, and not everyone experiences the disease in the same way. That creates a system problem. Gynecology may see one part. Gastroenterology may see another. Primary care may be trying to hold the whole picture during a short visit. Physical therapy may identify a pattern that has not appeared clearly anywhere else. Each person can be acting in good faith and still only see one piece. The patient and her family are often the only people carrying the complete story from one appointment to another. She has to remember when symptoms began, what changed with her cycle, which medication helped, which one caused side effects, what the last clinician said and why the previous test did not settle the question. There is a special kind of exhaustion that comes from being sick and also having to manage the system that is supposed to help you. The *BJOG* review found that diagnostic delay remains “primarily driven by physicians.” That is difficult for healthcare professionals and leaders to hear, but avoiding the finding does not help anybody. The same review found reported diagnostic timelines ranging from 0.3 to 12 years depending on the study, geography and definition used. You can read the [review through PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39373298/?ref=mikebakerhq.com). I work with healthcare professionals who care deeply about patients. I know the impossible math of short appointments, long waitlists, workforce shortages, insurance requirements, documentation and more needs than the system has capacity to meet. I also know none of that gives a woman back the years she lost trying to be heard. Both truths have to fit in the same room. Healthcare can be filled with good people and still produce an experience that fails women. ## Girls Are Especially Easy to Miss Samantha was 12 when her symptoms began. That matters because severe pain in girls and teenagers is still too easily folded into the idea that periods are simply difficult and they need to learn how to handle them. A child may not have the language to explain what is happening. She may not know what “normal” menstrual pain feels like because she has nothing to compare it with. If the adults around her treat severe pain as routine, she may assume this is simply the price of being a girl. Parents need to pay attention to what the pain is taking from her. Is she missing school? Is nausea interfering with eating or normal activities? Is she unable to sleep, stand, participate or make plans? Does she organize her life around access to a bathroom, medication or an exit? Those questions do not diagnose endometriosis. They help adults understand whether symptoms are changing a child’s life and deserve medical attention. We were fortunate that Kellie’s work exposure gave our family a head start. But families should not need a mom working around pelvic-floor physical therapy before somebody recognizes that the symptoms may be connected. A girl’s chance of being taken seriously should not depend on what her parents happen to do for a living. ## What Changed in 2026 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued new guidance in 2026 intended to shorten diagnostic delays and improve access to care. The guidance supports using symptoms, clinical findings and imaging to make a presumptive diagnosis in appropriate cases. It also recognizes that some patients may choose surgical diagnosis and treatment while others may begin empiric medical management based on symptoms or imaging. In plain language, surgery is not necessarily required before care can begin. That does not mean surgery is never appropriate, and it does not tell any individual patient which option is right for her. It means diagnosis and treatment do not always have to wait until an operating room provides proof. You can read ACOG’s [announcement about the updated guidance](https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2026/02/acog-publishes-new-endometriosis-clinical-guidance-aiming-shorten-time-diagnosis-improve-access-care?ref=mikebakerhq.com) and discuss what it means for an individual situation with a qualified clinician. This change matters because requiring surgical proof before taking symptoms seriously can create a loop. The patient needs surgery to confirm the disease, but first needs somebody to believe the disease is possible before surgery is considered. Clinical guidance can change that pathway. It cannot change the culture by itself. Women and girls still need healthcare professionals who listen, understand the range of symptoms and recognize when menstrual pain has moved far beyond inconvenience. ## What Dads and Husbands Can Do Your job is not to diagnose her. It is not to take over her medical care or become the hero of her story. Women living with endometriosis are the experts on their own bodies and experiences. Our job as men is to become less harmful, more useful and more willing to listen before the evidence is packaged neatly enough to make us comfortable. Start by believing her. If she says the pain is changing her life, treat that information as meaningful. Do not make her audition for your concern or wait for a scan, surgery or specialist to give you permission to care. With her consent, help preserve the history. Keep track of symptoms, appointments, medications, questions and what has already been tried. Ask what role she wants you to play before walking into an appointment. She may want you to take notes, help remember questions, speak up if something important is missed or simply sit beside her. Support her voice without replacing it. As a dad, learn the real words. Your daughter should not have to protect you from conversations about periods, bleeding, pelvic pain, nausea, bowel symptoms, hormones, birth control, surgery or fertility. If you become visibly uncomfortable, she may decide it is easier not to tell you the truth. As a husband, remember that love has logistics. Handle what needs handling without making her manage your helpfulness. Adjust plans without punishment. Learn what helps on a bad day. Do not use one good day as evidence against the bad ones, and do not make her comfort you because you feel helpless. You are allowed to be scared and confused. You are not allowed to turn your confusion into a courtroom where she has to keep proving the case. ## What Healthcare Needs to Own Healthcare leaders like me spend a lot of time talking about access, quality, outcomes and patient experience. Those words mean very little if a woman can complete years of medical encounters without anyone connecting the story. The system records visits. Families live one continuous experience. Every appointment can look reasonable when reviewed alone. A test was ordered. Advice was given. A follow-up was offered. The record may show a series of acceptable encounters while the patient experiences the whole thing as years without an answer. That is the gap healthcare needs to own. We need systems that make it easier to recognize patterns across specialties. We need better awareness of endometriosis in adolescents. We need clinicians to understand that normal imaging does not automatically make severe symptoms insignificant. We need referral pathways that do not depend on patients becoming relentless enough to force the next step. We also need to stop treating good intentions as the same thing as good outcomes. Most people in healthcare want to help. When women and girls are still waiting four to twelve years for answers, wanting to help is not enough. ## Why Samantha’s Two Years Still Matter Our family was lucky. I do not use that word lightly because nothing about watching Samantha suffer felt lucky. We were lucky that Kellie’s training and work put her close enough to pelvic-floor care to recognize a pattern. We were lucky that the connection happened while Samantha was still young instead of after another decade of pain. That luck did not make Samantha well. It did not stop the nausea or pain. It gave the suffering a name and gave us a better chance of finding the right people and asking better questions. I keep thinking about the girl who does not have that chance connection. Her symptoms may begin at 12 too, but nobody connects them until she is 22, 25 or older. By then, pain may have shaped her education, work, relationships, confidence and understanding of what she is supposed to tolerate. She should not need luck. She should not need a parent who works in healthcare or happens to know someone in pelvic-floor physical therapy. She should not have to become a warrior before the adults around her decide something is wrong. I am sharing this as a dad, husband and healthcare CEO, not as a doctor. This is lived experience, not medical advice. Every person’s symptoms and care decisions belong with qualified healthcare professionals who understand the individual situation. What I can say from my life is simple: believe her before the diagnosis. Pay attention to what the pain is taking from her. Help preserve the story when the system breaks it into pieces, and do not make her carry your doubt on top of everything her body is already asking her to carry. Samantha was diagnosed in two years because somebody close to her connected the dots. Every girl deserves a system that can do the same. *Last reviewed: August 2026.* --- **If you are living this** [I Believe You](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/ibelieveyou/) is the practical version. Appointment prep, questions worth asking, and a way to turn what you are feeling into words a doctor can act on. It is free, it does not ask for your email, and it will stay that way. If you want the argument I take into healthcare rooms about why this keeps happening, that is [Women Should Not Have to Lose a Decade Before We Believe Them](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/women-should-not-have-to-lose-a-decade-before-we-believe-them/). ### One-Thirty in the Morning URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/one-thirty-in-the-morning/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:37:35.000Z It is one-thirty in the morning as I write this. I checked the clock because the detail would sound suspiciously convenient later. I am in my studio in Coeur d’Alene with my laptop open, the iMac glowing beside me, and my phone in my hand while an AI asks me questions about why I am still awake. Gus is asleep in the beanbag across the room, which is the only responsible use of a beanbag at this hour. I have been on a run for the last two nights, building small tools to help organize my life, remember what I promised people, and keep up with a brain that has never shown much interest in moving in a straight line. The house is quiet in a way it never was when our children were young. Kellie went to bed hours ago. Nobody needs an answer from me right now. My email has stopped feeling personal, and tomorrow has not started making demands. I know I should be sleeping. I also know this is the hour when my mind feels most like itself. During the day, I take medication, focus on what is in front of me, and do the work of leading Heritage Health. There are meetings, decisions, difficult conversations, budgets, people who need answers, and people who need someone to listen before anybody starts offering solutions. I spend a lot of time thinking about women’s health, rural communities, employees carrying too much, and patients trying to navigate systems that somehow become more complicated every time we promise to simplify them. The work matters deeply to me. Every operational decision eventually reaches a person, even when that person is buried beneath a spreadsheet, staffing model, or policy discussion. By the time I get home, my brain often feels like it has spent the day holding forty doors shut at once. Some evenings I take a nap, which sounds indulgent until you understand that it functions more like a pit stop. I spend time with Kellie. We talk about the day, our kids, the dogs, and whatever strange thing I have started building now. Then she goes to bed, the house settles, and I come into the studio. That is when the doors open. Some nights I make songs. Other nights I work on a book, rebuild part of this website, create artwork, record ideas for the podcast, or start developing a tool that did not exist an hour earlier. Heritage Health usually comes into the room with me because the work does not leave my head when I leave the building. I might begin with an idea about ADHD and end up working through a healthcare problem. A song connects with a conversation from three weeks ago. Something one of my children said explains a paragraph that has been stuck for a month. From the outside, it looks like I am moving between unrelated projects. Inside my head, they have been talking to one another all day. Night gives me enough quiet to hear what they are saying. ## All the open tabs The easiest way to describe my experience with ADHD is the browser-tab comparison everybody uses, except mine never seems to have fewer than forty open. There is a song in one, a chapter in another, a Heritage Health problem running somewhere in the background, and a conversation I keep replaying because I am wondering whether I missed what the other person was trying to tell me. Somewhere in there is an idea for a tool, something involving one of my kids, and a reminder to tell Kellie something that felt important six hours ago. > Every tab believes it deserves sound. I pay attention during the day. I also collect things while I am paying attention. I notice the moment a conversation changes, even when the words stay polite. I carry stories people tell me about their lives and sometimes understand what they meant long after the meeting ends. A patient experience changes the way I see a policy. An employee says something small that reveals how much pressure they have been carrying. Those moments stay open in the background while I move through everything else. At night, I get to follow them. A healthcare question might connect with something happening in my family and a lyric I wrote months earlier. An idea that looked like a side project suddenly solves a problem inside the work I am supposed to be doing. A chapter that refused to cooperate begins making sense because my brain has quietly been gathering pieces while I was busy living the rest of my life. That moment is one of the best things I know. It has very little to do with productivity. It is the feeling of finally understanding what my mind has been trying to tell me. The connection appears, the energy changes, and I want to follow it as far as it goes. Most of my books and albums have come from nights like this. The idea begins somewhere during the day and keeps gathering pieces until it becomes too large to ignore. Once I see its shape, I move quickly. I stay with it until the chapter is finished or the songs belong together. Hours stop registering as hours. The work feels less like creating something from nothing and more like catching up with something that has already been forming inside me. That intensity is one of the parts of ADHD I love. It is also one of the parts that gets me into trouble. The energy arrives, and stopping feels almost painful. I worry that the idea will disappear if I sleep. I convince myself that finishing the thing is responsible because leaving it open will follow me into tomorrow anyway. Morning has paid for many of those decisions. I am learning that an idea does not always require every remaining hour of the night. I am learning to leave enough of a trail that I trust myself to find it again. That sounds simple. For a brain that has lost more thoughts than it remembers having, it feels like a major change. ## The Health Access Team I was diagnosed with ADHD in high school, though having the name and knowing how to live with it were two different parts of my life. I went through school and a long stretch of my early career without medication or much of a system for managing my attention. High school was kind of a joke that way. I knew I was capable. There were subjects that held me for hours, and there were assignments I needed to finish while my attention wandered almost anywhere else. I started a lot. I finished far less than I should have. That inconsistency gets inside you after a while. People see what you produce when your attention locks in, which makes the unfinished work harder to explain. Teachers wonder why you are not applying yourself. Other people see carelessness. You start wondering whether the problem is effort, discipline, or some flaw everybody else has noticed and you have been trying to hide. I cared deeply. I often worked harder than people knew. Caring did not always give me access to the part of my brain required to finish the task in front of me. One of my first big leadership jobs was running the Health Access Team in Ogden, Utah. We called it HAT, and it was amazing. HAT came out of a new grant, and we were building something that mattered. We helped people connect with healthcare and worked across systems that had grown comfortable sending people from one place to another without anyone taking responsibility for whether they ever received what they needed. I was young, full of energy, and beginning to understand what leadership could mean when the work stayed close to real people. HAT showed me that access to care is rarely one problem. Transportation matters. Money matters. Trust matters. Someone’s job, children, housing, and past experiences with healthcare all enter the room with them. The system sees an appointment. The person is trying to hold together an entire life. Our office was inside a house across the street from the clinic. My office was upstairs, and I loved that place. During the day, the house was alive with conversation and movement. Questions came up the stairs. People walked in and out. The team was building something new, and the energy made the work feel possible. I also had grants to write, and grants require a kind of sustained concentration that did not arrive easily for me in the middle of a busy office. A deadline does not care that your attention has found six other things more interesting. I would sit down, make a little progress, get interrupted, and struggle to recover the full thread. So I started going back at night. I would climb the stairs into the empty office and put on classical music, usually piano or quiet acoustic guitar. The building felt completely different after everyone left. The clinic across the street had gone dark. The phone stopped ringing. Nobody came through the door asking whether I had a minute, which has never meant a minute in the history of leadership. Something about being alone in that old house with beautiful piano playing settled me. The music gave my attention somewhere soft to rest. The noise inside my head began to loosen, and the work that felt impossible at two in the afternoon started moving at midnight. I could see the whole grant. I understood how the pieces fit together, and I found the language to explain why the work mattered. I loved those nights because I loved HAT. It was one of my first opportunities to lead something significant, and it shaped the way I have thought about healthcare ever since. People live whole lives. Systems divide those lives into programs, diagnoses, funding streams, eligibility rules, and appointments. Community health often begins in the space between the person and all the places where the system stopped seeing them. Those nights also taught me something about my own brain. I was capable of deep focus. The conditions mattered. Meaningful work mattered. Quiet helped. Music helped. Being trusted with something that could improve another person’s life helped most of all. > I became a night owl because nighttime was when the work came. Somewhere along the way, I started loving the hour too. ## The hours at the end of the day Life filled up quickly after that. I became a CEO, a husband carrying more responsibility, and a dad trying to build a good life for three children. People relied on me at work, and the people I loved relied on me at home. I felt both responsibilities deeply, though I did not always give them the right amount of me. When the kids were young, I worked all day and came home to a house full of noise, homework, hunger, and whatever crisis had become urgent in the ten minutes before I walked through the door. I wanted those evenings with them. I wanted time with Kellie too. She has always gone to bed earlier than I do, so the house would eventually settle and a few unused hours appeared at the end of the day. I filled them with work and creative projects because the ideas were running anyway. I could lie in bed listening to them circle, or I could go somewhere and let them become something. That rhythm helped me build a career and create a great deal of work. It also cost the people I love more than I understood at the time. There were seasons when Kellie carried too much because I believed a problem at work required all of me. Our children knew their dad cared deeply about serving people, though there were evenings when the people closest to me received whatever attention remained after I had given the best of it away. I am proud of what I have helped build. I also know productivity has not always been innocent in my life. Creating feels good. Solving problems feels good. Being needed has often felt good, especially when I was not paying enough attention to whether I was helping people or holding onto control. Ambition sometimes borrowed the language of service and convinced me that staying up longer meant I cared more. At 50, I understand that a full life requires knowing when to come home completely. That is part of why I am building these tools now. For most of my life, the problem was never a lack of ideas. It was holding onto them. A thought would appear with enough force that I was certain I would remember it. Another idea arrived, the day moved forward, and the first one disappeared. Sometimes I remembered that it had been good without remembering what it was. I tried notebooks, folders, task apps, voice memos, and systems that looked impressive for a week before becoming another place where unfinished thoughts went to wait. They worked well after I had organized the idea. They did very little during the messy part when I knew something mattered but had not figured out what it wanted to become. Artificial intelligence changed that part of my life. I speak an idea while it is alive, work through it before the energy fades, and return later without rebuilding the entire path that led me there. I move between projects while preserving the context that used to disappear whenever my attention shifted. That is how the twelve books happened. It is how the albums, artwork, website, and many of the tools I am building moved out of my head and into the world. My brain has always generated more material than I had time or skill to capture. Now I have help holding onto it. People sometimes assume the tools are doing the creating. I understand why it looks that way from the outside. The experience feels far more personal from inside the work. AI did not live the life underneath any of it. It did not watch my mom live with Alzheimer’s, love Kellie through nearly three decades of marriage, raise our children, lose Mark, lead HAT, build Heritage Health, or watch women I love fight to be believed by the healthcare system. The tools help me stay with those experiences long enough to understand what they changed in me. They help me hold the material, question it, shape it, and find language for things that lived inside me for years without a clear place to go. I remain responsible for whether the work is honest. I decide what sounds like me, what feels polished and empty, what needs more time, and what should stay private. I decide whether a story belongs to me to tell. I remain responsible for treating the people inside it with care. The speed matters too. Creating more does not make every idea worth finishing. I have to ask whether a project gives something back to the life I am taking time from. I want the tools to help me become more present with people. I want them to return time rather than fill every hour I have left. I want to capture an idea, trust that it will still be there tomorrow, and walk back into the house without feeling like I left half my brain running in the studio. I am getting better at that. Tonight is questionable evidence. ## A hotel lobby in Farmington Some of the hardest work has happened far from this studio. At Christmas in 2025, our family was staying in a hotel in Farmington, Utah. The trip had been stressful, and by the end of one particular day I had worked myself into the kind of emotional hole where every disappointment starts confirming a much larger story. Everyone eventually went upstairs, but I was nowhere close to sleeping, so I took my laptop down to the lobby and found a place to sit. The hotel had mostly gone quiet. A few people passed through carrying drinks or dragging luggage toward the elevators, but nobody paid much attention to the man sitting alone with headphones and a computer late at night. I had been creating a lot of music. The songs held parts of me I did not always express well in conversation, and I wanted the people closest to me to care about them with the same intensity I did. My family loved me. They did not often ask many questions about the music or understand how much of myself I had placed inside it. Nobody experiences a creative project the way the person making it does. The person creating it remembers where every line came from and what it cost to say. Everyone else encounters the finished thing while carrying a full life of their own. I understood all of that. I was still hurt. Sitting in that hotel lobby, I started wondering why I kept making so much when so little seemed to come back. The question underneath it was larger than whether people liked the songs. I was wondering whether my presence carried weight beyond the roles I filled for everyone else. I was a husband, a dad, a CEO, and the person people called when something needed to be solved. I wanted to know whether anyone saw the person underneath those roles and whether anything I made stayed with them after I stopped talking about it. I was having an impressive pity party, so I turned it into an EP. ![Album art for A Song Nobody Hears — a black, white, and red painted portrait of a man in headphones with his eyes closed.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/onethirty/a-song-nobody-hears.jpg) Album art for *A Song Nobody Hears*, written in a hotel lobby in Farmington, Utah, at Christmas 2025. I wrote *A Song Nobody Hears* that night in the lobby of a hotel in Farmington. One of the songs was “Who Would Notice,” and it came from a part of me I rarely admitted existed. I wrote, “The songs echo back, but nobody sings. I drop them like coins into a well. No sound. No splash. Just digital air swallowing my name.” That was exactly how creating felt to me that night. I kept placing personal pieces of myself into the world and waiting for evidence that they had landed. When the response was quiet, my brain filled the silence with the cruelest explanation available. > I just want to feel like my weight shifts something. That line gets closest to the truth. I wanted my life to leave evidence. I wanted to believe someone would remember a conversation, replay a song, or feel the empty space if I stopped showing up. Writing the EP did not answer the question. It gave me somewhere honest to put it. By the time the hotel began waking up, the feelings had become songs. I was tired and still a little embarrassed by the size of my own pity party, but I understood myself better than I had when I sat down. That is one of the gifts creativity has given me. I take something painful, unfair, frightened, or difficult to admit and place it outside myself. Once it is there, I see it more clearly. The song holds the feeling without requiring the people I love to repair every insecure part of me. Sometimes an answer arrives much later. I was driving through Coeur d’Alene on a beautiful sunny day when I heard music coming from another car. The song sounded familiar before I understood why. Then I recognized it. The driver was listening to “The Voice Is Mine,” bobbing his head while he drove, completely unaware that the person who wrote it was sitting nearby. I watched for the few seconds traffic gave us. He did not know the story behind the song. He had no idea I was there and no reason to perform a reaction for me. The music had found its way into his life and become part of an ordinary drive through town. I remember thinking, holy shit, this matters. Then traffic moved, and we went in different directions. That moment stayed with me because creators rarely know where their work goes. Most people who listen to a song never contact the person who made it. Readers finish books without sending a message. Someone might look at an image and feel understood while the creator hears nothing. Silence tells us very little about what happened after the work left our hands. Earlier this year, I saw that again at an art show featuring images I created with artificial intelligence. Some people in the community had decided what the work meant before seeing it. They dismissed the images because of the tools involved, and I understand part of that reaction. Artists have serious questions about ownership, compensation, labor, training data, and the power of companies moving faster than public understanding. Those questions deserve honest attention. I also know what happened in the room. One man stopped in front of a piece I had created during one of the worst nights of my life. The image held pain I did not know how to describe when I made it. I had placed part of that night there because I needed somewhere for it to exist outside me. The man began to cry. He pointed at the image and said, “That’s my son. That’s my son in rehab.” Then he looked toward another piece nearby, an image of a strong woman wearing a cape after surviving more than anyone around her understood. He said, “That’s my daughter.” I stood beside him while he saw his children inside something that had started with my own pain. The tools involved did not make his grief less real. They did not diminish the love he carried for his children or the recognition happening between us. The image gave him a place to say something that had already been living inside him. That moment did not resolve every question about AI. It reminded me why I keep creating. I want to make work that reaches places ordinary conversation sometimes misses. I want someone to find part of their life inside a song, a book, or an image and feel less alone with it. I know artificial intelligence is involved. I remain responsible for what I do with it. Plenty of people are using these tools carelessly, and some are using them to deceive or exploit others. I am trying to use them in ways that make more room for people. That intention does not excuse mistakes. It gives me a standard to keep working toward. ## Beautifully unfocused I still listen to my own music, which feels like a confession even though I am not sure why. The songs are records of where I was when I made them. They hold emotions I needed to process, questions I had not answered, and versions of myself I sometimes need to hear from again. *Beautifully Unfocused*, the album and the book, came from trying to explain what it feels like to live inside this brain. My newer album, *SideQuest*, continues that story because some of the most meaningful parts of my life have appeared slightly outside the route I thought I was following. Sometimes one of my own lyrics reaches me at the exact moment I need it. Time has changed the person listening, and I hear the younger version of myself trying to understand what he was living through. The books and artwork do the same thing. They have become a record of questions I carried through different seasons of my life. For years, I worried that the range of my interests meant I lacked focus. Healthcare, music, writing, art, technology, and advocacy did not fit inside a clean professional identity. I thought I needed to choose one lane and become easier to explain. I care less about that now. All of this belongs together because it comes from the same part of me. I want people to feel seen. I want healthcare to recognize the full life surrounding an appointment. I want women to receive care that begins with belief. I want leaders to remember that their decisions follow people home. I want someone sitting alone during a hard night to hear a song and feel another person nearby. Music reaches places a strategic plan never will. A book lets me sit beside someone I might never meet. Art sometimes helps a father say what he has been carrying about his children. Healthcare gives those same values a practical place to matter in people’s lives. The form changes because the work keeps asking different things from me. Part of what I am building is a record for my children. They have lived beside many versions of their dad. They knew the young father trying to build a career while learning how to raise three kids. They lived through the years when Heritage Health grew and the work occupied more of our family than it should have. They have watched projects appear from nowhere, heard music coming from the studio, and learned that asking what I am working on sometimes leads to an answer much longer than they expected. Someday, they will have the books, songs, and artwork without me standing nearby to explain them. They will know what mattered to me, where I struggled, and how often I doubted myself while pretending I had everything under control. I want them to know about HAT and those nights in the upstairs office. I want them to understand how much I loved that work and how deeply it shaped the leader I became. I want them to know what their grandmother taught me through Alzheimer’s, what their lives taught me about being a dad, and how much of who I became happened because Kellie loved me enough to stay close while telling me the truth. I also know that creating a record does not replace being present. A book does not recover an evening when my mind stayed at work after my body came home. A song does not repay Kellie for the seasons when my ambition filled too much of our life. The people I love deserve me while I am here. That is the unfinished part of this story. I am still figuring out how to honor the mind that made all this work possible without allowing it to consume every open space. I want tools that help me hold onto an idea without holding me hostage to it. I want to trust that the thought will survive until tomorrow. I want to close the laptop, walk back into the house, and know I have not lost anything important. It is past two now. Kellie is asleep. Gus has not moved. The house remains quiet, and several new ideas appeared while I wrote this. I saved enough of them to find my way back. For most of my life, nighttime was the place where all the pieces had room to meet. It gave me HAT, books, songs, and parts of myself I might never have known otherwise. I still love these hours. I also want morning to receive more than whatever remains of me after I have chased every open tab. The work will still be here tomorrow. The people I love are here tonight. I am closing the laptop. --- **If this one landed** [The Human Voice in AI Work](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-human-voice-in-ai-work/) is the daylight version of the same argument. Less beanbag, more about where I think the line belongs. And if the brain that will not sit still is the part you recognized, [Beautifully Unfocused](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/beautifully-unfocused/) is the long form of it. There is an [album by the same name](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/beautifully-unfocused-album/) if you would rather listen than read. ### She Left, and I Kept Following the Story URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/she-left-and-i-kept-following-the-story/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:40:54.000Z I did not set out to make three images about a woman leaving. I started with a woman in a red dress walking through an open landscape, and I knew more about how I wanted the image to feel than I knew about her. I wanted movement in the dress and the sky. I wanted the landscape to feel a little uncertain without becoming apocalyptic or overly dramatic. Most of all, I wanted something in her expression that suggested we were meeting her after a decision had already been made. I did not know what the decision was, and I did not think I needed to know yet. That is fairly typical of the way I create. I have spent a lot of my life assuming I should know where an idea is going before I start working on it, and my actual creative process has given me plenty of evidence that I do not work that way. Sometimes I begin with a sentence. Sometimes I hear part of a song in my head. With art, I often have an emotional idea that is annoyingly specific in how it should feel and completely unhelpful about what it should actually look like. I start experimenting, reject a ridiculous number of images, change the composition, try another direction, come back to something I abandoned twenty minutes earlier, and eventually there is a version that makes me sit with it longer than the others. That happened with this woman. There were versions of the first image that were more detailed and others that were more conventionally beautiful. Some were technically impressive in a way that would have been easy to mistake for finished. I have learned to distrust that reaction a little. AI image tools are extraordinarily good at giving you something impressive. They are also extraordinarily good at giving you an endless supply of images that I feel absolutely nothing about. Having access to more possibilities has made the ability to reject them one of the most important parts of my process. The image I kept had something quieter in her face. She looked tired enough for me to believe she had been through something, but I did not see defeat there. The wind was pulling at her dress and moving the world around her while she continued toward us. I remember looking at it and understanding the title before I understood anything else about the story. She Left. I liked how little those two words explained. I still do. ![Watercolor artwork titled She Left showing a woman in a red dress walking forward through a windswept turquoise and orange landscape.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/she-left-social-01.jpg) ## Leaving some of the story unfinished My first instinct as a writer is often to explain things. I like context. I like understanding why someone did what they did, what happened before, what it cost, and what they learned afterward. The more time I spend creating visual art, the more I appreciate what happens when I resist that instinct and give the person looking at the work some room. I could tell you this woman left a terrible marriage, and suddenly the entire image would narrow around that story. I could say she walked away from a job, a faith, a hometown, or a family that never let her become herself, and each explanation would change what you saw. All of those stories interested me, which was a good indication that I should choose none of them. I wanted the emotional truth of leaving without deciding that every person who looked at her had to arrive through the same circumstances. There is also something important to me about the possibility that what she left was complicated. Maybe there were good years inside it. Maybe she loved somebody who could no longer be healthy for her. Maybe she spent a long time trying to make something work and still wondered whether another six months would have changed anything. Human beings rarely leave perfectly clean situations with every feeling lined up behind the decision. Sometimes the right choice still hurts. Sometimes relief and grief show up together, and neither one invalidates the other. I started thinking about all of that after the image existed, which is part of why I enjoy this process so much. Creating an image gives me another way into a question. Writing asks me to put language around an experience. Music lets me stay in emotion longer without explaining every piece of it. Visual art lets me put something in front of you and discover what I think by paying attention to my own reaction. That has become a large part of [Baker’s Infinite Canvas](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art/) for me. I am using AI-assisted tools, and I am very open about that because pretending otherwise would make the conversation around the work less interesting. I am fascinated by the technology, but fascination alone would not keep me doing this. What keeps me up far too late is the possibility of getting close to an image I have carried in my head and then discovering that the finished piece says something I had not completely understood when I began. ## I wanted to know what happened next I could have stopped with She Left. It worked as a single piece, and there is always some danger in returning to an idea after you have made something you like. I have done enough creative work now to know how easily you can beat the life out of a good idea by deciding it needs a sequel, a series, six versions, merchandise, a soundtrack, and apparently its own cinematic universe by Thursday. This time I kept thinking about what happened the next morning. The actual act of leaving gets most of the attention in stories because it gives us a moment we can see. Someone packs a bag, closes a door, says goodbye, drives away, or finally speaks words they have been rehearsing quietly for months. There is a before and an after, and that makes the scene easy to understand. Real life keeps going once the dramatic part is over, and I became much more interested in that part of her story. What does day seventeen look like? What happens when nobody is telling you how brave you were anymore? What happens when the new life still feels strange and the old one starts benefiting from the selective memory that tends to make familiar things look safer from a distance? I wondered about the mornings when she might have questioned herself and the people she might have missed. I thought about how much strength gets spent maintaining a decision after the moment of certainty that created it has passed. That was where She Kept Walking came from. I wanted the second image to carry some of that weight. The sky became heavier and the landscape more difficult. She is farther away from us and looks more vulnerable to me. The road has become a bigger part of the image, because by then I was thinking less about departure and more about endurance. She has already done the thing people might describe as brave. Now she is doing something much less visible. She is living through what came after. The words I paired with it were, “Leaving can happen in a single moment. Staying gone is a decision made again and again.” I still think that gets close to what I was trying to understand. A major decision rarely resolves all the feelings that made the decision difficult in the first place. We carry history with us, and sometimes we have to make the same choice in smaller ways for a long time before the new direction feels like our own life. I think that is true far beyond leaving relationships or places. Anyone who has changed something significant about their life understands some version of it. You make a decision about drinking and then have to make another decision at dinner with friends. You leave a job and later have a terrible day somewhere else and wonder if the old situation was as bad as you remembered. You set a boundary with somebody you love and discover that missing them does not make the boundary less necessary. You decide to live differently and then learn that becoming different is slower than deciding to change. Those are the parts of human stories that interest me most. I am less interested in the clean victory lap than I am in the person several weeks later trying to keep a promise they made to themselves when they were thinking clearly. ![Watercolor artwork titled She Kept Walking showing a barefoot woman in red continuing along an open road beneath a heavy sky.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/she-left-social-02.jpg) ## By the third image, she had changed When I started working on the third piece, I knew almost immediately that she could not keep walking toward us. The first two images let us study her face and stay close to the emotional effort. Continuing that composition would have made the third piece feel like another variation of the same idea, and by then I felt differently about her. She did not need to explain herself anymore. In No Looking Back, she moves across the frame with her attention ahead of her. The dress trails behind her and still occupies a large part of the image, which I liked because I did not want the past to disappear. I have never believed that getting through something means becoming untouched by it. We carry people, experiences, mistakes, love, grief, anger, and pieces of earlier versions of ourselves long after we have decided where we are going next. A meaningful life leaves marks. What felt different in the third image was the amount of authority those things had over her direction. She knows they are behind her without needing to keep checking. That distinction kept growing on me after the series was finished. There are experiences I will carry for the rest of my own life. Some are beautiful and some still hurt. I have decisions I would make differently with what I know now and periods of my life I understand much better from the other side. I do not want to erase any of that because it belongs to the person I became. I do want to keep learning how to remember the past without automatically handing it control over the future. Looking at the three images together, I started to see that I had made something broader than the story I thought I was following. Leaving was the visible action, but the part that held my attention was change itself. I was watching somebody move through the uncomfortable distance between recognizing that her life needed to change and eventually living far enough into that choice that she stopped needing the old life to confirm she had been right. I know that distance. I think most of us do. ![Watercolor artwork titled No Looking Back showing a woman in a flowing red dress walking forward as birds cross a blue watercolor sky.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/she-left-social-03.jpg) ## What making art has become for me I came into visual art from a strange direction because I have never pretended I suddenly learned to paint watercolors like the people whose technical skill I admire. AI opened a door that previously felt closed to me. I could see images in my head and imagine entire visual worlds, but there was a wide distance between seeing them and having the traditional skills to put them on a canvas. These tools changed that distance, and once I started exploring them I discovered I had much more to say visually than I expected. The early work was tied closely to endometriosis advocacy. I was trying to make women living with pain feel strong, seen, and believed, especially after watching what endometriosis had done inside my own family. Those warrior images taught me something important because people responded to them in ways I had not anticipated. Someone would see an image I had created for one reason and attach a completely different piece of her own life to it. The art created an opening for a conversation that might never have happened through an informational post or another paragraph about a disease. That stayed with me. It also changed the questions I ask while I am making something. I care about whether an image is beautiful, but beauty alone gets boring quickly. I want to know what a person feels when they look at it and where their eye goes first. I wonder whether the expression feels human or posed, whether the symbolism is helping or becoming obvious, whether I have added something because the story needs it or because the software made it easy. I have learned that removing one dramatic element often improves the image more than adding five new ones. There is a lot of trial and error in this. Sometimes the woman suddenly has six fingers, although the technology is getting much better about that particular nightmare. Sometimes the composition goes somewhere bizarre. More often, the problem is subtler. The picture looks fine and simply has no pulse for me. I might generate or revise dozens of versions before finding the one that holds my attention, and even then I keep adjusting it because “almost” is one of the most frustrating places to land creatively. That is where the human part of AI-assisted art lives for me. The technology gives me an enormous range of possibilities. I bring the reason I am there in the first place, along with my taste, experience, curiosity, judgment, memories, and the story I am trying to get closer to. I decide what survives. I am responsible for what carries my name when the work leaves my computer. I also know that my interpretation only gets it so far. ## The part I do not control One of the best things that has happened since I started sharing creative work publicly is having people tell me what something meant to them and realizing they found something I never deliberately put there. That happened with the advocacy art, and it happens with songs and writing too. Someone hears a lyric about one experience and thinks about their father. A person reads something I wrote about leadership and sees their marriage in it. An image intended to explore one kind of loss reminds somebody else of the day they finally chose themselves. I love that. There was a time when I might have worried that they misunderstood the work. I think differently now. If I make something honest enough to give another person access to their own story, I do not need to correct their interpretation. I already had my experience of creating it. They get to have theirs. That is why I never decided what the woman in [She Left](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art/she-left/) was escaping or moving toward. I know some of what she means to me now, but I want the person who sees her after a difficult divorce to have her. I want someone leaving a career after twenty years to see something else. I want the person rebuilding after grief, questioning a belief they inherited, recovering from illness, getting sober, moving across the country, or finally admitting that an old version of life no longer fits to bring whatever they are carrying into the image. The connection does not require us to have lived the same story. Sometimes it begins because we recognize the feeling underneath different stories. That is also where all these strange parts of my creative life have started making more sense to me. I write books and essays. I make music. I host a podcast. I create art. I occasionally disappear into a new project at an hour when any sensible person would have gone to bed. For a long time I looked at that collection and wondered whether I needed to pick a lane. I am beginning to understand that the medium changes more often than the reason I am creating. I keep trying to pay attention to people. I want to understand what we carry privately, how we change, what helps us stay connected, and why some ordinary moments turn out to matter so much more than we understood while we were living them. Sometimes words are the best way I know to explore that. Sometimes a song gets closer. Every once in a while, it takes a woman in a red dress walking down a road before I understand the question I have been asking. ## Where she left me I have gone back to these three images several times since finishing them. I notice different things depending on which one I look at and what kind of day I am having. The first still has the strongest sense of decision for me. The second has become my favorite because I understand the tired part of continuing more than I used to. The third carries a kind of peace, although I am glad I did not make her look completely peaceful. She is still moving through weather. Her life did not turn into a motivational poster because she made a hard choice. Maybe that is what I like most about the series. She never arrives. There is no fourth image where everything is perfect, the sky is clear, and she stands somewhere beautiful congratulating herself for completing the journey. I have lived long enough to know that life rarely gives us that kind of ending. We get farther along. Something that once consumed us takes up less room. We become more comfortable with choices that once terrified us, and eventually we notice that we went an entire day without thinking about the thing that used to occupy every hour. Then life gives us something else to figure out. I am okay leaving her there. She left something she needed to leave. She kept going when going became harder. Eventually she learned to put more of her attention on where she was headed than on what was disappearing behind her. I do not need to know the rest of her story to feel like she gave me something worth keeping. And if you look at her and see an entirely different story, I think that means the art worked. — Mike --- **If this one landed** The three images are [here](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art/she-left/), if you would rather look than read about looking. The rest of the work lives at [the art page](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/art/). ### The Game Doesn’t Go On If the Goalie Doesn’t Show Up URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-game-doesnt-go-on-if-the-goalie-doesnt-show-up/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:40:56.000Z There’s a moment, walking into the rink after a long day, when the doors open and the cold air hits you. I’ve never found a better way to say what it does than this: it permeates your soul. Whatever the day held — the meetings, the decisions, the weight of a job where everything eventually lands on your desk — the cold air greets you like an old friend. Hello. I’m home. I’m a beer league goalie in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. That sentence would have surprised the younger version of me, and it definitely would have surprised my knees. But it’s one of the truest things about my life, and tonight I want to tell you why. ## An Hour Early, Forever Somewhere in my self-taught goalie education, I read that the goalie just gets to the rink an hour before everyone else. That’s how it works. Nobody explained why. I locked it in anyway, and it’s been my rule ever since. So most nights I’m the first one in the locker room. I pull on the bottom half of my gear and then I just sit there for a while, letting my head empty out. A lot of nights I’m coming straight from work, from a day full of things that all felt urgent, and that quiet hour is where the day drains away. People imagine hockey locker rooms as nothing but stink — and look, the room has a funk to it, I won’t lie to you. But it’s a funk that recharges the soul. Then the team starts rolling in, and the room fills with the kind of conversation you can’t find anywhere else in adult life. No agendas. No titles. Just people who love a game, giving each other a hard time. I get the top half of my gear on a few minutes before ice time and head out. Some nights I even skip warmups, because I kept getting hit in the head during them, and getting hit in the head has lost its charm. ## How a Defenseman Ends Up in the Net ![Young Mike Baker in a Utah hockey jersey](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/goalie/utah-high-school.jpg) Exhibit A: a high school defenseman with great hair and no idea what the net had planned for him. I didn’t grow up in the crease. I played defense in high school — never great, but I loved being on the ice with people who got it, and I never stopped craving that feeling. Then, years into beer league, we kept hitting the same problem: game night, no goalie. Nobody wanted the job, and a hockey game without a goalie is just an argument with skating. I’m always up for a challenge and I love learning something new, so I decided I’d take it on. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. That first game, I felt so dumb. I showed up two hours early because I’d spent the previous few days watching YouTube videos on how to put goalie pads on — an accredited institution I like to call the YouTube Goalie Academy — and I still barely got myself dressed. No training. No idea what I was doing. And suddenly I was the guy who was supposed to stop everything. Here’s what I remember most, though. My teammates knew it was my first game in net, and they were nothing but supportive. I didn’t stop all the goals. I don’t think we won. We had an absolute blast. I’ve been to real goalie camps since, and I’m a lot better than I was that night — but I’m still a typical beer league goalie, and proud of it. ![Mike Baker in full goalie gear, grinning in the rink hallway](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/goalie/goalie-gear-smile.jpg) From one of my first times in net — a man held together by YouTube tutorials and optimism. ## The Loudest Silence in Sports If you want to know what the position feels like, let me take you inside a shootout, because it’s the best and the worst of goaltending compressed into about eight seconds. The whole game comes down to you. I have a ritual: I center myself in the net, tap each post with my stick so I know exactly where I am, and scoot out to the top of the crease. Behind me it’s chaos — my teammates banging their sticks on the boards, everybody screaming, the whole bench living and dying with each shooter. And then the skater starts in, and all of that noise just… disappears. It goes quiet. You’re dialed in on one human being, and the best advice anyone ever gave me is running through my head: *be patient.* That is brutally hard when someone is skating at you with bad intentions. But if you can wait the shooter out and stay on your angles, you’ve got a chance. I’ve won games in that silence. I’ve lost games in it too. Both are why I play. ## Everybody Fights for the Blame Here’s my favorite thing about hockey players. When a goal goes in against us, everybody fights *for* the blame. The defensemen skate over saying “that was mine, I let him through.” Somebody else insists they lost the coverage. It’s beautiful. But make no mistake — everyone in the building saw that puck cross the line. The light goes on. The other bench celebrates. There is no hiding in the crease. And that’s the closest thing hockey has to my day job. When you make the wrong call as a CEO, the whole world sees that too. The net keeps teaching me the same lesson leadership does: you cannot let one goal define the rest of your night, or your life. As Ted Lasso says — be a goldfish. Take the lesson. Let go of the sting. Get set for the next shot. > The game doesn’t go on if the goalie doesn’t show up. The crease teaches one more thing, and it might be the biggest one. A skater can miss a night, and the game rolls on; the bench just gets a little shorter. The game does not happen if the goalie doesn’t show up. So you show up — at fifty, with knees and hips that file formal complaints about the positions you put them in. You show up on nights when the other rink’s goalie backs out and one game becomes two. I’ve had weekends where I played four games back to back, and walked like a man twice my age on Monday, and I’d do it again tonight. Your team needs you. You go. That’s the whole lesson — at the rink, and everywhere else in life. ## The Rink Family ![The Heritage Health beer league team posing on the ice](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/goalie/heritage-health-team.jpg) The fellas. And yes — those are Heritage Health jerseys. Apparently it really is all the same work. Nobody in our league actually cares who wins. Sometimes it’s fun to fight for something — and yes, adult league has its bitchy nights and its almost-fights, which are mostly two tired men hugging angrily. But the game ends, you have a beer with the guy you were chirping, and it’s over. That might be the most civilized conflict-resolution system I’ve ever seen, and I’ve sat through a lot of meetings. And it’s not just the guys. Allie is one of the best players in our beer league — she’ll work the puck through an entire team, stop you cold, and do it all with a smile on her face. For a few years I served on the board of the Inland Northwest Girls Hockey Foundation, and our first class of girls is heading off to college right now — girls like Ailey and Sam, who we’ve been skating with for five years, watching them get so good it takes your breath away. ![Mike with three players from the Inland Northwest Girls Hockey Foundation at the rink](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/goalie/girls-hockey.jpg) Girls from the Inland Northwest Girls Hockey Foundation — we’ve watched them grow up on this ice, and the game keeps getting better because of them. People sometimes ask why women’s health and women’s opportunities show up in everything I do. This is part of the answer. When women and girls get their shot, everybody’s world gets bigger. ## Playing With Jake ![Mike and his son Jake in matching Bad News Bears jerseys on the ice](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/goalie/mike-and-jake.jpg) Me and Jake. Even when he scores on me, it still makes me smile. But the best thing the net ever gave me is that I get to play hockey with my son. Jake started playing at twenty. He grew up on soccer, during years when I’d stepped away from hockey — one of my few real regrets, because I think if I’d kept playing, he’d have grown up in skates, and maybe my other kids too. But we got here, and that’s what counts. Now we share the ice, and I get to watch him do the thing he does everywhere: bring people together, lead without trying, and have more fun than anyone out there. Nothing makes me happier than playing hockey with my son. Even when he scores on me, it still makes me smile. ## Home Ice, Forever ![Mike standing on the ice in street clothes and a helmet](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/goalie/rink-street-clothes.jpg) Home ice. People say goalies are weird. We are. You have to be a little weird to volunteer to stand in front of the puck. But the net gives me the one thing in my life that is a hundred percent mine. At work, I depend on dozens of people, and everything is still ultimately my responsibility. In the crease, my attitude, my preparation, my patience — it’s all on me. And there’s a strange peace in that: the peace of knowing you can show up and be there for everybody. George Bernard Shaw said we don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. I plan to play as long as this body lets me. And I’ve got a running joke that isn’t entirely a joke: when I’m gone, I want some of my ashes sprinkled under the ice in Coeur d’Alene. Home ice, forever. --- **If this one landed** [The Beer League Goalie Manifesto](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-beer-league-goalie-manifesto/) is the unserious version, which is to say the one I actually believe. There are records about this too. [Hockey Tunes](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/hockey-tunes/) and [Penalty Box Confessions](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/penalty-box-confessions/). ### The Better Man Field Guide URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/the-better-man-field-guide/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:13:57.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/00tAqbdd?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists A lot of men judge themselves by what they meant to do. We meant to listen. We meant to help. We meant to apologize. We meant to get around to the calendar, the appointment, the hard conversation, the repair, and the thing someone else quietly handled because waiting for us became one more job. The Better Man Field Guide exists in the distance between intention and impact. It is for men who love their people and still make those people manage too much: the household, the emotional weather, the reminders, the aftermath, the silence, the apology, and sometimes the man himself. This is not a polished self-help performance or a demand that men become perfect. Perfect men are exhausting and usually selling something. This is a field guide: notice the pattern, name what it costs, choose a better move, and repeat it until the people around you can feel the difference without attending the ribbon cutting for your growth. The ordinary material matters. Learn the calendar. Carry household and parenting work without waiting to be assigned. Put the phone down. Listen without reaching for the wrench. Stop turning feedback into a courtroom. Give an apology with fewer lawyers and more changed behavior. The book also asks men to examine how they talk about women when no woman they love is in the room. Locker-room jokes, group chats, truck stickers, workplace comments, silence around another man’s behavior, and the way women’s pain is doubted are not side issues. Character keeps talking when a man thinks nobody important is listening. Then the line gets serious. If people study your mood before speaking, go quiet when your voice changes, fear your anger, or feel controlled through money, sex, phones, movement, religion, status, or silence, this is not ordinary guy stuff. Fear changes the assignment. Private promises and better communication are not enough; the harm has to stop, and qualified intervention and accountability belong in the plan. That distinction protects the people being harmed and tells the truth to the man causing harm. Alcohol is not an alibi. Anger is not authority. Money is not a leash. Sex is not owed. Faith is not cover for ego or control. A backstory may explain pain, but it does not erase impact or make someone else responsible for surviving it. The goal is quiet evidence: carrying what belongs to you, receiving the truth without punishment, repairing faster, getting real help when the pattern requires it, and becoming more responsible with power. The label “better man” matters less than whether the rooms you enter become safer, steadier, lighter, and more honest because you are there. Read it front to back, start with the chapter someone close to you would circle, or begin with the one you most want to skip. The work starts wherever defensiveness rises and continues in the next ordinary choice, especially when nobody is watching and nobody is handing out credit for basic decency. > A better man does less damage. He carries more responsibility. He listens sooner. He repairs faster. ## Who it's for This book is for men who mean well and still get defensive, avoid hard conversations, under-listen, overreact, disappear into work or a phone, wait to be managed, apologize without changing enough, or want to become better partners, fathers, friends, leaders, coworkers, and sons. It is also useful for accountable groups and professionals helping men translate intention into observable behavior. ## Who it's not for This book is not therapy, legal or medical advice, crisis care, substance-use treatment, domestic-violence intervention, or a substitute for qualified professional help. It is not an assignment for women to manage a man’s growth. A man causing fear, coercion, violence, intimidation, stalking, sexual pressure, or control needs specialized help and accountability—not another private promise or a worksheet the harmed person must supervise. ## Questions it answers - Why are good intentions not the whole story? - Where am I making someone else manage my adulthood, attention, or growth? - How do I listen without fixing, arguing with tone, or building a defense case? - What makes an apology reduce work instead of adding more? - How do men make the emotional weather of a room smaller or safer? - What do my jokes, group chats, silence, and treatment of women reveal about my character? - How are my children learning about anger, power, respect, and repair from me? - When do alcohol, anger, money, sex, religion, or control require real intervention? - What does changed behavior look like after insight, shame, or a promise? - What is one better move I can make before somebody has to explain the pattern again? ## Inside Part One, Stop Making Everyone Manage You, brings accountability into daily life: intention versus impact, emotional labor, the family calendar, household ownership, weaponized confusion, invisible stress, and the attention consumed by a phone. Part Two, Learn How to Make It Right Without Making It Worse, focuses on apology, emotional responsibility, listening without fixing, receiving feedback, returning after silence, and doing basic decency without asking for a parade. Part Three, Women Are People Even When They Are Not Related to You, examines locker-room talk, public signals, daughters, sons, believing women, and the responsibility to challenge another man instead of quietly protecting the culture. Part Four, Power, Fear, and the Men Who Need Real Help, draws the firm line around intimidation, coercive control, alcohol-related harm, anger, financial control, sexual entitlement, religion, violence, and the need for specialized support. Part Five, Be Easier to Live With, turns toward presence, shared responsibility, intimacy, practical care, crisis prevention, parenting, and love made visible in behavior. The Better Man Checklist gathers the work into recurring questions about truth, weight, apology, mood, help, respect, attention, prevention, children, and love. A final help note provides domestic-violence, crisis, mental-health, and substance-use guidance. ## Before you start This book uses blunt language, humor, and profanity. It discusses emotional labor, defensiveness, shame, misogyny, sexual pressure and entitlement, alcohol and substance use, addiction, anger, intimidation, threats, coercive control, domestic violence, physical harm, financial control, stalking and monitoring, isolation, dangerous driving, property destruction, weapons, religious pressure, trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, parenting, and children’s fear. It includes references to suicidal thoughts and crisis support. The material distinguishes ordinary relational mistakes from patterns involving fear or control. Readers in immediate danger are directed to emergency services and domestic-violence support; people causing harm are directed toward qualified intervention, treatment when appropriate, and accountability. The book also warns that couples counseling may be unsafe when fear, coercion, or abuse is present. If you are in immediate danger, call 911\. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788; it also takes calls from people who are worried about their own behavior. For suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, call or text 988. ## A note from me I wrote this for men who are trying, including men like me who have loved their people and still missed what those people were carrying. Good intentions matter. They just do not get the last word when somebody else is living with the impact. I wanted the book to be direct enough that a man cannot hide in polished language, and funny enough that he might keep reading after the mirror gets uncomfortable. The jokes are not there to soften fear, coercion, or abuse. Those patterns require a different seriousness, real intervention, and accountability that does not make the harmed person run the program. Most growth is less dramatic. It is learning the calendar, owning the boring task, putting the phone down, listening without fixing, apologizing without litigating, calling out another man, managing your own mood, and coming back with changed behavior before someone has to ask again. I am not interested in helping men perform goodness. I am interested in whether our partners, children, friends, coworkers, and communities experience us as more honest, more responsible, less defensive, and safer with power. You will still screw up. So will I. The question is whether we notice sooner, own more, repair cleaner, and make the next better move while there is still time to become easier to trust. Paperback ISBN 9798199961592 · Hardcover ISBN 9798180540362 First edition, 2026 · Published by Mike Baker HQ ## Continue reading - You Deserve More Than This. Names harmful relationship patterns, separates apology from accountability, and keeps women’s dignity, evidence, boundaries, and safety at the center. - Human First. Explores dignity, power, hard conversations, humane leadership, boundaries, and seeing the whole person without excusing harm. - Still Here, Still Trying. Carries the work into marriage, fatherhood, leadership, repair, and the unfinished practice of becoming easier to live with. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Ownership AuditBefore I Defend My IntentThe Attention ResetThe Courage LineThe Seven-Day Better Move [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/the-better-man-field-guide-workbook.pdf) ### You Deserve More Than This URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/you-deserve-more-than-this/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:14:00.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/06RCwffo?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and Kindle · Published 1 August 2026 ## Why this book exists Women are often asked to keep honoring a man’s intentions while living with the consequences of his behavior. They are told to communicate better, be more patient, forgive faster, lower the standard, remember his potential, and explain his pain back to him while their own life keeps getting smaller. You Deserve More Than This exists to interrupt that bargain. It is for the moment when apologies keep arriving but change does not, when hope has become a full-time job, and when a woman is spending more energy editing the truth than the man beside her is spending on growth. Mike Baker writes as a husband, father, friend, healthcare leader, and man who believes women have already explained their lives clearly enough. The point is not for a man to speak over women or tell them what their experience means. The point is to name what too many men and institutions still excuse. The book distinguishes flawed, immature, unavailable, harmful, and dangerous behavior because the wrong advice in the wrong relationship can cause harm. A flawed and accountable partner may be able to repair. A dangerous man does not need a better conversation. Safety, trained support, and a careful plan come first. That distinction changes the questions. Is he growing, or are you carrying the relationship for both of you? Does he respect a no when it costs him something? Can you tell the truth without managing his reaction? Does his apology produce sustained behavior, or only enough relief to restart the cycle? The book examines charm, potential, weaponized incompetence, emotional management, sexual pressure, money and control, digital monitoring, apologies without change, and the exhausting version of a man a woman has to edit before she can describe him to people she loves. It also gives the body and the pattern a place in the evidence. Fear matters. Relief when he leaves the room matters. The shrinking life matters. The friend who notices matters. A woman does not need courtroom-level proof before she is allowed to trust what repeated experience has been telling her. Raising the standard is not about demanding perfection. It is about honesty, consistency, responsibility, tenderness, consent, shared labor, respect for boundaries, and accountability that becomes visible without a woman having to manage it. Chemistry is not character, and potential is not present-tense partnership. Some relationships need repair. Some need firm boundaries. Some need distance. Some need to end. This book does not make that decision for the reader. It offers language, practical tests, safety-first guidance, and support for the next honest step—because a woman’s dignity and future matter in every version of the answer. > Love should not require you to disappear. ## Who it's for This book is for women who feel confused, depleted, lonely, controlled, dismissed, sexually pressured, financially trapped, responsible for a man’s emotions, or exhausted by promises that do not become change. It is also for friends, family members, advocates, and accountable men who want clearer language for patterns, safety, boundaries, and growth. ## Who it's not for This book is not therapy, legal advice, medical care, crisis response, or a substitute for a domestic-violence or sexual-assault advocate. It does not tell a reader to confront a dangerous person, announce a boundary, or leave without support. If a partner monitors devices, money, movement, or communication, even reading or storing material may require a safer device and trained guidance. ## Questions it answers - Am I asking too much, or have I been trained to accept too little? - Is he growing, or am I carrying the relationship for both of us? - What is the difference between an apology and accountability? - Does he respect my no when respecting it costs him something? - Am I in a flawed, immature, unavailable, harmful, or dangerous relationship? - What are the pattern, body, friend, no, and evidence tests showing me? - How do money, sex, digital access, children, pets, and faith become tools of control? - What does safe love feel like in behavior rather than promises? - How can I set boundaries without making his reaction my responsibility? - What is the next honest step if clarity, support, distance, or safety planning is needed? ## Inside Part One, How Women Get Talked Out of Themselves, names the early training, the pressure to be the cool girl, the safety math women do, and the quiet process of distrusting one’s own needs and body. Part Two, The Asshole Pattern, examines charm without character, potential instead of evidence, apologies without change, emotional management, weaponized incompetence, sexual pressure, financial control, and digital red flags. Part Three separates flawed, immature, unavailable, harmful, and dangerous men. The distinction matters because growth, boundaries, distance, and safety planning are not interchangeable responses. Part Four offers five practical tests: the no test, pattern test, body test, friend test, and evidence test. Together they move the reader from isolated incidents and explanations toward the shape of the lived relationship. Parts Five and Six define accountability, safe love, boundaries, green flags, leaving without requiring hatred, telling someone the whole truth, dating again, and building a life that does not require disappearing. The back matter includes safety and support resources, a relationship assessment, evidence log, boundary builder, next-honest-step plan, and guidance for the moments when the fog comes back. ## A note from me I am not a therapist, domestic-violence expert, or relationship guru. I am a husband, father, friend, healthcare leader, and man who has listened to women I love describe the edited version first and the fuller truth later. Too often, the fuller truth revealed a pattern everyone had been trained to soften. I am not writing because women need a man to explain their own lives back to them. Women have been naming emotional labor, coercion, fear, sexual pressure, dismissal, control, and the quiet ways they disappear inside painful relationships for a very long time. Too many people—especially men—have refused to listen. I also know men can grow because I have had to grow. A long marriage taught me that intention is not enough. Love has to become humility, restraint, shared work, honest listening, repair, and changed behavior. A man does not earn endless access to a woman’s life because he can describe why he hurt her. Some imperfect men are safe and accountable. Some men keep using charm, pain, shame, therapy language, faith, sex, money, or apology to preserve the arrangement. Dangerous men require a different response entirely. I never want a chapter, worksheet, or hopeful sentence to push a woman toward a confrontation that makes her less safe. My hope is that this book feels like a friend outside the fog saying: I believe you. The pattern matters. Your body matters. His response to your no matters. You do not need to hate him before you protect your life. You are allowed to expect honesty, consistency, responsibility, tenderness, and change you do not have to manage. ## Before you start The people and situations in this book are illustrative composites, not real individuals. It is also not a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or legal advice, and reading it does not create any professional relationship. If you are in immediate danger, call emergency services. In the United States you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. Paperback ISBN 9798187331123 522 pages · Published 1 August 2026 ## Continue reading - Believe Her the First Time. Carries the same commitment into women’s health, medical dismissal, endometriosis, advocacy, and believing pain before harm compounds. - Better Man Field Guide. Asks men to turn intention into accountability, listening, shared responsibility, repair, consent, and behavior the people closest to them can feel. - Human First. Explores dignity, power, hard conversations, boundaries, humane systems, and the practice of seeing a whole person without excusing harm. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Pattern LogThe Body TestThe Boundary BuilderTell Someone the Whole TruthThe Next Honest Step [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/you-deserve-more-than-this-workbook.pdf) ### This Book Won't Fix Your Life URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/this-book-wont-fix-your-life/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:13:59.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/04Zba3y0?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and Kindle · Published July 2026 ## Why this book exists Some days do not need a transformation plan. They need one real sentence, a glass of water, a smaller next step, and permission to stop treating exhaustion like a character flaw. Life is already loud enough without turning one hard Tuesday into evidence that your entire existence needs a rebrand. This Book Won’t Fix Your Life was written for that kind of day. The chapters are short on purpose. They meet readers in the car, in the shower argument with themselves, at two in the morning when the brain becomes an unreliable narrator, and in the stretch of afternoon where a to-do list starts feeling weirdly personal. The book does not promise a perfect morning routine, a brand-new personality, or a clean line from struggle to healing. It makes room for overwhelm, burnout, anxiety, ADHD, self-doubt, grief, dysregulation, ambition, and the stubborn wish to believe something good might still be possible. Humor matters here because life can be heavy without every page becoming another heavy thing to carry. The cussing, strange metaphors, Peach Monster references, and honest detours are not decorations. They create breathing room while the book tells the truth about what it costs to keep functioning when your capacity is gone. The first movement is permission: you do not need a life plan today. You are allowed to be at capacity. Not every thought deserves authority. Not every problem needs an immediate meltdown. Good enough is not a moral failure when your standards are demanding more energy than your actual life has available. The second movement is trust. Thoughts can be weather instead of warnings. Healing can arrive quietly. Your wiring is not a character flaw. Support, tools, and medication do not make a person weak. You can learn to hear yourself without letting the loudest inner voice become the only narrator. Then the book turns toward hope without forcing certainty. Hope can feel suspicious after life has hurt. It can sit beside grief and exhaustion without pretending they disappeared. Sometimes hope is only an appointment, a returned text, one honest breath, or enough openness to admit the future may contain more than survival. The final sections ask what becomes possible when readers stop introducing themselves only through what hurt them. Building a life that fits is not one cinematic leap. It is permission becoming momentum, old expectations losing authority, honest work being shown, and the next brave choice becoming small enough to do. This book exists to offer company rather than a cure. It cannot fix a life, and it does not pretend to. It can give language, loosen shame, make someone laugh in a hard room, and help today feel a little more livable. Sometimes that is not small at all. > You’ve carried more than most people know. You’re still here. That matters more than you think. ## Who it's for This book is for overthinkers, emotionally exhausted people, ADHD brains, burned-out helpers, hopeful-but-suspicious readers, creators who are afraid to show the work, and anyone who keeps showing up while running on fumes. It is for readers who want short, candid company instead of a lecture or a polished performance of healing. ## Who it's not for This book is not clinical treatment, crisis support, diagnosis, or a promise that perspective can solve illness, danger, or serious mental-health concerns. It is not for readers who want profanity-free inspiration, rigid productivity systems, or certainty dressed up as hope. Professional health and safety needs still deserve qualified care. ## Questions it answers - What if today needs a smaller next step instead of a complete life plan? - How can I tell the difference between falling apart and reaching capacity? - Why does my to-do list feel like evidence that I am failing? - What do I do when my brain turns one strange moment into a full documentary? - Can a thought be weather instead of a warning I have to obey? - What does good enough look like when my standards are higher than my energy? - How can hope help without pretending everything is fine? - What if healing is happening quietly enough that I almost miss it? - How do I stop treating ADHD or different wiring like a character flaw? - How do I begin building a life that feels true rather than merely expected? ## Inside Section One, For Days When You’re Overwhelmed AF, makes room for capacity, feelings, breaking points, invisible load, and the radical possibility that today does not require a five-year plan. Section Two, For Days When You Are Tired of Your Own Bullshit, loosens perfectionism, overprocessing, impossible standards, and the pressure to turn every difficult moment into a full personal transformation. Section Three, For Days When Your Brain Won’t Shut the Hell Up, deals with spiraling thoughts, the inner critic, two-in-the-morning narratives, and the freedom that begins when awareness stops being mistaken for complete healing. Section Four, For Days When You Need Hope but Don’t Trust It Yet, offers a form of hope that does not lie. It asks for willingness, one more step, defiant joy, and openness to good that cannot yet be seen. Sections Five and Six move from self-trust to construction: ADHD and support, dysregulation, quiet healing, permission, momentum, discipline, confidence, creative courage, and building a life that fits the person actually living it. Sections Seven and Eight move beyond survival toward identity, courage, leaving what no longer fits, and remembering the reader has not run out of chances. Stories, poems, and the afterword offer no grand fix—only language, company, and a way back toward today. ## Before you start This book uses frequent profanity and candid humor. It discusses overwhelm, burnout, anxiety, panic and spiraling thoughts, ADHD, dysregulation, grief and loss, shame, self-criticism, emotional exhaustion, difficult days, survival, uncertain hope, changing identity, medication and other forms of support, healthcare appointments, and hospital settings. It does not directly discuss suicide or self-harm. Some names and identifying details were changed to protect privacy. The book offers personal stories and reflection, not clinical treatment, diagnosis, crisis support, or professional advice. ## A note from me I did not write this because I have life figured out. I wrote it as an ADHD-riddled, anxious, hopeful, stubborn-as-hell human who has broken down, rebuilt, overthought the rebuild, and still wakes up trying to choose the gritty version of optimism. People sometimes see the leader, creator, storyteller, husband, or dad and assume the internal meeting must be going smoothly. It is not. My brain can turn a text, a comment, a hard day, or a quiet room into a full documentary with panic directing and exhaustion handling production. What helps is rarely a dramatic revelation. It is usually smaller: one next step, one song, one honest conversation, one appointment, one friend who pulls me out of my own head, or enough humor to stop confusing the loud thought with the whole truth. I believe support counts. Tools count. Medication can count. Rest counts. Showing the work while you are scared counts. Hope that still feels suspicious counts. You do not earn care by becoming easy, productive, perfectly regulated, or inspirational about whatever hurt. If these pages help, I hope they help like good company. I hope they make you laugh, give a feeling a name, and help you stop declaring war on yourself before noon. The book will not fix your life. Neither will this workbook. But maybe one honest sentence can make today easier, and maybe today is enough to work with. ## A note on names Some names and identifying details in this book were changed to protect people’s privacy. Paperback ISBN 9798199338462 132 pages · Published 31 July 2026 · Still Here, Still Trying Press, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho ## Continue reading - Still Here, Still Trying. Carries the same honest hope into family, leadership, grief, creativity, repair, and the ordinary acts of care that keep a life moving. - Beautifully Unfocused. Goes deeper into ADHD, too many open tabs, creative intensity, shame, support, and learning to work with the brain you actually have. - The Optimist’s Way. Explores the practical choice to keep hope without pretending life is easy or asking pain to become inspirational. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Fix-It FantasyThe Life I Actually HaveThe Shame InterruptionThe Boring PlanThe Unfixed Life [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/this-book-wont-fix-your-life-workbook.pdf) ### Human First URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/human-first/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:13:54.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/0gjVEbp9?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists We have more ways to reach one another than any generation before us, yet many people feel less heard, less known, and less connected. The devices are faster. The opinions are louder. The human being across the table can still disappear behind a role, a label, a chart, a mistake, or a screen. Human First begins with a simple conviction: before someone is an employee, patient, parent, partner, political opponent, customer, creator, or problem to solve, they are a person. They arrive with a full life we cannot see—history, fear, dignity, pressure, love, grief, and needs that do not fit neatly inside the moment in front of us. That conviction is not softness without limits. Seeing the person does not require ignoring danger, excusing harm, surrendering a boundary, or abandoning accountability. It asks us to tell the truth without contempt and to build safety without forgetting anyone’s humanity—including our own. The closest relationships make the test practical. Love cannot remain a private feeling or a good intention. It becomes behavior through attention, tone, follow-through, shared work, honest apologies, and the small choices that tell another person they are not receiving whatever the rest of the day left behind. When we miss one another, intent matters—but impact still lands. Repair begins when we become curious about that impact, resist the reflex to defend ourselves, and make an apology credible through changed behavior. Relationships breathe when truth and responsibility can occupy the same room. Power raises the responsibility. Leaders, parents, clinicians, institutions, and systems shape what other people are allowed to say, risk, need, and become. A title can make a room quieter without the person holding it realizing what has been lost. Human-first leadership pays attention to whose truth is missing. Healthcare and work reveal the cost of forgetting. Patients are people before they are charts. Employees are people before they are output. Caregivers and clinicians are people before they are endlessly available. Humane systems still need standards and results; they simply refuse to achieve them by making people smaller. The future makes this work more urgent. The internet trains us to react to fragments. Artificial intelligence can amplify speed, creativity, access, and connection, but it should serve human judgment rather than replace human presence. The central question stays wonderfully ordinary: What does this do to the relationship? Human First exists because the world will keep giving us reasons to reduce one another. This book is an invitation to practice the return—to the person before the label, the relationship beneath the argument, and the small choices that help people find their way back to one another. > The text matters. The tone matters. The apology matters. The person matters. ## Who it's for This book is for spouses, parents, friends, leaders, clinicians, caregivers, educators, creators, community builders, and anyone tired of living inside outrage, defensiveness, loneliness, or shallow connection. It is for people who want practical ways to protect dignity, use power responsibly, repair what they can, and stay human in difficult rooms. ## Who it's not for This book is not a demand to reconcile with unsafe people, tolerate abuse, abandon a boundary, avoid conflict, or make empathy do the work of accountability. It does not replace medical, mental-health, legal, financial, workplace, or safety advice. It offers stories, questions, and practices for readers to use with judgment and appropriate professional support. ## Questions it answers - How did constant connection leave so many people feeling less known? - What changes when we see the person before the label? - How does love become behavior in the relationships closest to us? - Why do the people we love sometimes receive what is left of our attention? - How can parents love their children without trying to control them? - What makes an apology strong enough to let a relationship breathe again? - How should power change the way leaders listen, decide, and respond? - How can healthcare and workplace systems serve people without losing standards? - How can we disagree honestly without turning one another into enemies? - How should the internet and AI strengthen connection rather than replace it? ## Inside Part One, How We Lost Each Other, examines the noisy world around us: shrinking attention, defensive habits, disgust in place of disagreement, and the ease with which the person across the table becomes a category instead of a human being. Part Two, The Relationships Closest to Us, brings the idea home. The chapters explore practical love, the leftovers of our attention, parenting without control, adult friendship and loneliness, and apology as the work that lets damaged relationships breathe. Part Three, Human First at Work and in Community, looks at leadership and power, patients before charts, humane workplaces, and the ordinary rooms where community is either weakened or rebuilt. It asks institutions to measure success without losing sight of the people carrying the system. Part Four, Relationships in the Future We Are Building, turns toward the internet, artificial intelligence, hard disagreement, the small things that hold people together, and the choices that can help us find our way back to one another. A final word, reflection questions, and The Human First Manifesto turn the argument into a personal practice: protect dignity, keep boundaries, notice power, repair impact, and let technology make more room for human voice—not less. ## Before you start This book discusses loneliness, anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, grief, bullying, substance use and addiction, self-harm risk, dangerous or abusive relationships, discrimination, racism and sexism, political and religious conflict, medical dismissal, illness and healthcare strain, burnout, workplace power, online cruelty, and dehumanization. It also references endometriosis, menopause, Alzheimer’s loss, and family grief. Some names, details, and circumstances are changed or blended for privacy. The book is personal reflection, not medical, mental-health, legal, financial, or professional advice; urgent health or safety concerns belong with qualified professionals. ## A note from me I wrote this as a husband, father, healthcare leader, creator, and person who has watched good people miss one another in rooms where everyone believed they were trying. I have been the person who listened well, and I have been the person whose defensiveness made listening almost impossible. The lesson is less glamorous than a grand theory. The person in front of us has to remain a person. That is true at the kitchen table, in a waiting room, during a leadership decision, in a family text thread, and in the moment an argument tries to turn someone we love into a problem we need to defeat. Human first does not mean comfort first. Boundaries matter. Safety matters. Accountability matters. Sometimes the most respectful answer is a clear no, a consequence, a report, professional help, or distance. The practice is holding those truths without using them as permission to become cruel. I also believe the tools we build should help us become more human. My creative philosophy is simple: AI Tools. Human Voice. Technology can help us think, organize, translate, and make—but it should create more room for judgment, relationship, imagination, and responsibility, not less. I am not writing as someone who has mastered connection. I am writing as someone who keeps needing the practice. Notice the whole person. Ask what this choice does to the relationship. Tell the truth. Repair the impact. Make love visible. Then do it again in the next ordinary room. ## A note on names and scope Some names, identifying details, and circumstances in this book were changed or blended to protect people’s privacy. What happened, and what it meant, is unchanged. It is also not medical, mental-health, legal, or financial advice. It is one person’s account of what it takes to keep treating people like people. Paperback ISBN 9798199953153 · Hardcover ISBN 9798180572028 306 pages · Published 30 June 2026 · Mike Baker HQ · With Jacob Baker ## Continue reading - The Future Still Needs Us. Explores the responsibility to build technology and institutions that protect human dignity and leave a livable future behind. - Better Man Field Guide. Turns good intentions into practical responsibility, listening, repair, and behavior the people closest to us can feel. - Believe Her the First Time. Carries the human-first commitment into advocacy, healthcare, institutional response, and the choice to believe women before harm compounds. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Person Before the PositionThe Listening AgreementThe System-to-Person CheckThe Middle PracticeThe Human-First Decision [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/human-first-workbook.pdf) ![Human First album art by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/album-human-first-album.jpg) Companion work Human First — the album I wrote an album alongside this book, out of the same material. Fourteen songs, same title. [Go to the album →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/human-first-album/) ### Still Here, Still Trying URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/still-here-still-trying/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:13:55.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/0f21pXUK?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists Some days, “still here, still trying” sounds almost too simple. Then life gets heavy enough that it becomes the only honest sentence left. You are not finished, fixed, fearless, or certain. You are present. You care. You are trying to take the next step without pretending the weight is not real. This book begins in the ordinary places where that work happens: a driveway after a brutal day, a kitchen where one missed task carries more meaning than the task, a phone call that changes the room, a doctor’s office, a leadership meeting, a late-night creative spiral, or the quiet ache of missing the little versions of children who have grown up. From the outside, a person may look steady while carrying fear, work pressure, family worry, body changes, grief, doubt, shame, and a brain that will not quiet down. The book makes room for that hidden load. It refuses the idea that suffering only counts when it becomes dramatic enough for other people to notice. It also refuses to let good intentions become the end of the story. Love has to get practical. Apologies have to cost something. Leadership means carrying pressure without passing it down. The people closest to us experience our patterns, not only the loving explanations inside our heads. That accountability is not a case for shame. Shame makes people hide, defend, perform, or disappear. The better work is return: notice what landed, tell the truth, make the repair, change the behavior, and come back to the person or responsibility that still deserves your care. Creativity belongs here too. Songs, stories, art, humor, and honest conversation do not fix a life. They give pain somewhere to breathe. They help us name what we carry, stay in conversation with our own lives, and offer another person the relief of knowing they are not the only one. Hope in these pages keeps its eyes open. It can sit beside grief, chronic pain, mental-health fear, marriage strain, burnout, financial pressure, aging bodies, and calls that change everything. It tells the truth first, then asks what small act of care is still possible. Still Here, Still Trying exists for the tired person who is still showing up. It is not a demand to become perfect. It is an invitation to stay close to your actual life, let love reach behavior, and keep returning with enough honesty and tenderness to do the next right thing. > Still here, still trying does not mean the story got easy. It means the story is still worth entering with love. ## Who it's for This book is for husbands, wives, parents of grown children, caregivers, leaders, healthcare workers, creators, people with ADHD, people rethinking faith, and anyone who looks capable while privately wondering how much more they are supposed to carry. It is for readers who want companionship and practical honesty rather than a polished performance of healing. ## Who it's not for This book is not a cure, clinical guide, leadership formula, marriage manual, or promise that small acts erase serious harm. It does not ask readers to bypass grief, romanticize pain, remain in unsafe situations, or replace professional care with inspiration. It offers personal stories and reflection; medical, mental-health, legal, financial, and safety decisions belong with qualified professionals. ## Questions it answers - What do we do with the pressure no one else can fully see? - How can love become visible in ordinary behavior instead of staying an intention? - What makes an apology meaningful enough to rebuild trust? - How can a leader carry weight without leaking it into the room? - What changes when children grow up and parenting has to become more openhanded? - How do ADHD, shame, creativity, and responsibility live in the same person? - Can faith change shape without erasing the rooms and people that formed us? - Why are humor, music, art, and friendship allowed in the hard parts? - What does honest optimism sound like when life does not get easy? - How do small returns become a life of repair, connection, and hope? ## Inside The introduction begins with the strong face and the tired truth beneath it. Part One, When Life Gets Heavy, names the quiet work no one sees, phone calls that change everything, changing bodies, practical love, and the things people carry behind decent answers. Part Two, What Still Holds, turns toward the people who keep us here, humor in hard rooms, the man still becoming, ADHD and support, songs that help truth find language, faith and doubt, and the choice to stay human when the world gets loud. Part Three, How We Keep Going, moves from insight to behavior: apologies that cost something, leadership without passed-down pressure, lessons from adult children, small things that save us, honest optimism, and the ordinary returns that make change real. The afterword asks readers to name the people who helped keep them here and tell them specifically, then choose one ordinary act of love small enough to do and real enough to matter. Across all three parts, the through line is practical hope: tell the truth about what is heavy, stay human, and make the next act of care visible. ## Before you start This book discusses grief and death, cancer and other illness, chronic pain, healthcare experiences, medical uncertainty, anxiety, depression, trauma, mental-health fear, ADHD, shame, burnout, financial and workplace pressure, aging and changing bodies, marriage strain, parenting adult children, faith transitions and doubt, criticism, conflict, and emotional exhaustion. Some names and identifying details were adjusted to protect privacy while preserving emotional truth. The book is personal reflection and storytelling, not medical, mental-health, legal, financial, or professional advice. ## A note from me I wrote this from inside an unfinished life. I am still learning to love Kellie in the practical details, father adult children with open hands, lead without letting pressure leak, live responsibly with ADHD, and create without giving critics a permanent seat at the table. I know what it is to look strong and feel terrible: the driveway pause after work, the loud brain at night, the sting when honest work reaches fewer people than you hoped, and the guilt of realizing someone you love carried the impact of what you meant to do. The lesson keeps returning to ordinary places. Notice the thing. Put the phone down. Answer with your full attention. Make the appointment. Ask the better question. Apologize before explaining. Let the person beside you receive more than the day tried to leave behind. None of this means the heavy parts disappear. Grief still returns. Bodies keep changing. Work asks too much. Faith holds questions. Brains get loud. People miss one another. The practice is coming back with enough humility to let truth become behavior. If you are tired, these pages are not another verdict on how well you are handling life. I hope they feel like company. You do not have to become perfect before you love the life in front of you. Start with one honest act of care. Let it be small enough to do today and real enough to matter. ## How this book was made The copyright page says it and so will I: AI-assisted tools were used in parts of the creative and editorial process. The voice, the stories, the memories, the judgment, and every final choice are mine. The full position is on the [AI creative disclosure](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/ai-creative-disclosure/) page. Paperback ISBN 9798199674218 · Hardcover ISBN 9798180500625 263 pages · First edition, published 30 June 2026 · Mike Baker HQ, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho ## Continue reading - This Book Won’t Fix Your Life. Offers grounded company for hard days, small steps, and hope that does not require everything to be perfect. - The Better Man Field Guide. Turns good intentions into practical responsibility, repair, listening, and behavior the people closest to us can actually feel. - Human First. Carries the same commitment to dignity, presence, empathy, and choosing people over the noise pulling us apart. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Load on the TableThe Bad-Day MinimumThe Ask-for-Help PageThe Promise I Can KeepWhat Is Still Here [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/still-here-still-trying-workbook.pdf) ![Still Here, Still Trying album art by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/album-still-here-still-trying-album.jpg) Companion work Still Here, Still Trying — the album I wrote an album alongside this book, out of the same material. Fourteen songs, same title. [Go to the album →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/still-here-still-trying-album/) ### The Optimist's Way URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/the-optimists-way/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:13:58.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/02nQOHZE?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists Optimism is easy to admire when life is going well. It becomes something else entirely when the future feels uncertain, the plan has changed, or getting through the day is already asking more of us than we expected to give. The Optimist’s Way exists for those moments. It is not an argument that everything happens for a reason or that a positive attitude can erase grief, disappointment, illness, pressure, or doubt. It is a quieter claim: even when we cannot control the whole story, we can still choose how we meet the next page. That kind of hope keeps its eyes open. It tells the truth about what hurts, then looks for what remains possible. It notices the small act of kindness, the shared smile, the sunrise, the song, the piece of art, or the inner voice that says the day is not over yet. I have learned optimism less as a personality trait than as a practice. It is the pause that keeps one hard moment from becoming a verdict on an entire life. It is the decision to take one useful step, reach toward another person, make something, repair something, or begin again. The book draws from my life as a father and CEO, and from the ordinary experiences that have taught me more than polished answers ever could. Leadership, family, creativity, uncertainty, and growth all ask the same basic question: what will we do with the part of this moment that is still ours? Art and music belong in that answer because they help us feel what explanation alone cannot carry. Creative expression gives shape to hope. It reconnects us to beauty, memory, one another, and the part of ourselves that remains alive beneath the noise. Purpose rarely arrives as one grand revelation. More often, it is built through repeated choices: showing up, listening, helping, making, apologizing, resting, trying again, and refusing to let cynicism make every decision for us. This book is an invitation to slow down, notice what is still good, and move forward with courage that does not need to pretend. The way is not perfect certainty. It is realistic hope, human connection, creative attention, and one honest step toward the light. > In these everyday miracles, you’ll find the true essence of optimism, a light that never fades, even when shadows of doubt appear. ## Who it's for This book is for people moving through uncertainty, discouragement, transition, grief, pressure, or self-doubt; for leaders, parents, creators, caregivers, and anyone trying to stay openhearted in a cynical age. It is especially for readers who want hope with substance—personal reflection, creative perspective, and practical ways to reconnect with purpose, resilience, kindness, and possibility. ## Who it's not for This book is not a promise that optimism prevents hardship, a demand to stay positive, or a substitute for medical or mental-health care. It does not ask readers to bypass grief, ignore injustice, suppress difficult emotions, or accept situations that require boundaries and change. It offers lived experience and reflection, not diagnosis, treatment, or professional advice. ## Questions it answers - What does optimism look like when life is genuinely difficult? - How can hope tell the truth without surrendering to despair? - Why is optimism better understood as a practice than a fixed personality trait? - How do small choices build resilience, purpose, and forward movement? - What can art, music, and creative expression teach us about being human? - How do kindness and connection help us rise without pretending we can do it alone? - How can leaders and parents make room for courage, honesty, and renewal? - What everyday moments are easy to miss when life becomes loud or rushed? - How do we begin again after disappointment, doubt, or a changed plan? - What part of the next moment is still ours to shape? ## Inside The introduction, A Journey Toward Purpose, Hope, and Light, opens with an invitation to reconnect with inner strength, everyday beauty, and the possibility of renewal. Section One, Foundations of Optimism, establishes hope as an intentional way of meeting life rather than a denial of what is difficult. Section Two, Embracing Realistic Optimism, brings shadow and light into the same frame so positivity does not become avoidance. Section Three, Nurturing Connection and Love, turns toward relationships, kindness, presence, and the human bonds that make resilience possible. Section Four, Awakening Creativity and Inner Expression, explores how art, music, imagination, and making can restore voice, attention, and meaning. Section Five, Cultivating Resilience in the Face of Challenge, considers how people keep moving through uncertainty, setbacks, and seasons that demand courage. Section Six, Looking Forward, Living with Purpose and Light, gathers those practices into a forward-facing life. The conclusion, Final Affirmation—The Power to Create the World, closes with the responsibility and possibility held in our daily choices. ## Before you start This book discusses hardship, grief and loss, uncertainty, discouragement, self-doubt, illness and healthcare experiences, family and work pressure, emotional struggle, resilience, and personal moments of pain and growth. It includes reflective and inspirational material, not medical, psychological, legal, financial, or other professional advice. Readers who need clinical support should seek a qualified professional; hope and professional care can belong in the same life. ## A note from me I did not write this book because life has always gone the way I hoped. I wrote it because I have needed hope when the plan changed, the answer did not come, and doing my best simply meant continuing to show up. The optimism I trust is not loud certainty. It does not rush grief or use gratitude to silence pain. It looks at the whole moment—the beauty and the fear, the love and the loss—and asks what honest choice is still available. I have found answers in unlikely places: a conversation with one of my children, the weight of leading through uncertainty, a song, a piece of art, a shared laugh, the kindness of someone who stayed, or the first light of a day I was not ready to begin. Those moments do not solve everything. They remind me that everything is not required at once. A meaningful life is built through small acts of courage, attention, creativity, repair, and connection. Purpose becomes visible when we practice it. If you are in a hard season, I hope these pages feel less like a lecture and more like company. You do not have to deny the shadow to move toward light. Tell the truth. Take the next step. Let someone help. Begin again when you need to. Paperback ISBN 9798280357297 · Hardcover ISBN 9798280367999 277 pages · Published 24 April 2025 ## Continue reading - Still Here, Still Trying. Continues the honest work of showing up unfinished in marriage, fatherhood, leadership, and life. - Human First. Turns dignity, empathy, and human connection into a practical response to systems that can forget the people inside them. - Beautifully Unfocused. Explores creativity, responsibility, support, and building a life that works with a loud brain instead of shaming it. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. Hope Without DenialThe Circle of AgencyThe Longer TimelineEvidence of LightHope Becomes a Verb [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/the-optimists-way-workbook.pdf) ![The Optimist’s Way album art by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/album-the-optimists-way-soundtrack.jpg) Companion work The Optimist’s Way — the album I wrote this album as a companion to the book. Six songs, same title. [Go to the album →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/the-optimists-way-soundtrack/) ### Beautifully Unfocused URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/beautifully-unfocused/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:13:53.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/0doWngLw?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists My brain does not wake up gently. It wakes up with too many tabs open: work, a song lyric, an unanswered text, an old embarrassment, a household task, a new project, and a completely unnecessary question that suddenly feels urgent. That can be funny. It can also be exhausting, especially when the world interprets overload as laziness and scattered attention as a lack of care. For years, the gap between what I could do and what I struggled to do carried its own shame. I could lead serious work, recognize patterns quickly, create music, write, solve problems, and move clearly in a crisis. Then I could lose my keys, miss an ordinary detail, underestimate time, avoid a two-minute task, or leave someone I love carrying the impact of something my brain dropped. Beautifully Unfocused exists to tell the whole truth about that contradiction. A fast, curious, sensitive brain can see connections other people miss. It can bring energy, empathy, creativity, humor, and courage into a room. The same brain can overcommit, interrupt, chase novelty, lose track of time, react at full volume, and create cleanup for other people when the systems are weak. This is not a book about turning ADHD into a cute personality trait or a flawless superpower. The gift is real, and the cost is real. Intent matters, and impact still has to be faced. The work is learning to protect what is alive and useful in a loud brain while building enough structure that the people around us are not asked to absorb the cost. That work reaches far beyond personal productivity. It changes marriage, parenting, friendship, leadership, creative work, healthcare, and the ordinary maintenance of a home. A passing idea from a leader can become someone else’s surprise assignment. A forgotten task can feel like disrespect. An emotional first wave can become the weather in the room. Language helps explain the pattern, but responsibility is what rebuilds trust. The answer is not more shame. Shame opens more tabs and makes repair harder. The answer is honest design: external calendars, visible reminders, decision logs, landing places, body doubling, clear ownership, fewer steps, better pauses, direct apologies, and systems built for the person who actually has to use them on a tired Tuesday. The book also makes room for care. Medication, therapy, coaching, sleep, movement, relationships, and professional guidance may all belong in a person’s support system. Needing handrails does not make a brain weak. It means memory, urgency, good intentions, and last-minute panic are not sturdy enough to carry an entire life alone. This book is for people who have felt brilliant and overwhelmed in the same afternoon. It is an invitation to name the noise, understand the messy magic and the real cost, lead with more clarity, repair what lands on others, and build a life your brain can actually use—without giving up the spark that made the life yours. > The work is learning how to protect the gift without making other people absorb the cost. ## Who it's for This book is for adults with ADHD, people who suspect their brain may work this way, and the partners, parents, friends, coworkers, and leaders who love or work beside them. It is especially for creative people, founders, executives, caregivers, artists, builders, and late-night idea chasers who need practical structure without being flattened into someone else’s definition of normal. ## Who it's not for This book is not a diagnostic tool, treatment plan, medication guide, productivity miracle, or excuse for harmful impact. It does not claim every reader needs the same label or support. It combines lived experience with general education and practical reflection; medical and mental-health decisions belong with qualified professionals. ## Questions it answers - Why can a capable person handle complex work and still feel defeated by ordinary tasks? - How do overload, executive dysfunction, time blindness, novelty, and shame reinforce one another? - What is useful about hyperfocus—and how can it become costly? - How do rejection sensitivity and full-volume emotions affect relationships and work? - How can a fast-brained leader share ideas without creating confusion or accidental assignments? - What guardrails protect memory, pace, clarity, ownership, and emotional steadiness? - How do you build systems for the person you are instead of the fantasy person you keep failing to become? - Why do visible environments, body doubling, and external calendars make starting easier? - What does a real apology sound like when ADHD has affected someone else? - How can a person protect the gift of a loud brain without making other people absorb the cost? ## Inside Part One, Name the Noise, gives language to too many open tabs, overload mistaken for laziness, the shame of being smart and scattered, time blindness, boring-task resistance, lost objects, masking, and rejection sensitivity. Part Two, The Messy Magic and the Real Cost, follows the dopamine pull of a phone, boss-fight tasks, hyperfocus, idea infatuation, unfinished brilliance, emotional intensity, music, crisis clarity, and the moment personal patterns become someone else’s experience. Part Three, Lead with a Loud Brain, brings ADHD into the meeting room. It separates vision from follow-through, urgency from sustainable pace, delegation from accidental hoarding, ideas from assignments, and a leader’s emotional weather from the team’s work. Part Four, Build the Life Your Brain Knows How to Use, turns insight into design: honest systems, external calendars, environments as second brains, body doubling, medication and professional care, homes for repeating problems, repair, and AI used as an external brain. The closing chapters connect the book to the companion album, name how women and girls have often been missed, and define beautifully unfocused as a life with direction, support, responsibility, return, and room for a mind that does not move in straight lines. ## Before you start This book discusses ADHD, executive dysfunction, overwhelm, shame, masking, rejection sensitivity, anxiety, depression, trauma, sleep, medication, substance use, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, phone and dopamine-driven habits, conflict, missed responsibilities, relationship strain, parenting, workplace pressure, leadership impact, burnout, medical care, and the historic underrecognition of ADHD in women and girls. It includes personal stories and general education, not diagnosis or medical, psychological, legal, financial, or professional advice. Readers with questions about symptoms, medication, safety, or treatment should consult a qualified professional. ## A note from me I wrote this as a husband, dad, CEO, writer, musician, creator, and person with a loud brain—not as a doctor, therapist, pharmacist, psychologist, coach, or neuroscientist. I know the relief of finally having language for the way your brain has been moving, and I know language is only useful when it helps us live more honestly. ADHD has helped me see patterns, create, connect, lead in a crisis, and make meaning from scattered pieces. It has also made me miss details, avoid boring work, overcommit, move too fast, and leave people I love or lead carrying consequences I did not intend. I will not romanticize the cost, and I will not bury the gift in shame. The most useful shift has been to stop treating my mind like a reliable storage unit and stop designing systems for an imaginary version of myself. The calendar has to be external. Important thoughts need a place to land. Repeating problems need a home. My fast ideas need translation. My first emotional wave sometimes needs a pause. Support is not failure. Reminders, calendars, labels, baskets, shared lists, body doubling, medication, therapy, coaching, honest conversations, and people willing to tell the truth can all be handrails. The right combination is personal, and qualified care matters when health questions are involved. You may drift. I do. The practice is return: capture the thought, choose the next physical action, clarify what you meant, apologize for what landed, rebuild the system, and come back without turning one hard moment into a verdict on your entire character. Your brain can move differently and your life can still have direction. ## How this book was made AI-assisted tools helped with organization, structure, language, and revision. The lived experience, the voice, the judgment calls, and every final edit are mine. I say so here for the same reason I say it anywhere else — you should not have to wonder. The full position is on the [AI creative disclosure](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/ai-creative-disclosure/) page. Paperback ISBN 9798199373692 · Hardcover ISBN 9798180485663 First edition, 2026 · Published by Mike Baker HQ ## Continue reading - Human First. Carries the same commitment to dignity, accountability, and systems that serve people instead of swallowing them. - The Optimist’s Way. Offers an honest practice of hope for people learning to return, rebuild, and keep moving without denying what is hard. - Still Here, Still Trying. Continues the conversation about being a man, husband, father, and human being who is unfinished and still doing the work. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Brain-Friendly Task MapThe Friction AuditThe Idea Parking LotThe Emotional Weather MapThe Actual User Manual [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/beautifully-unfocused-workbook.pdf) ![Beautifully Unfocused album art by Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/2026/08/album-beautifully-unfocused-album.jpg) Companion work Beautifully Unfocused — the album I wrote an album alongside this book, out of the same material. Twelve songs, same title. [Go to the album →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/beautifully-unfocused-album/) ### The Future Still Needs Us URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/the-future-still-needs-us/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:13:58.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/06NL9Odk?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists I grew up wanting the future promised by Star Trek: knowledge closer to suffering, medicine that could help sooner, doors that opened, computers that answered, and technology serving a civilization still trying to become wiser. I never wanted progress because machines were impressive. I wanted it because people were hurting and better tools might help. That hope became less abstract through healthcare, family, grief, advocacy, and community work. A patient is not a chart. A clinician is not a productivity target. A town is not a service area. A person waiting for answers, carrying chronic pain, caring for a parent, losing someone to cancer, or trying to survive a broken process feels every system decision in a human body and a real life. AI entered my own life as possibility. It helped ideas move from notebooks, voice memos, unfinished drafts, and an ADHD mind into writing, music, advocacy, and visual art. I used it to create images intended to help women with endometriosis feel powerful and seen. Then an art show placed that work inside a harder conversation about authorship, labor, consent, creativity, and whether good intentions can excuse the costs another person is being asked to carry. My son Cameron made the question sharper. I asked him to write for the book because he will live farther into the AI era than I will. He sent back a thoughtful, generous, deeply skeptical chapter about artists, labor, climate, trust, and the fear that the people building powerful technologies will not put human beings first. I could defend the future I wanted, or I could listen to the generation expected to inherit it. That chapter changed the book. Hope was no longer enough. The question was not whether AI would become powerful. It already had. The question was whether institutions, companies, governments, leaders, builders, and ordinary users would become trustworthy enough to deserve the power moving into their hands. This is why the book moves beyond tools and product demos. It follows AI into jobs, classrooms, healthcare, art, privacy, deepfakes, loneliness, rural communities, poverty, public infrastructure, data centers, water, electricity, and the places where convenience quietly becomes control. A system can be efficient and still be unjust. A tool can be useful and still make the world less human. The answer is not worship or panic. It is public responsibility. We need people willing to ask who benefits, who pays, who was heard, who is missing, what remains private, which human skills must be protected, where accountability lives, and whether the tool leaves more dignity in the room than it found. The Future Still Needs Us exists because the wrong future is not inevitable and the better one will not arrive by accident. We still get to refuse what violates human dignity. We still get to build what reduces suffering. We still get to decide whether intelligence serves power alone or helps people become more capable, connected, truthful, creative, and free. > The future is not something that happens to us. It is something we build. And what we build next still depends on us. ## Who it's for This book is for parents, educators, students, workers, artists, clinicians, caregivers, community leaders, policymakers, builders, skeptics, optimists, and ordinary users trying to understand what AI is doing to real life. It is for people who can see possibility without ignoring power, and people whose distrust deserves to be treated as information rather than resistance to progress. ## Who it's not for This book is not a technical manual, investment forecast, product guide, legal opinion, medical resource, or promise that one policy can settle the future. It is not anti-AI, and it is not a love letter to the technology industry. It does not ask readers to choose between hype and doom. It asks them to stay human, stay engaged, and keep powerful tools answerable to the people who must live with their consequences. ## Questions it answers - Who owns the AI future, who benefits from it, and who is being asked to carry the cost? - What changes when hope listens seriously to Gen Z distrust? - How can AI reduce suffering in healthcare without replacing human care? - What happens to workers, entry-level opportunity, and dignity when automation moves faster than institutions? - How should parents and schools protect thinking while helping young people use new tools honestly? - What do artists, writers, and musicians deserve when their work becomes training material or competition? - How do privacy, deepfakes, synthetic media, and uncertainty about what is real change public trust? - What do data centers, water, electricity, and local consent have to do with the so-called cloud? - How do we prevent a future where wealthy people receive humans and everyone else receives automation? - What should we refuse to build—and what should we build instead? ## Inside Part One, Hope Learns to Listen, begins with the future Mike wanted and the chapter he could not write for the generation inheriting it. Cameron’s unedited “To AI, From Gen Z” turns optimism toward trust, fear, and the discipline of listening before defending. Part Two, The Trust Problem, examines ownership, convenience, work, environmental cost, human agency, and synthetic truth. It asks why beautiful promises no longer carry credibility when power is concentrated and accountability arrives after the product. Part Three, Where the Future Touches Real Life, follows AI into care, parenting, school, entry-level work, art, privacy, and loneliness. The measure is practical: does the tool return time, dignity, learning, and connection—or quietly substitute for them? Part Four, Who Gets Left Behind, centers rural communities, economic inequality, bias, leadership responsibility, and moral imagination. It challenges the two-tier future in which privileged people retain human attention while everyone else is told automation counts as access. Part Five, Power, Public Life, and What We Build Next, makes the infrastructure visible and returns decision-making to the public. It ends with a refusal list, a build list, a call to stay in the arena, and a grounded invitation to create a better timeline through accountable human choices. ## Before you start This book discusses artificial intelligence, automation, job displacement, economic inequality, labor exploitation, algorithmic bias and discrimination, privacy, surveillance, data collection, deepfakes, misinformation, political and corporate power, academic dishonesty, children’s online lives, artists’ consent and livelihoods, data-center energy and water use, environmental and community impacts, healthcare barriers, medical dismissal, chronic pain, caregiver burden, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, grief, loneliness, trauma, addiction, despair, suicide risk, and self-harm. It includes personal stories and public-policy arguments, but it is not technical, medical, legal, financial, therapeutic, or crisis advice. If someone is in immediate danger or may hurt themselves, contact emergency services; in the United States, call or text 988. ## A note from me I wrote this book as a father, husband, son, healthcare leader, creator, patient advocate, community member, and ordinary person trying to make sense of a moment filled with promise and danger. I use AI. I have benefited from it. I still believe powerful tools can help people suffer less. That belief does not excuse me from asking who else is paying for the future I enjoy. Cameron changed this book by refusing to give me the easy agreement a hopeful father might have wanted. His skepticism was not cynicism. It was information. It showed me that hope which cannot survive honest questions is too fragile to guide anyone. I do not want us to reject useful tools because we are afraid. I also do not want us to call every new capability progress because someone can sell it. Intelligence is not wisdom. Speed is not justice. Convenience is not care. Scale is not goodness. People remain the point. The work belongs to all of us: builders willing to be corrected, leaders willing to stay accountable, communities included before the deal is done, workers and artists treated as people instead of inputs, parents and teachers protecting formation, clinicians protecting care, and users willing to remain in the driver’s seat. A better future is still possible. That is not a prediction. It is a commitment made through ordinary choices: what we question, what we refuse, what we protect, what we build, and whether we stay close enough to real people for abstraction to lose some of its power. ## How this book was made I wrote a book about staying human alongside these tools, so it would be strange not to say plainly how I used them. AI helped with research, organising material, editing, brainstorming, and parts of the drafting. The argument, the judgment, the stories, and the responsibility for every word are mine. That is the same standard I hold everywhere else on this site, and it is written out in full on the [AI creative disclosure](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/ai-creative-disclosure/) page. If a book asks you to think carefully about who is making what, it should answer that question about itself first. Paperback ISBN 9798199383127 · Hardcover ISBN 9798180013378 524 pages · First edition, published 4 July 2026 · Mike Baker HQ ## Continue reading - Human First. Deepens the central philosophy that people must remain more important than the systems, metrics, and technologies meant to serve them. - The Optimist’s Way. Continues the work of choosing honest hope without denying pain, power, grief, or the effort a better future requires. - Beautifully Unfocused. Explores AI-assisted creativity, ADHD, leadership, and building meaningful work with a mind that does not move in straight lines. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Human-in-the-Loop MapThe Voice Integrity CheckThe Trust-and-Data AuditThe Work-Dignity PlanThe Better-Timeline Decision [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/the-future-still-needs-us-workbook.pdf) ### Still My Mom URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/still-my-mom/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:13:56.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/04F0Y1Ea?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists Before Alzheimer’s became the first thing people asked about, my mom had already lived a whole life. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, nurse, kidney transplant coordinator, woman of faith, keeper of cookies, and the person whose front porch made room for long conversations. She had a dimpled chin, a life of service, and people who knew what it felt like to be cared for by her. The disease became part of our family’s story, but it did not earn the right to become her entire identity. That distinction matters. Alzheimer’s can turn a person into a diagnosis, a safety problem, a medication list, or the latest difficult update. The people who love them have to keep remembering—and helping everyone else remember—that the person was here first. My dad carried a long goodbye with extraordinary devotion. My brother Jon and sister Jen lived closer to much of the daily work. I lived in Coeur d’Alene and often experienced the disease through calls, visits, distance, guilt, and the knowledge that love does not always divide caregiving evenly. My aunt Cathy, my mom’s lifelong friend and hiking partner, kept finding ways to bring her near trails, dogs, weather, fresh air, and the world she had always loved. She stayed with her through the last breath. That is one reason this book refuses the clean version of caregiving. Love can be fierce and exhaustion can still be real. A caregiver can feel anger, resentment, fear, tenderness, gratitude, and grief before breakfast. Needing help does not mean the love failed. It means the work became too large for one person to carry safely. Families also face decisions they would rather postpone: medical wishes, legal authority, money, driving, home safety, care settings, family roles, hospice, funeral preferences, faith, and what dignity should look like when independence changes. Waiting can feel kinder. Often it only means the hardest decisions arrive after the person has less ability to shape them. The loving work is to talk while their voice is still present. Ask what matters. Put documents in order. Name who will do what. Separate facts from assumptions. Invite qualified medical, legal, financial, and care professionals into the decisions that require them. Planning is not surrender. It is a way of protecting agency before urgency takes over. Friends have work to do too. Families living with dementia do not need vague offers or a quiet disappearance. They need a meal on Tuesday, a ride at ten, an hour of respite, a call that does not demand an update, and someone willing to remember the person beyond the disease. Specific help is easier to receive than “let me know if you need anything.” Still My Mom exists for the long middle: after the first signs, after the word arrives, through changing roles and small good days, through hospice and goodbye, and into the life that remains afterward. Alzheimer’s took too much. It did not get to keep everything she gave us. > Alzheimer’s took too much from you, but it did not take what you gave us. ## Who it's for This book is for adult children, spouses, partners, siblings, relatives, friends, and caregivers facing Alzheimer’s or another dementia in someone they love. It is for families near diagnosis, families already deep in daily care, and families trying to make sense of grief that begins before death. It is also for the friend who wants to help without adding one more task to the caregiver’s life. ## Who it's not for This book is not a medical, legal, financial, hospice, or mental-health manual, and it cannot tell a family what treatment, living arrangement, document, or end-of-life decision is right for them. It does not assume one faith, family structure, caregiving capacity, disease course, or definition of a good ending. The personal story and practical prompts are a starting place for clearer conversations with qualified professionals and the people directly involved. ## Questions it answers - How do we keep seeing the whole person after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis? - Which early changes should a family stop explaining away? - What should the person still get to choose while their voice is present? - How do we hold a family meeting before a crisis makes every decision urgent? - What medical, legal, financial, care, and end-of-life work should begin early? - How can friends offer specific help instead of disappearing or saying “let me know”? - What do caregiver anger, guilt, resentment, exhaustion, and grief mean—and what help do they signal? - How do families recognize when the current home or care plan no longer works? - How can hospice become a form of care rather than a symbol of giving up? - What can love, memory, faith, and family still keep after goodbye? ## Inside Part One, Before the Disease Gets the Story, begins with the whole woman before the diagnosis. It moves through the first changes families explain away and the day Alzheimer’s finally has a name, while refusing to let that name erase everything that came before it. Part Two, The Work While There Is Still Time, centers agency and preparation. It asks what the person still gets to choose, how to hold the family meeting nobody wants, which decisions and documents need attention, and what real friendship looks like when a family’s world is narrowing. Part Three, Caregiving Changes Everyone, tells the truth about moving roles, unequal proximity, impossible tradeoffs, anger, anticipatory grief, and the small good days that remain. It makes room for both devotion and depletion without turning either into a verdict on the caregiver’s character. Part Four, The Hard End-of-Life Work, addresses changes in home and care, hospice, dignity, choice, faith, and the hardest questions near the end. It does not offer one correct ending. It asks families to prepare, listen, seek qualified guidance, and protect the person from becoming only a problem to solve. Part Five, After Goodbye, follows the family into grief and asks what Alzheimer’s did not get to keep. The afterword, bonus planning guide, resources, acknowledgments, and closing pages turn the story outward so readers can do the work sooner and carry the love forward. ## Before you start This book discusses Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, cognitive decline, memory loss, changing capacity, driving and home safety, wandering, falls, swallowing and eating changes, infections, caregiver exhaustion, anger, guilt, resentment, isolation, anticipatory grief, family conflict, medical decisions, legal and financial planning, assisted living and memory care, palliative care, hospice, funeral planning, death, final hours, medical aid in dying, suicide, self-harm, and crisis support. It is personal and educational, not medical, diagnostic, legal, financial, hospice, or mental-health advice. Laws and care options vary by location and change over time; readers should seek qualified, current, state-specific guidance. If someone is in immediate danger or may hurt themselves, contact emergency services; in the United States, call or text 988. ## A note from me My mom was still my mom before the diagnosis, after the diagnosis, when language became harder, when care changed, and when the disease took more than any of us wanted to give. I wrote this because I do not want the hardest years to become the only years people remember. My dad carried more than most people saw. Jon and Jen carried the reality of living closer. Cathy carried friendship all the way to the last breath. I carried love, distance, gratitude, guilt, and the awareness that families rarely divide this work in a way that feels perfectly equal. The truth is not tidy. It is still worth telling. I wish every family could have the difficult conversations earlier. Not because preparation makes Alzheimer’s gentle. It does not. Preparation can, however, protect a person’s voice, reduce avoidable conflict, and keep a crisis from making every choice at once. I also want caregivers to hear this clearly: exhaustion is not evidence that you loved poorly. Anger is not the whole truth about you. Needing respite, skilled care, hospice, or a different plan is not abandonment. Sometimes love changes form because the old form can no longer keep everyone safe. My hope is that this book helps a family remember the whole person, do the work while there is still time, accept help without apology, and carry forward what the disease could not take. Paperback ISBN 9798180918031 · Hardcover ISBN 9798181803374 First edition, 2026 · Published by Mike Baker ## Continue reading - Still Good. A memoir about identity, grief, belonging, and remaining whole when the structure that shaped your life changes. - Still Here, Still Trying. Continues the honest work of staying present with love, loss, family, and the life that remains. - Human First. Returns to dignity, empathy, and the discipline of seeing a person before a label, role, or problem. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Person Before the DiseaseThe Work While There Is TimeThe Caregiving Load MapThe Dignity CheckWhat the Disease Does Not Keep [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/still-my-mom-workbook.pdf) ### Man vs. Menopause URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/man-vs-menopause/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T01:13:54.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/036N4Arj?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists Most men were never taught enough about women’s bodies. We picked up fragments about puberty and reproduction, then somehow became husbands, partners, fathers, friends, coworkers, and leaders without learning much about periods, pain, perimenopause, menopause, pelvic health, sleep disruption, desire shifts, or the ways women are expected to keep a whole life moving while their bodies change the rules. That missing education follows us home. It shows up when a husband treats a hot flash like a thermostat dispute, hears exhaustion as rejection, answers brain fog with impatience, or turns a hard conversation about sex into a referendum on whether he is still wanted. He notices the symptom that touches him first and mistakes it for the whole story. I wrote this book because men are teachable. Most of us are not trying to be cruel. We love our wives and partners, and we want to be decent men. We also have a remarkable ability to walk into a vulnerable moment with one underqualified theory, one badly timed joke, and a facial expression that adds forty minutes to the argument. The answer is not shame. It is better language, more useful information, steadier attention, and the humility to ask what kind of support would help before charging in with a solution. Men need a guide that tells the truth without making women do all the teaching. Couples need a bridge back into conversations that have become loaded, lonely, or too easy to avoid. Kellie is at the heart of this book. Marriage keeps asking us to learn the person in front of us now, not only the person we first fell in love with. Midlife makes that lesson impossible to ignore. Bodies, sleep, roles, health, sex, work, family demands, and ordinary patience all change. Love has to keep learning too. This book uses humor because midlife is weird and pretending otherwise helps no one. The joke, however, is never that women are irrational, dramatic, broken, difficult, or too much. The target is the undertrained husband entering a major body transition with the preparation level of a raccoon operating a forklift. The practical work is simple to name and harder to live: believe her before the symptoms become undeniable, carry more without waiting for instructions, support qualified care without becoming the medical director of the living room, talk about sex without pressure, repair faster, take care of your own health, and stay close without hovering or making her manage your feelings. Man vs. Menopause exists to help a husband become less hazardous and more helpful. Not perfect. More attentive. More mature. Easier to trust. The kind of man who notices, learns, adjusts, laughs without cruelty, and makes the life around the woman he loves a little lighter. > The body changes are hard enough. Make the life around her softer. ## Who it's for This book is for husbands and partners who love a woman moving through perimenopause, menopause, or midlife health changes and want to understand what is happening without making her teach every lesson. It is for the man who feels confused, worried, rejected, helpless, or embarrassed by the conversation and is willing to become better support. It is also for women deciding whether this is a safe, useful book to hand to the man beside them. ## Who it's not for This book is not a medical textbook, diagnostic tool, treatment plan, or substitute for individualized care from a qualified clinician. It does not treat all women, bodies, symptoms, relationships, or treatment preferences as the same. It is not permission for a husband to diagnose from the couch, police a woman’s choices, or explain her own body back to her. ## Questions it answers - What is the difference between perimenopause and menopause? - How can hot flashes, sleep loss, brain fog, anxiety, bleeding changes, and rage affect everyday life? - How do I ask what kind of support she needs without making her manage me? - What should I understand about changing desire, painful sex, dryness, and intimacy? - How do I support doctor visits and treatment decisions while staying in my lane? - What should I stop saying if I want peace and trust in the house? - How do invisible labor and household responsibility affect this stage? - What do I do when I feel left out, rejected, or confused? - How do I take care of my own health without giving her one more person to manage? - What does it look like to stay close while both people are changing? ## Inside The opening gives husbands an honest orientation: why the book exists, what it can and cannot do, how to use it in the middle of real life, and why the first goal is to become less hazardous and more helpful. Part One, What the Hell Is Happening?, explains perimenopause, menopause, hormones, hot flashes, sleep, brain fog, ADHD, anxiety, rage, and bleeding changes in plain language. The point is not to turn a husband into an expert. It is to give him enough understanding to stop dismissing what he does not recognize. Part Two, Her Body, Her Care, and Your Mouth, moves into body changes, sex, desire, medical appointments, hormone therapy, supplements, and the broader landscape of midlife women’s health. It keeps treatment decisions where they belong: with the woman and a qualified clinician who knows her history. Part Three, The Marriage Part, addresses household labor, damaging phrases, a husband’s feelings of rejection or confusion, and the habits that make him easier to trust. Bonus chapters turn back toward his own health, romance, dates, and kindness in both directions. The book closes with an actual quick-reference field guide for what to say, what to do, what to buy, and when to stop talking, followed by The Man Who Stays Close, medical sources, and practical resources for readers who need trustworthy next steps. ## Before you start This book discusses perimenopause, menopause, menstruation, heavy and irregular bleeding, pelvic pain, vaginal dryness, painful sex, urinary symptoms, fertility and reproductive history, body image, sleep disruption, anxiety, depression, rage, relationship strain, medical dismissal, hormone therapy, medications, supplements, and thoughts of self-harm. It includes candid sexual and anatomical language and strong humor. It is educational and relational, not medical, diagnostic, therapeutic, or clinical advice. Severe, sudden, concerning, worsening, or life-disrupting symptoms deserve care from a qualified clinician. If someone is in immediate danger or may hurt themselves, contact emergency services; in the United States, call or text 988. ## A note from me I did not write this as a medical expert. I wrote it as a husband trying to learn out loud, laugh at himself, love his wife well, and help other men become less hazardous inside the homes they share with women they love. Kellie has taught me that marriage is not something we understand once and then coast through. It keeps asking us to pay attention. It asks us to see the person in front of us now, not only the version we first met. It asks for tenderness when bodies change, honesty when silence would be easier, and humor that never makes the person carrying the hard thing become the joke. I have said the wrong thing. I have tried to solve when I should have listened. I have missed work that was already visible because someone else kept carrying it. The answer is not to collapse into shame and make her comfort me. The answer is to notice, apologize cleanly, carry more, and do better in the next ordinary moment. My hope is that a man can read this book and become easier to trust. That a woman can hand it to him and feel respected. That a couple can talk sooner, laugh more honestly, touch with more care, and find their way back toward each other while life and bodies keep changing. Stay close. Not clingy. Not hovering. Close enough to notice, believe, learn, help, repair, and keep choosing each other. Paperback ISBN 9798199331852 · Hardcover ISBN 9798181799912 First edition, 2026 · Published by Mike Baker HQ ## Continue reading - Believe Her the First Time. Carries the work of believing women’s pain into practical support, advocacy, and care. - The Better Man Field Guide. Continues the work of humility, repair, responsibility, and becoming a man other people do not have to manage. - Still Here, Still Trying. Explores the honest work of staying present and continuing to choose the people you love when life stops following the plan. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Symptom-and-Support MapThe Sleep and Home ResetThe Words Before the WordsThe Intimacy ResetThe Guy She Is Glad Is There [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/man-vs-menopause-workbook.pdf) ### Still Good URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/still-good/ Last updated: 2026-08-02T05:49:00.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/03mjUDdY?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists I loved being Mormon before I left it. That matters because this story makes no sense if I pretend everything that came before the questions was false. I grew up in a house where my mom always seemed to have cookies and people knew they were welcome. Our front porch held long conversations. The neighborhood was full of bikes, second moms, summer nights on trampolines, and adults who watched out for kids who were not their own. The LeGrand Ward was part of that life. Good people gave their time, taught us to serve, and made a child feel known. I still carry those people with gratitude. The church was wrapped around many of the things I loved most, which is part of why leaving hurt so much. I served a mission in the Spokane Washington Mission, mostly in farm towns like Quincy, Umatilla, and Zillah. I came home, married Kellie in the temple, and started building the life I had been taught to want. We raised our children in the church. I accepted callings. I served as elders quorum president. I was not searching for a way out. I believed the structure was good, and I was trying to be good inside it. The first real crack came when I visited a family that had stopped attending. I arrived believing I was there to understand what had gone wrong with them. I left realizing they knew things I had never been taught clearly. One question led to another. Church history, Joseph Smith, polygamy, the treatment of women, money, power, worthiness, and the claim of being the only true church began to look different once I stopped protecting the conclusion before examining the evidence. For years, I lived in the middle. I still attended while trust was disappearing underneath me. I smiled in hallways, sat through meetings, and brought the tension home. I left web pages open because I wanted Kellie to understand what I was finding and did not know how to begin the conversation. I thought silence was protecting our family. Over time, I had to face the truth that pretending was already doing damage inside our house. The moment that finally gave us room happened while I was driving through Montana. I pulled into a rest stop and talked with Kellie under a wide sky while she named what I had been unable to say cleanly. Church was no longer helping me become more loving, steady, or whole. We needed to take a break. I had spent years fearing honesty would break our family. That conversation showed me honesty might help save it. Leaving still hurt. People worried about us. Some worried about our marriage, our children, and our souls. I went through angry years and did not always carry that anger well. I said things with too much heat. I sometimes pushed people I loved because I wanted them to understand the cost of what I had discovered. This book does not turn that version of me into a hero. He was grieving, defensive, scared, and still learning how to tell the truth without letting pain write every sentence. I wrote Still Good for the person sitting in church with a tight chest, clearing the browser late at night and wondering what honesty might cost. I also wrote it for the spouse, parent, sibling, or friend who stayed and wants to understand why someone they love could no longer remain. I wanted to tell the whole truth. There was goodness in what raised me. There was also harm I could no longer excuse. Leaving changed my life, but it did not make my childhood fake or turn the people I love into villains. After all we could do, we left. We were imperfect, and we were still good. > Love that only survives agreement is too fragile to carry a family. ## Who it's for This book is for the person whose faith no longer fits but whose family, history, and memories are still tied to it. It is for former Mormons, questioning Mormons, mixed-faith families, and people from any high-demand religious background who are trying to separate love from authority and conscience from fear. It is also for faithful people who love someone who left and want to understand why leaving rarely comes from laziness, offense, or a desire for an easier life. ## Who it's not for This book does not try to pull anyone out of a faith they love. It does not treat faithful Latter-day Saints as foolish or cruel. I still love people inside the church, and I honor the sincerity of their faith. This memoir tells why I could no longer stay in mine. ## Questions it answers - How do I leave Mormonism without rejecting every good part of my past? - What happens to a marriage when one or both people lose faith? - How do I tell my family when I know they will fear for me? - Will my children be okay without the church? - How do I move through the anger without living there forever? - How do I rebuild morality and meaning after certainty disappears? - What do I keep from the life that raised me? - How do I love people who stayed without pretending the institution still has my trust? ## Inside The book begins with the world that formed me through chapters including The House With Cookies, Farm Towns and Mission Shoes, The Door That Opened, and The Kids We Were Trying to Raise. It then moves into the questions and breaking points through The Family That Stopped Coming, The Years in the Middle, The Montana Rest Stop, The Sunday We Stayed Home, When People Found Out, The List, and The Angry Years. These are the parts of the story where belief stopped being an abstract question and began affecting our marriage, children, Sundays, family relationships, and sense of safety. The later chapters look directly at the issues I could no longer reconcile, including The Church That Warned Me About Churches, Polygamy in Our Living Room, Women Could Serve, But Men Held the Keys, and The Mall With Jesus Next Door. The final movement turns toward rebuilding through The Larger World, I Don’t Know Anymore, What Stayed, Still the Same Mike, The Ones Who Were Quiet Too, To the Person Still Sitting There, and Still Good. ## Before you start This memoir includes discussion of religious trauma, family strain, grief, anger, identity loss, institutional power, and the emotional impact of faith transition. The resource section also addresses despair, panic, and suicidal thoughts. Readers in the United States who feel unsafe or fear they might hurt themselves are directed to call or text 988. ## A note from me I did not write this book because I believe everyone should leave the church. I wrote it because I remember what it felt like to sit there wondering whether the problem was me. For a long time, I believed changing my mind meant I had failed. The church had been tied to goodness, family, service, and identity for so long that leaving felt like walking away from all of it. Life taught me that those things were larger than the institution. Love stayed. Family stayed. Service stayed. My parents’ goodness stayed in me. The best parts of my childhood were still mine. Some things changed because they needed to change. I became more honest about power and more careful about certainty. I stopped assuming obedience was the same as character. I learned that saying “I don’t know” could hold more integrity than repeating an answer I no longer believed. I also had to face my own behavior after leaving. Anger helped me stop being afraid, but it sometimes made me careless with people I loved. I am sorry for the times the heat got ahead of the love. Leaving did not make me finished. It gave me a chance to keep growing without pretending. The people who stayed are still people I love. The person I became outside the church is still me. Changed, freer, and more honest, I hope. Still imperfect. Still trying. Still good. Paperback ISBN 9798181226098 · Hardcover ISBN 9798181365360 First edition, 2026 · Published by Mike Baker ## Continue reading - Still Here, Still Trying. Explores the honest work of continuing after life stops following the plan. - Human First. Looks at connection, belonging, and how we keep seeing each other when certainty and agreement disappear. - The Optimist’s Way. Explores hope that survives contact with grief, disappointment, and real life. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Tight Chest PageWhat Stayed, What I ReleaseBefore I Tell ThemSunday Without the ScriptWhen the Anger Is Running Hot [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/still-good-workbook.pdf) ### Get Out of the Way URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/get-out-of-the-way/ Last updated: 2026-08-02T18:58:06.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/09yxLazC?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists I wrote this book as a man who still holds power. That is the most honest place for me to begin. I am a husband, a father, a CEO, and someone who has spent much of his life in rooms where men were trusted faster, forgiven more easily, and imagined forward with less proof. I have benefited from that. A book about power would fail if I only used it to point at other men. I grew up Mormon, inside a leadership framework that was overwhelmingly male. Men presided, held priesthood authority, led meetings, gave blessings, and made final calls. Women served, organized, remembered, nurtured, and held communities together. Nobody had to tell a boy that men belonged at the front. The arrangement taught its own lesson. I carried parts of that lesson longer than I understood. Years later, a friend made an observation about our senior leadership at Heritage Health. At that moment, women were missing from some important seats. The men serving there were good leaders, chosen for real skills and the needs of the organization. Her comment still forced me to look beyond individual decisions and examine the ecosystem around them: who gets developed, whose potential is noticed, who receives sponsorship, who is trusted through a learning curve, and whose leadership is treated as support instead of authority. That question mattered even more because Heritage Health was founded in large part through the courage, care, and persistence of Lidwin Dirne. She saw people being left without care and refused to accept that as the final answer. I did not create the ground I stand on. I am one person stewarding work that women helped build, and that should affect how I use authority now. The same accounting belongs at home. Kellie and I joke about the magic fairy who notices the trash, remembers the thing, clears the counter, and moves what everyone else walks past. The joke stings because invisible labor is still labor. I have missed work at home because Kellie was quietly carrying details I had not trained myself to see. Admiring a woman’s strength is not the same as sharing the weight that made strength necessary. Watching Kellie and Samantha live with endometriosis changed how I hear women’s pain. When someone you love has to explain her body again and again before a system responds, belief stops being a soft word. Belief becomes speed, care, dignity, and access. It becomes the difference between help arriving and another year disappearing. Getting out of the way does not mean men disappear. It means we stop mistaking our usual place at the center for proof that the center belongs to us. It means good men keep showing up while becoming less loyal to control and more willing to move authority, credit, protection, money, and opportunity toward people who have already earned the chance to lead. This book exists because private agreement is not enough. Women have heard “you are right” in hallways, kitchens, texts, and parking lots, then watched the formal room stay exactly the same. If men believe women should lead what comes next, that belief has to become visible in who holds the budget, who gets sponsored, who receives public credit, who is protected when the room gets difficult, and who gets to make the final call. > Women do not need more men who admire their courage after they spend it alone. ## Who it's for This book is for men who hold authority at work, at home, in faith communities, on boards, in public life, or simply in the rooms where other people have learned to wait for their approval. It is for leaders who genuinely support women and are willing to examine whether their systems, habits, sponsorship, and use of power match their stated values. It is also for women who want language for the gap between being praised as essential and being trusted with real authority. ## Who it's not for This is not a case for men disappearing, women being treated as a single category, standards being lowered, or employment decisions being made on sex alone. It is not a legal or human-resources manual. It is a personal and leadership argument for fair processes, honest accountability, wider pipelines, and authority that follows demonstrated ability instead of drifting toward familiar comfort. ## Questions it answers - How can I tell whether I truly share power or only invite input? - Why are men still trusted for potential while women are asked for more proof? - What is the difference between mentoring a woman and sponsoring her? - How does invisible labor shape homes, teams, and leadership? - What should a man do when another man is harming the room? - How do faith, modesty, and traditional gender roles shape what boys learn about authority? - What does good power look like when it is practical? - How do I get out of the way without abandoning responsibility? - What changes when women hold real decision rights, budgets, credit, and protection? ## Inside The book begins by examining the room itself through Who Put Us in Charge?, The Ego Problem, When Confidence Beats Competence, What Happens When Women Are Not Believed, Misogyny Learned to Sound Respectable, and The Modesty Trap. These chapters name the habits that let male authority look neutral even when women are doing much of the work and carrying much of the cost. The middle moves from diagnosis to consequence through The Hidden Economy of Invisible Labor, What Old Power Has Cost Us, Believe Her Body, Why Women’s Leadership Matters Now, Care, Listening, and the Work of Real Leadership, and The Men Who Say They Support Women. It asks whether support changes anything practical or simply makes men feel aligned with the right idea. The final movement focuses on action through Stop Calling It Empowerment If You Still Hold the Power, The Scarcity Trap, What Men Need to Unlearn, What Real Change Looks Like in Teams and Institutions, Building Rooms Women Don’t Have to Survive, What Good Power Looks Like, and Get Out of the Way. The afterword, discussion guide, and closing note to men keep the argument grounded in practice rather than performance. ## Before you start This book discusses sexism, misogyny, gendered power, religious control, purity and modesty culture, invisible labor, medical dismissal, endometriosis, reproductive health, rape, infertility, miscarriage, workplace inequity, harmful leadership, and institutional protection of men. It includes personal reflection and cultural commentary, not legal, medical, clinical, financial, employment, or human-resources advice. Some identifying details and situations have been changed, blended, or generalized to protect privacy. ## A note from me I did not write this book because I believe I have finished learning how to hold power well. I wrote it because I still hold power, still benefit from patterns I did not create, and still have a responsibility to notice what those patterns cost other people. I have received the benefit of the doubt. I have been trusted before I fully understood what that trust required. I have moved too fast and called it decisiveness. I have defended intent when I should have listened harder to impact. I have missed work at home because Kellie was carrying details I did not see. Guilt cannot repair those things by itself. Responsibility can change what I do next. I think about the women whose work built the ground beneath me, including Lidwin Dirne. I think about Kellie telling me the truth, Samantha inheriting a world that still asks women for too much proof, and the men Jacob and Cameron are becoming. I want my sons to understand that strength is not the ability to stay central. Strength can look like accountability, trust, protection, shared labor, and the courage to move power. Getting out of the way means knowing when I am standing somewhere I no longer need to stand. It means staying responsible while letting other people lead. It means asking what should grow because authority passed through my hands, not how long I can keep my name attached to it. I am still learning. I still get defensive. I still need correction. I still have to practice. That is not a reason to wait. It is the reason to begin where I am, with the power I actually hold. Paperback ISBN 9798199348430 · Hardcover ISBN 9798180606860 First edition, 2026 · Published by Mike Baker HQ ## Continue reading - Believe Her the First Time. Turns belief in women’s pain into practical responsibility for fathers, partners, leaders, and healthcare systems. - The Better Man Field Guide. Continues the work of responsibility, humility, repair, and becoming a man other people do not have to manage. - Human First. Explores leadership and connection that begin with the person rather than the title, role, or system. Print it, fill it in by hand, keep it somewhere you will actually see it. The Room MapThe Permission-Gate AuditSponsorship ReceiptsThe Invisible-Labor TransferBefore I Defend My Intent [Download the workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/assets/downloads/get-out-of-the-way-workbook.pdf) ### Believe Her the First Time URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/believe-her-the-first-time/ Last updated: 2026-08-02T23:08:12.000Z [Buy on Amazon →](https://a.co/d/05pqSUNS?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [Free companion workbook](#workbook) Paperback and hardcover · 380 pages · Mike Baker HQ · First edition, 2026 ## Why this book exists I did not start writing this book because I had answers. I started writing because my daughter was hurting, and I did not know what to do with the feeling of watching someone you love suffer while knowing you cannot take the pain away. That is one of the hardest places for a parent to stand. You want to fix it. You want a plan. You want the doctor to have the answer, the treatment to work, and the person you love to wake up tomorrow feeling like themselves again. Endometriosis does not work that way. Samantha’s experience changed the way I understood pain, healthcare, advocacy, and what it means to show up for someone. Kellie’s changed it too. I had spent years in healthcare believing in the work we do, and then my own family taught me how much there is still to learn when someone’s pain is not believed quickly enough. I am not a doctor. I am not a woman living with endometriosis. Women living with it are the experts on their own bodies and their own stories. My role is different. I am writing to the people around them — the men who love them, the dads who do not know what to say, the husbands who want to help and keep trying to solve the wrong problem, and the leaders and clinicians who need to understand that delayed belief has consequences. I have missed things. I have tried to fix things that could not be fixed. I have learned that love is not only what you feel for someone. Love is what you do next. > She should not have to prove her pain to the person who promised to love her. ## Who it’s for Men who love someone with endometriosis and want to understand what showing up actually looks like. Dads, husbands, brothers, friends, and healthcare leaders who recognize that listening is a skill that has to be learned. People who want to move past sympathy and become someone a person in pain does not have to manage. ## Who it’s not for This is not a medical guide, and it is not written to speak over women living with endometriosis. It does not replace medical care, professional support, or the voices of people living with the disease. It is for the people around them who need to listen better, learn faster, and take responsibility for how they respond. ## Questions it answers Why does it take so long for so many women to receive a diagnosis? How do I support someone I love when I cannot fix their pain? What does a woman with chronic pain wish the people around her understood? How do I stop making someone explain the same thing over and over? What should husbands know about pain, sex, fertility, and relationships? How do I advocate without taking control away from the person living it? And how do we raise sons who believe women? ## Inside The book opens with *It Started With My Daughter*, on how Samantha’s experience changed me and forced me to see endometriosis differently. *What Endometriosis Does to a Life* looks past symptoms at what chronic pain takes from someone’s plans, relationships, mental health, and ordinary days — the medical maze, the costs nobody sees, the reality of living with a condition most people misunderstand. *How Men Show Up* is the practical half: what partners miss, what not to say, flare days, intimacy, treatment and surgery, fertility. And *From One Daughter to a Bigger Fight* widens out to research, healthcare, advocacy, and why women should not have to become warriors just to receive care and belief. Samantha wrote the foreword, in her own voice. It is the best thing in the book. ## Before you start This book includes discussion of suicide, self-harm, overdose, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, medical trauma, painful sex, and fertility grief. It does not go around the hard parts, because for some women the question of a life in pain versus no life at all is not theoretical. If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, call emergency services. In the United States you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. ## A note from me I wrote this book because I love my daughter. That sounds simple, but sometimes love puts you in uncomfortable places. It asks you to learn words you never thought you would need. It asks you to sit with pain you cannot remove. It asks you to admit where you were wrong. Samantha taught me that belief matters. Not the kind where you say the right thing and move on. The kind where someone can tell you they are hurting and you do not make them prove it first. I cannot fix endometriosis for my daughter. I wish I could. What I can do is believe her. I can learn. I can listen. I can use whatever voice I have to make sure fewer women have to fight this hard to be heard. Paperback ISBN 979-8199341479 · Hardcover ISBN 979-8199920889 380 pages · First edition, 2026 · Published by Mike Baker HQ, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho ## Continue reading - [**Man vs. Menopause**](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/man-vs-menopause/) — supporting the women we love through another season that gets misunderstood. - [**Human First**](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/human-first/) — listening, connection, and remembering the person behind every story. - [**Still My Mom**](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/still-my-mom/) — love, caregiving, grief, and staying connected through the hardest seasons. - [Women Should Not Have to Lose a Decade Before We Believe Them](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/women-should-not-have-to-lose-a-decade-before-we-believe-them/) — the essay this book grew out of. The full companion workbook to the book. Thirty-six pages of exercises, built to be printed and filled in with a pen — alone or with the person you are trying to show up for. Endometriosis 101 for menPart One — It started with my daughterPart Two — What endometriosis does to a lifePart Three — How men show upPart Four — From one daughter to a bigger fight[Download the companion workbook (PDF) →](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/files/2026/08/believe-her-the-first-time-workbook.pdf) ### Where All of This Was Leading URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/where-all-of-this-was-leading/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:40:55.000Z I have been staring at two photographs of my family taken sixteen years apart. The first was captured in 2010, shortly after we moved to Coeur d’Alene. Kellie and I are standing beside the water with three young children who still needed us for almost everything. Jacob and Cameron were boys. Sammie was small enough to be held. The house was always loud, someone was usually hungry, and most days ended with Kellie and me wondering how morning had arrived so quickly. We were younger than we understood. Our family had entered a new community, my work was growing, and the future still felt like something we had plenty of time to figure out. I was 34 and convinced that working hard enough would eventually make the path clear. I had plans for my career and ideas about the kind of leader I wanted to become. Life had not yet tested many of those ideas. The second photograph was taken in June 2026\. We are standing in a field with our arms wrapped around one another, laughing in the loose, unguarded way families do after living enough life together. The children are adults now. Jacob worked his way into the electrical trade and started Shaka Electric. Cameron had the courage to move across the world and build a life in New Zealand. Sammie graduated from high school and is moving toward nursing after learning far too young how hard someone sometimes has to fight to be heard in healthcare. ![The Baker family in a field in June 2026 — Mike, Kellie, and their three adult children laughing together.](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/post/family-2026.jpg) Our family in June 2026\. Sixteen years of growing, loss, change, and love live between these two photographs. Sixteen years separate those photographs. This reflection reaches back farther because I turned 50 this year, and I keep thinking about the person I was at 30, the person I became, and the work still ahead. The pictures help me understand something I missed while I was busy living it. My story has never belonged to me alone. Every part of the work was shaped by the people in those photographs and by countless others who trusted me with pieces of their lives. No photograph shows the late phone calls, interrupted dinners, or evenings when my body was home and my mind remained inside a meeting. The camera never recorded the seasons when Kellie carried more because I believed a problem at work required all of me. It missed the times I confused being needed with being effective and the moments when my family gave me grace before I had earned it. I am proud of what I have helped build. I also understand the cost with more honesty than I did when I was younger. Kellie has believed in me while refusing to let me become impressed with myself. She has absorbed too much of the impact when my ambition filled every available space. Our children grew up knowing their dad cared deeply about serving people, though there were periods when the people closest to me received whatever attention remained after the work was finished. That is difficult to admit. Protecting a polished version of my story has become far less important than telling the truth about it. ## What I believed at 30 At 30, I believed leadership depended on how much pressure I could hold. I worked hard and moved quickly because speed felt like evidence that I knew what I was doing. Problems became personal assignments, and responsibility often turned into control before I recognized what was happening. I wanted to build something meaningful and believed force of effort would protect it. That approach helped me through some difficult seasons. It also made me impatient with processes that needed time and people who needed room to think out loud. Disagreement sometimes sounded like resistance when it was information I needed. Urgency became a habit, and habits have a way of following you home. Experience slowly changed my understanding of leadership. The change did not arrive through one book, conference, or perfect mentor. It came through people who trusted me enough to disagree. Patients showed me how little a system understands when it never asks about the life surrounding an appointment. Employees taught me that the person caring for everyone else often carries pain no one at work sees. > Every spreadsheet became incomplete until I understood who was living underneath the numbers. Community health gave those lessons a place to become real. I have spent most of my adult life around people whose circumstances did not fit the assumptions built into healthcare. Parents delayed their own care because the family needed groceries. Patients drove hours for services that should have existed closer to home. Staff walked into exam rooms with compassion while worrying about their own children or wondering how they would cover the next bill. Those experiences made leadership personal. A budget decision reaches someone trying to schedule an appointment. Staffing choices follow employees home. A policy that looks orderly in a conference room sometimes becomes another obstacle for a person who already has too many. Operations and humanity remain connected whether the people making the decision acknowledge it or not. Heritage Health has grown through years that asked a great deal from everyone involved. We expanded services and entered new communities. Facilities were built while we faced financial pressure and navigated a pandemic. Some decisions made us stronger. A few taught me lessons I would rather have learned without hurting people along the way. Leading a federally qualified health center in North Idaho has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. The title of CEO has also placed me close to uncertainty. Leadership requires decisions before the whole story becomes visible, followed by the responsibility of living with how those decisions affect people who trusted you. Over time, appearing certain mattered less. Honesty became more useful. People deserve to hear what is known, what remains unclear, and where their leader got something wrong. An apology carries more value than a carefully defended mistake. ## What loss taught me My life away from work kept pressing those lessons deeper. Watching my mom live with early-onset Alzheimer’s changed the way I understand love. The disease entered our family slowly, altering conversations and roles before any of us fully understood what was happening. Grief started while she was still here. Some days brought recognition. Other days asked us to find connection without it. There was no ceremony marking the last ordinary season with my mom. Families understand those moments in reverse, after the disease has already changed them. I think about conversations I assumed we would have again and questions I wish I had asked while the answers were still available. My mom taught me that a person remains worthy of tenderness as memory, language, and independence begin to fade. Her illness showed me how much caregivers carry privately. It also taught me to stay present when there is nothing left to fix. I had spent years treating problems as invitations to act. Alzheimer’s placed me beside something love could not repair and asked me to remain there anyway. Losing Mark Hampe, our CFO and my friend, changed the pace of my life in another way. His death in 2023 left an empty space inside Heritage Health and inside me. The calendar continued. Meetings started on time, and decisions arrived with the same urgency they had the week before. Grief moved through a world that had no intention of slowing down for it. Mark’s death made me think differently about the conversations we postpone and the gratitude we assume people already understand. A person’s value never fits inside a job description. The people beside us at work become part of our lives in ways we often recognize too late. ## Why I speak about women’s health My advocacy around endometriosis and women’s health came from watching Kellie and Sammie live through pain and dismissal. I entered that work as a husband and father who had seen enough to know that silence was helping the wrong people. Listening to more women made the scale of the failure impossible to ignore. Too many had spent years hearing that their pain was normal, exaggerated, or something they needed to tolerate. Those stories changed what I believe healthcare should become. Women deserve care that follows the full course of their lives and treats their experience as evidence. Endometriosis often overlaps with mental health, work, relationships, fertility, and a long list of symptoms that refuse to remain inside one specialty. Perimenopause and menopause touch the same parts of a woman’s life while our systems continue treating them as isolated concerns. This work became personal because people I love made looking away impossible. It also belongs to every family that has watched someone fight for an answer while the healthcare system kept asking her to prove she was hurting. Community health centers have a powerful role here because whole-person care, affordability, behavioral health, and trust already sit at the center of what we do. Looking back, the same concern appears in nearly every experience that changed me. My family taught me about presence. Community health made dignity practical. Loss gave time a different value. Women’s health advocacy taught me how dangerous disbelief becomes when it is built into a system. > Human First grew out of all of that. The phrase began as language for something I had spent years trying to understand. People need systems that recognize their humanity. Every strategy eventually reaches a person with a life beyond the problem we are trying to solve. Technology should give people greater room for judgment and connection. Progress matters when it helps someone live better. Writing became the place where I worked through those ideas. Leadership entered the books because I had seen what ego does inside organizations and families. Alzheimer’s required language for loving someone through a loss that begins before goodbye. The experiences of women I love gave me a reason to write about endometriosis and menopause. Optimism became worth exploring because hope needs to remain useful when life gets hard. The books kept coming because the questions did. Music gave some of those questions a different voice. AI-assisted art opened another part of my creativity, and speaking placed the ideas in rooms where other people added their own experience. For years, the range of those interests made me question whether I lacked focus. Now I understand the concern underneath all of them: How do people stay connected to themselves and one another while the world keeps demanding greater speed, harder edges, and less attention? Mike Baker HQ became a home for those parts of my life. Heritage Health remains the center of my professional work, rooted in communities that trusted us and employees who show up every day to serve them. The books and creative projects give me space to explore questions that reach beyond one organization. Advocacy brings private pain into public conversation, while my work with artificial intelligence asks what happens to people as technology changes the way we live. ## Why AI, and on what terms I am deeply interested in AI because I see the good it could do. Healthcare workers spend too much time on repetitive tasks that pull attention away from patients. Small organizations often lack access to expertise that larger systems take for granted. Creators carry ideas they have never had the staff or technical skill to bring into the world. AI opens doors in each of those places, and the choices surrounding it matter. Efficiency should return time to people rather than increase the amount demanded from them. Better information should support judgment while preserving responsibility. A useful tool should strengthen trust and protect the dignity of the person affected by its decisions. ## The future I want to help build At Heritage Health, that future includes stronger access across North Idaho and deeper care in rural communities. It includes a serious commitment to women who have spent too long navigating fragmented systems. Employees deserve tools that reduce administrative burden while protecting the relationships at the center of healthcare. Growth should keep us accountable to the people and communities who gave the organization its purpose. I want to help build a future where a woman in North Idaho does not spend years wondering whether anyone will believe her. A family facing Alzheimer’s should find support that understands the daily labor and long grief of caregiving. A patient should experience healthcare as something done with them rather than around them. Through Mike Baker HQ, the work will keep expanding. More books are coming because I still have questions worth living with on the page. I want to speak more honestly about leadership, family, grief, and the pressure to appear fine when life feels anything but fine. Some ideas will become tools that help people stay connected. Others will become songs, artwork, or a book left in an airport that reaches someone I will never meet. I am learning to let the form follow the purpose. The work does not need to fit neatly into one category when the people it serves do not live inside categories either. That is also why this reflection matters beyond my birthday or these family photographs. You might be standing at a point where the pieces of your own life feel disconnected. Work could have changed you in ways you are still trying to understand. Your family might be entering a new season before you feel ready. Grief or illness might have interrupted the life you thought you were building. Perhaps a dream has waited so long that you have started treating the delay as a decision. My life has taught me to pay attention to the experiences that keep returning. Notice the problems that follow you home because they matter deeply to you. Think about the people whose stories changed the way you see the world. Look closely at the interests you keep trying to explain away. A body of meaningful work might already be forming inside the life you have lived. ## What fifty taught me about time Turning 50 has made me pay closer attention to time. I look at the first photograph and remember how endless those years seemed. The children needed us constantly, and the work always felt urgent. Kellie and I were building a life while trying to make it through the week. Then I look at the photograph from June. Those small children are standing beside us as adults with lives that already reach beyond our home. Jacob has a business and a future he worked hard to earn. Cameron has made choices that required courage I did not possess at his age. Sammie has taken her own pain and started turning it toward a life of caring for others. I wish I had understood sooner how quickly ordinary days become the life you miss. More of me should have come home during certain seasons, and presence deserved a place inside my definition of responsibility. Regret holds value when it changes the way you live now. I want mine to make me more available to the people I love. My family remains at the center of what comes next. I want to know our children as the adults they are becoming instead of holding too tightly to the versions in that first photograph. Kellie deserves the best of my attention and creativity after sharing so much of her life with the demands of my work. Whatever I build next should support our life together and give us more of one another. The last twenty years also gave me a responsibility I feel more clearly at 50\. I have enough experience to recognize old mistakes before they settle into habits again. The scars have made me more honest about the cost of pretending leadership is easy. Curiosity still pulls me toward new ideas and keeps me willing to change direction when the work asks for something different. > My ambition has changed. Being impressive carries very little weight now. Being useful matters. There is a great deal ahead. Heritage Health has more people to serve and new ways to improve care. Women’s health needs leaders willing to keep listening when the first answer becomes inconvenient. Families living with Alzheimer’s deserve support that understands what the disease takes from everyone around it. Human-centered AI needs people inside the conversation who understand technology and refuse to separate it from dignity. I want to be part of that work while staying close to the people who gave it meaning. There are books left to write and rooms where difficult conversations need to happen. New projects will succeed, while others will expose an assumption I need to reconsider. At 50, failure feels less threatening because I understand that honest work often begins before the path becomes clear. I hope people come with me because these questions belong to all of us. Healthcare, leadership, technology, and human connection will be shaped through millions of ordinary choices. Each of us has some influence over whether those choices leave people feeling respected or overlooked. The two photographs remind me how much changes while we are busy living. They also show me what has endured. Kellie is beside me. Our children are close enough to wrap their arms around us and laugh. I still believe people deserve better than systems that overlook them, and I remain convinced that hope should lead somewhere useful. I do not know the full shape of what comes next. I know who I want beside me and who I want the work to serve. The years ahead deserve the full weight of what the last ones taught me, along with the humility to keep learning in public. I hope you keep reading, challenge me when I need it, and find your own place in the work ahead. I’m still here, still trying. ![Mike Baker](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/site/post/mike-portrait.jpg) Mike Baker Heritage Health · Mike Baker HQ Mike leads Heritage Health and writes at Mike Baker HQ, where books, art, music, and advocacy all circle the same question: how do we build places where people feel seen? He writes often about women’s health and endometriosis. [About Mike](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/about/) [The books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) --- **If this one landed** [Ordinary Tuesday](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/ordinary-tuesday-album/) is fourteen songs about exactly this. The moments between the chapters, and the ones you only recognize afterward. Headphones, start to finish. And [Still My Mom](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/still-my-mom/) is the same sixteen years from a different angle. ### Everyone I Met Told Me About Someone They Loved URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/everyone-i-met-told-me-about-someone-they-loved/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:40:51.000Z #### *I just spent a week in Washington, D.C., in rooms full of people who believe American healthcare can be worthy of the people it serves — clinicians, advocates, and community health center leaders who spend their lives proving it. Somewhere between a rooftop at the Watergate Hotel and the back seat of an Uber, they helped me figure out what all of my work has been about.* It’s three-thirty in the morning and I’m sitting on the floor beside an open suitcase, drinking a monster I have no business drinking, because every time I close my eyes another conversation from this week comes back to me. I know how memory works. If I don’t write this down tonight, the details will fade, and with them the feeling that something important shifted. I spent the past week in Washington, D.C., at the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved conference, representing Heritage Health. I went in expecting the usual rhythm of these trips — come home with a notebook full of ideas, people to call, policies worth watching. And I have all of that. But the biggest thing I brought home won’t fit inside a notebook. Sometime during the second day, I realized I couldn’t stop talking about women’s health. Nobody planned that, least of all me. Someone would ask about Heritage Health, and within a few minutes we’d be deep into endometriosis, or perimenopause, or behavioral health, or what it would look like if community health centers became the best place in America for a woman to receive care. It happened in meeting rooms and hallways, over dinner, on the rooftop of the Watergate Hotel, and in the back seat of an Uber after the driver asked the question every visitor to that city gets: “So what brings you to Washington?” What struck me wasn’t that I cared so much about the topic — I already knew that. What struck me was that I never reached for statistics first. I reached for stories. I told people about Kellie. I told them about Sammie. I talked about women who spent years looking for answers while being told nothing was wrong, that the pain would eventually pass, that they were probably just anxious. Those stories carried more weight than any slide deck ever could, because they belonged to real people with faces and families. #### *I never reached for statistics first. I reached for stories.* Then something happened that I didn’t expect: nearly every person I spoke with answered by telling me about someone they loved. A physician described patients who had spent years trying to be believed. A health center CEO talked about his daughter. Someone else mentioned a sister, and another man quietly shared what his wife had been living with for years. One conversation became another, and somewhere in there we stopped talking about healthcare as an industry and started talking about the people waiting for it to do better. I don’t think that’s an accident. That’s where the work has always started. Later that evening I stood on the Watergate’s rooftop and watched the sun settle behind the monuments. Washington is a city where history feels close enough to touch — you spend the day walking past buildings where enormous decisions get made, then sit down to dinner with people whose lives are devoted to helping someone get through tomorrow. I kept thinking about trust, maybe because the hotel itself carries the weight of one of the country’s great failures of it, and yet all week I’d been surrounded by people whose work depends on earning trust one conversation at a time. The longer I stood there, the more I realized the same thing was happening inside me. For years I’ve kept my life in separate categories. Heritage Health was my leadership work. Mike Baker HQ was where I wrote books, made art, released music, and chased ideas that mattered to me. Endometriosis advocacy grew out of watching people I love navigate a healthcare system that too often asks women to prove their pain before it believes them. Somewhere between those conversations in Washington, I understood that I’d been drawing lines that never actually existed. Every book I’ve written has been about paying attention to people. Every piece of art I’ve shared has been an attempt to tell a story words couldn’t quite reach. Every decision I’ve made at Heritage Health comes back to the same question: how do we create a place where another human being feels seen, respected, and cared for? #### *It’s all the same work.* That realization may be the most valuable thing I carried home. There were lighter moments, too. I somehow got swept up in the Whova leaderboard competition and discovered I’m more competitive than I like to admit. I watched my friend and colleague Allisha Rutherford represent Heritage Health with a confidence and authenticity that made me incredibly proud. I spent time with Amanda Pears Kelly, who has one of those rare gifts for noticing the person standing quietly at the edge of the room and making sure they become part of the conversation. Those moments matter, because leadership isn’t measured only in presentations and titles. It’s measured in relationships. Tomorrow morning I’ll unpack the suitcase, answer a week’s worth of email, and settle back into the familiar rhythm of work. On the surface, life will look exactly the way it did before I left. But the trip didn’t give me a new mission — it gave me a clearer view of the one that’s been there all along. At Heritage Health, that means continuing to build a place where every patient feels heard, and where women’s health finally receives the attention it has deserved for far too long. At Mike Baker HQ, it means continuing to write about the things that make us more human, because stories have a way of opening doors that arguments never will. People sometimes ask me where the hope in healthcare is. After this week, I can answer with certainty: it’s in the rooms where people still tell each other stories about the ones they love, and then get up the next morning and go build something better for them. #### *The conversations I had in Washington are over. The work they pointed toward is only beginning.* *Mike Baker leads Heritage Health and writes at Mike Baker HQ, where books, art, music, and advocacy all circle the same question: how do we build places where people feel seen? He writes often about women’s health and endometriosis.* --- **If this one landed** I wrote [Women Should Not Have to Lose a Decade Before We Believe Them](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/women-should-not-have-to-lose-a-decade-before-we-believe-them/) on the way to that same conference. It is the argument I carried into those rooms. And if the person you love is the one you kept thinking about while reading this, [Still My Mom](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/still-my-mom/) is the long version of that. ### Women Should Not Have to Lose a Decade Before We Believe Them URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/women-should-not-have-to-lose-a-decade-before-we-believe-them/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:37:35.000Z This week I’m heading to the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved annual conference in Washington, D.C. I’m going as the CEO of an FQHC, but I’m also going as a husband, a dad, and a man who has watched two women he loves fight for answers that should have come much sooner. My wife lives with endometriosis. So does my daughter. That changes the way I hear conversations about women’s health. I don’t hear a policy issue. I hear the years they spent trying to understand what was happening in their own bodies. I hear the appointments, the pain, the uncertainty, and the way women learn to question themselves after being told again and again that what they are feeling is normal. Endometriosis often takes years to diagnose. For many women, the wait stretches close to a decade. Think about what that means in a real life. A teenager misses school because her periods are unbearable. A young woman struggles to work while managing pain nobody sees. Relationships change. Mental health suffers. Fertility questions begin. Families spend money, time, and energy moving through a healthcare system that keeps treating pieces of the problem without naming the whole thing. The patient keeps showing up. The system keeps asking her to prove it. I have watched this happen up close, and it has changed me. It pushed me to speak publicly about endometriosis through [EndoDad](https://www.instagram.com/endodad76/?ref=mikebakerhq.com). It led me to create art that helps women feel seen. It also led me to write *[Believe Her the First Time](https://a.co/d/09xPZRZb?ref=mikebakerhq.com)*, because too many women still have to become experts in their own illness before anyone takes them seriously. I also wrote *[Man vs. Menopause](https://a.co/d/032QSFvE?ref=mikebakerhq.com)* because women’s health does not stop with reproductive care. Perimenopause and menopause affect health, work, relationships, confidence, sleep, and family life, yet many women still enter that stage with little support and even less practical guidance for the people who love them. My books grew from the same frustration I carry into this conference. Women deserve healthcare that listens sooner and responds better. That matters even more in North Idaho. Our region has lost OB-GYN capacity. Women travel farther for care. Rural communities face fewer specialists, longer waits, and limited options. When people discuss the loss of obstetric services, the conversation often centers on pregnancy and delivery. Those losses also affect women with pelvic pain, abnormal bleeding, suspected endometriosis, PCOS, fertility concerns, cancer risk, and symptoms connected to menopause. A community does not only lose a delivery service when OB-GYNs leave. It loses a critical part of women’s healthcare. FQHCs have a role here. We are often the front door. We see patients before they reach a specialist. We hear about painful periods, missed work, fatigue, bowel symptoms, pain during sex, anxiety, depression, and the quiet fear that something is wrong. We do not need to become specialty centers overnight. We do need to recognize the responsibility already sitting in front of us. Primary care teams need better education about endometriosis. Referral pathways need to be clear and reliable. Women should receive support while they wait for specialty care. Leaders need to treat women’s health as a core strategy rather than a side program. I believe community health centers could become national leaders in this work. We already know how to care for people who face barriers. We understand rural communities. We know how to integrate medical care with behavioral health and pharmacy. We also know how to build partnerships when one organization cannot solve the entire problem alone. We need help. We need clinicians willing to teach. We need health centers willing to share what works. We need researchers who understand the realities of rural care. We need funders who see women’s health as more than maternity care. We need men to enter this conversation with humility and stay in it long enough to be useful. At the ACU conference, I want to meet the people who are working on this. I want to hear from FQHCs that have built strong women’s health models. I want to learn from clinicians who diagnose endometriosis earlier. I want to meet leaders who have improved care for women in rural communities. I want honest conversations about where we are failing and what we could build together. I’m hosting a conversation Sunday afternoon called **The Future of Women’s Health at FQHCs**. We’ll talk about endometriosis, perimenopause, access, primary care, and the practical steps community health centers could take when we return home. No presentation. No sales pitch. I’m coming with questions and a deep sense of urgency. My wife and daughter are part of why I care so much about this. They are also reminders that this conversation represents millions of women whose pain has been minimized, delayed, or misunderstood. A decade is too long to wait for an answer. If you are attending ACU and care about women’s health, please find me. Tell me what your organization is doing. Tell me where you are stuck. Tell me who I should meet. We need better ideas, stronger partnerships, and people willing to push this work forward. Women have waited long enough. --- **If you are living this** [I Believe You](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/ibelieveyou/) is the practical version. Appointment prep, questions worth asking, and a way to turn what you are feeling into words a doctor can act on. It is free, it does not ask for your email, and it will stay that way. If you want the numbers behind the delay, [How Many Years Does It Take to Get an Endometriosis Diagnosis](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/how-many-years-does-it-take-to-get-an-endometriosis-diagnosis/) has them. ### What Is It Like to Live With You? URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/what-is-it-like-to-live-with-you-mike-baker/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:40:57.000Z Earlier this week, I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to make my calendars talk to each other. I had my personal Google Calendar, the Baker family calendar in Apple, an Outlook feed from work, and the Mike Baker HQ calendar. Then I decided Mira, the AI assistant I have been building, should give me a daily brief, include birthday reminders, and send Kellie a weekly family summary. This was a very sophisticated answer to a problem I have had for years. At some point, I realized the entire project was organized around eight words that have gotten a lot of decent men in trouble: “Just tell me where I need to be.” I have said versions of that sentence throughout my marriage. When I say it, I hear cooperation. I hear a husband saying he is willing to show up wherever the family needs him. The sentence also hands someone else an additional job. She has to know the schedule, protect against conflicts, remember the birthday, account for travel time, and give me the finished plan at the right moment. That realization bothered me because I do not think of myself as a man who expects someone else to run his life. I lead a complicated healthcare organization. I spend my days making decisions, building systems, and helping other people keep difficult work moving. I am also a husband with ADHD who has had four calendars and still missed things. Both belong in an honest picture of me. ## The People Closest to Us Have Their Own Evidence Most of us measure our character from inside our own heads. We know how much we care. We remember what we intended to do and the message we started writing before something else interrupted us. The people living with us work from another set of facts. They experience our timing, attention, tone, and follow-through. They notice whether we look up from the phone. They know how many reminders it takes before we handle something. They feel what happens in the room when we believe we are being criticized. That gap does not automatically make us dishonest. It gives us information about ourselves that we will never produce alone. This is where men like me often get defensive. If I believe I am a good husband, caring father, or thoughtful leader, criticism sounds like an attack on that identity. My brain starts preparing context before the other person has finished speaking. I was overwhelmed. Work was brutal. I forgot. I was listening even though I was looking at my phone. Some of that context might be accurate. The explanation still takes attention away from what the other person was trying to tell me. The Better Man Field Guide uses a shopping cart to describe this. If I roll a grocery cart onto someone’s ankle, my first responsibility is to move it. The person does not need an explanation about the crowded aisle while the wheel is still sitting on their foot. Relationship conversations fall apart when we reverse that order. Someone says, “That hurt,” and we hear, “You are a terrible person.” The original concern has to wait while the person who raised it reassures us about our character. I have done versions of that. I have made the explanation so large that the other person ended up caring for my feelings while theirs waited. ## ADHD Explains the Friction My brain does not place information into a calm line and wait for me to retrieve it. A date arrives while I am thinking about a meeting, a song, a healthcare problem, a book, and something I forgot to order for the house. I build systems because I care. I also have a history of building systems that require me to remember the system, which remains a persistent design flaw. Understanding my ADHD matters because shame does not make anyone more organized. It adds another layer of pressure to a brain already struggling to move from intention to action. That explanation does not turn Kellie into my permanent calendar department. If my brain needs additional support, I need to build that support around it. The person I love should not become the workaround for every system that fails. That principle reaches beyond calendars. It applies to messages, appointments, household responsibilities, and the small commitments that build trust over time. Feeling deeply about something does not guarantee I will remember it. Caring does not complete the task. A reliable system helps the people around me experience the care I already feel. ## The Moment I Put the Phone Down I saw a smaller version of this during the work around one of my art shows. I was answering messages about the gallery and letting other people’s opinions pull me back into my phone. Kellie was telling me something important. I was physically in the room, but she did not have my full attention. She knew. People usually know when we are half-present before we admit it. We make listening noises and keep our eyes close enough to their face that we think we deserve partial credit. The other person experiences the phone in our hand and the delay before we respond. I put the phone down and listened. The moment changed because my attention changed. I did not solve some enormous marriage problem. I stopped asking Kellie to compete with a screen for a few minutes. That scene stayed with me because I talk about presence all the time. I believe people deserve to feel seen and heard. Then life gives me an ordinary test of whether the person I love feels seen while she is sitting beside me. My creative life complicates this. An idea arrives and gets loud. A song starts forming late at night. A piece of art becomes a project, and the project creates another reason to check my phone. I love that part of my brain. Kellie has lived with the part that does not always know how to return to the room. Some of the qualities people admire in us create a cost at home when we leave them unmanaged. Leadership places demands on the people who share a life with the leader. Creativity needs boundaries when the project begins taking attention from the person beside us. I want to become more responsible for that transition back. ## What Being a Goalie Taught Me About Impact I have played enough beer-league goalie to know what it feels like when a puck gets past you and you are convinced there should be an asterisk on the scoreboard. Maybe there was a screen. The puck changed direction. A defenseman missed an assignment. My hip moved like a part that was no longer under warranty. There is usually context. The red light still comes on. A goalie who spends the next five minutes arguing with the last goal gives up another one. You look at what happened, learn what is available, and get set for the next shot. I wish I had brought that discipline home earlier in life. In relationships, I have sometimes treated context as an appeal. I meant well. I was overwhelmed. My brain dropped the task. Every statement might be accurate, but none removes the consequence that landed on someone else. Responsibility is steadier than self-hatred. Responsibility says, “That was mine. I need to address it.” Shame turns one mistake into a verdict about who we are, then pulls everyone nearby into managing the collapse. Ownership gives us somewhere to go. We look at what happened and choose a different response for the next time. ## The Life Kellie and I Built A few weeks ago, Kellie and I had all three kids together on the Oregon Coast. Cameron was home from New Zealand. Sammie had recently graduated. Jacob was there as the big brother he has become. For a little while, everyone’s separate life gathered back into one place. I watched Kellie in the middle of it. She gets happy in a deep way when all the kids are together. I looked at her watching them and felt proud of the life we had built. We have been married since 1999\. We were young when we started, and neither of us knew what the years would ask from us. That pride is honest. Another truth sits beside it. Kellie has carried our family with love in ways other people never see. She has held details together while I was leading a health center, chasing an idea, making music late at night, or trying to remember which calendar had the information I needed. We built this life together. I have shown up in meaningful ways, and there are places where she had to compensate for me. A mature marriage has enough room to tell the whole truth. As I watched the kids together near the ocean, I saw the result of years of ordinary work. There were schedules, health scares, difficult conversations, bills, meals, moves, and pieces that never show up in a family photograph. The question “What is it like to live with me?” does not erase the good life we built. It helps me honor it. I want Kellie to experience the man I keep saying I want to be. I want my adult kids to feel that growth in the way I listen to them now. I want the people I lead to experience Human First through my behavior. That requires information I cannot produce by thinking harder about myself. ## Ask a Smaller Question “What is it like to live with me?” might be too large for a first conversation. It invites an entire relationship review when most of us need one honest place to begin. Try a smaller question: “What is one ordinary thing I do that makes life heavier for you?” Ask when you have time to hear the answer. Choose someone with whom you have a safe relationship. Then listen without preparing your explanation. If the answer involves the calendar, your phone, your tone, or a task that always needs another reminder, stay with that one thing. Repeat what you heard in your own words and thank the person for telling you. Changed behavior will carry more weight than a promise made during an emotional conversation. The Better Man Field Guide grew out of this work. I wrote it for men who care, try, and still create consequences they did not intend. I am one of those men. Growth does not require me to hate the man I have been. It asks me to tell the truth about him and choose what I do next. ## Watch or Listen to the Episode Season 2, Episode 13 of Still Here, Still Trying is available now. Watch on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/G2\_ehMCcGlg](https://youtu.be/G2%5FehMCcGlg?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Listen on Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/episode/7dloXLc1ZQSVN2MOiwNIsb](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7dloXLc1ZQSVN2MOiwNIsb?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Get The Better Man Field Guide: [https://a.co/d/02P4fQKm](https://a.co/d/02P4fQKm?ref=mikebakerhq.com) A brief safety note: The question in this article is intended for ordinary relationships where people are safe and trying. Violence, threats, intimidation, coercive control, stalking, sexual coercion, or fear require qualified support and full accountability. --- **If this one landed** [Beautifully Unfocused](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/beautifully-unfocused/) is the long form of what the calendars were really about. And [One-Thirty in the Morning](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/one-thirty-in-the-morning/) is the same brain at one in the morning, still trying to build its way out. ### Something Is Shifting, and I Want to Help It Grow URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/something-is-shifting-and-i-want-to-help-it-grow-join-me/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:59.000Z I have been hearing people from very different parts of my life describe the same feeling. They do not share the same politics, faith, background, or explanation for what is happening. Some talk about a spiritual awakening. Others point to generational change, growing distrust of institutions, or exhaustion with leaders who keep people angry and afraid. Many of them struggle to put language around it, but they keep coming back to the sense that something is shifting. I feel it too, though I remain careful about claiming I know what it means. I have spent years arguing for an optimism grounded in reality. I believe hope should be able to survive honest questions, uncomfortable facts, and evidence that challenges what we want to believe. I am not ready to throw that away because the universe seems interesting this week. Still, skepticism should not become an excuse to ignore what is happening directly in front of us. I am seeing relationships soften after years of conflict. I am watching people question toxic leadership they once believed they had to tolerate. I hear more people talking about getting off social media, turning down the news, spending time outside, and trying to recover some ownership over their own attention. Something is changing in the way people understand the cost of disconnection. For years, many of us have lived in environments that reward fear, certainty, outrage, and constant reaction. Political leaders learned to turn neighbors into threats. Social platforms built systems that hold our attention by keeping us unsettled. Unhealthy workplaces convinced people that pressure and humiliation were legitimate forms of accountability. Families carried old pain forward because nobody knew how to discuss it without reopening every wound. People adapted because that is what human beings do. We found ways to function inside systems that were making us miserable. We became skilled at reading rooms, avoiding certain subjects, swallowing concerns, and carrying tension back into our homes. Eventually, survival began to look normal. I think more people are recognizing that normal does not always mean healthy. ## The Quiet Changes Are Still Real The shifts I am noticing are not dramatic. They are happening in conversations that will never make the news. A person who has defended themselves for years becomes willing to listen. Someone who built an identity around an old grievance begins wondering what life would feel like without carrying it every day. Friends who stopped speaking find enough courage to try again, even though neither person knows where the conversation will lead. These moments matter because conflict creates its own gravity. Once a disagreement lasts long enough, the original issue becomes tangled with pride, memory, loyalty, and fear of being hurt again. People stop arguing about what happened and begin protecting the version of themselves that survived it. Repair asks something different from both people. It requires enough honesty to acknowledge the harm and enough humility to accept that memory is incomplete. It also requires patience because trust rarely returns at the speed of an apology. I am seeing people make that effort. They are not erasing the past or pretending everything is fine. They are deciding that pain does not deserve unlimited authority over the future. I see a similar movement in communities and organizations that have lived under toxic leadership. These environments often look stable from the outside because fear creates compliance. Employees stop raising concerns. Community members learn which leaders cannot be questioned. Boards receive carefully managed information. People who challenge the culture either leave or become examples used to keep everyone else quiet. The structure begins to change when people find one another and compare what they have experienced. Isolation loses some of its power when a person discovers that others saw the same behavior and carried the same concerns. The story they were told about being difficult, disloyal, or overly sensitive begins to fall apart. That realization does not automatically fix the organization. It does create the conditions where accountability becomes possible. Questions get harder. Silence becomes less reliable. People begin remembering that leadership exists to serve a mission and the people carrying it, rather than protecting the comfort of whoever holds the most power. I think we are seeing more of that. People are tired of leaders who use fear to control the room and then call themselves strong. They want leaders who tell the truth, accept responsibility, and understand that every decision eventually lands on an actual human being. ## The Thread Running Through My Work Over the past year, I wrote books about subjects that seemed unrelated when I began. Endometriosis led me into questions about belief, pain, and the way healthcare systems respond to women. Menopause opened a conversation about marriage, humility, and how men show up when someone they love is changing. Writing about masculinity forced me to examine power, anger, responsibility, and the harm men cause when we refuse to grow. Other books took me into grief, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, faith, artificial intelligence, leadership, and the future. I thought I was following a collection of interests shaped by different parts of my life. I now see that each book was approaching the same human problem from another direction. We have built too many parts of modern life without keeping people fully visible. Healthcare reduces a person to a diagnosis, a metric, or a reimbursement code. Workplaces turn people into productivity and labor cost. Politics sorts neighbors into categories and then teaches us which categories deserve our suspicion. Technology studies our behavior in extraordinary detail while often knowing very little about what makes a life meaningful. Human First is my response to that. It asks us to remember who receives the consequences of the systems we design and the decisions we make. It asks leaders to see employees as people with families, health concerns, ambitions, fears, and lives beyond the organization. It asks healthcare professionals to take pain seriously before a patient reaches the point of begging to be believed. It asks men to understand that love includes listening, accountability, and the willingness to become different from the men we were taught to be. *Still Here, Still Trying* speaks to the part of us that feels tired but remains unwilling to disappear. *The Optimist’s Way* is about looking at reality clearly, finding the place where our choices still matter, and doing the work available to us. *Human First* gives that work a direction by placing dignity, connection, and responsibility at the center of what comes next. Together, those ideas have become the foundation of what I am building through my books, music, leadership, advocacy, and this podcast. I want the work to help people feel less alone, then give them something practical to do with that feeling. ## Building a Future Before We Know It Will Arrive I have also been thinking differently about manifestation. The word often carries promises I do not trust. I do not believe a person receives everything they desire by visualizing it with enough intensity. Life contains illness, loss, injustice, random events, and systems larger than any individual’s will. I do believe the future changes when people become clear about what they want to help create and begin aligning their lives toward it. You define the future as honestly as you can. You study the forces that make it more or less likely. You identify where you hold influence and where you need other people. Then you direct your attention, relationships, resources, and work toward that possibility while remaining willing to learn from evidence. This approach does not guarantee an outcome. It creates conditions where a preferred future has a better chance of becoming real. The future I want includes healthcare where women are believed and patients feel seen. I want leadership that carries responsibility rather than demanding loyalty. I want men to grow without turning discomfort into anger. I want technology that expands human potential while protecting creativity, privacy, judgment, and the value of real relationships. I also want ordinary life to contain more joy and calm. Those words can feel small beside war, political instability, economic pressure, and every other serious issue competing for our attention. Yet a future without laughter, friendship, music, sunlight, and a sense of safety inside our own homes offers very little worth building. Joy helps us remember what we are protecting. Calm gives us enough internal space to make thoughtful choices instead of reacting to every provocation. Connection reminds us that our lives are shaped by people rather than arguments, platforms, or headlines. This is where the work becomes practical. ## Five Things to Practice This Week The five practices from this week’s episode are meant to open space in your life. They are small enough to try today, though they reach into larger questions about attention, relationships, and the kind of world we are creating together. ### 1\. Step away from the stream Take a deliberate break from social media and continuous news. Give yourself several hours, or a full day, without checking for the latest crisis, reaction, or argument. This practice helps reveal how much of your emotional life is being directed from outside your immediate experience. You might wake up in a safe home beside people you love, then feel angry or frightened within minutes because your phone delivered a flood of conflict before your feet touched the floor. Staying informed matters, especially when public decisions affect vulnerable people and the communities where we live. Constant exposure often adds anxiety without adding understanding. A person rarely becomes wiser by reading the same limited facts surrounded by hundreds of increasingly angry reactions. Choose when you engage with the news. Select sources that have earned your trust. Protect part of the day so your mind has enough quiet to notice your own life. ### 2\. Talk with someone you disagree with Find a person who sees the world differently and ask a sincere question about how they arrived at their beliefs. Choose someone capable of a respectful conversation. Nobody owes access to a person who has abused them or repeatedly denied their dignity. Listen for the experience beneath the opinion. People often carry fears about their children, work, safety, identity, or belonging beneath the political language they use. Understanding those experiences does not require you to accept conclusions you believe are harmful. The conversation matters because real people disrupt the simple categories used to keep us divided. A relationship makes it harder to believe that every person on the other side is stupid, cruel, or beyond reach. It also allows disagreement to become more honest because neither person needs to perform for an audience. You might leave with the same position. The relationship could still gain enough room for another conversation. ### 3\. Go outside without turning it into content Spend time outdoors without headphones, a camera, or a goal to accomplish. Feel the sun on your skin. Notice the temperature of the air and the sound of birds. Watch what the wind does to the trees. Look at the sky long enough to remember that it is more than background. The physical world changes your sense of scale. Your problems remain, though they stop occupying every available part of your attention. The body receives evidence that this moment contains more than the thoughts racing through your mind. Allow yourself to enjoy it. You do not need to track the walk or post the sunset. Joy does not need to prove its productivity. A warm patch of sunlight, a breeze off the lake, or a dog behaving like an idiot deserves to exist without becoming part of a personal improvement plan. ### 4\. Move one relationship forward Think about a relationship where distance has become familiar. Decide what the next honest step looks like without demanding that it fix everything. You might send a message saying that you have been thinking about the person. You might apologize for something you did without burying the apology inside an explanation. You might ask whether they are open to talking or tell them that you miss the relationship. Repair does not always lead to reconciliation. Some relationships require boundaries, and some endings protect people from further harm. Movement could mean releasing an old fight, speaking a truth you avoided, or accepting that the relationship will continue in a different form. The value lies in choosing a thoughtful action instead of allowing fear and time to make every decision for you. ### 5\. Create evidence close to home Do one thing that reflects the future you want to help build. Support someone whose voice keeps getting ignored. Thank a person whose work is often invisible. Bring patience into a room where pressure usually controls the tone. Check on a neighbor or challenge behavior that is harming people. Keep the action close enough that you can see its effect. Large problems often leave us feeling powerless. We begin believing that small actions do not matter because they fail to transform an entire system. Systems are also shaped by repeated behavior, shared expectations, and the moments when people decide what they will no longer accept. One act of dignity does not heal a culture. It creates evidence that another way of behaving exists. Other people notice. Expectations begin to move. A choice that looked small becomes part of a larger pattern when enough people make it. ## Pay Attention to What Happens Next Choose one of these practices and stay with it for seven days. Notice what changes in your body, attention, conversations, and relationships. Watch for moments that would never become a headline but still alter the direction of a life. You might see someone lower their defenses. You might hear a truth that complicates your assumptions. Perhaps a relationship opens a few inches or an unhealthy system loses some of its control because people finally started speaking to one another. Share those stories with me. I want to build a record of the quiet changes happening around us. Fear already has a powerful distribution system. Outrage travels quickly, and conflict receives more attention than repair. We need better ways to recognize courage, connection, accountability, and joy without pretending that the serious problems have disappeared. That is part of the Human First work. We tell the truth about what is broken while also looking for the people building something healthier. We give those people language, connection, and enough visibility to find one another. I do not know whether the universe itself is shifting. I know people are making choices that change what happens next. They are questioning old systems, repairing relationships, rejecting fear-based leadership, and protecting pieces of joy that help life feel worth living. I want to add my work to that movement. I want my books, music, leadership, and podcast to help people recognize the future they want and begin practicing it where they are. Something is shifting whenever a person decides that fear has taken enough from them. It grows when that person finds someone else who is ready to live differently. Pay attention this week. You might already be standing inside the beginning of it. I want to hear all about your story, so DM me, send me a text or call me 208-584-1573 or send me an email mikebakerhq@gmail.com [www.mikebakerhq.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/) ### Get Out of the Way URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/get-out-of-the-way-essay/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:40:52.000Z I wrote *Get Out of the Way: A Man’s Case for Women Leading What Comes Next* because the women in my life have shaped almost everything good in me, and the longer I have lived, loved, parented, and led, the harder it has become to ignore how often women have carried the work while waiting for the authority, credit, protection, belief, and resources that should have been there from the beginning. This book comes from a personal place. It starts with my mom, who was a nurse. I grew up watching her do work that asked for her mind, her feet, her patience, her compassion, and her strength. Nursing is skilled work, physical work, emotional work, technical work, and human work all at once. My mom understood care in the real world. She understood that people need you when you are tired. They need you when the system is imperfect. They need you when the room is tense and the next right thing still has to be done. I did not have the words for all of that when I was young, but I saw it. I felt it. It became part of how I understand leadership. My sister is a teacher, and teaching carries that same kind of truth. People love to say they appreciate teachers, but appreciation often falls short of the weight they carry. Teachers hold classrooms together while carrying the lives that walk into them. They see the kids who are anxious, hungry, discouraged, brilliant, overlooked, loud, quiet, angry, tender, and still becoming. They teach the lesson, manage the room, protect the dignity of children, communicate with families, adjust to the next change, and then come back the next day to do it again. My sister’s work has always reminded me that leadership is not reserved for people with bigger titles. Some of the most important leadership in the world happens in rooms most people never think about. Early in my career, many of the people who taught me how to lead were women. They were mentors, colleagues, supervisors, truth-tellers, and examples. They taught me community health before I fully understood that it would become my life’s work. They taught me that mission without discipline burns people out, that compassion without structure leaves people unsupported, and that leadership without humility becomes dangerous fast. They corrected me when I needed it. They trusted me before I fully trusted myself. They showed me how to care about the work without making the work about me. I did not become a leader by myself. A lot of the best parts of my leadership came from women who took the time to teach me, challenge me, stretch me, forgive me, and help me grow. That does not mean I always got it right. I haven’t. I have talked when I should have listened. I have moved too fast when people needed me to slow down. I have missed things that were clear to women in the room because the world trained me to notice different things first. I have benefited from trust I did not always have to fight for in the same way. I have had moments where my intentions were good and my impact still fell short. That matters to say out loud because this book is not me standing above the issue. I am inside it. I am a man who has been given authority, access, forgiveness, opportunity, and room to grow. Some of that came because I worked hard. Some of it came because people believed in me. Some of it also came because the rooms I entered were more prepared to see men like me as ready. I do not say that to sit in guilt or perform humility. I say it because honesty is part of the work. If I am going to ask other men to look at power more clearly, I have to be willing to look at my own life with the same clarity. I also want to be careful here because this book is not about hating men or acting like men are the enemy. I know too many good men to write that book. I was raised by good men. I work with good men. I have been mentored, challenged, protected, and loved by good men. I have sons I love with everything in me, and I want them to become men who are strong, kind, accountable, honest, and useful in the lives of people around them. Men matter. Men have work to do. Men have a place in this conversation, but that place cannot always be the center. That is part of what I mean by *Get Out of the Way*. I am not asking men to disappear. I am asking men to become honest about when we are blocking, delaying, explaining, minimizing, taking credit, holding authority too tightly, or asking women to prove what we accepted in ourselves much sooner. Sometimes getting out of the way means speaking up. Sometimes it means staying quiet long enough to let someone else be heard. Sometimes it means handing over the microphone, the budget, the title, the decision, the protection, or the credit. Sometimes it means recognizing that support is not real until it moves something. Kellie has taught me this in ways I could never separate from my life. Being married for more than twenty-five years changes what you think you know about love, strength, pain, and partnership. Kellie has carried more than most people see. She has lived with endometriosis, pain, surgeries, parenting, work, family, and the quiet labor that keeps a life moving. She has also loved me enough to tell me the truth. She has seen the parts of me that move too fast, talk too much, assume too much, or try to fix what first needed to be understood. She has made me better, not because it was her job to raise me, but because loving her has required me to keep growing up. Then Sammie changed the way I saw everything all over again. Watching my daughter live with endometriosis has made this conversation urgent in a way I cannot separate from my heart. When your daughter is in pain and still has to fight to be believed, the issue stops being abstract. You start seeing how quickly systems minimize women’s pain. You start seeing how much extra labor gets added to suffering when someone has to prove what is happening inside her own body. You start seeing how often girls and women are expected to stay composed while they are hurting, polite while they are scared, patient while they are waiting, and grateful for partial answers. Sammie has shown me courage I wish she never had to develop that way. She has also helped me understand why believing women has to be more than something we say when the moment is easy. Belief affects care. Belief affects safety. Belief affects diagnosis, credibility, leadership, and whether someone spends her energy healing or defending the truth of her own experience. As a dad, that changes you. At least it should. My work in community health has deepened that belief. In the FQHC world, women have been leading for a long time. Some had the title. Many did not. I have watched women run clinics, manage crises, stretch impossible budgets, build teams, advocate for patients, understand communities, hold families through hard moments, and keep organizations moving through pressure that would test anyone. I have also been inspired by women CEOs across the FQHC world who lead with strength, clarity, steadiness, and deep commitment to mission. They know their communities. They understand the policy, the money, the workforce, the politics, the patients, and the human cost of every decision. Watching them lead has made me better, and it has made it harder for me to accept the idea that women need to wait longer, prove more, soften themselves, or be grateful for whatever space they are given. At Heritage Health, I get to work with an amazing leadership team right now. I am proud of them in the real way you feel when you watch people carry hard work with honesty and skill. Our team is helping stabilize the organization, support leaders as they grow, strengthen operations, care for patients, improve systems, and keep the mission in front of us. They are smart, direct, compassionate, steady, and strong. They challenge me. They see things I miss. They make the organization better. On my best days, I understand that my job is not to be the hero of that story. My job is to help create the conditions where good people have what they need to do their best work. That is one of the deepest lessons in this book for me. Leadership is not theory when you are responsible for people. It is not a social media quote when patients need care, staff need support, budgets have limits, and communities are counting on you. Leadership shows up in who gets trusted with hard things. It shows up in whose judgment is taken seriously. It shows up in who gets protected when the room gets tense. It shows up in who receives credit when the work goes well and who absorbs blame when it gets complicated. It shows up in whether people are praised for carrying the load while nothing changes about the load itself. That is where men have to pay attention, especially men who have been given authority and a platform. A man can love his wife, admire his mother, respect his sister, be proud of his daughter, and still miss the patterns that make women work harder for the same trust. A man can believe in fairness and still benefit from a system that made his path smoother. A man can be kind and still stay quiet when a woman is interrupted, dismissed, undercut, or left to clean up the mess. I know that because I have been that man more than once. I am trying to be more honest now. I am trying to listen better. I am trying to notice who gets the benefit of the doubt, who gets interrupted, who gets credited, who gets developed, who gets protected, who gets stretched, and who gets quietly used up. I am trying to hold myself accountable without turning accountability into a performance. I am trying to raise sons who understand strength as responsibility. I am trying to be a husband who keeps learning. I am trying to be a dad whose daughter knows he believes her. I am trying to be a CEO who does more than say the right thing when the real test is whether power, resources, and trust move. That is the heart of *Get Out of the Way*. It is a book about responsibility, leadership, love, power, and the work men have to do without making ourselves the prize for doing it. It is about honoring the women who raised us, taught us, loved us, challenged us, worked beside us, healed us, and led us by helping build homes, workplaces, clinics, churches, schools, boards, and communities where their authority is not treated like an exception. I want my sons to understand this. I want my daughter to live in a world that does not ask her to be twice as prepared to be believed half as fast. I want the women I work with to have what they need to lead well because the mission requires it. I want men like me to stop confusing admiration with action. If we say women are strong, we should stop making them prove it through exhaustion. If we say women are capable, we should give them the authority to match their responsibility. If we say we believe women, that belief should show up in how we listen, how we lead, how we vote, how we hire, how we promote, how we parent, how we partner, and how we use whatever power we have. I wrote this book because I believe women are already leading what comes next. The work for men is to stop making that harder than it has to be. The work is to move authority, credit, protection, belief, and resources where they belong. The work is to become less interested in being praised for supporting women and more committed to building a world where women do not have to fight so hard to be trusted with what they are already carrying. **Get Out of the Way: A Man’s Case for Women Leading What Comes Next** **is free on Kindle from July 6 through July 10.** If you read it and it speaks to you, I would be grateful for an honest Amazon review. Reviews help independent books reach more people, and this is a conversation I hope finds the rooms where it needs to be heard. **Read it here:** **[https://a.co/d/0c7zz2Px](https://a.co/d/0c7zz2Px?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** --- **If this one landed** [Get Out of the Way](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/get-out-of-the-way/) is the book this essay grew into. Same argument, more room to make it. And my mom is in here too. [Still My Mom](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/still-my-mom/) is about the years after her nursing years, and what it asked of the rest of us. ### The Human Voice in AI Work URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-human-voice-in-ai-work/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T07:40:52.000Z **By Mike Baker** People ask about AI all the time now. They ask artists. They ask writers. They ask musicians. They ask podcasters. They ask people making images, songs, books, essays, speeches, websites, videos, and anything else that used to feel easier to categorize. Sometimes the question is honest curiosity. Someone wants to know what tools I use, how the process works, where the human part begins, and where the machine part ends. I like that conversation. I think we need more of it, especially now that AI creative tools are becoming part of writing, music, art, healthcare, education, leadership, and daily work. But sometimes the question does not feel curious. Sometimes when someone asks, “Did you use AI?” I hear something underneath it. I hear the suspicion that I cheated, stole, faked the work, or somehow proved I do not have any real talent. Maybe they do not always mean it that way. Sometimes I know they do. Either way, it lands in a tender place because the work is not fake to me. The books are not fake. The songs are not fake. The art is not fake. The essays are not fake. The podcast is not fake. The advocacy is not fake. The tools are part of the process, but the life behind the work is mine. ## **Why this question lands so hard** MikeBakerHQ exists because I have a lot I am trying to say across a lot of forms. Some of it becomes a Human First book. Some of it becomes a song through Mike Baker Music. Some of it becomes a piece of AI-assisted artwork through Infinite Canvas AI. Some of it becomes an episode of *Still Here Still Trying*. Some of it becomes EndoDad advocacy, a blog post, a speech, or a conversation with someone who is carrying more than people can see. AI helps me move faster from feeling to form. It helps me organize, draft, test, revise, sketch, and build. It helps me work with the speed of my ADHD brain instead of losing half the ideas before I can catch them. But AI does not hand me a life I did not live. It does not give me a wife and daughter with endometriosis. It does not sit with me in grief. It does not lead Heritage Health through hard decisions in North Idaho. It does not leave a faith tradition and try to stay whole. It does not write from the ache of Alzheimer’s, the pressure of leadership, the fear of a hospital update, or the stubborn hope that keeps showing up when life is heavy. That is the human part. That is the part I refuse to let anyone erase. ## **The skepticism is fair. The assumption is not.** I understand why people are skeptical. I am skeptical too. AI can be used badly. It can flatten voice, imitate people, scrape work, flood the internet with low-effort content, and make it harder to know what is real. Those concerns are not small. Anyone using AI in creative work should take them seriously. But there is a difference between asking a real question and assuming the worst. When someone treats AI use as automatic dishonesty, they ignore the part of creation that happens before the tool ever opens. They ignore lived experience. They ignore judgment. They ignore taste, restraint, revision, memory, care, and responsibility. They ignore the years of work, pain, love, leadership, family, and advocacy that shape what a person is trying to make. I am not offended by the question itself. I am worn down by the assumption that using a new tool means the work has no soul. That is not how I experience it. ## **The work comes from real life** When I write about endometriosis, I am writing from my family’s life. When I write as EndoDad, I am writing from the helplessness and love of watching people I care about fight to be believed. When I make AI-assisted art through Infinite Canvas AI, the images are tied to women’s health, grief, identity, advocacy, and the stories too many people carry without being seen. When I wrote *Believe Her the First Time*, I was not asking AI to invent pain. I was trying to turn lived pain into something that might help another dad listen sooner, another husband believe faster, another family support better. When I write *Man vs. Menopause*, I am trying to help men stop making an already hard part of life harder for the women they love. When I write *Still Here, Still Trying*, I am writing from the honest place of being tired and still not done. When I write *Still My Mom*, I am writing about Alzheimer’s, love, loss, and the grief that starts before goodbye. When I write *Beautifully Unfocused*, I am writing about ADHD from the inside. When I write *The Future Still Needs Us*, I am writing about AI itself and the question that keeps pressing on me: what kind of future are we building, and who gets protected inside it? Those books are connected because the work is connected. The music, the podcast, the art, the essays, and the speaking are connected too. They all come from the same place: real stories, human voice, and the work of staying connected through real life. ## **AI is a tool. It is not the author of my life.** AI can help me find a structure. It can help me test language. It can help me make a visual draft. It can help me revise a paragraph, explore a lyric, shape a podcast description, or move from a rough emotional mess into something I can share. But AI is not the author of my life. It did not walk through faith transition. It did not build Heritage Health. It did not bury my mom. It did not hold my family through endometriosis. It did not learn the hard way that optimism without honesty does not help anyone. It did not feel the shame, speed, creativity, and pressure of ADHD. It did not stand in front of a team during hard seasons and try to lead with steadiness. The tool can help make the work. It cannot become the reason the work matters. That is why I use the phrase Human First. It is not decoration for me. It is the standard I am trying to hold myself to. Human First means the person matters more than the platform. The story matters more than the tool. The responsibility stays with the creator. If I put my name on something, I am responsible for it. That includes the books. It includes the songs. It includes the artwork. It includes the podcast. It includes every part of MikeBakerHQ. ## **The music and writing are part of this too** People tend to focus on AI art first because it is visible. They look at an image and want to know how it was made. That makes sense. But the same question is now following writing and music too. Did you use AI to write that song? Did you use AI to shape that book? Did AI help with the cover, the description, the post, the episode, the idea? Sometimes the honest answer is yes. AI helped somewhere in the process. But help is not replacement. Mike Baker Music comes from the same story engine as the books. The songs are about grief, family, faith, hope, ADHD, love, community, and staying human in a loud world. AI may help me explore a lyric, a structure, a style, a demo, or a production path, but the emotional source is still human. The reason I make the song is still human. The line I keep or cut still comes down to whether it feels true. I do not want to flood the world with content. I want to make work that carries something. Some of it will be imperfect. Some of it will be experimental. Some of it will be shaped with tools people are still learning how to trust. I would rather be honest about that than pretend I am creating from some untouched, pure, old-world process that does not exist for most modern creators anyway. Writers use editors. Musicians use production tools. Photographers use software. Designers use templates. Filmmakers use effects. AI makes the question louder, and it should. But louder does not mean simpler. ## **Public conversation is part of the responsibility** Some of my work has drawn public conversation. Some people have concerns about AI-assisted art. Some people are uneasy about how AI is changing creative work. Some people worry about ownership, consent, labor, and whether human artists are being pushed aside. Those concerns deserve respect. I do not want to answer them with defensiveness. I want to answer them with clarity. I use AI openly. I use it as a creative tool. I do not use it to replace lived experience, fake expertise, steal someone else’s story, or pretend the work came from nowhere. The work is rooted in my life, my family, my healthcare leadership, my advocacy, my grief, my questions, my faith transition, my ADHD, and my creative point of view. That does not mean everyone has to like it. It does not mean every use of AI is good. It does not mean I will always get it right. I am still learning. We all are. But I know the difference between a shortcut and a tool. I know the difference between imitation and expression. I know the difference between content made to fill space and work made because something inside you will not leave you alone. I am trying to make the second kind. ## **Why I keep making the work** I keep making this work because I believe stories can move people closer to care. A book can help a husband understand perimenopause differently. A post can help a dad believe his daughter sooner. A song can give someone language for grief. A podcast conversation can make someone feel less alone. A piece of art can help someone see pain they had been trained to ignore. A speech can help a team slow down and remember why the work matters. That is the point. The point is not to prove I used the fewest tools possible. The point is to make something useful, honest, and human with the tools available to me. I understand that some people will still ask the AI question with suspicion. That is part of creating right now. I can live with the question. I can even learn from it. But I will not accept the idea that using AI means there is no talent, no heart, no craft, no risk, no story, and no responsibility. That is too easy. The harder truth is that we are entering a creative world where people will need to judge the work with more care. We will need better questions. Who made this? Why did they make it? What lived experience is behind it? Are they transparent about the process? Does the work help, exploit, flatten, or reveal? Does it point back to a human being who is willing to stand behind it? I am willing to stand behind mine. That is the work behind Infinite Canvas AI. It is the work behind Mike Baker Music. It is the work behind *Still Here Still Trying*. It is the work behind EndoDad. It is the work behind the Human First books. It is the work behind MikeBakerHQ. AI may be part of the process. The voice is still human. --- **If this one landed** [One-Thirty in the Morning](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/one-thirty-in-the-morning/) is the same question at one in the morning, when I am the one using the tools instead of writing about them. If you want the book length version, [Human First](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/human-first/) is where most of this thinking ended up. ### Who Is Mike Baker of MikeBakerHQ? URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/who-is-mike-baker-of-mikebakerhq/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T07:08:58.000Z ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/mikebakerhq-home-hero-final-1920x900.jpg) MikeBakerHQ is the creative home of Mike Baker, a North Idaho author, speaker, podcast host, songwriter, AI-assisted artist, EndoDad advocate, and CEO of Heritage Health in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. That is the short answer. The longer answer is harder to fit into one title, because the work is connected across a lot of places: community healthcare, Human First books, Mike Baker Music, the *Still Here Still Trying* podcast, Infinite Canvas AI, women’s health advocacy, endometriosis awareness, leadership, faith, grief, ADHD, and the creative work of trying to stay human through real life. MikeBakerHQ exists because all of that work belongs together. ## **Mike Baker and Heritage Health** Mike Baker serves as CEO of Heritage Health, a community health organization based in North Idaho. His work in healthcare has centered on access, trust, behavioral health, rural communities, and the belief that people deserve care close to home. That healthcare work shapes everything else he creates. It shows up in his writing about leadership. It shows up in his speaking. It shows up in his advocacy for women’s health and endometriosis. It shows up in the way he talks about AI, creativity, and the future of care. Mike does not come to these topics from a distance. He writes and speaks from the middle of real work: staff trying to serve patients, families trying to get answers, leaders making hard decisions, communities carrying pressure, and people doing their best with more weight than most others see. ## **Mike Baker as an Author** Mike Baker writes the Human First books, a connected body of work about grief, family, ADHD, women’s health, endometriosis, perimenopause, faith, leadership, AI, relationships, and staying connected through real life. The books are not all about one subject, but they come from the same center. They ask what it means to believe people sooner. They ask how men grow up and show up better. They ask how families carry grief. They ask what happens when faith changes. They ask what AI should never take from us. They ask how leaders keep people at the center when pressure rises. The Human First books are written for people who are tired of easy answers. They are for people trying to care better, lead better, love better, support the people in front of them, and stay honest without becoming numb. ## **Human First Books** The Human First books include work on endometriosis, menopause, ADHD, grief, faith transition, leadership, men, women’s health, AI, family, and hope. Some readers start with *Human First* because it gives the clearest view of the whole idea. Others start with *Believe Her the First Time* because they love someone living with endometriosis and want to support them better. Some find *Still Here, Still Trying* when they are tired but not done. Others find *The Future Still Needs Us* because they are trying to understand AI without losing the human voice. The books are connected, but they do not need to be read in order. Start where your life is loudest. ## **EndoDad and Endometriosis Advocacy** Mike is also the creator behind EndoDad, advocacy work focused on endometriosis, women’s health, and the families who love people living with chronic pain. This work is personal. Mike’s wife and daughter have both lived with endometriosis. That changed how he sees the healthcare system, how he listens to women, and how he talks to men about belief, support, and responsibility. EndoDad is built around a simple idea: believe her the first time. That idea shows up in art, books, essays, posts, and public conversations. It is not abstract advocacy. It is the work of helping partners, dads, families, leaders, and communities listen sooner, believe faster, and support people better. ## **Mike Baker Music** Mike Baker Music is where the stories turn into songs. The music connects to the same Human First work found in the books and podcast. These are original songs about life, grief, hope, family, ADHD, faith, creativity, and the pressure of staying human through the noise. Some stories become essays. Some become books. Some become songs. MikeBakerHQ gives all of that work one place to live. ## **Still Here Still Trying Podcast** *Still Here Still Trying* is Mike Baker’s podcast about the real things people carry. The podcast moves through grief, creativity, leadership, family, faith, ADHD, advocacy, art, music, and the moments that change how people see themselves. It is not built around perfect answers. It is built around honest conversations, lived experience, and the belief that many people are still here, still trying, and still worth hearing. The podcast connects the personal and public sides of Mike’s work. It gives room for the stories behind the books, the music, the advocacy, and the bigger Human First idea. ## **Infinite Canvas AI** Infinite Canvas AI is Mike Baker’s AI-assisted art project. The work explores women’s health, endometriosis advocacy, identity, grief, imagination, and the human voice inside new creative tools. Mike uses AI as part of the creative process, but not as a replacement for lived experience, judgment, responsibility, or voice. That matters. AI is changing how people write, design, record, publish, organize, and create. MikeBakerHQ takes those tools seriously, but the point is still human. The tools should help people say what matters more clearly. They should not erase the person behind the work. That is why Mike’s creative disclosure is simple: the tools are new. The voice is still human. ## **Mike Baker as a Speaker** Mike Baker speaks on Human First leadership, healthcare, AI, women’s health advocacy, ADHD, grief, creativity, and community. His talks draw from real work as CEO of Heritage Health, his writing through the Human First books, his EndoDad advocacy, his creative work through MikeBakerHQ, and his life as a husband, dad, creator, and community leader in North Idaho. Mike’s speaking is built for teams carrying real responsibility: healthcare teams, nonprofit leaders, community organizations, boards, conferences, advocacy groups, and people trying to stay connected while doing hard work. The message is practical and human. Slow down. Tell the truth. Make better decisions. Build trust. Stay connected when pressure rises. Keep people at the center. ## **Why MikeBakerHQ Exists** MikeBakerHQ brings all of this work together. It is not only an author site. It is not only a music site. It is not only a podcast page, an art gallery, a speaking page, or an advocacy project. It is the central home for Mike Baker’s Human First work. Books. Music. Podcast. Art. Advocacy. Speaking. Essays. Healthcare leadership. Creative experiments. Real stories from North Idaho and beyond. The work changes shape, but the center stays the same. People matter. Stories matter. Belief matters. Care matters. The human voice matters. That is MikeBakerHQ. ### What Needs to Move for Women’s Leadership? URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/what-needs-to-move-for-womens-leadership/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:00.000Z #### **What Needs to Move for Women’s Leadership? Authority, Credit, Protection, Belief, and Resources** Women do not need permission to lead. Men need to stop standing in the doorway. That is the heart of *Get Out of the Way: A Man’s Case for Women Leading What Comes Next*. I write that as a man, a husband, a father, a CEO, and an imperfect leader who still has plenty to learn. I have spent much of my adult life in rooms where men were trusted faster, forgiven more easily, and imagined forward with less proof. I have benefited from that. I have also missed things I should have seen sooner. That is the uncomfortable part of this conversation for men like me. It is easier to talk about the obvious examples: the loud sexist, the cruel boss, the abusive man, the politician who mistakes domination for strength, or the leader who cannot handle being challenged by a woman. Those men have done real damage, and they should be named clearly. But the harder conversation includes decent men too. Men who love their wives, believe in their daughters, respect women at work, and still benefit from rooms that were built around male authority before we ever walked into them. I am not writing this because I have figured everything out. I have not. I still hold power. I still carry a title. I still move too fast sometimes. I still have to watch the way my ego wants to defend my intent before I have fully understood my impact. I still have to ask whether my support for women has become practical enough to matter. I still have to look at my home, my leadership, my organization, my history, and my habits with more honesty than comfort prefers. That is why the conversation about women’s leadership cannot stop at support. Support is easy to say, especially for men who know how to sound decent in public. We can talk about the strong women in our lives, the daughters we believe in, the wives we admire, the mothers who shaped us, and the colleagues we respect. Some of that respect is sincere, and sincerity matters. But sincerity does not move authority by itself. It does not move money. It does not move protection. It does not move credit. It does not change who gets trusted when the room gets hard. The better question is practical: what needs to move? If we say we believe in women’s leadership, then authority has to move. Credit has to move. Protection has to move. Belief has to move. Resources have to move. Otherwise, we are just admiring women from the comfort of rooms still arranged around men. ## **Authority Has to Move** A lot of women have had influence without authority for a long time. Influence can matter. It can shape decisions, help a room see what it was missing, and keep a bad idea from becoming worse. But influence without authority still depends on someone else deciding whether to listen. It asks women to persuade the person with the title, the budget, the final vote, the platform, or the ability to say yes. I have had to examine this in my own leadership. As a CEO, I hold formal authority whether I feel humble about it or not. The title walks into the room before I do. I can say I value women’s leadership, but the real question is whether authority, decision rights, resources, credit, and protection move toward the women who have earned trust and are already carrying the work. Admiration is not enough from the most comfortable seat in the room. A woman can be invited into the conversation and still not have power. She can be asked for input and still be excluded from the decision. She can be trusted with the emotional labor, the operational detail, the staff concern, the patient experience, the cultural cleanup, and the human consequence of the work, while someone else holds the authority to decide what happens next. A room can sound inclusive while still keeping the final say in the same familiar hands. If women are close enough to the work to understand the truth, they should be close enough to power to change the outcome. Authority moving does not mean standards disappear. It does not mean titles get handed out carelessly. It means organizations, families, boards, churches, and communities need to examine whether women have been carrying responsibility without the actual decision rights to match. The questions are not complicated, but they are revealing. Who gets the final say? Who controls the budget? Who can change the plan? Who can stop harm before it spreads? Who gets trusted before every question has been answered? Who is asked to carry the work while someone else keeps the authority? Those questions matter because authority is where admiration either becomes real or gets exposed as performance. This is one of the reasons *Get Out of the Way* belongs inside the Believe Her lane of MikeBakerHQ. Believing women is not only about believing women’s pain, though that matters deeply. It is also about believing women’s judgment, leadership, warnings, competence, and authority before the room has exhausted them with proof. ## **Credit Has to Move** Credit is one of the quiet currencies of power. It shapes reputation, opportunity, promotion, visibility, and who gets imagined forward. It influences who receives the next invitation, the next platform, the next chance to lead, and the next benefit of the doubt. Women have too often watched their work become someone else’s visibility. They brought the warning, and someone else repeated it later and got called strategic. They built the process, and someone else presented the result. They held the relationship, protected the trust, managed the details, and made the outcome possible. Then the room applauded the person who looked most comfortable explaining it. I have had to learn to listen for this in the rooms I lead. Who actually built the thing? Who carried the history? Who protected the relationship? Who knew where the plan would break? Who held the staff concern before it became visible to leadership? Who made the outcome possible before someone else presented it? Those are not small questions. They reveal whether credit is traveling toward the actual work or toward the most familiar version of authority. This kind of credit theft is not always dramatic. Sometimes it happens through habit. Sometimes people genuinely do not see the chain of work behind the final moment. Sometimes leaders praise the person at the microphone because the invisible labor underneath the outcome stayed invisible. But credit that does not travel accurately eventually changes who gets power. If the same people keep getting named and the same people keep making the outcome possible in the background, the system is teaching everyone whose work counts. Women do not need vague praise for being amazing. They need accurate credit for what they built, carried, solved, led, repaired, and changed. Men can help by naming women’s work clearly in the room, refusing to let women’s ideas become more credible only after a man repeats them, and making sure the story of success includes the people who actually made success possible. Credit is not a small courtesy. It is part of how authority grows. When credit keeps moving toward men, opportunity usually follows. When credit moves honestly, leadership becomes easier to see. This is true in workplaces, healthcare, families, advocacy, and creative life. It is also one of the connective threads between *Get Out of the Way*, *Believe Her the First Time*, *Man vs. Menopause*, and *The Better Man Field Guide*. The books are different doors into the same Human First work: telling the truth, staying human, and helping people carry less alone. ## **Protection Has to Move** Protection tells the truth about power. It is easy to support women when the room is already clapping. The harder test comes when a woman tells the truth, makes an unpopular decision, challenges a powerful person, names a pattern, sets a boundary, or leads in a way that makes the old room uncomfortable. That is when support has to become protection. A woman should not have to stand alone after saying what everyone else was afraid to say. She should not have to absorb retaliation, gossip, tone policing, isolation, or reputation damage while the men who privately agree stay quiet in public. Too many men have mastered private support and public silence. That combination helps old power survive. This is one place where men have to be painfully honest. I have been in rooms where it would have been easier to stay quiet. I have had moments where I knew the right thing to do but still felt the pull of comfort, politics, timing, or conflict avoidance. That does not make me unique. It makes me a man inside systems that often reward quiet agreement more than honest protection. The point is not to confess and then feel better. The point is to change what happens next. Protection does not mean shielding anyone from accountability. Women are human. Women can lead well or poorly, make strong decisions or weak ones, build trust or damage it. Protection means fair treatment when women exercise authority. It means a woman’s hard decision is not treated as evidence that she is difficult while a man’s hard decision gets called leadership. It means truth-tellers are not punished for telling the truth. It means organizations do not protect comfort over reality. Men with power need to ask who their silence protects. Silence is not neutral when power is uneven. If a woman is being undermined and men stay quiet because speaking up would be awkward, the silence protects the undermining. If a woman names harm and leaders worry more about the reputation of the person she named than the cost of what she carried, protection is already moving in the wrong direction. This is where men’s responsibility becomes more than language. A man can believe women should lead and still fail the test when leadership makes the room uncomfortable. A man can admire women and still leave them exposed. A man can say all the right things in private and still help the old room survive by staying quiet when his voice would cost him something. ## **Belief Has to Move** Being believed quickly is a form of power. Many men have had that power for so long we do not recognize it. We say something feels wrong, and the room leans in. We say someone is not ready, and the room considers it. We say a situation feels off, and people trust our read. We make a mistake, and people imagine growth. We speak with confidence, and the room hears readiness. Women have often had to bring more proof for the same level of seriousness. They have had to document the obvious, soften the truth, manage tone, and wait for someone else to confirm what they already knew. In healthcare, this has shown up in the long delay too many women experience before their pain is believed. In workplaces, it shows up when women name patterns and are asked whether they are reading too much into the situation. In families, it shows up when women carry invisible labor and then have to prove the load is real. This is personal for me because women’s pain has shaped my life as a husband and father. Watching my wife and daughter live with endometriosis changed the way I hear women when they say something is wrong. It made belief feel less like a concept and more like care. It made delay feel less like process and more like another weight someone in pain has to carry. I wish I had understood that earlier with the depth I understand it now. Belief does not mean abandoning fairness or process. It means refusing to start from suspicion just because the truth arrived from a woman. It means treating women as credible narrators of their own experience while facts are understood. It means asking what she may have seen that others missed. It means listening before defending the room, the man, the tradition, or the institution. That lesson belongs in leadership too. If women keep telling us something is wrong in the room, our first job is to listen seriously enough that action becomes possible. Men need to practice slowing down our defenses and speeding up our attention. That is true in healthcare, at work, in families, in faith spaces, and anywhere women have had to repeat the truth until someone with more power finally decided it was real. That is why *Get Out of the Way* connects naturally to *Believe Her the First Time*. One book focuses on endometriosis, women’s pain, and what men need to understand when the healthcare system or the people around a woman do not believe her soon enough. The other widens the lens to leadership, power, workplaces, families, and institutions. The same human failure shows up in different rooms: women tell the truth, and power takes too long to believe them. ## **Resources Have to Move** Power often reveals itself through resources. Budgets, staffing, time, authority, technology, training, pay, space, support, and access all tell the truth about what an organization actually values. A room can say women’s leadership matters, but if women are expected to lead without resources, the statement is thin. Women have been asked to do too much with too little for too long. They have been asked to hold culture without staff, manage change without authority, support people without relief, solve problems without budget, and create trust inside systems that do not give them enough structural backing. That burns people out while allowing leaders to praise their strength. As a CEO, I have to sit with that. Mission-driven work can make people carry more than they should because the work matters so much. Healthcare especially can do this. People keep showing up because patients need them. Women often carry culture, trust, detail, memory, care, and emotional consequence because the mission needs someone to hold it all together. A leader can admire that and still fail the people carrying it if admiration never becomes resources. Resources moving means the work women carry gets matched with the support required to do it well. It means women are paid fairly, staffed appropriately, given decision rights, and included early enough to shape the work before the plan hardens. It means women’s leadership is not treated as a symbolic win while the conditions around them remain impossible. It also means men stop acting generous when they finally share what should never have been hoarded in the first place. If we want women’s leadership to thrive, we have to stop giving women responsibility without the practical tools to carry it. A title without resources can become another trap. Public praise without backing can leave a woman exposed. A seat at the table without decision rights can turn into theater. The work has to be resourced because real leadership always has material conditions. This applies in companies, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, churches, schools, families, and community movements. It applies wherever women are trusted to carry the load but not given enough power to change the system creating the load. ## **The Room Has to Change** This is the heart of *Get Out of the Way: A Man’s Case for Women Leading What Comes Next*. Women do not need permission to lead. Men need to stop standing in the doorway. That means more than saying supportive things. It means looking honestly at the rooms we have shaped and asking whether anything real has moved. I say that as someone still inside the question. I am not writing this from outside power. I am not writing this as a man who has arrived at some enlightened place and now gets to lecture everyone else. I still have power. I still hold a title. I still have influence in rooms before I always understand how that influence is landing. I have made mistakes. I have moved too fast. I have defended my intent too quickly. I have missed impact. I have had to apologize. I am still learning how to become more useful and less centered. That is exactly why men need this conversation. We do not have to be villains to have work to do. We do not have to hate women to benefit from systems that trusted us faster. We do not have to be cruel to miss invisible labor. We do not have to be bad men to need correction. The future needs men mature enough to hold those truths without collapsing into defensiveness or turning guilt into another way to stay at the center. The old room often gave men authority before women received belief. It gave men credit before women received recognition. It protected men’s reputations before women’s truth. It gave men resources while asking women to be grateful for influence. That old room has cost us too much. It has cost women time, health, opportunity, money, peace, and trust. It has cost organizations better decisions. It has cost families honesty. It has cost boys a fuller version of manhood. The next room has to be built differently. Authority should follow demonstrated wisdom, not old familiarity. Credit should travel to the people who made the work possible. Protection should move toward truth-tellers, not only toward people with status. Belief should arrive early enough to matter. Resources should match the responsibility people are already carrying. Men who care about women’s leadership need to ask better questions. Where am I still standing in the doorway? Where do I support women in theory while holding power in practice? Where do I privately agree but publicly stay quiet? Where have I praised women’s strength while leaving the load in place? Where has my comfort mattered more than her authority? The answers may be uncomfortable. Good. Comfort has protected too much for too long. ## **How This Fits the Human First Universe** MikeBakerHQ is built around a simple center: tell the truth, stay human, and help people feel less alone. The books, music, podcast, advocacy, essays, and art all move through different parts of that same work. *Get Out of the Way* belongs in that universe because it asks men to tell the truth about power without making women carry the emotional cost of our learning. It sits beside *Believe Her the First Time*, which asks men to believe women’s pain and understand endometriosis with more urgency and humility. It connects to *Man vs. Menopause*, which asks husbands and partners to show up better during perimenopause and menopause. It connects to *The Better Man Field Guide*, which asks men to practice repair, responsibility, and emotional maturity. It connects to the broader Human First work because leadership without humanity eventually becomes performance, and performance has already cost women too much. The books are different, but the thread is the same. Believe women sooner. Listen better. Move closer to responsibility. Stop making people prove pain, competence, exhaustion, or leadership longer than they should have to. Build rooms where people can be fully human and still have authority. If this message matters to you, read *Get Out of the Way: A Man’s Case for Women Leading What Comes Next*. Share it with a man, leader, team, board, book club, or organization that needs the conversation. If you read it and it helps, please leave an honest Amazon review. Reviews help independent books reach more of the people and rooms that need them. The future does not need more men collecting better language about women’s leadership while the room stays the same. It needs men willing to move something real: authority, credit, protection, belief, and resources. Start there, and the conversation stops being performance. Start there, and leadership begins to look more like the truth. ## **Keep Reading** Read *Get Out of the Way: A Man’s Case for Women Leading What Comes Next* [https://a.co/d/0dPIXgTv](https://a.co/d/0dPIXgTv?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Explore all of Mike Baker’s books on Amazon [https://amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq](https://amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Visit MikeBakerHQ [https://www.mikebakerhq.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/) Related books in the Human First universe: *Believe Her the First Time: A Man’s Guide to Endometriosis* [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FDJDR59X](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FDJDR59X?ref=mikebakerhq.com) *Man vs. Menopause: A Husband’s Guide to Perimenopause and How Not to Mess This Up* [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FDJD8ZWP](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FDJD8ZWP?ref=mikebakerhq.com) *The Better Man Field Guide* [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FDJFBZCJ](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FDJFBZCJ?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ### Why I Released 10 Books: Mike Baker HQ Human First Story URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/why-i-released-10-books-at-once/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T07:03:38.000Z I know how it looks from the outside. Ten books at once sounds like a lot because it is a lot. The books move through endometriosis, menopause, grief, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, AI, faith transition after Mormonism, men showing up better, women leading, hope, leadership, and staying connected in a world that keeps pulling us apart. That can look scattered if you only see the titles. From the inside, these books feel connected because they came from the same life. They came from my family, my marriage, my kids, my mom, my faith change, my ADHD, my work, my music, and the people I keep meeting who are carrying things they do not always know how to explain. I wrote these books because I kept running into moments where the available language felt too thin. A dad wants to understand his daughter’s pain, but fear gets in the way. A husband wants to love his wife through menopause, but he keeps centering his own confusion. A person watches a parent change through Alzheimer’s and does not know what to do with grief that arrives before death. Someone leaves a faith tradition and worries that losing certainty means losing goodness. Someone with ADHD has spent a lifetime feeling like their mind was too much. Someone looks at AI and the future and wonders whether human beings still matter. Those are the people I was writing for. These books are different doors into the same house. You do not need to understand the whole Mike Baker HQ universe before you start. You only need to find the book that meets what you are carrying right now. Find the full catalog on Amazon: [https://amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq](https://amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Watch the episode on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/WmlyL4ot\_fo](https://youtu.be/WmlyL4ot%5Ffo?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Listen to the episode on Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/episode/5BY6tkqW3lIMDhJauCvlOW?si=0U4vzGBFQ0CYIERQcSFONg](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5BY6tkqW3lIMDhJauCvlOW?si=0U4vzGBFQ0CYIERQcSFONg&ref=mikebakerhq.com) ## **What Mike Baker HQ Is Becoming** Mike Baker HQ is becoming the home for my books, music, podcast conversations, AI-assisted art, advocacy, and Human First work. The simplest way I can say it is this: books, songs, podcast conversations, and art for people still here and still trying. That phrase matters because it points to the real center of the work. I write for people carrying real life. People trying to love better, grieve honestly, stay connected, understand their own mind, support someone in pain, rebuild after faith change, or face the future without giving up on humanity. Some people find me through EndoDad and the endometriosis advocacy work. Some find the music first. Some find the *Still Here, Still Trying* podcast. Some find a book on Amazon. Some find Infinite Canvas AI or a piece of visual art. Some know me through leadership, healthcare, or community work. Those doors all matter. Mike Baker HQ is where those doors connect. The site is still growing, but the framework is there. The goal is to make it easier for you to choose a path: read the books, listen to the music, watch or listen to the podcast, explore the art, or connect with the Human First work. Explore the broader work here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/) ## **The Human First Thread** The center of this whole release is what I call Human First. Human First asks a question I keep returning to in different parts of life: how do we stay human when life gets heavy? That question shows up in marriage, parenting, grief, health, faith, technology, leadership, and creativity. It shows up when someone is in pain and needs to be believed. It shows up when a family is trying to love someone through memory loss. It shows up when a man has to face the gap between who he thinks he is and how the women around him experience him. It shows up when AI starts moving faster than our wisdom. It shows up when a person leaves a belief system and still wants to love their people. The books are not all about the same subject. They are all about people trying to stay honest, connected, responsible, and whole while life changes around them. That is the work. ## **Books About Endometriosis, Menopause, Women’s Pain, and Men Showing Up Better** A major part of this release comes from women’s pain, women’s leadership, and the work men need to do. *Believe Her the First Time: A Man’s Guide to Endometriosis* is one of the most personal books I have written. It came from being a dad and a husband in a family shaped by endometriosis. My wife lives with it. My daughter lives with it. I have seen what happens when pain has to wait for belief. That book is for dads, husbands, partners, sons, brothers, and men who love someone living with endometriosis or chronic pelvic pain. It is also for anyone who wants to understand why women should not have to prove pain that should have been believed sooner. *Man vs. Menopause: A Husband’s Guide to Perimenopause and How Not to Mess This Up* came from a related place. Menopause and perimenopause affect sleep, mood, identity, energy, intimacy, memory, work, and the daily rhythm of a relationship. Too many men enter that stage with jokes, silence, fear, defensiveness, or a need to fix what they do not understand. That book gives husbands better language and a better starting point. *Get Out of the Way: A Man’s Case for Women Leading What Comes Next* and *The Better Man Field Guide* are about men becoming more honest, responsible, and useful. They are about women leading, men listening, and growth that changes how people experience us at home, at work, and in relationships. This part of the work is direct because it needs to be. Women should not have to carry men’s immaturity on top of everything else they already carry. ## **Books About Grief, Alzheimer’s, and the Work of Continuing** Another part of this release comes from grief, caregiving, and the tired but still trying places. *Still Here, Still Trying: Honest Stories for People Who Are Tired but Not Done* is the book most connected to this podcast. It is for people who are tired but still moving through the day. That phrase has stayed with me because it makes room for real life. Some days, continuing looks like answering the text, making dinner, going to work, checking on someone you love, making the appointment, or getting through the day without letting the hard thing make you hard. A lot of life is held together by people doing ordinary things while carrying extraordinary weight. *Still My Mom: Alzheimer’s, Love, Loss, and the Work We Do Before Goodbye* comes from a more specific grief. My mom’s Alzheimer’s changed how I understand love and loss. Alzheimer’s teaches you that goodbye does not always happen all at once. You lose pieces. A conversation changes. A name slips. A look feels different. The person you love is still there, and parts of them are harder to reach. Families need language for that before the funeral. They need permission to feel tired, sad, angry, grateful, tender, and confused while they are still inside the slow goodbye. ## **A Memoir About Leaving Mormonism and Staying Whole** *Still Good: After All We Could Do* is my memoir about leaving Mormonism and trying to stay whole. Faith transition is hard to explain to people who have never lived inside a faith community that shaped your childhood, your family, your sense of worth, your calendar, your belonging, your guilt, and your hope. When that changes, it affects more than belief. It affects relationships, memory, identity, and the way you understand yourself. I wrote *Still Good* with care because I did not want to attack the people I love or flatten my past into something simple. My story includes gratitude and pain. It includes love and loss. It includes certainty changing and goodness remaining. That book is for people trying to be honest without becoming cruel. It is for people changing and still trying to love well. It is for anyone who needs to say, “I am changing, and I am still me.” ## **A Book About ADHD, Creativity, AI, and Building with the Brain You Have** *Beautifully Unfocused* is about ADHD, creativity, leadership, AI tools, and learning how to build with the brain you actually have. I have spent a lot of my life feeling like my mind was too much. Too fast. Too full. Too emotional. Too interested in too many directions. ADHD has real consequences. It affects time, follow-through, work, relationships, emotion, money, self-trust, and the way a person talks to themselves after falling short again. Shame has never helped me become more whole. This book is about building structure around the person who is already there. It is about creativity without pretending chaos is harmless. It is about tools that help ideas become real. That is where AI enters the conversation for me. I use AI as a tool. It helps me catch and organize what moves too fast inside my mind. It does not replace my voice. It does not know my family, my grief, my daughter’s pain, my faith story, or the feeling behind a song. It helps shape the work, but the work still comes from lived life. ## **Books About Human First Leadership, AI, Hope, and the Future** *Human First: How to Stay Connected in a World That Keeps Pulling Us Apart* and *The Future Still Needs Us* hold the larger question behind this release. How do we stay connected in a world that keeps rewarding division? How do we use technology without losing our humanity? How do leaders keep people at the center when everything around them pushes speed, scale, outrage, and performance? I care about AI. I use AI. I believe better tools can help people create, learn, organize, and build. I also believe we need better questions. We need to ask what kind of future we are building, who it helps, who it harms, and whether people remain at the center of the systems we create. *Human First* is about connection, disagreement, leadership, community, and choosing humanity when the world keeps pulling people apart. *The Future Still Needs Us* is about AI, creativity, responsibility, and why the future still needs human judgment, care, and imagination. ## **Why the Books, Music, Podcast, and Art Belong Together** The books are only one part of the work. The songs often come from the same emotional place as the books. Sometimes a song finds the feeling before I know how to write the chapter. The *Still Here, Still Trying* podcast gives me room to keep the conversation alive after the books are finished. Infinite Canvas AI and the visual work give form to ideas, feelings, and stories that do not always start as prose. That is why Mike Baker HQ matters. The work is wide, but it has a center. It is all trying to help people tell the truth, stay human, and feel less alone while carrying real life. I want people to buy the books, listen to the music, follow the podcast, subscribe on YouTube, save songs on Spotify, and share the work with someone who needs it. I care about growth because reach helps the work find the person it was written for. But the person matters more than the number. A book sale is someone taking a chance on the work. A review is someone giving time back. A stream is someone listening. A share is someone thinking of a friend, a daughter, a spouse, a parent, or a coworker. A podcast listen is someone letting the conversation ride along in the car, the kitchen, the walk, or the late-night quiet. That is the reason to build this with care. ## **Where to Start with Mike Baker’s Books** Start with the book that fits what you are carrying. If someone you love lives with endometriosis or chronic pelvic pain, start with *Believe Her the First Time*. If perimenopause or menopause is changing your marriage, start with *Man vs. Menopause*. If you are a man trying to grow in a deeper way, start with *The Better Man Field Guide* or *Get Out of the Way*. If you are tired but still trying, start with *Still Here, Still Trying*. If Alzheimer’s has entered your family, start with *Still My Mom*. If your faith has changed, start with *Still Good*. If ADHD, creativity, and AI are part of your life, start with *Beautifully Unfocused*. If you are trying to think about leadership, connection, AI, hope, and the future, start with *Human First* or *The Future Still Needs Us*. The simplest place to find all of the books is my Amazon author page: https://amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq If a book helps you, leave an honest review. Reviews matter while the books are new because they help other readers trust the work enough to begin. And if you want the broader world this all belongs to, visit: https://www.mikebakerhq.com The site is still growing, but the framework is there. Books, music, podcast conversations, art, advocacy, and Human First work are all coming from the same place. ## **Watch or Listen to the Podcast Episode** This post connects to Season 2, Episode 11 of *Still Here, Still Trying*: **Why I Released 10 Books at Once: The Human First Story Behind Mike Baker HQ**. In the episode, I talk more personally about the release, the heart behind the books, and why this whole body of work matters to me right now. Watch on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/WmlyL4ot\_fo](https://youtu.be/WmlyL4ot%5Ffo?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Listen on Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/episode/5BY6tkqW3lIMDhJauCvlOW?si=0U4vzGBFQ0CYIERQcSFONg](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5BY6tkqW3lIMDhJauCvlOW?si=0U4vzGBFQ0CYIERQcSFONg&ref=mikebakerhq.com) Find the books on Amazon: [https://amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq](https://amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Explore Mike Baker HQ: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/) ### Still Good: A Book About Leaving Mormonism and Staying Whole URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/still-good-a-book-about-leaving-mormonism-and-staying-whole/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:54.000Z Leaving a faith that shaped your life is not simple. It is not only about changing what you believe. It can change your language, your family dynamics, your memories, your identity, your sense of belonging, and the way you understand the person you used to be. That is why I wrote *Still Good*. This book is about leaving Mormonism without losing your goodness, your tenderness, your family, or your sense of self. I did not write it as an attack on the people I love. I did not write it to mock faith or flatten an entire community into one story. I wrote it because faith transition is complicated, and people living through it deserve language that is honest enough to name the pain without turning every memory into a wound. For many people, leaving Mormonism comes with grief and relief at the same time. There can be anger, gratitude, sadness, confusion, freedom, fear, and love all living in the same room. That combination can be hard to explain to people who have never had to rebuild their spiritual life from the inside out. ## **Why this book matters** A lot of people who leave high-demand religious systems feel pressure to become one kind of story. Some are expected to be angry and burn it all down. Others are expected to stay quiet so nobody feels uncomfortable. Neither option gives enough room for the whole truth. *Still Good* was written for the person trying to tell the truth without becoming bitter. It is for the person who can name harm while still honoring the people who loved them inside that world. It is for the person who misses parts of the community and still knows they had to leave. It is for the person who wants to stay kind without staying silent. That balance matters. Leaving Mormonism does not mean you have to erase your past. It does not mean your love was fake, your family was wrong, or every good thing you experienced suddenly disappears. It also does not mean you have to protect an institution from the truth of your own life. This book gives people permission to hold more than one feeling at once. ## **Who this book is for** *Still Good* is for people in faith transition, people who have left Mormonism, people who are questioning, and people who love someone who is no longer where they used to be spiritually. It is for the person who still feels good but no longer fits inside the old answers. It is for the person who worries that leaving means disappointing their family. It is for the person who wants to be honest without being cruel. It is for the person trying to sort through what was beautiful, what was harmful, what was inherited, what was chosen, and what still belongs to them. It is also for families. If someone you love has left Mormonism, this book may help you understand that faith transition is rarely casual. People do not usually walk away from a world that shaped them without cost. There is often a long private road before anyone says the words out loud. ## **What Still Good is really about** At its heart, this book is about identity after certainty. What remains when the framework that once held everything no longer holds? What do you do with your memories? What do you do with your family? What do you do with the younger version of yourself who believed deeply and sincerely? What do you do with the grief? I wanted to write a book that did not require readers to become hard in order to be free. Some people need anger for part of the journey. I understand that. Anger can be honest. Anger can be protective. Anger can finally say what politeness buried for too long. But I also believe many people want a path beyond anger. They want wholeness. They want peace that does not depend on pretending. They want a way to live honestly now without hating every version of who they were before. That is the work of *Still Good*. ## **Why I wrote it** I wrote this book because leaving Mormonism was part of my life, but staying whole mattered to me. I wanted to tell the truth with care. I wanted to honor my family, my upbringing, the people who loved me, and the community that shaped me while also being honest about the parts I could no longer carry. That is not an easy line to walk, but it felt like the only honest one. I know many people are trying to walk that same line. They are trying to keep relationships intact while becoming more honest. They are trying to explain something that took years to understand themselves. They are trying to rebuild meaning, morality, identity, and community without the old map. This book is for them. ## **A book for people rebuilding** If you are leaving Mormonism, questioning your faith, or trying to rebuild after a spiritual shift, *Still Good* may help. It will not tell you what to believe. It will not hand you a new system to replace the old one. It will sit with the complexity of leaving and remind you that your goodness was never dependent on staying. You can change. You can tell the truth. You can grieve what you lost. You can keep what was loving. You can become more honest and still stay good. *Still Good* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/0ggLexWG](https://a.co/d/0ggLexWG?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### The Better Man Field Guide: A Book for Men Who Want to Grow URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-better-man-field-guide-a-book-for-men-who-want-to-grow/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:55.000Z A lot of men mean well and still leave damage behind. Most men do not wake up hoping to be distant, defensive, careless, emotionally unavailable, or hard to live with. Most men want to be good husbands, fathers, partners, leaders, friends, and sons. They want to be respected, trusted, and steady for the people they love. Then real life puts pressure on them. Stress shows up. Ego shows up. Old habits show up. Silence shows up. Anger shows up. Shame shows up. A hard conversation starts, and suddenly a grown man is defending himself instead of listening to the person in front of him. That is why I wrote *The Better Man Field Guide*. This book is for men who want to grow in ways that actually matter. It is direct, practical, and written for the man who knows good intentions are not enough if the people closest to him still feel unheard, unsupported, or exhausted by the same patterns. ## **Why this book matters** Men are often taught how to perform strength long before they are taught how to repair harm. We learn how to push through, provide, compete, joke, avoid, stay busy, stay tough, and act like we are fine. Some of that helps us survive. Some of it slowly makes us harder to reach. The cost shows up in our relationships. It shows up when we cannot apologize without explaining ourselves. It shows up when someone tells us they are hurt and we respond by proving we meant well. It shows up when we confuse being quiet with being calm, being stubborn with being principled, or being needed with being connected. A better man is not the loudest man in the room. He is not the man with the cleanest image, the biggest paycheck, the most impressive title, or the strongest opinion. A better man is willing to become safer, steadier, more honest, more accountable, and more present in the places where his life actually touches other people. That kind of growth does not happen by accident. ## **Who this book is for** *The Better Man Field Guide* is for husbands who want to stop making their wives carry every emotional detail in the relationship. It is for fathers who want their kids to know more than their work ethic. It is for men who are tired of repeating the same argument, the same shutdown, the same apology, and the same promise to do better someday. It is also for men who lead teams and realize leadership is more than vision, strategy, and decision-making. Leadership also asks for listening, humility, follow-through, self-awareness, and the ability to receive feedback without turning every conversation into a courtroom. This book is for the man who has been told he is hard to talk to. It is for the man who knows he gets defensive too fast. It is for the man who loves his family but does not always know how to show up in ways they can feel. It is for the man who has started to wonder whether being “a good guy” is a lower bar than he thought. The book is not here to shame men. It is here to tell the truth and give men something practical to do with it. ## **What the book helps men work on** This book gets into the everyday places where growth has to become real. It talks about listening without preparing your defense, apologizing without making the other person comfort you, handling anger, understanding silence, building emotional maturity, making repair, carrying responsibility, and showing up better in marriage, parenting, leadership, friendship, and family life. The field guide part matters because this is not meant to stay theoretical. A man does not become better because he likes the idea of growth. He becomes better when he changes how he shows up at home, in conflict, under pressure, and in the small moments where nobody is handing out credit. A better man learns how to pause before reacting. He learns how to ask what someone needs instead of assuming he already knows. He learns how to tell the truth about fear, shame, resentment, and limits without using those things as weapons. He learns how to stop making the people around him pay for wounds he refuses to understand. That work is hard. It is also worth it. ## **Why I wrote it** I wrote *The Better Man Field Guide* because I care about men, and I care about the people who love them. I have seen too many men settle for being decent when the people around them need them to be awake. I have seen men who love their families still leave their families lonely. I have seen men who are respected in public become unavailable in private. I have seen men with big hearts and terrible emotional habits. I have also seen men change when they finally stop performing and start telling the truth. I am not writing as someone who has mastered all of this. I am writing as a man who has had to learn, apologize, listen, slow down, and keep paying attention. I know what it feels like to want to be helpful and still make the moment about my own discomfort. I know what it feels like to think I am being strong when I am actually avoiding something hard. I know what it feels like to realize the people I love deserve more than the version of me that only shows up after I have been pushed. That is why the book is direct. Men need direct. But direct does not have to be cruel. The point is growth. The point is becoming the kind of man people can trust with their pain, honesty, needs, and full selves. ## **A book for men who are ready to do the work** If you are a man who wants to be better, this book is a good place to start. Read it before the next argument, before your partner stops trying to explain, before your kids decide you are easier to admire than approach, and before your team learns to work around your defensiveness instead of trusting your leadership. The people who love you should not have to beg you to grow. Meaning well is a beginning, but it cannot be the whole plan. There is a better version of you available, and he will not arrive through good intentions alone. *The Better Man Field Guide* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/02hVly3I](https://a.co/d/02hVly3I?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### Get Out of the Way: A Book for Men Who Say They Support Women URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/get-out-of-the-way-a-book-for-men-who-say-they-support-women/ Last updated: 2026-08-07T09:14:07.000Z A lot of men say they support women. Fewer men notice how often they still take up the room. That is why I wrote *Get Out of the Way*. This book is for men who believe in women’s leadership but still need to look honestly at the habits, systems, fears, assumptions, and ego that keep getting in the way. It is direct because it needs to be. Women have been told to wait, soften, smile, explain, prove, adjust, qualify, and make everyone comfortable for too long. Men do not need another book congratulating them for thinking women are strong. Men need a book that asks what they are doing with the power, influence, attention, and space they already have. ## **Why this book matters** Women are already leading. They are leading families, teams, organizations, movements, communities, classrooms, clinics, businesses, and conversations that should have listened to them sooner. The problem is not a lack of capability. The problem is how often women are still forced to lead around men instead of with the full support of men. That shows up in obvious ways, but it also shows up in small daily patterns. Men interrupt. Men explain things women already know. Men get credit for ideas women carried first. Men call themselves allies while waiting to see whether supporting a woman will cost them anything. Men stay quiet when another man diminishes, dismisses, jokes, delays, or takes over. This book asks men to stop confusing agreement with action. If you support women leading, your behavior should make that easier, not harder. ## **Who this book is for** *Get Out of the Way* is for men who want to be better than performative support. It is for fathers raising daughters and sons. It is for husbands and partners. It is for leaders, board members, executives, pastors, coaches, coworkers, and any man who has ever said he believes women should lead but has not fully examined how his own habits affect the room. It is also for women who are tired of explaining the same things to men who should already know better. I wrote this book from my side of the conversation, but I know many women will recognize the patterns immediately because they have lived them. This is not a book about men hating themselves. It is a book about men becoming honest enough to change. ## **What getting out of the way actually means** Getting out of the way does not mean disappearing. It does not mean men have nothing to offer. It means men need to stop assuming they are automatically the center, the expert, the decider, the rescuer, the translator, or the person whose comfort matters most. Sometimes getting out of the way means listening without preparing your defense. Sometimes it means giving credit clearly and publicly. Sometimes it means recommending a woman for the role instead of quietly assuming you are the safer choice. Sometimes it means challenging another man in the moment instead of texting support privately afterward. It also means understanding that women do not need men to grant permission. They need men to stop creating unnecessary barriers, stop taking the microphone, and stop acting surprised when women are better prepared to lead than the men who kept being handed the room. ## **Why I wrote it** I wrote *Get Out of the Way* because I have spent years in leadership, healthcare, family life, and community work watching women carry more than they should have had to carry. I have worked with brilliant women who did not need more confidence. They needed fewer obstacles. They needed people to stop making leadership harder simply because they were women. I have also had to look at myself. That is part of the point. This book is not written from a place of moral distance. It is written by a man who has had to learn, unlearn, apologize, listen, and pay closer attention. Men are often good at agreeing with the idea of women leading. The harder work is noticing what happens when a woman’s leadership challenges our comfort, our assumptions, our authority, or our need to feel important. That is where the real work starts. ## **A book men should read before they call themselves allies** If you are a man who says you support women, read this book. If you lead a team, read this book. If you are raising kids, read this book. If you are married to, working with, voting for, mentoring, supervising, or being led by women, read this book. And if your first instinct is to think this book is probably for other men, that might be the clearest sign you should start here. *Get Out of the Way* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/0duH7Hga](https://a.co/d/0duH7Hga?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### The Future Still Needs Us: AI and the Human Future URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-future-still-needs-us-ai-and-the-human-future/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:53.000Z AI is already changing the world. The question is no longer whether it is coming. The question is what kind of people we are going to become while it is here. That is why I wrote *The Future Still Needs Us*. This book is about AI, creativity, healthcare, community, power, trust, and the human responsibility we still have in the middle of rapid change. I am not anti-AI. I use it every day. I create with it. I think with it. I have seen how powerful these tools can be when they help people imagine, build, write, organize, and solve problems faster than before. I also believe we need to stop acting like the future can be safely handed over to tools, platforms, billionaires, algorithms, or whatever company has the loudest product launch this week. The future still needs us because technology does not carry a conscience on its own. People do. ## **Why this book matters** A lot of the AI conversation gets stuck in two bad places. One side treats AI like magic that will fix everything. The other side treats it like a monster that will destroy everything. Both reactions miss the human work in front of us. AI will change jobs, schools, healthcare, creativity, business, politics, relationships, and the way people understand truth. It will create opportunities. It will create harm. It will make some work easier and some problems harder. It will amplify human imagination, but it will also amplify greed, bias, surveillance, disinformation, laziness, and whatever else people decide to pour into it. That is why the conversation cannot only be technical. It has to be moral. It has to be human. We need people asking better questions. Who benefits? Who gets left behind? Who controls the tools? Who owns the data? What happens to trust? What happens to creativity? What happens to care? What happens to people who already live on the edges of systems that were not built with them in mind? Those are not side questions. They are the questions. ## **Who this book is for** *The Future Still Needs Us* is for people trying to understand AI without losing their humanity. It is for creators wondering what these tools mean for their work. It is for leaders trying to make decisions before the rules are clear. It is for healthcare people thinking about access, trust, and care. It is for parents watching their kids grow up in a world that will feel different from the one we knew. It is also for people who feel both fascinated and uneasy. That is a reasonable place to be. You can be curious about AI and still have concerns. You can use the tools and still question the systems behind them. You can believe in innovation and still care about human dignity. This book gives people a way to stay engaged without becoming either naive or cynical. ## **The human part still matters** The future will not be shaped only by code. It will be shaped by values, incentives, policies, communities, families, leaders, artists, teachers, clinicians, builders, and ordinary people deciding what they will accept and what they will refuse. AI can generate words. It can generate images. It can summarize, predict, sort, recommend, imitate, and accelerate. But it does not know what it means to hold someone’s hand in a clinic room. It does not know what grief costs. It does not know why a song matters to one person and not another. It does not understand love, duty, tenderness, regret, courage, or the quiet work of caring for someone when nobody is watching. Those things still belong to us. That is why I keep coming back to the same belief: the tools are powerful, but the human part has to stay in charge. ## **Why I wrote it** I wrote this book because I use AI and still have questions. I believe in the promise and still see the danger. I can feel the creative possibility, and I can also feel the risk of people surrendering too much too quickly because the tools feel impressive. I do not want us to sleepwalk into the future. I want us awake, honest, thoughtful, and brave enough to build something better than the worst timeline. This book came from that tension. It came from hope, concern, curiosity, and the belief that the future is still something we have a responsibility to shape. ## **A book for right now** If you are trying to make sense of AI, this book is a good place to start. If you are a creator, leader, parent, healthcare worker, student, teacher, or person wondering what kind of future we are walking into, *The Future Still Needs Us* was written for you. The goal is not to panic. The goal is not to worship the tools. The goal is to stay human enough to ask what kind of world we are building and who we are becoming while we build it. *The Future Still Needs Us* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/0diEq9Bx](https://a.co/d/0diEq9Bx?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### Still Here, Still Trying: A Book for People Who Are Tired but Not URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/still-here-still-trying-a-book-for-people-who-are-tired-but-not/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:53.000Z Some books are written for people who need a plan. *Still Here, Still Trying* was written for people who need a place to breathe for a minute and remember they are still here. This book is for the people carrying more than they say out loud. The people who are doing their best, showing up, holding families together, leading through hard things, grieving someone, worrying about a kid, caring for a parent, trying to stay kind, and wondering why being human feels so heavy sometimes. I wrote it because I know that kind of tired. I know what it feels like to keep moving when your heart is dragging behind you. I know what it feels like to be the person people count on while you are quietly wondering how much longer you can keep carrying everything. I know what it feels like to have a full life, a good life, a meaningful life, and still be worn down by the weight of it. That is the space this book lives in. *Still Here, Still Trying* is not written from above the mess. It is written from the middle of it, by someone who is still learning how to grieve, lead, love, create, parent, remember, fail, recover, and keep going without pretending any of it is easy. ## **Why this book matters** A lot of people are tired in ways sleep does not fix. They are tired from responsibility, grief, caregiving, work, leadership, bills, family stress, health worries, disappointment, and the constant pressure to keep functioning while something inside them is asking for rest. The hard part is that most people do not feel like they have permission to say that. They keep answering messages. They keep going to work. They keep making dinner. They keep helping everyone else. They keep being dependable, funny, productive, strong, reasonable, and available because that is what life seems to require from them. But being tired does not mean you are failing. Sometimes it means you have been faithful to a lot of things for a long time. That is one of the truths at the heart of this book. *Still Here, Still Trying* gives people room to be honest about the weight they are carrying without turning that honesty into defeat. It tells the truth about hard days while still making room for hope, love, humor, memory, and the small moments that remind us life is still worth showing up for. ## **Who this book is for** This book is for people in the middle of life, which is where most of us actually live. The middle is rarely clean. The grief is not finished. The answers are not complete. The work still needs done. The people we love still need us. The bills still arrive. The kids still call. The meeting still starts. The dog still needs let out. Life does not pause while we figure out how to carry it. That is why this book matters. It is for people who have lost someone and are learning how grief changes shape. It is for parents trying to do right by their kids while still figuring out themselves. It is for leaders who carry pressure home even when no one sees it. It is for creative people who feel deeply and keep trying to make something meaningful. It is for caregivers, workers, dreamers, overthinkers, exhausted optimists, and anyone who has ever looked at their life and thought, “I’m still here, but I am tired.” If that sentence feels familiar, this book may meet you right where you are. ## **What kind of stories are inside** The stories in *Still Here, Still Trying* come from ordinary life because ordinary life is where most of the real work happens. The book moves through family, grief, leadership, creativity, loss, responsibility, failure, hope, hockey, rain, tunnels, memories, and the strange little moments that do not look dramatic from the outside but change something inside you. Some stories are tender. Some are funny. Some are heavy. Some are about small moments that stayed with me longer than I expected. That is how life works. The things that shape us are not always the giant events. Sometimes it is a conversation in the car, a walk through a tunnel, a quiet drive after a hard day, a memory that shows up without warning, or the decision to keep going when nobody is clapping. I wanted this book to feel like sitting with someone who understands that life can be beautiful and brutal in the same week. Sometimes in the same day. Sometimes in the same hour. There are books that try to impress you. This one is trying to sit beside you. ## **Why I wrote it** I wrote *Still Here, Still Trying* because I needed these words too. I needed language for the part of me that keeps going even when I am tired. I needed to write honestly about grief, family, work, loss, hope, and the strange ways life keeps asking us to become more human. I have lived enough to know that easy answers do not help people who are carrying real weight. People do not need polished advice from someone pretending to have it all figured out. They need honesty. They need companionship. They need someone to say the thing plainly enough that they feel less alone. That is what this book tries to offer. It is a collection of honest stories from someone still learning, still grieving, still building, still loving, still messing things up sometimes, and still trying to pay attention. I did not write this book because I have mastered the art of being okay. I wrote it because I have learned that being tired and still trying is sometimes one of the most honest forms of hope we have. ## **A book to keep nearby** If you are in a hard season, this is the kind of book you can read slowly. You do not have to finish it in one sitting. You can pick it up when the day feels heavy, read a story, and let it give you a little language for what you are carrying. If you know someone who is tired but still showing up, this is also a book worth giving. Sometimes people do not need another piece of advice. Sometimes they need to know someone sees the quiet work they are doing to keep going. That is why I hope people buy this book, read it, share it, and send it to the person who keeps saying they are fine when you know there is more going on underneath. This book will not make life simple. It will not erase grief or fix the hard thing in front of you. But it may help you feel less alone while you carry it. It may help you breathe. It may help you name what has been sitting in your chest. It may remind you that being tired does not mean you are done. And sometimes that reminder is enough to get someone through the next day. *Still Here, Still Trying* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/07zCe5e3](https://a.co/d/07zCe5e3?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### Human First: A Book for Staying Connected in a Divided World URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/human-first-a-book-for-staying-connected-in-a-divided-world/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:24:58.000Z *Human First* sits at the center of my work because nearly everything I write keeps circling back to the same question: how do we stay human when the world keeps pulling us apart? We live in a time when disagreement turns into dismissal fast. People get sorted, labeled, mocked, blocked, and reduced to the worst version of what someone else thinks they believe. Families feel it. Workplaces feel it. Communities feel it. Churches feel it. Social media pours gasoline on it, politics makes it louder, and real people are left trying to figure out how to stay connected without surrendering what they believe. I wrote *Human First* because I still believe connection matters. I believe people deserve to be seen as human before they are treated as a category, a vote, a headline, an argument, or a problem to defeat. That does not mean we avoid hard conversations. It means we bring more courage and more care into them. This book is about dignity, disagreement, empathy, repair, humility, and the daily choice to remember that people are more than the side they appear to be on. It is for anyone who is tired of the noise but still believes we have a responsibility to each other. ## **Why this book matters now** The world is teaching people to react faster than they reflect. We are rewarded for certainty, outrage, sarcasm, and public performance. We are trained to decide quickly who is safe, who is wrong, who is stupid, who is evil, who belongs, and who does not. That kind of life changes people. It makes us smaller. It makes us crueler. It makes us less curious. It teaches us to mistake contempt for clarity. *Human First* asks for something harder and better. It asks us to stay honest without becoming cruel. It asks us to care deeply without turning every disagreement into a war. It asks us to remember that the person across from us has a story, a fear, a wound, a family, a history, and a reason they became who they are. That does not excuse harm. It does not ask anyone to stay silent in the face of injustice. It does ask us to stop confusing dehumanization with strength. ## **Who this book is for** *Human First* is for people who still want to have hard conversations without losing themselves. It is for leaders trying to build trust in divided rooms. It is for families strained by politics, religion, grief, identity, or old wounds. It is for people who want to stand for what matters without becoming bitter, performative, or numb. It is also for people who are tired. Tired of the fighting. Tired of the labels. Tired of watching every issue become a loyalty test. Tired of feeling like the only options are silence or shouting. There is another way to live, but it takes work. It takes patience. It takes the willingness to listen longer than feels comfortable and speak more honestly than feels safe. It takes the courage to care about truth and people at the same time. ## **What Human First is really about** At its heart, this book is about choosing the human being before the argument. That choice matters in marriage, parenting, leadership, healthcare, community life, politics, faith, and friendship. The book talks about disagreement, but it also talks about the conditions that make real disagreement possible. Trust matters. Tone matters. Timing matters. Listening matters. So does accountability. If we want better conversations, we have to become better people inside those conversations. I wrote *Human First* as someone who has spent years leading in community healthcare, sitting with hard decisions, trying to hold people together through change, and watching what happens when systems forget the human being in front of them. I also wrote it as a husband, father, friend, creator, and person who has had to rethink things I once believed with certainty. That is part of the work too. Staying human means staying teachable. ## **The Human First way** A Human First approach does not mean being soft. It means being grounded. It means refusing to let fear, outrage, ego, or tribal pressure decide how we treat people. It means asking better questions before rushing to conclusions. It means knowing when to speak, when to listen, when to repair, and when to draw a clear line. It means remembering that kindness and courage belong together. The book is not asking readers to agree with everyone. That would be dishonest and impossible. It is asking readers to stop treating disagreement as permission to forget someone’s humanity. That distinction matters. We need people who can tell the truth without becoming cruel. We need leaders who can make hard decisions without losing compassion. We need families who can talk across difference without turning every conversation into a battlefield. We need communities that can hold conviction and care at the same time. ## **Why I wrote it** I wrote *Human First* because I needed the reminder too. I have watched good people get pulled into bad patterns. I have felt the temptation to simplify others, especially when the issue matters deeply to me. I have had to learn that being right does not give me permission to become careless with people. The work in this book is not theoretical for me. It shows up in board rooms, clinics, family conversations, friendships, online spaces, creative work, and the way I try to lead. It shows up when I am tired. It shows up when I am frustrated. It shows up when someone says something I strongly disagree with and I have to decide what kind of person I want to be in response. That is where *Human First* lives. In the moment before we reduce someone. In the moment before we harden. In the moment before we decide that contempt is easier than curiosity. ## **A book for this moment** If the world feels loud, divided, and exhausting, *Human First* was written for you. If you are trying to lead people through conflict, this book can help. If your family has been strained by disagreement, this book can help. If you are trying to keep your heart open without becoming naive, this book can help. The goal is not perfect agreement. The goal is a better way to stay connected while telling the truth. That is the work this moment requires. *Human First* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/0g2LAJue](https://a.co/d/0g2LAJue?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### Man vs. Menopause: A Husband’s Guide to Perimenopause URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/man-vs-menopause-a-husbands-guide-to-perimenopause/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:51.000Z A lot of men are getting blindsided by perimenopause because nobody gave them a map. They know menopause exists somewhere out there in the vague future, but they do not understand the years leading up to it. They do not understand how much can change before menopause officially arrives. They do not understand why the person they love may suddenly be exhausted, anxious, hot, cold, angry, sad, foggy, restless, disconnected, uninterested in sex, overwhelmed by noise, sleeping badly, or looking in the mirror and wondering what happened to the body she used to know. Then, because men are men, too many of them make the worst possible move. They take it personally. That is why I wrote *Man vs. Menopause*. This book is for husbands and partners who love someone going through perimenopause and want to stop making it harder. It is direct, practical, honest, and written for men who may not know enough yet but care enough to learn. If your partner is in this season, or anywhere near it, you need this book before your confusion becomes defensiveness and your defensiveness becomes damage. Perimenopause is not a punchline. It is not a mood swing joke. It is not your partner suddenly deciding to become difficult. It is a real physical, emotional, hormonal, relational, and deeply personal transition that can shake the rhythm of a home. If you are married to someone going through it, dating someone going through it, or trying to love someone well through it, you have work to do. This book helps you do that work. ## **Why men need a guide** Most men are underprepared for perimenopause. Some have never heard the word until their partner is already deep in it. Some think menopause is one event instead of a long transition. Some think hot flashes are the whole story, which is like thinking a house fire is only about smoke. The bigger issue is what men do with their ignorance. They minimize. They joke. They get weird about sex. They act rejected. They assume the emotional changes are about them. They try to solve everything in one conversation. They ask their partner to explain the same thing over and over while she is already tired from living inside a body that keeps changing the rules. That pattern breaks trust. A woman going through perimenopause already has enough to carry. She should not also have to manage her partner’s ego, confusion, and insecurity every time her symptoms become inconvenient. *Man vs. Menopause* gives men a better way in. It does not ask you to become a hormone specialist overnight. It asks you to stop acting like not knowing is a permanent condition. You can learn. You can listen. You can become more useful. You can become the kind of partner who makes this season less lonely instead of more exhausting. ## **What perimenopause can do to a relationship** Perimenopause does not stay neatly contained in one part of life. It can show up in sleep, sex, mood, memory, energy, focus, body image, anxiety, rage, grief, confidence, and the smallest daily interactions. It can change how a woman feels in her body and how safe she feels being honest about that body with the person closest to her. That matters because relationships are built in ordinary moments. The middle-of-the-night wakeup matters. The comment you make about her mood matters. The way you respond when she is touched out matters. The way you handle rejection matters. The way you talk about sex matters. The way you react when she says she does not feel like herself matters. A lot of men want the old version of the relationship back before they have taken the time to understand what changed. That is a mistake. Your partner is not asking you to solve everything. She is asking you to stop making her carry it alone. This book helps you understand what might be happening, what not to say, what actually helps, and why your posture matters as much as your words. ## **What real support looks like** Real support during perimenopause is not flashy. It is steady. It is patient. It is curious. It pays attention. Support looks like believing your partner when she tells you what is changing. It looks like learning on your own instead of making her become your entire education system. It looks like not turning every symptom into a relationship crisis. It looks like adjusting expectations around sleep, energy, mood, intimacy, and capacity without acting like you are the victim of her biology. Support looks like taking more responsibility at home when she is overwhelmed. It looks like asking better questions and remembering the answers. It looks like knowing when to hug, when to fix, when to fight alongside her, and when to give her space. It looks like managing your own disappointment, fear, and insecurity with enough maturity that she does not have to comfort you for struggling with her struggle. That is one of the biggest messages in the book. You can love someone deeply and still make things worse. You can mean well and still be exhausting. You can care and still need to grow. This book is for the man who wants to grow before resentment sets in. ## **Why I wrote it** I wrote *Man vs. Menopause* because too many men are trying to navigate this season with a bad map or no map at all. I also wrote it because women should not have to spend years explaining their bodies, symptoms, emotional changes, and needs to someone who could have chosen to learn sooner. Marriage and long-term love require adaptation. Bodies change. Health changes. Stress changes. Desire changes. Capacity changes. Hormones change. A relationship survives those changes when both people keep learning how to love each other in the middle of them. Men need to understand that perimenopause is not something happening near them. It is happening to someone they love. That difference matters. When you understand that, you stop reacting like a confused bystander and start becoming a better partner. I wanted this book to be the kind of guide a man would actually read. No medical textbook energy. No soft, vague advice that says nothing. No cheap jokes. No pretending men are helpless. Just plain language, real talk, practical help, and enough directness to get through the part of the male brain that thinks, “Surely this is not about me.” It might be about you. Read the book. ## **A book to read before you make it worse** If your wife or partner is going through perimenopause, do not wait until things feel broken. Do not wait until she is done explaining. Do not wait until she stops asking for help because asking has become too tiring. Do not wait until resentment has had years to harden. Read *Man vs. Menopause* now. Read it because you love her. Read it because you want to understand what is happening before you react badly to it. Read it because this season will go better if you bring humility, patience, humor used carefully, and a willingness to learn. Read it because the person you love deserves more than confusion, defensiveness, and half-listening. This book will help you understand perimenopause, support your partner, and become less of a problem during a season that is already hard enough. *Man vs. Menopause* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/0aJ98Ipq](https://a.co/d/0aJ98Ipq?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### Believe Her the First Time: A Book for Families Who Love Someone URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/believe-her-the-first-time-a-book-for-families-who-love-someone/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:52.000Z Endometriosis is personal in my family. My wife has lived with it. My daughter has lived with it. I have watched two people I love carry pain that too many people still do not understand, minimize, explain away, or treat like something they should be able to manage quietly. That changes you. It changes what you notice in exam rooms. It changes how you hear the word “normal.” It changes how you respond when someone says they are hurting. It changes how angry you get when pain has to be proven over and over before anyone takes it seriously. That is why I wrote *Believe Her the First Time*. This book is for the people who love someone with endometriosis and want to show up better. Partners, parents, fathers, mothers, siblings, friends, and families all need better language for this disease. They need to understand the pain, the medical delays, the emotional toll, the exhaustion, and the deep loneliness that can come when someone has to keep explaining something their body already knows. I wrote it as a husband. I wrote it as a dad. I wrote it as someone who has had to learn, listen, apologize, and keep paying attention. ## **Why belief matters** Belief sounds simple until you see how often people in pain do not receive it. When someone says they are hurting, they should not have to build a legal case before anyone listens. They should not have to become an expert in their own disease just to be taken seriously. They should not have to smile through pain so other people feel more comfortable. For people living with endometriosis, belief can change everything. It can change how quickly they seek help. It can change how safe they feel in relationships. It can change how much energy they have left for work, school, parenting, friendship, intimacy, and ordinary life. It can change whether they feel alone inside their own home. I have seen what disbelief does. I have seen what it costs. I have also seen what happens when love becomes less defensive and more willing to learn. That is where support begins. ## **Who this book is for** *Believe Her the First Time* is for the partner who wants to help but keeps feeling helpless. It is for the father who loves his daughter and wants to understand what she is living through. It is for the family member who has said the wrong thing and wants to do better. It is for the friend who wants to be supportive but does not know what support looks like when pain is ongoing, unpredictable, and invisible to everyone else. This book is especially important for men. Women do not need men to explain endometriosis back to them. Men need to stop being underprepared around women’s pain. That sentence matters to me because I have lived the learning curve. I know what it feels like to love someone and still not understand enough. I know how easy it is to want to fix something you have not taken enough time to understand. I know how tempting it is to look for the right answer when the person you love mostly needs you to listen, believe, and stay. Love should make us more teachable. ## **What endometriosis does to a life** Endometriosis changes more than a body. It changes plans, relationships, work, school, confidence, mental health, intimacy, family life, and the way a person learns to move through the world when pain keeps getting questioned. It can make someone feel trapped inside a body they cannot trust and a healthcare system that moves too slowly. It can turn ordinary days into negotiations. It can make people cancel plans, hide symptoms, push through pain, and feel guilty for needing rest. The physical pain is real. The emotional weight is real. The delays are real. The dismissal is real. Families need to understand that. When someone you love has endometriosis, your role is not to stand on the sidelines waiting for the disease to become convenient. Your role is to learn enough to stop adding weight to what they already carry. ## **What real support looks like** Support is not always dramatic. A lot of the time, support is quiet and practical. It looks like believing her without asking her to prove the pain again. It looks like learning about endometriosis without making her teach you every detail while she is exhausted. It looks like remembering appointments, symptoms, medications, recovery times, and the things that make hard days a little easier. Support looks like going with her to appointments if she wants you there. It looks like speaking up when she is dismissed. It looks like taking her pain seriously even when she has had to become good at hiding it. It looks like not making her feel guilty for needing rest, surgery, space, help, or understanding. It also looks like managing your own discomfort. That is important. Sometimes the people who love someone in pain panic, shut down, get defensive, or try to rush toward a solution because the reality is hard to sit with. But support requires staying present without making the pain about your fear, your confusion, or your need to feel useful. Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is believe her, stay close, and stop making her carry your learning curve too. ## **Why I wrote it** I wrote *Believe Her the First Time* because endometriosis has shaped people I love. I wrote it because I have watched the toll of pain, the frustration of delay, and the exhaustion of being doubted. I wrote it because families need to understand that belief is not a small thing. When my daughter hurts, I do not want her to become better at proving pain. I want the world to become better at believing women. When my wife talks about what she has carried, I do not want to treat that story like background noise. I want to keep learning from it. This book came from that place. It came from the love of a husband and father who wants other men, other parents, and other families to do better sooner. It came from the belief that support should not arrive only after years of dismissal. It came from the anger and tenderness that show up when someone you love has suffered more than they should have had to. ## **A book to read before you make it harder** If someone you love has endometriosis, this book is worth reading now. Read it before another appointment. Read it before another argument. Read it before she has to explain one more time why she is tired, why she is scared, why she is angry, why she needs help, or why she does not have the energy to make everyone else comfortable. Read it because love should make you curious. Read it because pain should not have to become unbearable before it becomes believable. Read it because the person you love deserves support that does not require a closing argument. *Believe Her the First Time* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/0g0H1vzH](https://a.co/d/0g0H1vzH?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### Beautifully Unfocused: A Book for People Whose Brains Never Stop URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/beautifully-unfocused-a-book-for-people-whose-brains-never-stop/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:51.000Z ADHD is often described by what it disrupts. Missed details, late replies, lost keys, forgotten appointments, half-finished projects, too many open tabs, and a brain that can somehow create an entire universe while forgetting the one thing you walked into the room to do. That version of ADHD is real, but it is incomplete. *Beautifully Unfocused* was written for people who have spent too much of their lives thinking they were lazy, scattered, inconsistent, difficult, or too much. It is for the adults who built complicated systems to survive before they understood why ordinary things felt harder than they seemed to be for everyone else. It is for creative people, leaders, parents, partners, students, workers, and anyone who has ever wondered why their brain can hold a thousand ideas but still lose track of the simple thing sitting right in front of them. I wrote this book because ADHD has shaped more of my life than I understood at first. It has affected how I create, lead, write, parent, listen, organize, overcommit, hyperfocus, lose track, and recover. It has also helped me see patterns, connect ideas, move quickly, feel deeply, and build things that would not exist if my brain worked in a neat straight line. That does not erase the hard parts. It means the full story deserves more honesty. ## **Why this book matters** A lot of ADHD conversations get stuck between shame and hype. One side treats ADHD like a personal failure. The other side tries to turn it into a shiny superpower. Most people living with ADHD know the truth is more complicated. ADHD can make daily life feel heavier than it looks from the outside. It can create shame around things other people call simple. It can make someone appear careless when they care deeply. It can make a person feel brilliant in one part of life and completely stuck in another. At the same time, ADHD can bring creativity, speed, emotional depth, humor, curiosity, intuition, and the ability to see connections other people miss. Many people with ADHD are not short on ability. They are short on systems that fit the way their minds actually work. That is one of the central ideas in *Beautifully Unfocused*. The goal is not to become a different person. The goal is to understand your brain well enough to stop fighting it all day. ## **Who this book is for** This book is for adults with ADHD, people who suspect they may have ADHD, and people who love or lead someone whose brain works this way. It is also for anyone who has carried shame around distraction, intensity, creativity, inconsistency, emotional overload, or the feeling of never quite fitting into the systems around them. If you are the person with too many tabs open, this book is for you. If you have big ideas and messy follow-through, this book is for you. If you can build something meaningful but struggle with the small administrative steps around it, this book is for you. If you have spent years trying to force your brain into structures that never respected how you actually think, this book is for you. I also wrote it for leaders. ADHD shows up in workplaces every day, whether people name it or not. It shows up in meetings, emails, deadlines, ideas, conflict, creativity, follow-through, burnout, and team dynamics. A better understanding of ADHD helps people lead with more clarity and less judgment. ## **What makes Beautifully Unfocused different** This is not a productivity hack book. It is not a cure. It is not a lecture about trying harder. People with ADHD have usually tried harder than anyone realizes. *Beautifully Unfocused* is a human book about living with a mind that moves differently. It talks about the frustration, but also the possibility. It names the shame without letting shame control the whole story. It looks at creativity, leadership, family, work, medication, systems, and the relief that can come when a person finally understands the pattern. For me, part of the healing has been learning to separate shame from strategy. Shame asks what is wrong with me. Strategy asks what support my brain actually needs. That shift matters because people do better when they stop building their lives around self-punishment. ADHD does not excuse everything. It does not remove responsibility. It does mean the path forward needs honesty, better tools, and a little more mercy than many of us were taught to give ourselves. ## **A book for creative, capable, overwhelmed people** One of the reasons I care so much about this book is because I know how many capable people quietly believe they are failing. They are leading, parenting, creating, helping, working, building, caring, and still feeling like they are barely keeping the pieces together. They are not broken. They need language. They need systems. They need to understand the difference between a character flaw and a brain pattern. They need people around them who can see both the struggle and the strength. That is what I hope *Beautifully Unfocused* gives readers. Not an excuse. Not a label to hide behind. A way to understand themselves with more honesty, build better supports, and stop reducing their story to the hardest parts. If ADHD has touched your life, this book may help you feel less alone. If you love someone with ADHD, it may help you understand what they are carrying. If you lead people, it may help you see talent where you used to see only inconsistency. ## **Why I wrote it now** I have spent much of my life with a brain that moves fast, makes connections, jumps tracks, and refuses to stay inside one tidy lane. That has helped me lead, create, write, make music, build art, and imagine new ways forward. It has also made certain parts of life harder than they looked from the outside. There is a strange grief that comes with understanding ADHD later in life. You look back and realize how many moments were not moral failures. They were patterns. You think about the shame you carried, the systems that never fit, the times you were misunderstood, and the energy you spent trying to look more organized than you felt. There is also relief. Understanding ADHD does not solve everything, but it changes the conversation. It helps you stop asking why you are not like everyone else and start asking what kind of structure actually helps you live, work, love, and create with more honesty. That is the heart of this book. ## **Read this if you are tired of feeling like too much** If your brain never stops moving, I wrote this for you. If you have spent years apologizing for the way your mind works, I wrote this for you. If you are creative, capable, overwhelmed, intense, distracted, full of ideas, and still trying to build a life that fits, this book may give you words you did not know you needed. *Beautifully Unfocused* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/0iODKdLi](https://a.co/d/0iODKdLi?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### Still My Mom: A Book for Families Facing Alzheimer’s URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/still-my-mom-a-book-for-families-facing-alzheimers/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:24:55.000Z Alzheimer’s changes more than memory. It changes the rhythm of a family. It changes conversations, holidays, routines, patience, roles, decisions, and the way love has to keep adapting. The person you love is still there, but the disease slowly makes them harder to reach. That is one of the cruelest parts of dementia, and it is why I wrote *Still My Mom*. This book is deeply personal. It is about my mom, our family, and the years Alzheimer’s slowly took pieces of the woman we loved. I wrote it as her son, as someone who still misses her, and as someone who understands how confusing the long goodbye can be for families trying to do the best they can while their hearts are breaking in slow motion. Families facing Alzheimer’s need more than clinical explanations. They need language for what they are feeling. They need someone to talk honestly about the grief that starts before death, the guilt that shows up at strange times, the exhaustion people do not always admit, and the love that keeps showing up even when everything has changed. ## **Why I wrote this book** When my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, our family entered a story none of us wanted. We had to learn what the disease would take, how fast it might move, what she needed from us, and what we needed from each other. Some days were tender. Some days were frustrating. Some days were confusing in ways I still struggle to explain. The hardest part was learning that grief does not wait for the funeral. With Alzheimer’s, grief arrives early and stays. You grieve the missed words, the changed expressions, the lost confidence, the ordinary routines that stop feeling ordinary. You miss someone while they are still sitting in front of you, and then you feel guilty for missing them because they are still here. That kind of grief needs a name. In our family, it felt like the long goodbye. The phrase helped me understand what we were living through, and I hope it helps other families too. ## **Who this book is for** *Still My Mom* was written for families in the middle of Alzheimer’s, dementia, caregiving, and anticipatory grief. It is for adult children trying to understand what is happening to a parent. It is for spouses watching the person they built a life with slowly change. It is for siblings trying to make decisions together while everyone is hurting in their own way. It is for caregivers who are tired, loving, overwhelmed, and still showing up. I wanted the book to be honest, but I also wanted it to be useful. At the end of each chapter, I included practical takeaways because families need something to do with what they are feeling. They need help starting conversations, planning ahead, asking better questions, forgiving themselves, and staying connected to the person they love as the disease changes what connection looks like. ## **What makes this book different** This is our family’s story, but I wrote it for other families. My mom was never a lesson or a case study to me. She was my mom. She laughed, loved, raised us, shaped us, and filled our lives long before Alzheimer’s became part of the story. I wanted the book to honor the whole person, not only the disease. Writing it meant going back into memories I had quietly stored away because they hurt. It also helped me see the love more clearly. There were moments during the writing process when I understood our family’s grief differently than I had while we were living through it. I could see how hard everyone was trying. I could see how much we carried. I could see how much love remained even when the disease made everything harder. One of the most meaningful reviews I have received came from my sister. She wrote that she moved the book around her house before she could bring herself to open it. That line stopped me because I understood exactly why. Our family had already lived this once. Reading it meant facing it again. Then she wrote that the book helped her relive our story with a different perspective. I will carry that for a long time. That is what I hope this book does for other families. I hope it gives people language, comfort, practical help, and a little more compassion for themselves and each other. ## **A book to read, keep, and share** Alzheimer’s is brutal. Dementia asks families to keep adjusting to new losses while still loving someone with everything they have. It brings confusion, guilt, exhaustion, tenderness, fear, and moments of unexpected grace. Families should not have to walk through that alone. If Alzheimer’s or dementia has touched your family, I hope *Still My Mom* helps you feel less alone. If someone you love is walking through this right now, this may be a meaningful book to send them. It gives words to a kind of grief many families feel but do not always know how to explain. *Still My Mom* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/0b362kFt](https://a.co/d/0b362kFt?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/) ### Start Here: A Guide to Mike Baker’s Books URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/start-here-a-guide-to-mike-bakers-books/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:24:57.000Z I have written a lot of books in a short amount of time, and yes, I know that sounds a little insane. It felt a little insane while I was doing it. But these books did not come from nowhere. They came from years of living, leading, grieving, loving, questioning, raising kids, watching people suffer, sitting with families, leaving old certainties, learning how my own brain works, and trying to stay human in a world that keeps making that harder than it should be. Some books come from the clean, organized part of a writer’s mind. These did not. These came from the questions I could not stop carrying. How do we stay connected when everyone is pulling apart? How do men become better without needing applause for the bare minimum? How do we believe women in pain the first time? How do families survive Alzheimer’s when the goodbye starts years before death? How do people with ADHD stop seeing themselves as broken? How do we face AI without surrendering the human part of ourselves? How do we leave something that shaped us and still stay whole? That is the world these books live in. They are different books, but they all come from the same place: real life, honest questions, and the belief that words can help people feel less alone. If you are new to my work, start with the book that meets what you are carrying right now. ## **Start with** **[Human First](https://a.co/d/0cBp7qKV?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if you are trying to stay connected in a divided world** *Human First* is the center of the work. This book is about staying connected in a world that keeps rewarding outrage, certainty, contempt, and performance. It is about disagreement without losing each other. It is about dignity. It is about seeing people as human before you decide what box they belong in. I wrote this because I am tired of watching people confuse conviction with cruelty. We can care deeply, disagree honestly, fight for what matters, and still refuse to forget the humanity of the people around us. If you are exhausted by the noise but still believe people are worth reaching for, this is the place to begin. ## **Start with** **[Still My Mom](https://a.co/d/021k1Nm9?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if Alzheimer’s has touched your family** *Still My Mom* is one of the most personal books I have written. It is about my mother, Alzheimer’s, family, love, loss, and the long goodbye. Writing it asked me to go back into rooms I had quietly closed inside myself. It asked me to remember not only who Mom was before the disease, but also who she remained as Alzheimer’s changed her. Families living with dementia know the strange pain of losing someone in pieces. You grieve before the funeral. You miss someone while they are still sitting in front of you. You carry guilt, exhaustion, tenderness, anger, confusion, and love all at once. This book does not pretend Alzheimer’s is gentle. It tells the truth. It also honors what the disease could not take. If your family is walking through dementia, I believe this book can help. It will not fix the pain. Nothing does. But it can give you language, comfort, practical steps, and the reminder that you are not alone. ## **Start with** **[Believe Her the First Time](https://a.co/d/0jlpFgc2?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if you love someone with endometriosis** *Believe Her the First Time* came from love, frustration, and the reality of watching people I love live with endometriosis. This book is for partners, fathers, mothers, friends, families, and anyone who wants to support someone in pain without making that pain about themselves. Endometriosis is not bad cramps. It is not drama. It is not weakness. It is not something people should have to prove over and over before they are believed. This book is about belief, medical dismissal, pain that gets minimized, and the emotional toll of explaining your suffering to people who should have listened sooner. If you love someone with endometriosis, this book gives you a way to show up better. Read it before you say the wrong thing. Read it before you dismiss what you do not understand. Read it because someone you love may be carrying more pain than they have ever been able to explain. ## **Start with** **[Man vs. Menopause](https://a.co/d/0h3sdpwZ?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if perimenopause is affecting your relationship** I wrote *Man vs. Menopause* for men who love their partners and do not want to make a hard season harder. Perimenopause is changing marriages, relationships, homes, bodies, moods, sleep, intimacy, confidence, and identity. Too many men are standing there confused, defensive, joking, minimizing, or acting like the whole thing is an inconvenience to them. That is not good enough. This book is direct, practical, honest, and written for husbands and partners who need a better map. It does not ask men to become experts overnight. It asks them to become less clueless, less defensive, and more useful. If your partner is going through perimenopause, do not wait until she is exhausted from explaining herself. Read the book, pay attention, and show up differently. ## **Start with** **[Still Here, Still Trying](https://a.co/d/08Obyo8K?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if you are tired but not done** *Still Here, Still Trying* is a collection of honest stories for people who are carrying more than they say out loud. It is about grief, family, failure, work, exhaustion, hope, and the ordinary moments that somehow teach us how to keep going. I wrote it for people who are not falling apart in public but are worn down in private. The people who keep showing up. The people who do not need someone to yell inspiration at them. They need words that sit beside them and tell the truth. If that is you, this book may meet you in the middle of the mess. ## **Start with** **[Beautifully Unfocused](https://a.co/d/00UEqFOn?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if ADHD explains more of your life than you expected** *Beautifully Unfocused* is for people with too many tabs open in their brain and too much heart to pretend they do not care. It is about ADHD, creativity, leadership, distraction, shame, systems, family, work, and learning how to stop treating your mind like a broken machine. ADHD is often described only by what it disrupts: missed details, lost keys, unfinished projects, late replies, messy rooms, and half-built ideas. All of that can be real, but it is not the whole story. There is also intuition, pattern recognition, creative fire, emotional depth, strange connections, fast thinking, and the ability to see possibilities other people miss. This book does not romanticize ADHD. It does not turn it into a superpower sticker. It tells the truth about the hard parts while making room for the beauty. If you have spent years thinking you were lazy, scattered, inconsistent, or too much, this book may help you see yourself with more compassion and better tools. ## **Start with** **[The Future Still Needs Us](https://a.co/d/0e2TMj9g?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if you are thinking about AI and what comes next** AI is already here, and most of the conversation around it is panic, hype, money, or people trying to sound smart. *The Future Still Needs Us* is my attempt to stay grounded in the middle of all of that. This book is about AI, creativity, healthcare, community, power, technology, and what it means to stay human while the world changes fast. I am not anti-AI. I use it. I create with it. I believe it can help. I also believe the future needs people with conscience, imagination, courage, and care. The future cannot be left to tools, billionaires, algorithms, or whatever platform happens to be loudest this week. If you are trying to understand AI without surrendering your humanity, this book is a good place to start. ## **Start with** **[Still Good](https://a.co/d/0fGHHT7R?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if you are rebuilding faith after leaving Mormonism** *Still Good* is a memoir about leaving Mormonism and staying whole. Faith transition can make people feel like they have lost more than belief. Sometimes it feels like losing identity, language, belonging, certainty, family patterns, community, and the version of yourself other people understood. I did not write this book to attack the people I love. I did not write it to mock faith. I wrote it because leaving something that shaped you is complicated. There can be grief and gratitude in the same story. There can be anger and tenderness. There can be relief and sadness. There can be love for people still inside the tradition and honesty about the harm you experienced. This book is for people trying to leave without becoming bitter, stay kind without staying silent, and rebuild without pretending it did not hurt. ## **Start with** **[The Optimist’s Way](https://a.co/d/0gNQ5Trx?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if you need hope that still tells the truth** *The Optimist’s Way* is about realistic optimism. Not fake positivity. Not pretending everything is fine. Not smiling through things that need to be named. Realistic optimism looks at reality clearly and still chooses to act with hope. This book came from years of being told I was too optimistic while also living through enough hard things to know optimism is not the absence of pain. It is the decision not to let pain become the only author of the future. If you are trying to keep your hope without becoming naive, this book belongs on your list. ## **Start with** **[Get Out of the Way](https://a.co/d/0j7OLa1h?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if you care about women leading** *Get Out of the Way* is a direct book for men. It is for men who say they support women but still interrupt, explain, control, delay, dominate, or quietly expect the room to organize itself around them. This book is about men becoming honest. Women do not need another tribute to their strength from men who still hold onto the microphone. They need men to move, listen, change, and take responsibility for the systems and habits that keep getting excused. If you are a man who wants to be better, read it. If you are raising sons, read it. If you lead people, read it. If you think this book is only about other men, you may need it more than you think. ## **Start with** **[The Better Man Field Guide](https://a.co/d/0f1T05Fk?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **if you are a man who wants to grow** *The Better Man Field Guide* is practical. It is for men who want to become more honest, steady, responsible, emotionally present, and useful in the lives of the people they love. The book is built around growth that shows up in real life: how you listen, how you repair, how you handle anger, how you respond when someone is hurting, how you carry responsibility, and how you stop making the people around you manage your emotional immaturity. This is not about perfection. It is about becoming safer, clearer, kinder, and more accountable. ## **Coming soon:** **[You Deserve More Than This](https://www.amazon.com/author/mikebakerhq?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** *You Deserve More Than This* is coming soon, and I am not writing it softly. This book is for women who are tired of shrinking, explaining, waiting, hoping, excusing, managing, and surviving relationships with men who refuse to grow. It is a clear, caring book about safety, dignity, self-trust, and the moment you begin to believe you deserve more than the bare minimum. It is not written to lecture women from a distance. It is written with care for the woman who already knows something is wrong but has been talked out of trusting herself. ## **Start where the book meets you** You do not need to read these books in order. Start with the one that speaks to your life right now. If you are grieving, start with grief. If you are trying to understand your brain, start with ADHD. If someone you love is in pain, start with belief. If your marriage is changing, start with support. If your faith is shifting, start with honesty. If the future scares you, start with the future. If the world feels divided, start with being human. These books are not separate islands. They talk to each other. They circle the same questions from different directions. How do we love better? How do we stay honest? How do we keep going? How do we change? How do we stay human? That is the work. If one of these books helps you, share it with someone who needs it. Read one, give one, review one. The right book at the right time can do more than sit on a shelf. Sometimes it gives someone words they did not know they needed. Start here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/)Books ### Before You Ask for Custom Art, Know What You’re Really Asking For URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/before-you-ask-for-custom-art-know-what-youre-really-asking-for/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:24:53.000Z ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_2251.jpg) Custom art sounds simple at first. You have an idea. You want someone to make it visual. Maybe it is for your home, your business, a book cover, a song, a gift, a memorial, a campaign, or a moment you want to hold onto. But the best custom art is not only about making something look cool. It is about turning meaning into an image. That is where the work gets interesting. At Mike Baker HQ, the art I create through Infinite Canvas AI is built around story. Sometimes the story is obvious. Sometimes it is buried under a feeling, a memory, a phrase, a song lyric, or something someone has carried for a long time but never quite knew how to explain. AI tools can generate images fast. That part is not the hard part anymore. The harder work is knowing what the image is supposed to say. ## **Start with the story, not the style** A lot of people begin with style. They say they want something cinematic, gritty, colorful, emotional, surreal, soft, bold, or modern. That helps, but it is not enough. The better place to start is with the question behind the image. What are you trying to honor? What are you trying to say? Who is this for? What should someone feel when they see it? What should the image remember? Those questions matter more than whether the piece is realistic, abstract, painterly, or digital. A strong custom image needs a reason to exist. ## **Give the artist something real to work with** The best commission requests include more than a vague idea. You do not need to have everything figured out. You do not need perfect art language. You do not need to know composition, lighting, color theory, or software. That is the artist’s job. But you should bring the raw material. Helpful things include: A short description of the story behind the piece. A few words that describe the feeling. Any colors, symbols, people, places, or objects that matter. Where the image will be used. Whether you want it to feel personal, public, quiet, intense, hopeful, haunting, warm, strange, or direct. Reference images help too, but they should guide the work, not trap it. The goal is not to copy someone else’s image. The goal is to understand what visual direction feels close. ## **Custom art works best when there is room to discover** One of the things I love about AI-assisted art is the back-and-forth. The first image is rarely the final answer. It might reveal what is working. It might show what is wrong. It might bring out something you did not know you wanted until you saw it. That is part of the process. Sometimes the image needs more grit. Sometimes it needs less polish. Sometimes the face is wrong, the light is wrong, the mood is too clean, or the piece feels like generic AI art instead of something with a pulse. That is where human judgment matters. AI can produce options. The artist still has to choose, shape, reject, refine, and keep asking whether the image feels true. ## **Know where the art will live** A piece for a website banner is different from a book cover. A social media image is different from a framed print. Album art is different from a campaign image. Before starting, it helps to know the final use. Is this going on Instagram? A website? A poster? A book? A private gift? A business campaign? A podcast cover? A wall? That changes the format, size, level of detail, amount of text, and how much visual space the image needs. A beautiful image can still fail if it does not fit the place it is supposed to live. ## **Be clear about timeline, budget, and revisions** Custom work needs clear expectations. That does not have to make the process cold or transactional. It simply protects the work. Before starting, it helps to talk through timing, cost, number of concepts, number of revisions, final file format, and how the image will be used. If the image is for personal use, that is one thing. If it is for a business, book cover, product, public campaign, or commercial use, that needs to be clear upfront. Good creative work goes better when both sides know what they are agreeing to. ## **AI-assisted does not mean effortless** This is important. AI has made image creation more accessible. It has also made it easier to create a lot of forgettable images. The difference is intention. A meaningful piece still needs taste, restraint, story, editing, and the willingness to keep working until the image feels like it belongs to someone. That is the part I care about. I am not interested in making disposable AI noise. I am interested in making images that carry something human. ## **Ready to start?** If you are thinking about a custom piece, start with the story. Tell me what the image is for. Tell me what it needs to hold. Tell me what matters. We can figure out the style, size, and direction from there. Custom art can be a gift, a marker, a memory, a cover, a campaign, or a way to say something words have not been able to say yet. The tools are new. The reason for making art is still human. ### What Are We Doing With the Life We Still Have? URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/what-are-we-doing-with-the-life-we-still-have/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:00.000Z ## **Memorial Day, hockey, family, and the ordinary joy we almost miss** I spent part of Memorial Day weekend standing in a hockey net, sore as hell, trying to convince my body it still had one more save left in it. That sounds about right for me. Some people relax on long weekends. Some people barbecue. Some people go to the lake. I decided to play goalie in a tournament on two teams because apparently my decision-making process still has a blind spot where my knees are concerned. The tournament was for the Inland Northwest Girls Hockey Foundation, which made the whole thing matter more. It was hockey, but it was also community. It was a fundraiser. It was adults acting like teenagers in the best way. It was people showing up for girls in the sport. It was laughter, gear, sweat, bad smells, sore legs, and that strange little magic that happens when a rink becomes a temporary home for a weekend. And I played well. I’m saying that carefully because nobody needs a full old-goalie documentary. But I had a great weekend. I had amazing teams in front of me. They battled. They backchecked. They made me look better than I probably deserved. For a couple days, the old man in net still had another gear. Damn, that was fun. Then Memorial Day landed on top of it, and the whole weekend started to feel heavier in a good way. Because that’s the thing about ordinary joy. Sometimes you don’t realize how much it means until something makes you stop and actually look at it. ## **The rink has a way of showing you time** The part that got me wasn’t only the hockey. It was watching everybody grow up. My own kids are adults now. Jacob is grown. Cameron is out in the world building his life. Samantha is her own person, carrying strength, pain, humor, and everything that comes with stepping into adulthood. I know this. I live this. But knowing it and feeling it are different things. As a parent, so much of life is logistics. Practices, dinners, rides, appointments, homework, bills, worries, gear, late nights, early mornings, and the constant quiet question of whether you are doing enough. You spend years moving everyone from place to place, trying to hold the whole thing together, and then one day you look up and the little kids are gone. Adults are standing there instead. That same feeling showed up at the rink this weekend. Girls we have watched around hockey for years were out there playing with us. They’re eighteen now. They’re heading off to school. They’re laughing on the bench, competing hard, chirping like they have been in beer league for twenty years, and skating with the confidence of young women stepping into whatever comes next. If you’ve been around youth sports long enough, you know how fast it goes. One year they’re tiny inside oversized gear, trying to figure out where to stand. Then you blink, and they’re making plays, packing for college, and carrying themselves like the future already started. There is pride in that. There is joy in it. There is also a little ache. You want them to grow. You want them to leave in the healthy way. You want them to find their people, build their lives, and take everything the community gave them into the next chapter. Still, there’s something tender about realizing a chapter mattered and nobody gets to stay in it forever. That’s what the rink did to me. It put my own kids growing up and those girls growing up in the same emotional frame. It reminded me that time doesn’t ask for permission. It keeps moving whether we are paying attention or not. This weekend, I was paying attention. ## **Playing with Jacob** Playing with Jacob was one of the best parts of the weekend. He’s good. Like, actually good. There’s a specific kind of joy in watching your kid do something well. But this was different from standing at the glass as a dad. I wasn’t watching him as a little boy anymore. I was playing with him. Sharing the ice with him. Seeing him move, compete, laugh, and make plays in a game we both love. That does something to you. At some point, your kid becomes someone you don’t only protect or teach. You get to admire them. You get to stand beside them. You get to look across the ice and think, “Man, I love who you are becoming.” That is a gift I don’t want to rush past. Some gifts show up dressed like normal weekends. They don’t announce themselves. They don’t glow. They don’t stop the clock and tell you to pay attention. They happen between games, in a locker room, during a laugh, after a save, on a drive home with sore legs and a full heart. Those are the gifts I’m trying to notice more. ## **Missing my mom inside a good weekend** I missed my mom this weekend too. That kind of missing sneaks into good days. It doesn’t always arrive as sadness first. Sometimes it shows up because you want to call someone. I wanted to tell her about Jacob. I wanted to say, “Mom, you should have seen him out there.” I wanted to tell her the old man still had a little magic in net. I wanted her to laugh with me, be proud with me, and make the whole thing feel more complete. Grief is strange that way. It doesn’t only live in dark rooms. It lives inside joy too, because joy wants to be shared. A good day makes you miss the person who would have known exactly why it mattered. That is one of the cruel and beautiful things about love. When someone is gone, you don’t only miss them when life hurts. You miss them when life is good. You miss them when something funny happens. You miss them when your kid does something amazing. You miss them when your hand almost reaches for the phone before your heart remembers. The good days carry the missing too. That doesn’t ruin them. It makes them deeper. ## **Memorial Day and the people who came home** Memorial Day also made me think about my dad and my grandpas. My dad served, and I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for what service means in a family. I’m grateful for the sacrifice, discipline, and weight that comes with it. My grandpas served in wars, and we were lucky. They came home. That sentence feels heavier the older I get. They came home. They got to keep living. They got to sit at tables. They got to build families. They got to become part of stories that kept going. So many families did not get that. Memorial Day is for the people who didn’t come home. It is for the families who carried the empty chair. It is for the kids who grew up with stories instead of a person. It is for spouses, parents, siblings, and friends who live every day with a loss the country formally remembers once a year. That matters. And I don’t think honoring that means we have to be miserable all weekend. I don’t believe the people we honor would want us afraid to laugh, play, gather, or enjoy the life still in front of us. But remembrance asks something of our joy. It asks us not to treat it like it was cheap. The life protected by service is not only a grand national idea. It is the actual ordinary life. It is coffee in the morning. It is your kid walking through the door. It is a hockey tournament. It is driving home tired and grateful. It is laughing with teammates. It is watching kids grow up. It is calling someone you love. It is missing someone you wish you could call. People gave up a future full of ordinary things. That should make us live ours with more care. ## **Don’t waste the life still in your hands** This week’s episode of *Still Here, Still Trying* is called **What Are We Doing With the Life We Still Have?** That question came from the rink, but it didn’t stay there. It came from playing with Jacob. It came from watching the girls grow up. It came from missing my mom. It came from thinking about my dad’s service and my grandpas coming home. It came from Memorial Day and the families who didn’t get the homecoming my family got. It came from realizing how easy it is to miss your own life while you are standing right in the middle of it. We do that all the time. We rush. We worry. We scroll. We stay half-present. We move from one obligation to the next. We tell ourselves we will slow down later, say the thing later, take the picture later, play the game later, make the call later, live later. Then later becomes memory. I don’t want to keep doing that. I don’t want to sleepwalk through the gifts and recognize them only after they’re gone. I don’t want to be so busy building, fixing, leading, worrying, and surviving that I forget to enjoy the moments that make the work worth doing. Maybe the better Memorial Day question is not whether we felt sad enough. Maybe the better question is whether we are living with enough intention now. Are we loving people out loud while they are still here to hear it? Are we using our voice for something better than noise? Are we showing up for our community instead of only complaining about it? Are we paying attention while our kids become adults right in front of us? Are we letting joy soften us instead of letting stress harden everything? That is the work I’m carrying this week. ## **The story behind “Don’t Lose Your Smile”** This episode closes with a separate PS segment about my new song, **“Don’t Lose Your Smile.”** That song means a lot to me because it was the first fully original song I built from scratch. I had been learning guitar and kept returning to a simple C, G, D, G progression. Nothing fancy. Nothing complicated. It had this natural movement I couldn’t stop playing. The song started downstairs at the Alaska terminal in the Boise airport. I had my little Martin travel guitar with me, and I was waiting for a flight home. I was playing that progression over and over while talking on the phone with Jacob, who was traveling in Portugal. He told me about a meaningful day he had, and somewhere in that conversation, he said someone told him, “Don’t lose your smile.” That line landed right on the melody I was already playing. That was the song. A dad in an airport. A son across the world. A little guitar. One simple line that carried more than either of us probably knew in the moment. Over the next few months, I shaped the lyrics, melody, and feel. I played guitar and sang the original version myself. Then I used AI-assisted music and editing tools to help bring the final track to life with texture, harmonica, and the sound I was hearing in my head. That is what I mean when I talk about **AI Tools. Human Voice.** The tools helped amplify something human. They didn’t replace the moment. They didn’t invent the feeling. They helped me carry it further. The song is for Jake, but it is also for anyone trying to hold onto hope and softness while life gets heavy. It is for the part of us grief doesn’t get to take. It is for the part of us that still laughs in a locker room, cheers for kids, plays one more game, misses our mom, thanks the people who served, remembers the people who didn’t come home, and lets joy have a place in our chest. ## **Listen to Episode 51** This episode is about Memorial Day, but it’s not a speech. It’s about hockey, but it’s not a sports recap. It’s about family, grief, service, and the ordinary joy we almost miss because we are moving too fast. I hope you listen. I hope you share it with someone who needs the reminder. I hope it makes you call somebody, take the picture, say the thing, play the game, show up for the fundraiser, thank the person who served, remember the family carrying the loss, and stop rushing past your own life. We honor the people who didn’t get to finish their lives by refusing to sleepwalk through ours. That is what this week’s episode is really about. **[Listen to Episode 51 of Still Here, Still Trying: “What Are We Doing With the Life We Still Have?”](https://youtu.be/ICuoF0wTnDA?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** And when you’re done, tell me this: **What ordinary moment are you trying not to rush past right now?** ### The Middle Has to Move URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-middle-has-to-move/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:01.000Z ## **Episode 50, public ugliness, women’s health, and the work of staying human** Fifty episodes. I keep coming back to that number because it feels bigger than I expected it to feel. When I started *Still Here, Still Trying*, I thought I was making a podcast. I thought I was giving myself a place to talk about music, leadership, family, grief, optimism, healthcare, and whatever else was bouncing around in my head that week. Somewhere along the way, it became something more personal than that. It became a record of me trying to stay human out loud. That sounds dramatic until you think about what life asks of us now. We are all being pulled in a hundred directions. Work wants more. Family needs more. The news moves faster than our nervous systems were built for. Social media turns every thought into a performance. Public life rewards the people who seem most comfortable turning neighbors into enemies. And then there is regular life, which does not pause for any of it. You still have to make dinner. You still have to answer the email. You still have to show up at work. You still have to care for your kids, your parents, your patients, your team, your marriage, your body, your bills, your faith, your fragile little thread of sanity. That is where this podcast has lived for 50 episodes. In the middle of all that. I didn’t build it because I had answers. I built it because I needed a place to tell the truth while I was still figuring things out. And episode 50 feels like the right moment to say something I have felt building for a long time. The middle has to move. ## **I learned something ugly when I ran** I need to start with a story. When I ran for office, I thought I understood pressure. I lead in healthcare. I have sat in hard rooms. I have made difficult decisions. I have had people upset with me. I have carried responsibility when the options were messy and the stakes were real. I thought I had a pretty strong stomach for public criticism. Then politics showed me a different kind of ugly. It was not only disagreement. I can handle disagreement. Honestly, I respect disagreement when it comes from a serious place. The hard part was the flattening. People take a whole human being and reduce him to one position, one rumor, one post, one assumption, one side. They stop seeing the person. They stop seeing the family standing near that person. They stop wondering what the work has cost. They stop asking whether the version of you they are attacking has anything to do with who you actually are. That kind of ugliness gets under your skin. It got under mine. I hated parts of it. I hated what it did to my family. I hated how quickly people could become cruel and still feel righteous. I hated how many good people whispered encouragement privately because saying it publicly felt too risky. That last part stayed with me. A lot of good people are scared to speak in public right now. They are not weak. They are not lazy. They are not checked out because they don’t care. Many of them care deeply. They care about schools, healthcare, families, faith, public safety, housing, local businesses, children, seniors, and the future of this place. They have also watched what happens to people who step forward. So they stay quiet. And I get it. But quiet has a cost. ## **The room still fills** When decent people step back, the public square does not become healthier. The room fills with whoever shows up. It fills with people who know how to use fear. It fills with people who turn resentment into attention. It fills with people who understand that outrage moves faster than careful thought. It fills with people who want leadership for the wrong reasons and know how to sound strong while avoiding the patient work of actually serving. That is how communities drift. Most of us do not wake up one morning and choose something extreme. We drift there because the grounded people got tired, the serious people got quiet, and the loudest people kept showing up. The middle I’m talking about is not some soft, empty place with no conviction. I mean the human middle. The people who believe character matters. The people who think leadership should require maturity. The people who believe you should be able to hold strong moral beliefs without losing your compassion. The people who care about policy and also care about the person who has to live with that policy after the speech ends. That middle has been too quiet. Episode 50 is my way of saying I don’t think we get to stay quiet anymore. ## **The comment section is not real life** The comment section has convinced us that everyone is worse than they are. That is one of the great lies of this moment. Real life is usually more decent. Think about the last kids’ game you went to. You are sitting next to parents you may not fully agree with politically. One of them might have a bumper sticker that makes your eye twitch. One might vote differently than you. One might listen to a podcast that would make you question everything. But you are not screaming at each other. You are watching the kids. You are cheering when somebody finally kicks the ball in the right direction. You are laughing about the weather. You are wondering why snack shack nachos still taste good even though everyone knows that cheese came from a pump and might survive the fall of civilization. That is real life. Real life is the person who fixes your car. The nurse who calls you back. The teacher who stays late. The neighbor who waves. The pharmacist who answers your question. The friend who checks in when your mom dies. The coworker who covers for you when life falls apart. Most people are trying to get through the week with a little dignity. The comment section is loud, but it does not deserve to run the community. The problem is that we keep letting it. We let it shape how we see people. We let it tell us who is dangerous, who is stupid, who is evil, who belongs, who should be mocked, who should be dismissed. We let strangers with bad information and worse impulse control define the tone of public life. That is not leadership. That is emotional pollution. And all of us have to decide whether we are going to keep breathing it in and calling it normal. ## **Cult thinking wears different shirts** One of the things I am begging people to see is that cult-like thinking shows up on both sides. I know that sentence will irritate people. Good. Sit with it. Cult-like thinking happens when loyalty becomes more important than truth. It happens when a leader can do no wrong because they belong to your side. It happens when corruption gets excused because the outcome helped your team. It happens when people stop asking whether something is right and start asking whether admitting it is wrong will help the enemy. That is how people lose themselves. Corruption is corruption. Cruelty is cruelty. Lying is lying. Abuse of power is abuse of power. None of it becomes clean because the person doing it uses language we like. I am tired of watching people excuse behavior from their own side that they would condemn in two seconds from someone else. I am tired of watching people treat accountability like betrayal. I am tired of watching public life become a place where the only real sin is making your team uncomfortable. That is not conviction. That is fear wearing team colors. If a leader demands loyalty but rejects accountability, pay attention. If a movement asks you to ignore your conscience because the other side is worse, pay attention. If your group starts making excuses for cruelty because it feels useful, pay attention. If you feel that little pinch in your gut and then immediately start explaining it away, pay attention. That little pinch might be your integrity trying to survive the group chat. ## **Healthcare is where this stops being theoretical** I work in healthcare, so I don’t get the luxury of keeping politics abstract. Policy walks into clinics. It shows up as a parent delaying care because the bill scares them. It shows up as a woman living with pain because nobody listened early enough. It shows up as a patient waiting months for care because the workforce is thin. It shows up as a family driving across rural roads, missing work, burning gas money, and hoping the appointment actually helps. In healthcare, slogans have consequences. That is why the extremes bother me so much. Idaho’s laws around abortion and women’s health are not only political talking points. They shape how clinicians think, how patients feel, and how care teams navigate some of the most painful moments in a person’s life. The Idaho State Bar has described Idaho’s abortion ban framework as involving criminal penalties, a total ban without a general health exception, and separate limited emergency language under another ban. That kind of legal environment matters because clinicians are left navigating high-stakes medical decisions inside a tense legal and political climate. This is where I need people to open their eyes. You can care deeply about unborn life and still understand that women need doctors who are not afraid to practice medicine. You can care deeply about mothers, babies, and families while also admitting that fear and confusion inside healthcare harm everyone. You can hold a moral conviction and still listen to physicians, nurses, patients, and families who are begging for laws that work in real exam rooms rather than campaign speeches. That is where the edges fail us. One edge acts like anyone concerned about unborn life is automatically hateful or controlling. That is unfair to many sincere people who carry a deep moral conviction about life. The other edge acts like any concern about women’s health, medical judgment, fatal fetal conditions, pregnancy complications, or clinician fear is moral weakness. That is cruel to women and families facing devastating realities. The real work asks more of us. It asks us to protect life with humility. It asks us to protect women with seriousness. It asks us to build laws doctors can actually practice under. It asks us to listen to clinicians who understand the difference between a political phrase and a medical emergency. Idaho needs doctors. Rural communities need access. Women need healthcare that listens before crisis. Families facing heartbreaking situations need care, not slogans. And this is not only theory. Reporting and research have described major concerns about Idaho’s OB-GYN workforce after the state’s abortion bans took effect. A JAMA Network Open study found a large decrease in OB-GYN physicians practicing obstetrics after changes in state abortion law, with Idaho showing a major loss of physicians practicing obstetrics over the study period. When the edges take over, healthcare gets harder. Staff get scared. Patients get confused. Good clinicians burn out or leave. Leaders spend time managing political damage instead of building better systems. Communities lose trust. The people who need care most get caught in the middle. That should bother all of us. ## **Leadership should make you smaller in the right way** Leadership is not supposed to make your ego bigger. It should make you more accountable. The higher the role, the less the work should revolve around your need to be admired. Leadership should sharpen your sense of responsibility. It should make you more careful with your words, your power, your assumptions, and your blind spots. That is true in politics. It is true in healthcare. It is true in business, churches, schools, nonprofits, families, and teams. When leadership becomes self-protection, people get hurt. When leadership becomes performance, problems get ignored. When leadership becomes a loyalty test, truth gets punished. I want leaders who tolerate challenge. I want leaders who apologize without acting like it killed them. I want leaders who can say, “I got that wrong,” and then do the repair work. I want leaders who understand that public service is not a personal brand exercise. Strong leadership matters. Clear decisions matter. Accountability matters. There are moments when a leader has to stand firm and take the heat. But strength without humility becomes dangerous. And humility without courage becomes avoidance. The leadership we need holds both. I also want to thank the people who run for office or step into public service for the right reasons. Even the people I disagree with. Even the people I would challenge hard on policy. Running takes courage. Serving takes courage. Letting your name become something people can judge, twist, mock, support, attack, and misunderstand takes more out of a person than most people know. I know enough about that ugliness to say this with my whole chest: stop making it unbearable for decent people to serve. Hold leaders accountable. Ask hard questions. Demand transparency. Pay attention to conflicts of interest. Call out corruption. Challenge bad policy. Do all of that. But don’t turn every public servant into a target and every disagreement into a public execution. If every mistake becomes proof of evil, leaders will hide mistakes. If every hard decision becomes a personal attack, thoughtful people will stop serving. If every campaign becomes a test of who can survive the most ugliness, we should not be surprised when only the most shameless people keep raising their hands. We create the conditions people serve inside. That should make us more careful. ## **What I want from episode 50** I don’t want episode 50 to be a celebration of me. I want it to be an invitation. If this podcast has meant anything to you over the last 50 episodes, I hope it has reminded you that staying human is a choice we keep making. In grief. In leadership. In marriage. In parenting. In healthcare. In public life. In private pain. In the moments where anger would feel easier than honesty. Still here, still trying has to mean more than personal resilience. It has to mean civic resilience too. It has to mean we stay engaged when public life gets ugly. It has to mean we tell the truth when our own side drifts. It has to mean we refuse to excuse corruption because it benefits our preferred outcome. It has to mean we protect women’s health from political theater. It has to mean we thank people who step forward and hold them accountable without destroying their humanity. It has to mean the middle moves. Not with hate. Not with panic. Not with the same ugliness that exhausted us in the first place. With courage. With honesty. With humility. With enough hope to keep showing up. ## **Stay with the show** Episode 50 closes with my song **“Human First.”** That song feels right because it carries the heart of what I have been trying to say since the beginning. The person in front of us still matters. Policy lands in real lives. Fear does not get to make us careless. Cruelty does not deserve applause because it helped our side for a minute. If you have been with me for all 50 episodes, thank you. If you are new here, welcome. This show is for people who are trying to stay human in a world that keeps making that harder than it should be. Listen to the episode. Share it with someone who is tired of the noise but not ready to give up on people. Leave a comment and tell me what kind of community you want to help build. I want to hear from you. Because this conversation only matters if it leaves the microphone and becomes something we live. The middle has to move. So let’s move. **Listen to Episode 50 of Still Here, Still Trying: “The Middle Has to Move.”** **Join the conversation:** What kind of community do you want to help build? ### Don’t Lose Your Smile URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/dont-lose-your-smile/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:02.000Z **Some songs start with a plan. This one started with a phone call.** “Don’t Lose Your Smile” is the first song I’ve created fully from scratch, and that makes it feel different to me. I’ve made a lot of music I’m proud of, but this one began in my hands before it ever became a finished track. I had the guitar. I had the melody. I had the rough voice memo version of something I couldn’t quite name yet. I’ve been learning guitar slowly, awkwardly, and honestly, pretty badly some days. But I keep picking it up. I keep working through basic chords. I keep trying to make my fingers catch up with what I hear in my head. For a while, I had been coming back to a simple progression: C, G, D, G. Nothing fancy. Just a few chords I could move through while I practiced. But there was something inside that progression that kept pulling me back. **Then Jake called.** I was at the Boise airport waiting for my flight home, downstairs at the Alaska terminal, with my little Martin travel guitar out. I was mostly practicing while I waited, strumming through that same progression and talking to my son Jake on the phone. Jake was in Portugal at the time, telling me about his day. It sounded like one of those days you hope your kid gets to have. New place. New people. A little adventure. The kind of experience that opens something in you because you are far from home and paying attention differently. I could hear it in his voice. He was happy. He was alive in that way a parent remembers. Then he told me someone had said to him, “Don’t lose your smile.” That line hit me hard. I was already strumming when he said it, and those words landed right on top of the melody I had been carrying around. It felt immediate. A dad sitting in an airport with a travel guitar. A son calling from across the sea. One sentence that somehow carried the whole song before I had even written it. **The song started right there.** Over the next few months, I kept working on it. I shaped the lyrics, adjusted the phrasing, and tried to make the song feel like that moment felt. I wanted it to sound like advice, but not polished advice. More like something a dad says because he loves his kid and knows life gets heavy. The line “Don’t lose your smile, rest your soul / The world gets heavy, don’t lose hope” became the center of the song for me. The song is about holding onto wonder without pretending life is easy. It’s about telling your kid to go live. Go see the world. Take your chances. Skin your knees. Make good friends. Chase the stars. But also remember the simple things. Look at the birds. Look at the trees. Smell the flowers. Watch out for the bees. That bee line makes me smile every time because it feels like real dad advice. There is beauty everywhere. Also, yes, watch out for the bees. **The tools helped me carry it farther.** Once I had the song dialed in, I played it and sang it into my editing tools. That part matters to me because the heart of this song came from me. The guitar, the melody, the phrasing, the emotion, the first vocal, the rough edges, all of that started as a real performance from a real moment. Then the tools helped me shape the final version. That is the part of AI-assisted creativity I keep trying to explain through Mike Baker HQ. The phrase there is **AI Tools. Human Voice.** That matters because the tools are not the soul of the work. The tools help amplify the soul of the work when you bring something honest to them. My friend Nick Smoot has said that AI should stand for **amplified intelligence**, not artificial intelligence. I love that because it names what this process feels like to me. These tools did not replace the phone call. They did not replace Jake’s story. They did not replace my hands on the guitar or my voice trying to find the song. They helped me build the sound, shape the vocal, add the harmonica, polish the production, and bring the feeling into focus. That is the creative space I care about. Music, art, writing, podcasting, and all of the work I’m building through Mike Baker HQ lives in that space. The tools are powerful, but the human part still has to lead. The story has to matter. The emotion has to come from somewhere real. The work has to sound like a person, not a machine trying to impersonate one. **This one came from my son.** That is why this song feels different. It came from Jake’s voice across the sea. It came from a moment in an airport. It came from a little guitar, a simple progression, and a sentence that lit something in me. After that, I worked hard to bring it to life. I kept refining the lyrics, recording, shaping, listening, and adjusting until the song felt like the one I had been hearing since that night in Boise. And the ending still gets me. “And if one day I’m gone somewhere / Look at the stars, I’ll still be there / Skip some rocks out by the sea / Don’t lose your smile, I’m there with you.” That is what I want my kids to know. Love does not disappear when someone is gone. It stays in ordinary places. It stays in songs, stars, water, memory, and the little phrases that come back when you need them. “Don’t Lose Your Smile” is for Jake. It is also for anyone trying to hold onto something soft while life gets heavy. I hope it brings you a little hope. I hope it brings you a smile. Listen here or watch for it on your favorite streaming service: https://on.soundcloud.com/O1la6oz4A1QskFUH9u ### What Could We Build If We Got Serious About the Future? URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/what-could-we-build-if-we-got-serious-about-the-future/ Last updated: 2026-04-14T08:04:11.000Z ## **We are wasting too much of what makes us human. The future gets better when we stop feeding division, stop fearing every tool, and start building with purpose.** There is a thought I keep coming back to lately, and it hits me a little harder every time. We are wasting too much of what makes us human. We are wasting intelligence. We are wasting creativity. We are wasting compassion. We are wasting courage, imagination, and energy on systems and distractions that leave people smaller, sicker, angrier, more exhausted, and more divided than they need to be. And the part that sticks with me is this. It does not have to stay this way. When I look around, I do not see a world that is empty of answers. I see a world overflowing with possibility. I see brilliant people in every community. I see nurses, teachers, artists, builders, researchers, parents, caregivers, organizers, and quiet problem-solvers carrying gifts this world desperately needs. I see people with insight, grit, lived experience, and vision. I see people who could help heal, invent, create, repair, teach, and lead in powerful ways. What I also see is how often all of that gets buried under systems that drain the life out of people before they ever get the chance to fully step into what they were made to do. That loss matters more than we talk about. I am not only thinking about the suffering right in front of us, though that is real enough. I am also thinking about everything that never gets the chance to happen because too many people are stuck in survival mode. How many ideas die under stress. How many songs never get written. How many future leaders get dismissed too early. How many people spend years fighting to be heard, fighting to get care, fighting to keep a roof over their heads, fighting to make rent, fighting to hold their families together, fighting just to keep going. When all your energy goes into survival, there is not much left for beauty, invention, service, or big thinking. That should bother us more than it does. ## **Human beings are still extraordinary** For all our flaws, human beings are incredible. We build. We adapt. We create medicine, movements, art, and second chances. We tell stories that help people feel less alone. We rebuild after loss. We carry wisdom forward. We solve hard problems when we decide the work matters more than our ego. That capacity is still here. The problem is not that we lack talent. The problem is that we keep getting pulled away from what matters most. Greed pulls us away. Ego pulls us away. Politics pulls us away. Outrage pulls us away. We get trapped in endless cycles of blame and distraction. We sort each other into camps. We hate the other side faster than we try to understand the actual problem. We spend more time proving people wrong than building anything right. Meanwhile, the future sits there waiting on us. ## **Too much of life is spent surviving** I think about this a lot through healthcare because that is where I spend so much of my life. I see every day what happens when people do not get care soon enough, when systems become harder to navigate, when women spend years trying to get someone to listen, when mental health support feels too far away, when policy gets shaped by ideology instead of real human need. I see how much pain gets normalized. I see how much human capacity gets lost when people are exhausted, untreated, uninsured, dismissed, or forced to fight through barriers that never should have been there in the first place. And healthcare is only one piece of it. This shows up in education. In housing. In food insecurity. In loneliness. In communities full of good people that are stretched thin by systems built without enough heart. It shows up in the way artists get treated like a luxury. It shows up in the way care work gets undervalued. It shows up in the way public life rewards cruelty, spectacle, and noise while quieter, steadier, more humane work gets overlooked. That is where the bigger question starts pressing on me. ## **What could we build if we finally got serious about the future?** What happens when more of our smartest people are freed up to solve real problems instead of gaming broken systems? What happens when more of our creativity goes toward healing, access, beauty, and human flourishing instead of feeding outrage machines and hollow status games? What happens when more of our innovation gets aimed at reducing suffering, increasing dignity, and giving more people a real shot to live fully? I think the answer is simple. A lot becomes possible. We could build communities where fewer people fall through the cracks. We could create healthcare systems that feel more human and less punishing. We could support families better. We could design schools that see kids more clearly. We could create policy that treats housing, dignity, and care like real human needs instead of talking points. We could build a culture that values truth, service, and meaningful work more than spectacle. We could make life feel more livable. That matters because people are hungry for that kind of future, even when they do not always know how to name it. They are tired of noise. They are tired of division. They are tired of being manipulated, milked for attention, and told that cruelty is strength. People are looking for something steadier than that. Something more grounded. Something more honest. Something worth building toward. ## **AI is part of the conversation, but it is not the point** Technology belongs in this conversation, including AI. But it is only one part of a much bigger human question. A lot of people hate AI. I understand why. Some of that reaction comes from real fear. Fear of losing work. Fear of losing creativity. Fear of losing what feels human. Fear that something fast and cheap is going to crowd out the slow, honest work that actually means something. Those fears are not stupid. They deserve respect. But fear alone does not shape a good future. The question is not whether AI exists. It does. The question is who learns it, who shapes it, who benefits from it, and whether it gets used to deepen harm or help solve things that matter. We can stand back and let other people define it for us, or we can get involved and insist that tools like this serve people instead of diminishing them. **The tool is not the vision. The vision is the point.** That is what I do not want us to lose. I do not want us so distracted by the argument over tools that we forget to ask what kind of world we are trying to build with them. I do not want us so busy hating each other that we never get around to solving the real problems. I do not want us to accept a future that is more efficient but less human. That would still be a failure. Used with wisdom, tools help us move faster on the things that matter. They help researchers look at patterns sooner. They help small teams do bigger work. They help creators create. They help communities organize information and find better answers. That matters. But it only matters if the people using those tools still care about dignity, truth, responsibility, and human wellbeing. ## **Our bigger problem is not intelligence. It is distraction.** I do not think the biggest problem in front of us is a lack of intelligence. I think it is a lack of focus, humility, and shared purpose. We are too easy to distract. Too easy to inflame. Too easy to sort each other into teams and start swinging. We hate the other side fast. We assume the worst quickly. We get tribal in a heartbeat. It gives people a quick sense of certainty, but certainty is cheap when it keeps the work from getting done. That is how so much potential gets wasted. Not only through greed, though greed does plenty of damage. Not only through bad policy, though bad policy wrecks lives every day. Potential also gets wasted in ego, fear, cynicism, contempt, performance, and our addiction to conflict. We pour our energy into hating each other while the future keeps asking better things from us. That is a brutal trade. ## **The future should feel more human, not less** The future I want is more human, not less. I want a future where people have a better shot at being well. I want a future where fewer women have to beg to be believed. I want a future where kids grow up with more support and less fear. I want a future where creativity is accessible, where communities are stronger, where work has more dignity, where policy reflects real life, and where progress gets measured by whether actual human beings are doing better. I want a future where innovation helps us care for each other more effectively, not avoid each other more efficiently. And I still believe that kind of future is possible. Not because I think people are perfect. We are not. We are messy and reactive and tribal and short-sighted sometimes. We get scared. We get greedy. We get distracted. We hurt each other. We waste time on stupid things. But another thing is also true. Human beings are capable of astonishing courage, repair, imagination, tenderness, endurance, and wisdom. I have seen too much of that to quit believing in it now. I have seen people keep loving through impossible circumstances. I have seen communities rally when families are in crisis. I have seen exhausted people still show up for each other. I have seen creativity come out of pain in ways that leave me stunned. I have seen what happens when somebody finally gets support, finally gets heard, finally gets the right care, finally gets room to breathe. Lives change. Possibility expands. Something opens back up. That is why this matters. ## **We could still build something beautiful** We do not need less humanity in the future. We need more. More conscience. More wisdom. More courage. More imagination tied to responsibility. More people willing to build instead of perform. More people willing to use every good tool available without letting the tool become the master. More people willing to stop treating each other like enemies long enough to get serious about what the future could hold. Because the truth is, we could still build something beautiful from here. Not perfect. Not clean. Not easy. But beautiful in the way real things are beautiful. A future shaped by compassion, courage, invention, responsibility, and care. A future where more people get the chance to contribute what is in them. A future where fewer lives are crushed under preventable suffering. A future where our brilliance gets aimed at healing more than harming. A future where we stop wasting each other. That future does not arrive by accident. We have to choose it. We have to shape it. We have to build toward it on purpose. I still think we can. I still think human beings are amazing when we stop wasting ourselves. And I still think the best parts of us are worth fighting for. **Still here. Still trying.** ### Still Here, Still Trying: Why Season 2 Starts Now URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/still-here-still-trying-why-you-might-have-missed-something-las/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T09:01:32.000Z ## **Still Here, Still Trying: Why Season 2 Starts Now** If this is the first time you’re hearing about *Still Here, Still Trying*, you’re coming in at a good moment. You’re also coming in after a first season that meant a lot to me and, based on what I heard back from people, meant a lot to listeners too. Season 1 was never about chasing attention for the sake of it. I was not trying to manufacture drama or build some polished version of myself for the internet. I wanted to make something honest. I wanted to talk about the things a lot of people are carrying but do not always have language for. ## **What Season 1 Was About** That is where Season 1 lived. We spent time talking about burnout, and not the kind people throw around casually. I mean the kind that builds slowly while you keep doing your job, keep showing up for people, keep meeting expectations, and still feel something in you starting to wear down. We talked about medical gaslighting and what it does to someone when they know in their gut that something is wrong and still keep running into systems that make them question their own reality. We talked about pressure, especially the invisible kind that follows people home at night. Leadership pressure. Family pressure. The weight of being the one who keeps functioning when other people need you to keep functioning. We talked about being heard, or more often not being heard, and what that does to a person over time. What made Season 1 matter was not that it was flashy. It mattered because it was real. People reached out and told me they felt seen. They told me they heard parts of their own life in those episodes. They told me the podcast gave words to things they had been feeling for a long time but had not known how to explain. That meant a lot to me, because that is the kind of work I want to do. I am not interested in making content that disappears the second somebody scrolls past it. I want to make things that stay with people. That first season built something important. It built trust. It built a space where I could talk honestly about heavy things without turning them into performance. It built a connection with listeners who were not looking for another loud voice or another hot take. They were looking for something more human than that. If you missed it, you missed something worth going back to. Not because I need to oversell it, but because I know what was in it and I know how people responded to it. ## **Why Season 2 Feels Different** Season 2 starts from a different place, because the world feels different right now. You can feel it in everyday life. Conversations turn faster than they used to. People seem more reactive, more certain, and less curious. It does not take much for disagreement to turn personal. It does not take much for somebody to decide you are either with them or against them. That pressure is constant now. The pressure to pick a side, defend it, and stay in line is everywhere. It is online, obviously, but it is also showing up in leadership, in families, in friend groups, in workplaces, and in the way people carry themselves through ordinary life. I felt that pressure too. There was a point recently where I came pretty close to stepping away from the podcast. Not because I had run out of things to say, and not because I stopped caring. The truth is I cared enough to see what all this noise was doing to people, and I got tired of being around it. I got tired of watching people turn every hard conversation into a loyalty test. I got tired of seeing outrage rewarded more than honesty. I got tired of watching human beings get flattened into labels before anyone bothered to understand what was actually going on in their lives. For a minute, stepping back from all of it felt like the sane move. But I did not walk away, because even in that frustration I knew there was something here worth leaning into. I knew the answer was not to retreat. I knew the answer was to get more honest about what is happening and what it is costing us. That is where Season 2 begins. ## **What This Season Is Going To Explore** This season is going to look outward more than Season 1 did, but it is still going to stay personal. I am not interested in yelling about politics from a distance or turning this podcast into another place where people come to feel righteous for half an hour. That is not who I am, and it is not what I want this show to become. What I do want to talk about is what this climate is doing to us. I want to talk about how it changes the way we think, the way we react, and the way we treat the people closest to us. I want to talk about what happens when being right starts to matter more than staying connected. I want to talk about leadership in a time when trust feels fragile and people are carrying more than they say. I want to talk about parenting in a world where certainty is easy to find and wisdom is harder. I want to talk about the moments where you can feel yourself getting pulled into the fight and have to decide what kind of person you are going to be in that moment. ## **Human First** There is one idea running underneath all of this for me, and it is simple. **Human First.** That is not a slogan to me. It is a starting point. Before the labels, before the sides, before the assumptions, you are dealing with a human being. That person has fear, pressure, history, people they love, things they are carrying, and parts of their life you will never fully see. That does not mean you agree with them. That does not mean you excuse harmful behavior or pretend everything is fine. It means you do not forget what you are talking to. We have lost that in a big way. We have gotten so used to reacting to positions that we forget there is a person underneath them. We have gotten so used to defending our side that we stop asking better questions. Once that happens, everything suffers. Leadership suffers. Families suffer. Relationships suffer. Communities suffer. ## **The Space I Want This Season To Live In** That is why this season matters to me. I think there are a lot of people who feel the same tension and do not know where to put it. They know something feels off. They know the noise is changing people. They know they do not want to become another angry, reactive version of themselves. But they also do not want to sit quietly and pretend none of this matters. That space in the middle is where I want this season to live. Not the safe middle. The honest middle. The place where you can say what is broken without becoming more of the brokenness yourself. The place where you can stay grounded without checking out. The place where you can keep your heart, your mind, and your voice intact. ## **If You’re New, Start Here** If you listened last season, I think you are going to feel the difference right away. The same honesty is here, but the scope is broader. The stakes feel bigger, because they are. If you are new, this is a good time to come in. Start with Episode 1 of Season 2, because it lays out the heart of where we are headed. Then go back and spend some time with Season 1. You do not have to binge it all at once. Just start somewhere. Start with the episode title that hits you in the gut a little. There is a good chance you will hear something that meets you where you are. ## **Why This Matters** I do not say this lightly, but I think this season could matter to a lot of people. Not because I think I have all the answers. I do not. It matters because I am willing to stay in the conversation and say things a lot of people are feeling but not saying out loud. It matters because I am trying to make something useful, honest, and grounded at a time when there is a lot of pressure to be loud instead. It matters because there are still people out there who want something more than outrage and performance. They want clarity. They want honesty. They want a voice that feels human. That is what I am trying to build with *Still Here, Still Trying*. And that is why Season 2 starts now. ## **Still Here. Still Trying.** I almost quit. I did not. I am still here. Still trying. And if any part of this resonates with you, I think you should come listen. ### Which Future Are We Building? URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/which-future-are-we-building/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:03.000Z #### **We are at a crossroads, and people know it. The future gets shaped by what we build, what we fund, what we normalize, and whether we choose fear or shared humanity.** You can feel this in regular life. In conversations with friends. In the weight people seem to be carrying. In the constant churn of outrage, division, fear, and bad news. Under all of that, I think there is something deeper going on. I think we are at a crossroads as a society. One path leads toward a future where we use technology, creativity, science, and human ingenuity to make life better. We cure disease. We tackle cancer. We build cleaner energy. We create jobs with real purpose. We explore. We invent. We care for people. We use the tools in our hands to bring more light, more beauty, more hope, and more joy into the world. The other path is darker, and you do not have to look very hard to see it. Fear as a strategy. Division as a business model. Power hoarded by people who benefit when everybody else stays angry, suspicious, exhausted, and turned against each other. More destruction. More cruelty. More systems built to control instead of serve. That is the crossroads. #### One of the things that stirred this in me again was watching **Artemis**. There is something powerful about seeing our country reach for the moon again. It reminds you who we can be when we decide to dream bigger than our outrage. It reminds you that human beings are still capable of courage, imagination, discipline, cooperation, and wonder. That kind of thing matters. For a minute, you remember what it feels like to look up. You remember that progress still means something. You remember that exploration still matters. You remember that there is more in us than fighting, posturing, and feeding the darkest instincts in the room. I think people are desperate for that right now. Not another leader who traffics in fear. Not another voice trying to make us smaller, meaner, more suspicious, more divided, more hopeless. People are hungry for leadership that can actually dream. Leadership that can share a vision of the future that feels worth building. Leadership that calls people toward something better instead of dragging them deeper into darkness. Because fear is loud, but it is weak. #### **Love is stronger. Unity is stronger. Hope is stronger. A shared vision is stronger.** None of that is soft. None of that is naive. It takes far more courage to build than to destroy. It takes more strength to unite than to divide. It takes more character to tell people the truth and call them upward than to keep them angry for personal gain. That is why I care so much about how we use tools. Technology is a tool. AI is a tool. Science is a tool. Energy is a tool. Media is a tool. Art is a tool. What matters is the heart behind it. We can use tools to manipulate people, isolate people, exploit people, and flood the world with more noise and fear. Or we can use tools to heal, encourage, create, connect, teach, solve problems, and bring some joy back into a world that badly needs it. That part matters to me personally. I want to use tools to make music that helps somebody breathe a little deeper. I want to use tools to create art that makes people stop and feel something real. I want to use tools to tell the truth, encourage people, advocate for those who are hurting, and bring more light into places that feel heavy. To me, that is part of the responsibility. Not only asking what a tool can do, but asking what kind of world we are helping build with it. Because the future is not showing up one day like a movie. #### **We are building it right now.** We are building it in what we reward, what we normalize, what we fund, what we create, the kind of leaders we follow, and the kind of people we decide to become. If we have the money to bomb, destroy, manipulate, and dominate, then we have the money to heal, explore, cure, educate, and care for people. We have the ability. We have the tools. We have the talent. The real question is whether we still have the will. I think a lot of us do. I think a lot of people are tired of the darkness. I think a lot of people are starving for a future they can believe in. I know I am. I want the future where we keep reaching. Where we keep building. Where we keep caring. Where we put our brightest minds to work on helping people live healthier, fuller, more meaningful lives. Where clean energy keeps moving forward. Where good jobs exist. Where technology serves humanity. Where exploration reminds us that we are part of something bigger. Where leadership invites us into courage instead of fear. **That is the future I want.** And I do not think I’m alone. So here is the question I keep coming back to: **Which future are you helping build?** ### Standing on the Edge URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/standing-on-the-edge-essay/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:56.000Z **One night. Five songs. A whole lifetime in fifteen minutes.** The other night I was sitting in the hot tub, staring up at the stars with this EP playing straight through from beginning to end. No phone in my hand. No distractions. Just the sky, the water, and this story I had made coming back at me in a different way. It’s only fifteen minutes long. Five songs. That doesn’t sound like much when you say it out loud. But listening to it that way, all at once, it hit me how much life can fit inside a short stretch of time. A whole emotional collapse. A whole reckoning. A whole fight to keep going. A whole return from the edge. This EP feels like one night, but it also feels like a lifetime. What stayed with me most is that it stopped feeling like a project. It stopped feeling like tracks I wrote or arranged or pushed into existence. It felt like a lived experience. It felt like moving through darkness, confusion, memory, fear, and pain in real time. It felt like the kind of story a lot of people know without ever having words for it. That’s what this EP is to me. It is the sound of somebody reaching the edge of themselves and still finding a reason to turn back. The story starts in a familiar place. Heavy. Tired. Worn down by the kind of weight people do not always see. One of the lines that stays with me is, *“I’m still breathing in the dark… with the weight of today.”* That line says a lot about the emotional space this project lives in. It is honest. It is about the kind of nights where the world goes quiet around you, but your mind does not. The pressure gets louder. The doubt gets sharper. Everything you have been carrying steps closer. Most people know some version of that feeling. Maybe they have lived it themselves. Maybe they have loved somebody through it. Maybe they have stood in that terrible, silent place where everything feels fragile and the night feels longer than it should. That is part of why this EP matters to me. It is personal, but it does not belong only to me. This story reaches beyond my own life. There are people all over the world carrying pain they cannot easily explain. There are people trying to survive losses, disappointments, depression, grief, fear, isolation, exhaustion, and the slow wear of life itself. Some of that pain is visible. A lot of it is not. This music was built to tell the truth about those hidden battles. Not with polished language. Just with honesty. > **“I’m keeping small fires alive in the dark.”** That line might capture the heart of the whole project better than anything else. Most of life is not made of giant breakthroughs. Most of the time, you are protecting one small thing. One flicker of hope. One reason to stay. One piece of yourself that refuses to go out. Sometimes that is all you have, and sometimes that is enough to get you through the next hour. What I love about the arc of this EP is that it does not lie to you. It does not pretend pain disappears because you had one breakthrough or one beautiful sunrise. It does not offer some clean ending. The line *“The ghosts are still here in the morning light… but they don’t feel as loud”* gets at something real. Healing does not always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like surviving the night. Sometimes it looks like waking up and realizing the thing that was screaming in your head yesterday has gone quiet enough for you to breathe. That is a win. A real one. The turning point in this story matters so much because it is not loud. There is no crowd. No speech. No grand moment where everything suddenly makes sense. There is only a decision. A quiet, deeply human decision. *I turned around.* The older I get, the more I understand how powerful that is. There are moments in life where turning around is the bravest thing you will ever do. Not because it looks heroic from the outside, but because of what it takes inside. It takes everything. It takes choosing life when life feels unbearable. It takes reaching for something small and refusing to let go. It takes believing, even for one shaky second, that there might still be something left worth staying for. Sitting out there under the stars, listening to this EP in one pass, I felt gratitude more than anything else. Gratitude that I get to make music like this. Gratitude that it is finding people. Gratitude that these songs are traveling farther than I ever will on my own. I’m blessed to have a growing group of people across streaming platforms who listen, connect, write back, and let me know the songs mean something to them. That matters to me more than I know how to say. I do not make music to chase numbers. I make it because stories help people survive. Songs help people name things they could not name before. Art helps people feel seen. Sometimes a song reaches somebody right when they need it. Sometimes it reminds them they are not the only one carrying something heavy. Sometimes it gives them enough light to make it through one more night. That matters. These songs and messages are some of the tools I have to bring a little light into the world. That is the work. That is the hope. To make something honest enough that another person hears it and feels less alone inside their own story. And as much as this EP carries hope, it also carries grief. Because this is not only a story about people who stood at the edge and turned around. It also makes me think about the people who did not. The people whose pain went too deep, too long, too unseen. The people whose stories ended in a way that still breaks hearts years later. My heart aches for them. It always will. That ache is part of why I care so much about making work like this. Because every honest song, every real story, every moment of connection matters. We do not always know who is listening. We do not always know who is hanging on by a thread. We do not always know when one piece of music, one line, one voice, one moment of recognition might help somebody step back from a place they never wanted to be. So if you listen to this EP, that is what I hope you hear. A story. A deep one. A painful one. A human one. A fifteen-minute arc that holds fear, memory, sorrow, resilience, and the decision to keep going. One night. One lifetime. And if you have ever had one of those nights yourself, I hope you hear something else too. I hope you hear that you are not alone. I hope you hear that even a small fire still counts. I hope you hear that turning around takes strength. I hope you hear that life still has you in it. ## **[Listen to](https://open.spotify.com/album/2h43GRa0LEIiVUr5QISmPs?si=mAYrKmJkQRi87peXk7G6aA&ref=mikebakerhq.com)**[ ](https://open.spotify.com/album/2h43GRa0LEIiVUr5QISmPs?si=mAYrKmJkQRi87peXk7G6aA&ref=mikebakerhq.com)**[Standing on the Edge](https://open.spotify.com/album/2h43GRa0LEIiVUr5QISmPs?si=mAYrKmJkQRi87peXk7G6aA&ref=mikebakerhq.com)** If this story speaks to something in you, I’d love for you to spend fifteen minutes with it. Start at the beginning. Let it run all the way through. That’s how it was meant to be heard. And if it means something to you, share it with somebody else who might need it too. **Mike Baker** ### What Happens When Everyone Finally Shows Up URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/what-happens-when-everyone-finally-shows-up/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:03.000Z I’m writing this tonight, still here, with one more day left at the Endometriosis Summit. Kellie’s here with me, and we’ve both had a few of those quiet moments where you don’t say much because you’re still taking it all in. Conversations that stick with you. Stories that don’t leave. The kind of day that stays with you longer than the schedule shows. I’ve been coming to this summit for a few years now, and every time I walk in, I feel it right away. This space is different. It doesn’t feel like people going through the motions. It feels like people showing up because they care, because they’ve lived it, because they’re trying to make something better. This year feels different, though. It’s Kellie’s second time being here, and watching her experience it again brought me right back to why I keep coming. We’ve lived this in our own home. We’ve had the conversations that don’t land clean. We’ve sat with questions that don’t have clear answers. We’ve tried to make sense of something that doesn’t always make sense. So when you walk into a room where people are actually trying to figure this out together, it hits you. You see surgeons listening instead of just presenting. You hear therapists talk about the parts of pain that never show up on a scan. You watch mental health providers name the emotional toll that comes with years of being dismissed. You see advocates push for access in a way that keeps everything grounded in reality. And right in the middle of it, you see patients shaping the conversation in real time. That matters. Because for a long time, it hasn’t worked like that. Care has been fragmented. You go one place for one piece, another place for something else, and somehow you’re expected to carry the full picture yourself. That wears people down. It creates doubt where there shouldn’t be doubt. Being here reminds you that it doesn’t have to stay that way. There’s something powerful about watching people from completely different disciplines sit down and actually listen to each other. Not to respond. Not to defend. To understand. It’s not perfect. There are still gaps. There are still hard conversations. But there’s movement, and it’s coming from people who are willing to stay in it. And honestly, some of the best conversations haven’t even been in the sessions. They’ve been poolside. Sitting in the Florida sun, no stage, no slides, no microphones. Just people talking. Real conversations about what this actually feels like, what’s working, what’s not, what needs to change. You hear things in those moments that don’t always make it into a formal presentation. You see people open up in a different way. There’s something about being outside, the warmth, the pace slowing down a bit, that makes it easier to be real. Those moments matter just as much as anything happening in the main rooms. Over the years, I’ve built real friendships here. The kind where you don’t need to explain everything because they already get it. People who are doing this work every day, pushing for better, carrying more than most people see. To everyone who has welcomed me into this space as EndoDad, thank you. I don’t take that lightly. I know I’m here as a husband, as a dad, as someone who has witnessed this up close but not lived it in my own body. The way this community has opened the door, shared stories, and trusted me with those stories has shaped me in ways I didn’t expect. You’ve made me better at home. You’ve made me better in my work. You’ve made me pay closer attention. And I carry that back with me. Because I’m not just here personally. I’m here as a leader in community health, thinking about what this looks like back home in North Idaho. At Heritage Health, we’re working hard to do this better for women. Not in theory. In practice. Expanding access. Building care that actually connects across disciplines. Paying attention to the full picture instead of treating pieces in isolation. Being here reinforces that work. It challenges it too. It pushes me to think bigger about how we show up for women who have been dismissed, delayed, or forced to navigate this on their own. It pushes me to keep asking where we can close gaps, where we can listen better, where we can build something that reflects real life instead of expecting people to fit into a system that doesn’t work for them. What’s happening at this summit is a glimpse of what that can look like when it’s done right. Different voices in the same room. Honest conversations. A willingness to admit where things have fallen short and a commitment to keep moving forward. For me, this is personal. I’m a husband. I’m a dad. I’m a friend to people living this every day. I’ve sat next to the frustration. I’ve heard the questions. I’ve seen the strength it takes to keep going when the answers don’t come easily. That changes how you show up. Kellie and I have had a few moments here where we just look at each other and don’t need to say anything. Some of it feels validating. Some of it is hard. Some of it helps things make more sense. And some of it reminds us how much work is still ahead. Because there is still a lot ahead. People are still waiting too long for answers. Too many are still being dismissed. Too many are still trying to navigate something this complex without the support they should have had from the beginning. That hasn’t changed yet. But something is shifting. You can feel it in rooms like this. In the way people are talking to each other. In the willingness to listen, to challenge, to stay in the conversation. And to keep going. As we head into the final day tomorrow, I keep coming back to this. When the right people show up, and they stay in the room together, things start to move. Not all at once. Not perfectly. But forward. And back home, we’re going to keep doing our part to make sure that movement reaches the people who need it. Still here. Still trying. ### The Pressure to Be Okay URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-pressure-to-be-okay/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:04.000Z There’s a quiet habit a lot of us have picked up over time. Someone asks how you’re doing, and without really thinking about it, you give the version of the answer that keeps things moving. Something simple, something clean. “Doing good.” “Busy, but good.” “Hanging in there.” And most of the time, that’s true… at least partially. You are doing things. You are moving forward. You’re showing up in your life in a real way. But if you sat with the question a little longer, if you didn’t rush to answer it, you might realize there’s more underneath that response than you usually let yourself acknowledge. Not in a dramatic way. Just in a real one. Because life right now, for a lot of people, feels heavier than it used to. ### **You’re Carrying More Than You Think You Are** What makes this tricky is that nothing necessarily looks broken. You’re still getting up, still going to work, still taking care of your family, still handling responsibilities. If someone looked at your life from the outside, they’d probably say you’re doing well. You’re dependable. You’re consistent. You’ve got things under control. And in a lot of ways, that’s true. But there’s another layer to it that doesn’t show up as clearly. You’re processing more information than you used to. You’re paying attention to things happening in the world that don’t sit easily. You’re navigating conversations that feel more tense than they used to be. You’re carrying your own life, your own expectations, your own responsibilities on top of all of that. And you don’t always stop long enough to separate those things out. They just start to stack. It’s not one big thing that overwhelms you. It’s the accumulation of everything sitting in the same space. And because you’ve learned how to function inside that, you don’t necessarily see it as something that needs attention. You just keep going. ### ### **The People Who Carry the Most Rarely Talk About It** If you’re the kind of person people rely on, this probably hits a little closer. You’ve built a life where others trust you. They come to you for answers, for stability, for perspective. You’re used to being the one who can handle things when they get complicated. Over time, that becomes part of your identity. You don’t always share what’s heavy because you don’t want to add more weight to someone else’s life. You don’t always pause to check in with yourself because there’s always something else that needs your attention. You’ve gotten good at staying steady, even when there’s more going on underneath. There’s something admirable about that. There’s also something that can quietly wear you down if you’re not paying attention. Because carrying a lot without ever putting it down, even briefly, changes how you experience your own life. It doesn’t stop you from functioning, but it does start to affect how connected you feel to what you’re doing. You might notice it in small ways. Less patience. Less energy. A sense that you’re moving through things instead of actually being present in them. Nothing is falling apart. You’re just further away from yourself than you realize. ### ### **We’ve Learned How to Look Okay** Part of this comes from how we’ve all adapted to the pace of everything. There isn’t much space anymore for someone to say, “I’m not sure,” or “This has been a lot,” without feeling like they need to immediately follow it with a solution or a positive spin. Conversations move quickly. Expectations are high. There’s an unspoken understanding that you’re supposed to keep things together. So you learn how to present the version of yourself that works. You show up prepared. You stay engaged. You contribute. You respond the way people expect you to. And again, none of that is fake. It’s a real part of who you are. But it’s not the whole picture. There’s a difference between functioning well and actually feeling okay. And most of us spend a lot of time in that space in between. Not because we’re doing something wrong, but because we haven’t built many places in our lives where it’s safe or even natural to be fully honest about what’s going on underneath. ### ### **What Changes When You Slow Down** I’ve noticed something in my own life when I take a minute to actually slow down and check in with myself. Not in some big, structured way. Just a few quiet minutes where I’m not moving to the next thing, not responding to anything, not trying to be productive. There’s usually something there that I hadn’t fully named yet. A situation that’s been sitting with me longer than I thought. A decision that still feels unresolved. A level of fatigue that I had written off as just being busy. And once I see it, I don’t immediately fix it. But I carry it differently. There’s a difference between carrying something unconsciously and carrying it with awareness. One builds pressure without you realizing it. The other gives you just enough space to stay grounded while you move through it. That small shift matters more than people think. ### ### **You Don’t Need to Solve Everything at Once** I think one of the reasons people avoid slowing down is because it feels like if they really look at everything they’re carrying, it’s going to be too much. Like it’s all going to come forward at once and they won’t know what to do with it. But it rarely works like that. You don’t have to process everything in one moment. You don’t have to solve every problem to move forward in a healthy way. Most of the time, you’re just taking one piece at a time. One thought, one situation, one layer of understanding. And then you keep going. That’s what sustainable growth looks like. It’s not a complete reset. It’s a series of honest moments that slowly change how you relate to your own life. ### ### **Give Yourself More Room Than You Think You Need** If you’re someone who holds a lot together, there’s a good chance you hold yourself to a high standard. You expect yourself to handle things well. To stay steady. To keep moving forward without letting too much affect how you show up. That’s part of what makes you reliable. But if you don’t give yourself any room inside that… it turns into constant pressure. Not every day is going to feel clean. Not every season is going to move at the same pace. Some things take longer to process. Some things stay with you. That doesn’t mean you’re off track. It means you’re living a real life. And when you start to give yourself a little more space inside that reality, something shifts. You’re still responsible. You’re still showing up. But you’re not fighting yourself at the same time. ### ### **Why I Recorded This Episode** I ended up talking more about this on the podcast this week because I don’t hear this conversation happening in a real way very often. A lot of what’s out there right now either pushes people to ignore what they’re feeling or tries to wrap everything up in something overly simplified. That hasn’t been my experience. Most of the time, you’re somewhere in the middle. You’re doing well in some areas, carrying more than you’d like in others, and trying to move through it in a way that still feels like you. If that sounds familiar, I think the episode will resonate with you. **🎧 You can listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ScZpUfMTSxLyiHPARwyd4?si=iu-KV1iLRJeFlHEah\_uX6w** There’s nothing wrong with you for feeling the weight of your life. There’s nothing wrong with you for needing a little more space than you thought you would. You’re carrying a lot, and you’re still showing up. That’s not something to overlook. That’s something to respect. And if you can stay connected to yourself while you keep moving forward… you’re still here… still trying… and that matters. ### The AI But Human Manifesto URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-ai-but-human-manifesto/ Last updated: 2026-03-10T00:41:53.000Z **Why the Tools Changed But the Voice Is Still Mine** *Mike Baker* There’s a lot of noise right now about artificial intelligence and art. Every week another headline appears asking some version of the same question: Is this the future of creativity, or the end of it? Musicians are arguing. Visual artists are arguing. Writers are arguing. Some people see incredible possibilities in these new tools. Others see them as a threat to the integrity of creative work itself. If you spend any time online you’ll notice how quickly the conversation turns emotional. Some artists are curious. Some are cautious. Some are furious. I understand all of those reactions. Art matters deeply to the people who make it. When something new enters the creative process, it can feel like a disruption to something sacred. And when the change happens as quickly as artificial intelligence has arrived, it’s natural for people to wonder what it means for the future of their craft. But if you zoom out for a minute, something interesting becomes clear. This conversation isn’t new. Artists have been having versions of this argument for generations. When electric guitars first showed up, many people said they weren’t real instruments. The sound was too artificial. Too loud. Too far removed from traditional music. When synthesizers entered the studio world, critics said they were cold and soulless. Real musicians, they argued, played real instruments. When hip-hop producers started sampling records, people accused them of theft. They said it wasn’t original music at all. Each of those moments looked like a crisis at the time. But eventually the culture adjusted, and those tools became part of the language of music. Looking back now, we don’t see the technology as the story. We see the artists who used it to say something meaningful. That’s the part people often forget. The tool was never the story. The story has always been the human being behind it. **The Voice Behind the Work** I’ve been writing songs for a long time. Long before anyone was arguing about artificial intelligence. Most of them begin the same way songs always have. Something in life refuses to leave you alone. Sometimes it’s a question that keeps showing up in the middle of the night. Sometimes it’s a feeling you can’t quite explain. Sometimes it’s something beautiful that makes you stop for a second and pay attention. Eventually those moments turn into words. Those words turn into melodies. And sometimes those melodies turn into songs that connect with someone else who felt the same thing. That part of the creative process hasn’t changed. Artificial intelligence didn’t invent that. And it can’t replace it. A machine doesn’t live my life. It doesn’t carry my doubts or sit with the quiet moments when the world feels heavier than it should. It doesn’t wrestle with grief or hope or the complicated tension between the two. Those things belong to people. So when someone hears my music and asks whether AI had anything to do with the tools I used to shape the sound, the honest answer is yes. Sometimes it did. But the voice behind the songs is still human. Mine. ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/82263fb4fbdfba1c0ab8566dc72da71500e3f59d919565.jpg) **The Pushback Is Real** Not everyone is comfortable with that idea, and I understand why. Since I started experimenting with AI-assisted art and music, I’ve heard from artists who believe the technology is harmful. Some worry it undermines the value of human musicianship. Others believe these systems are built on creative work that was never properly credited or compensated. There are also legitimate questions about the environmental impact of large-scale computing systems and the energy required to run them. Those concerns deserve serious attention. Artists care deeply about their craft. When the ground shifts beneath an industry, people react strongly because they’re trying to protect something they love. I’ve even experienced that pushback directly. During an art exhibition where I displayed AI-assisted work alongside traditional pieces, the reactions were all over the map. Some visitors were curious and excited. Others were thoughtful and cautious. A few were genuinely angry. One person told me bluntly that what I was doing made me a terrible artist. That moment stayed with me. Not because criticism is unusual — every artist runs into that eventually — but because it revealed something deeper about the conversation we’re having. This isn’t just a debate about software. It’s a debate about identity. Artists are trying to understand where they fit in a world where the tools are changing faster than the culture can process them. And that tension is real. **Writing Inside the Noise** The album *Love Is Louder Than Fear* came out of that tension. It was written during a moment when the world felt unusually loud. Politically. Socially. Personally. Everywhere you looked people seemed to be shouting past each other instead of listening. Everyone was certain. Everyone was defensive. Everyone seemed to be carrying things they didn’t want to talk about out loud. It felt like the volume of the world had been turned all the way up. I wasn’t trying to escape that noise when I wrote these songs. I was trying to stay open inside it. That’s harder than it sounds. The culture we’re living in right now rewards outrage. It rewards certainty. It rewards people who are willing to flatten complicated human experiences into simple arguments. But life isn’t simple. And the best songs rarely come from simple places. Some of the songs on this record push back against the noise. Some of them sit quietly and observe. Some laugh when things get too heavy. Some break a little under the weight of the moment. All of them come from the same place: trying to remain human in a time when the world often encourages us to harden. **Fear Is Loud** If you listen closely to the album, you’ll hear fear show up again and again. Fear of losing people. Fear of saying the wrong thing. Fear of becoming numb to everything happening around us. Fear spreads quickly because it promises protection. It tells us to retreat into certainty. To pick sides. To stop listening to people who disagree with us. But something else keeps showing up too. Love. Not the polished version you see printed on posters. The stubborn version. The kind that appears in small, ordinary moments. A good word at the right time. A conversation that refuses to turn into an argument. Someone choosing empathy when cynicism would be easier. Love rarely dominates the headlines. But it keeps changing lives quietly underneath them. That idea became the backbone of this record. Not because it sounds nice. Because it feels necessary. **Principles for Creating in an AI World** If we’re going to use new creative tools responsibly, I think we should at least be honest about how we use them. Here’s where I’ve landed. First, the story still has to come from a real life. Technology can help shape sound, structure, and experimentation, but the reason a song exists has to come from something a person actually experienced. Second, the artist owns the work. If I release a song into the world, it belongs to me. I take responsibility for the message, the meaning, and the impact it has on listeners. Third, honesty matters. Pretending technology doesn’t exist when it clearly plays a role doesn’t help anyone. Neither does pretending it replaces human creativity. Transparency builds trust. Fourth, technology should expand creativity, not replace it. New tools should give artists more ways to explore ideas, not fewer. Fifth, artists will take different paths. Some musicians want nothing to do with AI, and that choice deserves respect. Art has always contained many approaches. What hasn’t changed is the purpose of the work itself. We make music to connect with people. To tell the truth about being human. To remind someone else they’re not alone for a few minutes. **The Invitation** You don’t have to love every experiment I try. You don’t have to agree with every tool I explore. But if you listen closely, I hope you hear the part that hasn’t changed. The questions. The stories. The human voice behind the music. Technology will keep evolving. Tools will come and go. But the reason people create will remain the same. We’re trying to make meaning out of being alive. The world is heavy right now. Most of us can feel that. But we’re still here. And I still believe something simple, even when it sounds unfashionable in a cynical moment. Love is louder than fear. ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/3b956762f9821cf1b1db911948f2a30f0bfbedb4a6c7eb.jpg) ### After the Show: From Shedding to Motion URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/after-the-show-from-shedding-to-motion/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:05.000Z The show is over. The walls are quiet again. The lights are down. The conversations have softened into memory. What’s left is the space between things. This piece lives there. It sits between two years in the lunar calendar. Between two energies that don’t cancel each other out, but build on one another. The Year of the Snake and the coming Year of the Horse. In many traditions, the Snake represents shedding. Not destruction. Not reinvention. Letting go. The slow, necessary release of what no longer fits. The kind of change that happens under the surface before anyone notices. The Horse, by contrast, is movement. Momentum. Forward motion powered by instinct and confidence. It’s about embodiment. About choosing direction and trusting your legs to carry you there. One teaches awareness. The other demands action. Right now, we’re standing in between. The Year of the Snake is still with us. That matters. This past year asked for honesty without applause. It asked for quiet work. For sitting with discomfort instead of disguising it as productivity. It asked me to notice where I was holding on out of habit rather than truth. That kind of shedding isn’t loud. It doesn’t announce itself. It often looks like nothing is happening at all. But something was. The art show brought that into focus in a way I didn’t expect. I thought I was sharing work. What I actually shared was process. Vulnerability. A season of asking better questions instead of offering clean answers. People brought their own stories into that room. Some saw themselves reflected back. Some felt unsettled. Some felt understood in ways they didn’t have language for yet. That’s when I knew the shedding had done its job. This image holds that moment. She isn’t running. She isn’t frozen. She’s aware. The wind is present, but she isn’t fighting it. She’s feeling it. Measuring it. Letting her body learn what’s coming next. That’s what this space feels like for me right now. The Year of the Horse hasn’t arrived yet. But it’s close enough to feel in the air. The clarity is there. The direction is forming. The energy is gathering without rushing. This is the pause before motion. The breath before commitment. The moment where you stop explaining and start trusting. As a dad, it looks like steadiness instead of urgency. As a husband, it looks like presence without armor. As a leader, it looks like trust over control. As an artist, it looks like letting the work stand without defending it. The show is over. Not because the story ended. Because the next part doesn’t need an audience yet. The Snake taught me how to let go. The Horse is waiting to teach me how to move. And for now, I’m exactly where I need to be. — Mike Infinite Canvas AI Mike Baker Music Still here. Still listening. ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi2-593.jpg) ### The Power of an Image URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-power-of-an-image/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:05.000Z October 2025 | General | Resist, by Mike Baker **A Note Before You Read** Millions have filled the streets under one banner: **No Kings.** Not for chaos. Not for attention. For truth. The marches have brought together people who rarely stand side by side. Farmers walked with teachers. Veterans stood next to college students. Parents held signs that read, *We deserve better than this.* The energy wasn’t reckless. It was steady. It came from exhaustion mixed with conviction, the kind that grows when people have tried everything else and still feel ignored. You can’t look at the images from this past month without feeling something shift. People are remembering what shared purpose feels like. **Most Americans want the same basic things: a fair shot, a steady income, a life that isn’t constantly politicized. They want honesty from their leaders and respect from each other. Those wants are simple and human.** Power thrives on division. It keeps us fighting while it profits. It manufactures fear, sells outrage, and calls the chaos leadership. Images like *Resist* cut through the noise and expose what we’ve tolerated for too long. **Resist** The image above, *Resist,* shows a symbolic frog standing in front of armored officers. No weapon. No army. Imagine that he has a beer in his hand. Calm defiance in his stance. The crowd stretches for blocks. Drums echo down the street. A tuba hums from somewhere in the distance. Grandmas knit in folding chairs. A naked bike ride passes through. Strangers hand out water and snacks. **The absurd and the sacred meet in the same frame. Humor and pain share the same air. People use joy as a shield against despair and still find time to laugh in the face of power.** That’s what courage looks like now, messy, unpolished, and fully alive. The *No Kings* movement isn’t about one leader or one cause. It speaks for anyone tired of being told to stay quiet while corruption feeds on their silence. Power counts on apathy. These rallies prove there’s still fight left in the public. When people show up with conviction and humor, control begins to crack. **When Power Forgets Who It Serves** **[A president, elected to represent everyone, posted a video of himself wearing a crown, flying a jet, and shitting on protestors. That was not parody. That was contempt.](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Ji6FoeCYw/)** While he postures online, the country waits. The government remains shut down. Federal workers stand in line at food banks. Military families miss rent. National parks sit closed. Small businesses collapse. Members of Congress refuse to meet. The Epstein files stay sealed. Healthcare workers walk off the job, too burned out to continue. **Russell Vought**, author of **Project 2025,** dismissed months ago as fiction, now shapes policy behind closed doors. Billionaires sip champagne while teachers take on second jobs. **This is dysfunction parading as strength.** Power no longer hides its greed. It rewards arrogance, mocks empathy, and thrives on chaos. Every post, every insult, every smirk from a podium is designed to make people give up. When outrage turns to fatigue, the system wins. When citizens laugh instead of question, corruption cements itself. We cannot afford to tune out. **The Work That Follows** Marches wake people up. Change requires persistence. The real work happens afterward, when crowds go home and individuals keep caring. It happens in city councils, classrooms, clinics, and community meetings. It happens when honesty outlasts noise and empathy drives action. The man in *Resist* stood still in front of armor that wanted submission. He didn’t move. That quiet refusal carried more force than shouting ever could. Courage often looks ordinary. It’s calm, patient, and rooted in principle. The *No Kings* message calls for responsibility. Power must answer to the people who grant it. No office cancels accountability. No flag excuses corruption. The middle remains the space where real progress is made. It’s where people listen first, act second, and remember that compassion belongs in public life. The work will be slow, but progress built on integrity lasts longer than any spectacle. **The Cost of Looking Away** Corruption spreads through fatigue, not fear. Scandals arrive faster than people can process them. Lies pile up until truth sounds foreign. Attention drifts, and decay becomes routine. Democracy doesn’t collapse in one dramatic moment, it erodes in small acts of neglect. The fix begins with attention. Choosing to stay aware. Choosing to care when indifference feels safer. **Small acts matter:** **· Tell the truth even when no one’s listening** **· Call out cruelty, regardless of who commits it.** **· Stop sharing manipulation disguised as news.** **· Hold your side accountable before pointing at others.** **· Defend empathy like it’s infrastructure.** The middle remains the bridge between chaos and order. It’s the place where facts and decency still hold hands. That space needs protectors. **What the Image Teaches** When I look at *Resist*, I see a reflection of a country that still believes conscience can win. A man in a frog suit shouldn’t need to remind us what dignity looks like, but maybe that’s the point. Real leadership never hides behind a crown or a camera. It stands quietly and keeps its humanity intact. The movement captured in this image proves that people still care. They’re tired but alert. Frustrated but hopeful. They haven’t given up on this experiment of self-government, even as those in charge test how much it can take. Change won’t come from noise alone. It will come from steady, grounded people who refuse to trade truth for comfort. This image speaks to that endurance—the simple, stubborn belief that decency still has a pulse. No crowns. No idols. No blind loyalty. Only people, still human, still here, still trying to make this country honest again. — Mike Baker **P.S. About the Art** *Resist* is part of the *Infinite Canvas AI* collection. It reflects the **No Kings** rallies, millions standing together for accountability and truth in a nation struggling to remember both. The frog represents the ordinary citizen, flawed, unarmed, unafraid. The piece captures the absurd beauty of defiance in a moment when silence has become the safer path. This image is not about protest. It’s proof that the human spirit still answers back. ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/Screenshot_2025-10-19_at_12.38.48_AM.jpg) ### Human First: The Middle Still Matters URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/human-first-the-middle-still-matters/ Last updated: 2025-10-18T21:40:01.000Z October 18, 2025 | General | Liberty in the Static, by Mike Baker **A Note Before You Read** This reflection was written with care, not judgment. My heart sits in the middle of this country, surrounded by people I love who see the world differently. That’s what makes America worth fighting for. If you come from the right, you’re part of this story. If you come from the left, you are too. Both sides have people who wake up every day wanting to do good, love their families, and protect their freedoms. That truth still connects us, even when the noise tries to make us forget. The purpose here is simple: to speak honestly about what’s breaking us apart and how we might begin to close the gap. Honest conversation keeps a democracy alive. Shared humanity keeps it worth saving. **Liberty in the Static** The image above, *Liberty in the Static*, reimagines the Statue of Liberty through a fractured digital lens. The colors bleed into one another, violet, amber, green, like signal noise on a nation’s conscience. The reflection below feels unstable, a mirror disturbed by motion. The piece captures what it means to stand for freedom in a time of distortion. Lady Liberty still holds her torch, but the light flickers through interference, as if asking whether we can still see her clearly. The crowd below dissolves into shadow and color, a reminder that democracy depends on faces we can no longer afford to blur. This image belongs with this essay for a reason. Both ask the same question: What happens when truth becomes harder to see, and how do we find our way back to one another before the signal disappears completely? **When Division Becomes Routine** The *No Kings* movement has filled streets across the country. People from every background are showing up because something feels deeply wrong in how power works today. Some call it a protest. Some call it chaos. I see it as a sign that people still care enough to demand better. Underneath the banners and chants is a deeper message: people are tired of being manipulated by those who claim to represent them. They’re tired of false choices, endless outrage, and leaders who build fame instead of trust. Turn on any screen and you’ll see the divide sold to us as a product. The headlines are crafted to inflame. The algorithms study our fears and feed us more of what keeps us angry. Conflict keeps us scrolling, and our attention is what’s being sold. Outrage has become entertainment. Compassion has become invisible. Every time we share a clip to “own” someone, we trade away a small piece of our credibility. Every time we say “what about them,” we choose distraction over accountability. Those habits have turned neighbors into rivals and disagreement into hatred. When a country loses the ability to listen, it loses the ability to lead. **What We Still Agree On** Most of us, across party lines, still believe in a shared set of values that define decency. - Racism is wrong. - **Misogyny** destroys our future - Sex trafficking is evil. - Public service should mean serving the public. - Healthcare is a critical component of our country - No one should profit from the suffering of others. - Corruption erodes trust and weakens democracy. - The Epstein files matter because transparency matters. - Children deserve safety. - Veterans deserve care. - Truth deserves defenders. Those ideas belong to everyone. They do not divide us unless we allow them to. When leaders ignore these values, we lose faith. When citizens stay silent, we lose power. A healthy democracy depends on both courage and conscience. Each of us has to hold both. **The Mirror We Avoid** Every crisis we see in the headlines is a reflection of choices we’ve made together. We have tolerated dishonesty in leaders who entertain us. We have excused corruption when it benefits our side. We have mocked people instead of understanding them. This is not a story of villains and heroes. It’s a story of drift. We drifted into a culture that rewards anger more than integrity. We have allowed the loudest voices to shape what everyone else believes. I’ve caught myself doing it too, scrolling past facts to find comfort, assuming motives before asking questions, treating those who disagree with suspicion instead of curiosity. The solution begins where the blame ends. It begins with self-awareness. Every person who admits how they’ve contributed to the noise helps quiet it. Every act of restraint is a small act of resistance against chaos. When I wrote **Human First**, I was thinking about this exact truth. That record came from watching good people get lost in a system that profits from our worst impulses. The songs remind me that empathy is not weakness—it’s survival. You can hear the full album here: [Human First – YouTube Playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy%5Fm21XtofkNoGIPC5amkg-0YwEjeHJgddTY&si=vdcuTrmXINiLhJZD&ref=mikebakerhq.com) My podcast, **Still Here, Still Trying**, carries that same heartbeat. Every story shared there is proof that connection still matters. These projects are small attempts to push light through the cracks. **The False Choice We Were Sold** Every conversation today seems to begin with sides: left or right, woke or blind, loyal or traitor. That framing has turned civic life into a scoreboard. It keeps us busy arguing about who’s right instead of what’s right. There is another way. The middle is where responsibility lives. It’s where people think before reacting and lead with empathy instead of anger. The people who gain from division have no interest in peace. Media executives, political strategists, influencers, they all thrive on outrage. Conflict is their business model. The longer we fight, the stronger they grow. Every time we reject nuance, we reward manipulation. Reclaiming the middle means refusing to play by those rules. It means practicing empathy as discipline, not sentiment. It means refusing to let ideology define our humanity. **Where Truth Still Lives** Truth is not hiding in Washington or in your feed. It lives in quiet acts that never make the news: - A nurse holding a patient’s hand through pain. - A teacher using personal money for supplies. - A volunteer showing up after a long shift. - A father making time after a double shift to help his child with homework. Those moments are the heartbeat of a nation. They prove that decency still exists. We’ve allowed the worst examples of leadership to define how we see each other. That distortion is the real danger. The country is better than what it scrolls. When we start to honor small acts again, trust grows. That’s how culture changes, one quiet action at a time. **The Middle Still Matters** The middle has always been where real life happens. It’s where people raise kids, start businesses, care for parents, and work to keep communities alive. It’s where values live that are too simple to trend: kindness, fairness, decency, and truth. We need that middle now more than ever. Because without it, the extremes write the story, and moderation dies in silence. A strong democracy depends on citizens who reject the pull of extremes. That takes humility. That takes patience. It takes the willingness to say, “I want to understand before I react.” The middle is not a place of compromise for its own sake. It’s a place of courage. It’s where human dignity becomes policy, where service outweighs ego, and where people remember that leadership begins with listening. **A Path Back to Ourselves** We can’t legislate empathy or program compassion. Those things grow through relationships. Change begins when someone looks across the divide and says, “Tell me what you’re seeing.” Start small: - Read before you react. - Ask before you assume. - Challenge misinformation from your own side. - Share stories that heal instead of headlines that harm. - Call out corruption no matter who commits it. - Lead in your own corner of the world with fairness and care. Democracy will not survive apathy. It depends on citizens who stay awake, stay curious, and stay grounded in truth. No algorithm can make that choice for us. No politician can deliver it. That work belongs to every one of us. **Author’s Note** This essay was written in the days surrounding the *No Kings* demonstrations of October 2025\. The rally’s message is not about rebellion, it’s about responsibility. It calls for a government that serves with humility, and for citizens who remember their own power. We are not defined by the loudest voices or the latest outrage. We are defined by what we tolerate, what we build, and who we care for. The next chapter of this country will be written by those willing to see the humanity in people who disagree. We share one nation, one story, and one fragile future. We have a choice to make: division or dignity. I still believe we’ll choose dignity. No kings. No idols. No walls between us. Only people, human first, still here, still trying. — Mike Baker **P.S. About the art:** *Liberty in the Static* reimagines the Statue of Liberty through a fractured digital lens. The colors bleed together like signal noise on a nation’s conscience. The reflection below feels unstable, as if freedom itself is flickering. She’s still holding the torch, but the light is harder to see. This piece was created to remind us that democracy only survives when we can still see one another clearly. ### The Cost of Looking Away URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-cost-of-looking-away/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:06.000Z **A Note Before You Read** **This reflection was written with care, not anger. Most people who know me understand that I sit in the middle. I’m not interested in taking sides, and I don’t carry hate for anyone. I hope you don’t carry hate for me either.** **The goal here is simple: to share concern about where we’re headed and to ask for insight from people who see things differently.** **Honest conversation is how a country stays healthy.** **We don’t have to agree on everything to care about the same future.** **When We Forget Who We Serve** The government has shut down again. Halls that should echo with debate now sit still. Committees postpone their work, and votes that shape real lives wait for attention. Behind the noise of partisanship, ordinary people wait for the basics, food, housing, care, and a sense that someone is paying attention. While the country struggles with inflation and uncertainty, a new **White House ballroom** continues to rise. Reports describe a project worth hundreds of millions, dressed in gold and marble, designed for prestige and ceremony. Some say it is privately funded, others claim mixed sources, but the funding matters less than the message. It tells citizens that image takes priority over need. In the news, I see the White House splashed in gold accents. I hear about new golf courses overseas and wealth gathering faster than most can imagine. **Are you seeing that too?** If a nation can afford new halls of celebration, it can afford food assistance and community programs. If leadership finds resources for luxury, it can find them for families who are falling behind. Every public choice sends a signal, and this one says that the comfort of the powerful outweighs the struggles of everyone else. **This has nothing to do with party lines. It has everything to do with values.** Governments reveal their character through budgets, not speeches. When the priority becomes grandeur instead of service, something essential begins to erode. Real strength is measured by how a country protects the people who hold it together, the workers, the parents, the caregivers, the quiet citizens who keep daily life running. They deserve to see their effort reflected in how their leaders spend and plan. A nation that forgets who it serves risks losing the unity that sustains it. Leadership, at every level, should remember that public power belongs to the public. Every decision should honor that trust. The first step back begins with humility. Leaders must see beyond privilege, and citizens must keep reminding them of their purpose. **The Cost of Neglect** Every day, people feel the weight of decisions made far above them. Groceries take a larger share of each paycheck. Rent climbs faster than wages. Families skip meals to cover utilities. Many work two jobs and still fall behind. At the same time, **billions of dollars were sent to Venezuela** as part of a financial rescue package. Supporters called it necessary for regional stability, but many Americans saw something different, a government claiming to be broke at home while sending money abroad. **The aid arrived with little explanation, and the timing raised fair questions about priorities. Communities here face shortages in healthcare, housing, and food programs, yet new funding always seems to surface when global optics are at stake**. That pattern sends a clear message about how **influence outweighs need.** A healthy nation can support both global responsibility and local care, but balance matters. When communities go without while money flows elsewhere, trust fades. People begin to believe that fairness no longer guides policy. Looking away from that imbalance carries a cost. It teaches leaders that distraction works and signals that appearance matters more than outcomes. Once that pattern sets in, recovery becomes harder. Attention remains the remedy. Citizens who follow the money keep democracy alive. Asking where budgets go and who benefits from them is not cynicism, it is duty. The moral test of a nation has never been measured by the wealth of its leaders, but by the care shown to those with the least power. The record is written in how people live, not in how politicians celebrate themselves. When we stop watching, others decide what justice looks like. Paying attention is not a burden, it is protection. **Power and Silence** Before the election, **accountability was a rallying cry.** Candidates promised transparency and vowed to clean up corruption. They spoke about releasing the **Epstein files**, exposing influence networks, and proving that no one stood above the law. Many believed those promises because they were tired of secrecy and wanted truth instead of rumor. Now, with control of nearly every branch of government, that energy has faded. The same leaders who demanded answers from others hold those answers themselves and keep them hidden. Hearings are postponed. Committees sit empty. Votes remain untouched. The promises that once drove campaigns have dissolved into silence. **That silence matters. When authority stops explaining itself, democracy begins to shrink.** Citizens can live with difficult truths, but they lose faith when leaders hide them. Secrecy breeds suspicion, and suspicion spreads quickly. Leadership that avoids transparency erodes confidence. Power that hides from accountability grows unchecked. Every public official has a duty to speak plainly, show their work, and face questions, even when the answers are uncomfortable. Citizens share that duty too. Write, speak, show up, and keep asking. Democracy depends on people who refuse to accept silence as normal. A government that values its people must communicate with them. A public that values freedom must demand that communication. When truth disappears behind closed doors, corruption fills the space. The only cure is steady, patient attention. **The Divide We Built** Across the country, people describe completely different versions of the same nation. Some see a government restoring order. Others see chaos and corruption expanding behind closed doors. Both sides speak with conviction, both claim truth, and both are exhausted from shouting into an echo chamber that never answers back. Much of this divide has been engineered. **Algorithms shape the information we see** and **the emotions we feel about it**. Each feed builds a private world, rewarding outrage, fear, and certainty while burying patience and nuance. When every citizen is fed a customized reality, the idea of shared truth begins to fade. **Division stops being political and becomes structural.** A democracy cannot survive without shared reality. Power thrives when people fight one another instead of questioning it. The more divided we become, the easier we are to control. The way back begins with curiosity. Ask what your neighbor is seeing that you might have missed. Read something outside your comfort zone. Seek voices that challenge your view. The goal is not agreement, it is awareness. We cannot rebuild civic trust until we rebuild how we learn, read, and talk. The information war has turned citizens into products, traded for clicks and profit. Choosing to think for yourself is now an act of freedom. When we share facts again, we start to share a future again. **Words Carry Weight** Language shapes what people believe. **A single phrase from someone in power can change how millions think, speak, and behave.** When words are used carelessly, they divide. When used with care, they heal. Leaders have a responsibility to speak with discipline. Their words ripple outward through homes, workplaces, and communities. When contempt drives those words, the damage spreads faster than policy ever could. **“I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them.”** **— Donald Trump, September 2025** **That one line shows how quickly contempt becomes culture.** When division becomes language, empathy disappears. Fear becomes easier to sell than truth. Anger becomes currency. The cost is trust, and the debt always falls on ordinary people. Anger moves faster than honesty. Fear earns more clicks than compassion. The louder the message, the more attention it draws, even when it lacks meaning. That economy of outrage has made cruelty sound confident and patience sound weak. Rebuilding trust in language starts with restraint. We do not have to agree on every issue, but we owe each other respect. A country that loses the ability to talk across differences begins to lose its way. Words should invite thought, not close it. They should lead toward truth, not allegiance. When citizens and leaders hold language to that standard, democracy recovers. **“Every word we use builds the world we have to live in.”**— **Mike Baker** **Responsibility in Practice** Civic responsibility grows out of how we show up for one another. It depends on quiet habits, the patience we bring to disagreement, the honesty we apply to our own thinking, and the effort we give to stay informed even when the noise gets heavy. The work begins close to home. **Read before reacting. Listen before sharing. Ask real questions. Challenge your own side as much as the other.** Or better, yet, let’s not have sides… Integrity cannot depend on who holds power. It has to live in us, or it disappears everywhere else. Patriotism means staying engaged when it would be easier to look away. It means defending institutions that protect us, even when they frustrate us. Freedom asks for effort, a kind of moral endurance built through presence and care. **Public service should carry humility, not ego**. The purpose of leadership is to help people live with dignity, not to collect attention. A nation becomes strong when it rewards compassion and accountability more than outrage and spectacle. The future of this country depends on ordinary people who still care. Freedom survives when participation continues, even when the world feels heavy. **Where We Go From Here** Many Americans carry two feelings at once, pride in what we’ve built and concern for where we’re heading. That tension means awareness. It means the heart still beats for something better. The work ahead begins close to home. Real change rarely starts in the headlines or the halls of power. It starts in conversations between neighbors who listen to each other with respect. Ask what others are seeing. Learn what shapes their view. Understanding must come before agreement. Democracy weakens through neglect. It fades when participation stops, when outrage replaces patience, and when exhaustion takes the place of care. Awareness keeps it alive. Staying informed, voting with conscience, and watching how power is used are small acts that hold enormous weight. We still have time to correct our course. Fairness, compassion, and truth can guide us back to common ground if we value them more than loyalty and wealth. A healthy culture values service over spectacle and people over power. Our job now is simple and hard at the same time: **remember who we are and who we serve.** **Author’s Note** This essay was written ahead of the **No Kings Rally** in October 2025\. The gathering centers on civic responsibility and the belief that leadership should serve with humility. The goal is to bring people together around shared values: fairness, accountability, and compassion. Democracy depends on citizens who stay present and expect honesty from those in power. The moment calls for calm strength, open eyes, and steady hearts. Every generation faces a choice about the kind of country it wants to be. My hope is that we choose awareness over apathy and courage over comfort. **No kings. No silence. Only people willing to care enough to keep the light on.**— **Mike Baker** ### Seeing Differently: Art Beyond Vision URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/seeing-differently-art-beyond-vision/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:07.000Z #### #### **“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”** #### **— Edgar Degas** That quote says everything about why I create. Degas was describing how art changes perception. **He wasn’t focused on the brush or the medium. He was focused on the moment when someone feels something new because of what they’ve seen.** That idea lives at the center of everything I make, music, imagery, words. The process has evolved, but the heart of it is still the same. I want to make something real enough that someone recognizes a part of themselves in it. **The Human Part of Creation** When I started working with AI, I wasn’t chasing a trend or a new skill. I was trying to help my wife and daughter tell their story. Both live with endometriosis, and for years I watched them face pain that most people never see or understand. Words never felt like enough. I wanted to show what they were feeling—to make people *see* what life with invisible pain looks like. That became the start of everything. AI gave me a way to create images that reflected their strength, exhaustion, and grace. It opened a world I had wanted to be part of but hadn’t been able to enter before. I’d always admired visual artists but never saw myself in that space. AI made it possible to finally step into it, not as a shortcut, but as a way to give shape to something deeply personal. At first, I worried it might take away the humanity of the work. Most of my life had been spent building real things, teams, systems, communities, and a mission that mattered. I didn’t come from an artistic background, but I've always been drawn to it. AI gave me a doorway. It helped me explore ideas I’d carried for years but never knew how to express. What started as a way to support my wife and daughter through their journey with endometriosis became something much larger. It turned into a way to translate emotion, to capture what words alone couldn’t. Letting technology into that process felt risky, but it also felt necessary. It gave me a language I didn’t have before. And once I found it, the art started to come alive. **Then I learned that AI doesn’t create meaning. It reflects what you bring to it. The result only feels alive if your input is honest. When I worked from empathy and truth, the images carried that energy forward.** AI became a translator, a tool, between feeling and form. It helped me move from thought to image before the emotion faded. It helped me hold my family’s story long enough to share it.**That part still belongs to me.** **How I Work** Every piece begins with something small, an image, a memory, a single phrase that feels too heavy to keep inside. I sit with it until it sharpens. Then I start shaping it. Sometimes it starts with a song. A melody leads me to a lyric. The lyric turns into a visual idea. From there, I build the image that matches the sound. Other times the order reverses. A visual sparks a sound, and a song begins to take shape. That’s what I love most about this process. The tools have no rules. I can move between mediums without losing momentum. I can let one form of expression breathe into another until it finds its full shape. **But I always return to the same question: does it feel honest? If it doesn’t, I start over.** **Respect for the Craft** I’ve always admired people who dedicate their lives to art—musicians, painters, writers. They spend years building skill through repetition and patience. I respect that kind of focus. For me, that kind of focus has never come easily. **Living with ADHD means my ideas move faster than my hands. They collide, drift, and reshuffle before I can capture them.** I used to watch artists who could stay locked in for hours, shaping something until it was done, and I wanted that discipline. I had vision and emotion, but not the technical control to bring it forward. That’s still a work in progress. I’m learning more about the craft side every day. But with these tools, I can finally keep pace with my thoughts. I can take an image that’s been floating in my head for months and bring it to life in hours. I can turn a feeling into a song before it fades. AI doesn’t replace the hard work of creation. It opens a new doorway into it. The painter has a brush. The musician has an instrument. I have a set of digital tools that expand what’s possible. The intent stays the same: to bring something true into the world. Every generation of artists has faced this same moment of tension. Cameras once threatened painting. Synthesizers once threatened live musicianship. Each time, art found a way to evolve instead of disappear. I believe the same thing is happening now. **What I Want You to Feel** When I release a song or post a new image, I’m not asking people to notice the technology. I’m asking them to feel something human. I want them to see connection in unexpected places. A visual piece might come from the grief of watching someone I love in pain. A lyric might rise out of a moment when words failed me. These creations are markers of time, small ways of saying, **“I was here, and I felt this.”** **That’s all I’ve ever wanted from art. To leave a trace of being human.** **Standing in the Middle** We’re living in a creative era filled with noise, speed, and constant output. AI has added even more volume to that world. The temptation is to chase scale, to produce more, faster. But that’s not the kind of art I want to make. I want to stay grounded in reflection. I want to slow down enough to find the emotional core in what I’m making. Technology can multiply ideas, but only intention gives them purpose. **I’m not here to reject progress or worship it. I’m here to use it well. To build work that carries heart, not hype. To explore what’s possible without losing what’s human.** **The Purpose of Art** Degas said that art is what you make others see. That idea holds everything together for me. Whether it’s a song that helps someone feel less alone or a digital portrait that opens a new conversation, the purpose is the same, to move people toward awareness. Art gives us a mirror and a window at the same time. It helps us recognize what’s inside us while opening us to someone else’s world. That’s why I keep creating. I want to help people see differently. Not through tricks or novelty, but through shared humanity. **A Challenge** If you’ve made it this far, take this with you. Do something today with what you have. Use the tools in front of you. Write something honest. Say something kind. Build something small that helps someone else breathe a little easier. You don’t need perfect conditions to make something meaningful. You don’t need permission. You already have enough to start. That’s what I’m doing, working with what I have, learning as I go, and trying to leave the world a little better, brighter, and more human. **Your version will look different, but it matters just as much.** **Start there**. #### *“The future of art lives in the space where human and machine meet.” --Mike Baker* ### **PS: The “Human / Machine / Light” Series** The images below are part of a new visual series I’ve been creating called **Human / Machine / Light.** This series explores what it means to stay human in a digital world. Each piece is a dialogue between technology and emotion, a search for where circuitry ends and spirit begins. These works come from the same impulse that drives my music and writing: to see what happens when empathy meets innovation, to find beauty in the tension between progress and presence. *Human / Machine / Light* asks what remains human when creation becomes shared, when a tool amplifies, but feeling still leads. They remind me that creation still belongs to us. The tools have changed, but the spark remains human. So take a look. See what you see. Then go make something of your own. Use what you have. Leave the world a little better, brighter, and more human. ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0976.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0973.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0972.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0978.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0968.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0977.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0970.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0975.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0967.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0969.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0971.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0979.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_0974.jpg) ### Human First URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/human-first-essay/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:57.000Z **By Mike Baker** ### **The Trip That Changed My Pace** Kellie and I went to St. Thomas and St. John to celebrate our 26th anniversary. I thought we were going for rest. What I found was something deeper. We rented a little dinghy from Dockside Dinghy out of Cruz Bay. Nothing fancy. Just a small boat, a cooler, and no schedule. Freedom looked like sunlight bouncing off turquoise water. We spent our days chasing color. The sea shifted from green to blue to glass-clear. The nights felt timeless. Peace lived in every sound. I played songs from my new album *Human First* on my phone. No speaker. Just music carried by wind and salt. The sound belonged there. > “Music leaves a trace wherever it’s played.” > That trip became the heartbeat of the record. Not a story about escape, but about remembering how to come home. ### **The Heart Behind Human First** The quiet stayed with me when I got home. Kindness is easy to find when life slows down. Strangers helped each other dock. People laughed across languages. Everyone shared space without tension. That’s the world I want to live in. I usually build several albums at once, but this project kept pulling me back. Every time I tried to move to something else, these songs asked for more attention. The world feels heavy right now. Division grows louder every day. Outrage fills the room before empathy gets a chance to speak. At home, things look different. Families keep showing up. Parents worry. Kids dream. People pay bills and try to hold things together. We share the same struggles even when we pretend we don’t. That truth shaped every song on *Human First.* We are all just people doing our best. ### **Stop Making Amy Cry** One song from the record came straight from the trip. *Stop Making Amy Cry.* Amy is my sister-in-law and one of the kindest people I know. She and Kellie laugh in a way only sisters can. Their joy fills a space. You can feel it. Amy feels everything. Every headline. Every story of cruelty. Every act of hate. She carries it all. Each night she walked quietly through the villas to feed the stray cats. She didn’t tell anyone. She just went. I’ve never been a cat guy, but one night this small black cat walked out of the dark like he’d been waiting for her. A boy, curious and calm. She crouched down, spoke softly, and he trusted her instantly. I sat beside her and helped. Somehow I fell in love with that cat. All because of Amy. Her empathy never turns off. If something needs care, she offers it. If someone loses faith, she gives them some of hers. > “We shouldn’t live in a world that makes people like Amy cry.” That line became the song. “She still believes we can be kind In a world that’s lost its mind.” Her belief in goodness breaks me in the best way. She still believes in people even when people disappoint her. And when I see her cry over the pain of the world, I know something is deeply wrong. *Stop Making Amy Cry* became a prayer. A hope for a gentler world. A promise to protect the people who still feel deeply. No more hate. No more fear. More compassion that reaches where words cannot. That same spirit runs through *Working Hands.* The song honors the people who hold everything together quietly. > “Working hands, they carry the load > Holding us steady as the world turns slow.” Every day still works because someone cares enough to keep showing up. That is the heartbeat of *Human First.* Compassion that keeps the world upright. ### **Faith Without Noise** Faith shapes this record too. Not the kind that shouts. The kind that listens. *If Jesus Walked Today* began with a question. Would we recognize love if it walked among us? I wrote that song after watching too many stories filled with anger. Videos of fear. Families torn apart. Kids zip-tied. Scenes that made me stop and ask, *Is this who we are?* We need laws and safety, but watching cruelty unfold in real time hurts something deeper. Even Joe Rogan called it out this week. When people that far apart start seeing the same problem, maybe it means we are waking up. The Jesus I know would never lead through fear. He would feed the hungry. He would heal the broken. He would hold the child who is scared. He would see a person first. Faith to me means presence. Kindness. Mercy. The choice to keep a soft heart in a hard world. That is what *Human First* tries to express. Grace that breathes. Faith that lives quietly. Love that costs something but gives more back. ### **Carry the Flame** The record ends with *Carry the Flame.* That song celebrates courage that never makes headlines. I think about people like Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Mandela. They carried the light forward when the world wanted to go dark. > “Through every storm, through loss and shame > Carry the flame, carry the flame.” Hope lives in those small acts of courage. Mercy must lead. Grace must last. Light belongs to everyone willing to share it. Leadership, art, and love all ask for the same thing — keep believing in goodness when it would be easier to stop. We all hold a torch. The world changes depending on how we use it. ### **Coming Home** Coming home after that trip felt different. Nothing around me had changed, but I had. Peace no longer feels distant. It feels like something you build every day. *Human First* became a love letter to humanity. A reminder that before we debate or divide, we belong to each other. The songs *Neighbors Not Enemies,* *We All Bleed Red,* and *Carry the Flame* all point to that truth. What connects us has more power than what divides us. The goal is not to fix the whole world. The goal is to make your corner of it a little kinder, a little softer, a little more human. > “Still here. Still trying. Still human first.” ### **A Moment of Truth** I love this work. The podcast, the art, the music — this is where my heart lives. I believe in what I’m creating, but I need help reaching people. Some days it feels like shouting into the wind. The algorithm rewards outrage, and quiet truth moves slower. Another musician once said your friends and family rarely become your biggest fans. Not because they don’t love you, but because they already know you. Love doesn’t always amplify. I need help reaching the people who haven’t heard this yet — the ones who might need a reminder that kindness still matters. If you believe in what I’m doing, please help me share it. Post about it. Tag a friend. Spread the message. I don’t want fame. I want connection. I want to reach the people who still want light but have forgotten where to find it. Thank you for listening. Thank you for caring. Thank you for helping me keep trying. Still here. Still trying. Still human first. ### **Listen and Watch** 🎧 *Listen to Episode 17: “Human First” on Spotify* 👉 [https://open.spotify.com/episode/1tG4roOO5HybG8yR3aXO6y?si=dfe1abbdfc434580](https://open.spotify.com/episode/1tG4roOO5HybG8yR3aXO6y?si=dfe1abbdfc434580&ref=mikebakerhq.com) 📺 *Watch on YouTube* 👉 [https://youtu.be/HCMXRUcqNoY](https://youtu.be/HCMXRUcqNoY?ref=mikebakerhq.com) 🎵 *Listen to the album “Human First” on Spotify* 👉 [https://open.spotify.com/album/05xw7RTyZVOVZcVELpkFJ4?si=ieVRML3KQVqDUatiI2sWUg](https://open.spotify.com/album/05xw7RTyZVOVZcVELpkFJ4?si=ieVRML3KQVqDUatiI2sWUg&ref=mikebakerhq.com) Human Connection power of human connection the human need for connection ### The Beer League Goalie Manifesto URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-beer-league-goalie-manifesto/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:55.000Z **🥅 The Beer League Goalie Manifesto: Notes From the Weirdest Position in Hockey 🍺** Fall hockey is here. The sticks are freshly taped, the skates are sharp (for about ten minutes), and the locker room cooler is waiting like a holy grail. For those of us who live for beer league, this time of year feels like a clean slate — a chance to lace up, laugh with friends, and remember why we love this game in the first place. **From one goalie to beer leaguers everywhere: a few reminders before we hit the ice.** Not rules. Not complaints. Just truths from the crease — the perspective of the person willingly strapping on **50 pounds of gear** and standing in front of flying rubber for fun. ## **🗣️ Communication: Talk to Your Goalie Like a Dog** Goalies don’t need speeches shouted from the blue line. We thrive on short words that cut through the noise: **“Left / Right”** – call out which way the puck is moving. **“Point!”** – if their D is winding up. **“Freeze!”** – if it’s in the pads and we don’t know it. **“You’ve got it!”** – if you see the puck before we do. **“Sit. Stay. Roll over. Play dead.”** – optional, but let’s be honest, we’re already doing most of those anyway. The most important one: when you hear **“Can’t see!”**, move. Pick a side. Give us a lane. That call isn’t for drama; it’s survival. ## **🛡️ Defense: The Simple Stuff That Wins Games** Beer league defense doesn’t need systems, chalk talks, or overthinking. Just some basics: **Clear the porch.** Tie up sticks. Box out bodies. Let us see the puck. **Challenge the middle.** If someone skates it from the corner to the slot without being touched, that’s a breakdown. Make them pay a price to get to the middle. **Stay home.** Don’t drift to the corners chasing the puck. Shots from the boards rarely go in. Stay in the hash marks, pick a body, and be ready for the pass. **Cover the backdoor.** If we’re sealed on one post, cover the far post. We’ll push across, but we’re hauling 50 pounds of gear. Don’t leave the one-timer gift wrapped. **Glass and out > turnovers in the slot.** When you’re under pressure, chip it out. Take the icing. A whistle and a breather beats a turnover that ends in the back of the net. **Odd-man rushes.** Take the pass, we’ll take the shot. That’s the deal. ## **🚨 Forwards, You’re in This Too** We know the forwards live for toe-drags and highlight-reel cellys. But defense isn’t optional. Backcheck. Pick up your man. Cover the slot. Losing 10–0 because you floated at the far blue line helps no one. If you want more chances to score, help get the puck out of our end. Good defense always leads to more offense. Spend one night playing goalie and you’ll never coast on a backcheck again. ## **🧠 Inside a Goalie’s Head** Every goal that goes in hits us hard. Goalies carry the only job in hockey where mistakes come with a horn, a red light, and everyone staring. The spotlight is unforgiving, and we feel it deeply. But we also have to reset instantly. Goldfish memory. Shake it off, focus on the next shot. That mental reset is the hardest part of the job. So don’t chirp the goalie after a goal. Trust me — we’ve already replayed it ten times before the puck even settled in the net. And let’s be real: **half the time that puck went through five of you first anyway. 🤣** ## **🍻 Beer League Rules (The Real Ones)** **Beer league comes with its own code:** Show up to have fun. Being an asshole ruins it for everyone. No blaming. Everyone knows when they messed up. Leave the refs alone. They aren’t NHL officials. Chirps are welcome. Keep them clever, not cruel. The scoreboard matters, but the cooler matters more. The best teams in beer league win the locker room before they win the ice. ## **💭 Why This Game Matters** Goalies are wired differently. Doesn’t matter if we’re men or women, young or old — we all share the same quirks. We tap our posts. We mumble to ourselves. We carry the knowledge that one bounce can undo everything. But we chose this. Because we love it. Because we love playing with you. And maybe most importantly — because hockey is a reprieve. The world is heavy. Negativity is everywhere. Everyone you meet is carrying battles you can’t always see. The rink can be our escape from all of that. So lift each other up. Don’t tear people down. Be the teammate who makes others glad they showed up. At the end of the day, this game is about the laughs, the friendships, and the reminder that we’re all still here, still trying. ### Slop, Soul, and the Reason I Keep Creating URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/slop-soul-and-the-reason-i-keep-creating/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T07:29:06.000Z *By Mike Baker* [When John Oliver aired his segment on “AI slop,](https://youtu.be/TWpg1RmzAbc?ref=mikebakerhq.com)” I watched it closely. He wasn’t wrong. The internet is being flooded with content that looks clean but says nothing, AI-generated music made to game the algorithm, clickbait images, auto-written blogs built for SEO instead of truth. It's fast. It's hollow. And it's everywhere. But the danger isn’t just that the content is low-quality, it’s that it’s **disconnected**. Created for impressions, not impact. Built for reach, not relationship. And that matters. Because there’s another side to this story. One that doesn’t trend in headlines. One that doesn’t start with a viral moment. It starts with pain. With love. With a cracked-open soul trying to stay in the fight. That’s the story I’m here to tell. And it starts with my daughter. She was diagnosed with endometriosis, a disease too often dismissed, misunderstood, or ignored. Watching her suffer day after day with pain that had no clear solution broke something in me. I couldn’t take it away. I couldn’t carry it for her. And as her dad, that kind of helplessness hit harder than anything I’ve ever faced. I didn’t know how to fix it. But I knew I couldn’t disappear. I needed a way to stay present, even when I couldn’t control the outcome. A way to stay close, even when the path was unclear. I needed a way to turn the ache into something useful. So I started creating. **[@EndoDad76](https://www.instagram.com/endodad76/?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **was the beginning.**I started with the warrior images. AI became the tool I used to bring my vision to life—portraits of strong, radiant, powerful women that echoed what I saw in my daughter and my wife. I paired those images with short, honest reflections. Not polished essays. Just real words. Small truths. Messages to say: *I see you. I believe you. You are not alone.* It wasn’t about building a following. It was about staying in the story. But something unexpected happened. People started reaching out. From Brazil. Mexico. Ireland. Germany. Australia. South Africa. Women in pain. Partners trying to support them. Daughters. Friends. Strangers who weren’t strangers anymore. They didn’t follow because it was clever. They followed because it was **real**. And the words kept coming. The posts turned into lyrics. The feelings turned into melodies. I started turning those fragments into songs—songs about grief, about hope, about staying when everything in you wants to run. That’s how *[The Light We Share](https://open.spotify.com/album/6aNlQoyFmSmUJDRSudCHSl?si=3i%5FShaNsRf6j6-WH7sKftg&ref=mikebakerhq.com)*came to life. I wanted to write something that could travel beyond language, a message that no matter who you are or where you’re from, the light inside you matters. It connects us. It heals us. And it’s meant to be shared. So I used AI tools to help translate it into **32 languages**. Not through a label. Not as a gimmick. But with care. With time. With heart. I wanted it to reach someone in a hospital room in Madrid just as much as someone standing in the kitchen in Coeur d’Alene. I wanted it to belong to everyone. And somehow, it did. Since then, I’ve kept writing. **[I’ve written songs about mental health](https://open.spotify.com/album/6AxrZzLzKgbtz5xgIsNRML?si=KFV1XAe9S0u4joVzjNGSrw&ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **.** About anxiety and depression. About quiet breakdowns. About waking up and deciding to keep going even when nothing feels steady. Songs that don’t sugarcoat the struggle—but also don’t give up on the light. **I’ve written songs about being a dad.** Not the kind built for social media highlight reels, but the real stuff. The mess. The fear. The mornings you feel like you’re failing. The nights you hope you’re getting at least one thing right. **I’ve written love songs for my wife.** Soft ones. Steady ones. Songs built in the ordinary, where the most sacred parts of love really live. I don’t need fireworks—I need the kind of love that keeps showing up. And I’m learning guitar. Not because I want to perform. Because I want to feel the music in my own hands. I want to grow into the sound I’m writing. I want to stretch. Even when I fumble through chords. Even when it’s slow. And I’ll be honest, **ADHD makes that hard.** My brain doesn’t do structure well. I forget things. I get overwhelmed before I even begin. Focus slips through my fingers. But when I’m creating, writing, producing, drawing, **my mind lights up in the best way**. That fog clears. The world makes sense for a while. I feel *whole.* I feel *me.* This isn’t just about content. This is about survival. This is how I stay grounded. This is how I give shape to the things I can’t carry any other way. And this process has taken me places I never expected. I’ve connected with people across the world—far beyond anything I ever imagined. Listeners, artists, parents, patients, advocates. Some have shared how the music helped them through a tough season. Others have told me it gave them language for something they hadn’t been able to express. A few said it inspired them to create again after a long silence. I didn’t expect that. I just hoped the work would mean something to someone. Hearing that it has, it’s humbling. It reminds me why I started this in the first place. Not to perform. Not to go viral. But to connect. And somehow, it’s happening. One song, one story, one honest message at a time. These aren’t numbers. They’re people. And the connection is real. **Do I think there are problems with AI? Absolutely**. There are systems that exploit artists. There’s content being pumped out with no intention, no heart, and no accountability. That deserves pushback. We need better ethics. More transparency. We need to protect creators. **But we also need room for people like me.** People who use AI as a tool, not to automate, but to amplify something *human*. To tell stories they couldn’t tell any other way. To stay present in the hardest parts of life and find a way to turn them into light. Because sometimes, what looks like art is actually someone trying to survive. And what looks like a song is actually someone whispering, “You’re not alone.” If you’ve ever listened to a song I wrote and felt understood, If one of my images made you stop scrolling and feel your own strength, If something I posted gave you a breath you didn’t know you needed— Then you already know what I’m trying to do. **This isn’t slop.** **This is soul.** **This is story.** **This is connection.** And I’ll keep showing up, not because I’ve figured it all out, but because I haven’t. Because there are still stories to tell. Because there are still people waiting to feel less alone. And if anything I’ve made helps them breathe a little easier, helps them hold on a little longer, reminds them that light is still out there, then that’s enough. That’s everything. Still here. Still trying. — Mike To see all of my work, check out my links below: https://linktr.ee/MikeBakerHQ ### Still Here, Still Leading with Heart URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/still-here-still-leading-with-heart/ Last updated: 2025-06-19T19:37:44.000Z By Mike Baker I’ve always believed that leadership should feel human. Not perfect. Not polished. Just real. **I know I don’t always fit the mold.** I hear the feedback, sometimes directly, sometimes through the grapevine. He shares too much. He’s too visible. He leads with emotion. He’s different. And honestly, I’ve stopped seeing that as a bad thing. We’re in a time where being different might just be what’s needed most. **The recent** **No Kings** **post?** Yeah, that stirred things up. It came from a real place, personal and layered. I probably could’ve said it differently. I’m still learning how to speak hard truths with tenderness. That one’s still tender for me, too. Nothing I share is meant to divide. If you’ve followed my work or my heart, you already know that. My messages are a **call to the middle**, the space where people who care deeply can sit in the tension without giving up on each other. That’s where I want to live. It’s not easy, but it’s honest. **I’ve learned that showing up with your whole self, your stories, your struggles, your voice, will make some people uncomfortable.** And that’s okay. **I’m not here to be everyone’s favorite.** But I am here to lead in a way that builds trust and opens doors for others to do the same. I’ve seen what happens when we do that. I wrote a song for a young man who passed away, a beautiful soul with deep roots in faith and country life. His mother told me the **song helped her smile again, even through the tears.** It captured who he was, and reminded her she wasn’t alone. Someone living with chronic pain reached out after reading a post I shared about endometriosis. They said, **“That helped me find words I didn’t know I needed.** It finally made sense to the people around me.” I’ve sat with people at work who’ve told me, *“* **This doesn’t feel like just a job. It feels like we’re part of something that matters.”** And now, with the release of my **[book](https://a.co/d/bJuGIBC?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **,** I’m hearing from people in a whole new way. They’ll reach out and say a passage hit them at just the right moment. That a sentence helped them breathe, or cry, or remember who they are. One person told me it felt like the book showed up for them when they didn’t even know they needed it. That’s been incredible. It’s wild to think that something I wrote quietly at night, hoping it might matter, has turned into this little adventure people are taking with me. It’s fun. It’s full of heart. **And it’s one more way I’m trying to make space for people to feel connected again.** **These aren’t my victories. They’re reminders.** Of what happens when we lead with heart. Of what happens when we stop hiding the parts of ourselves that don’t fit the mold. Of what happens when we stay in the middle, even when it burns. **That doesn’t mean I always get it right.** I’ve moved too fast. I’ve trusted people I shouldn’t have. I’ve said things the wrong way. And in moments where I thought I was helping, I know I’ve caused hurt. I own that. I carry it with me. And I’m trying to do better, not just say I'm better. **If you’ve felt unseen, misunderstood, or shut out, I want you to know there’s space for that here.** I don’t get defensive because people disagree with me. **I grow because people care enough to speak up.** You don’t have to agree with everything I say to believe we want the same things: A better world. A stronger community. A life that feels honest and connected. I’m still here. Still trying. Still listening. Still showing up, not just as a leader, but as a human being. If you’ve supported me, thank you. If you’ve challenged me with kindness, I respect that more than you know. And if we’ve had tension, and you’re still here reading this—I see you. That means something to me. I’m not trying to be everything to everyone. **I’m just trying to be real.** **And I still believe we’re stronger together.** ### Right Here Counts Too URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/right-here-counts-too/ Last updated: 2025-06-16T19:08:21.000Z *By Mike Baker* [www.mikebakerhq.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/) Saturday was full. The morning started with the League of Women Voters. I spoke about healthcare, real healthcare, for women. Not the abstract version wrapped in policy jargon, but the one we see every single day in our clinics. The one where women are delayed, denied, dismissed. The one where a zip code decides your access. Where being poor means being forgotten. Where political talking points have names and stories and families. It was one of those moments where I could feel how high the stakes are, and how far we still have to go. Then came the rally. Samantha stood beside me, my daughter, full of fire and clarity, and we joined others for the No Kings protest. It was peaceful. Strong. Necessary. But also, hard. I looked around and saw courage, yes, but also exhaustion. Pain. Signs that screamed truth and others that screamed hate. The division was thick in the air, and you could feel the tension in every glance that didn’t quite meet your eyes. There was love, but there was also vitriol. And it rattled something deep in me. **I was proud of Sam. So damn proud.** Watching her stand in that space with her head high reminded me why I keep showing up. And it reminded me how much this takes out of all of us. By the time I got home, I didn’t have much left. And then came Sunday. No cameras. No confrontation. Just the lake, my wife, and a stretch of quiet we both needed more than we realized. We climbed onto the boat and drifted. We talked for a bit and then we both just drifted off letting the sun work it's magic. The silence wasn’t awkward, it was healing. The sun warmed my face and softened the edges of the day before. I closed my eyes and fell asleep out there, floating. I can’t remember the last time I gave myself permission to truly rest. When we came back home, the energy was still soft. We grilled dinner, sat down as a family, and played UNO, Cam called in from New Zealand, Jake joined us from Boise, and Sam shuffled the deck. That simple, silly game reminded me what connection really is. It’s not always profound. Sometimes it’s just showing up, wherever you are, and letting each other be seen. That night, I felt something settle. Not fixed. But steadied. Because here’s the thing: both days mattered. Saturday was about raising my voice. Sunday was about letting it rest. Saturday cracked me open. Sunday held the pieces. And I don’t want to pretend one is better than the other. They work together. One without the other is unsustainable. The fight matters. So does the recovery. I think a lot of us are walking around carrying so much right now. We’re advocating, parenting, leading, surviving. And we’re doing it in a world that keeps telling us to do more. Be louder. Push harder. Care deeply—but also, don’t break. But we do break. Sometimes in public. Sometimes in the quiet of our own living rooms. Sometimes we don’t even notice it until someone who loves us says, “You haven’t laughed in a while.” So I’m learning this, slowly: **the quiet is not an escape. It’s part of the work**. It’s what lets us come back whole. You don’t have to be on all the time. You don’t have to respond to every comment. You don’t have to carry the weight alone. You’re allowed to rest. To unplug. To float on a boat with your wife and fall asleep to the sound of the water. That’s not weakness. That’s wisdom. That’s what Saturday was for: standing up. And that’s what Sunday was for: remembering why. Right here, this moment, this quiet, this connection, it counts too. Maybe more than we think. ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/IMG_8486.jpg) ### No Kings: Notes From a Middle Seat on a Shaking Train URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/no-kings-notes-from-a-middle-seat-on-a-shaking-train/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:08.000Z I write this from the same place most of us sit, a wobbling middle seat on a train that feels like it’s racing around a blind curve. On one side, passengers cheer every lurch as proof we’re winning. On the other, riders brace for derailment and shout warnings. Somewhere up front, a handful of engineers argue over who gets to pull the throttle while a child cries in the aisle, afraid and unheard. That image, *the child no one hears,* is what finally pushed me to finish a poem and a song called **“No Kings.”** The poem arrived first, raw and spare, after I saw footage of a little boy calling for his mother through steel bars. I could not un-hear his voice. The song followed because I needed melody to carry what words alone could not hold. ### Why Speak Now? Silence can feel safe, especially when conversation turns into combat the moment it hits social media. I know some friends will roll their eyes at this post. Others may decide I’ve “gone political” and unfollow. I understand. Most of us are tired and trying to protect what peace we have left. Yet I keep circling one question: **If someone else, someone from any other party or movement, did what we are watching today, would I stay this quiet?** My honest answer is no. So I can’t remain quiet now, even if the pushback comes from people I love. ### What I See From My Seat - **Children behind fences,** still waiting, still crying. - **Families split** by paperwork that drags on while leaders pose for cameras. - **The Constitution stretched** by executive orders or emergency powers framed as necessary because “our people” support them. - **Our own military placed on city streets,** expected to stand between neighbors. - **Violence sprayed from every direction,** then filtered through partisan newsfeeds until each side blames only the other. These aren’t talking-points. They are snapshots of a country testing the tensile strength of its values. We can disagree on solutions, but we should at least be honest about the pictures in front of us. ### Finding the Middle Without Losing the Truth Plenty of friends on the right are caring, principled, and generous. Plenty of friends on the left strive for fairness, not chaos. The extremes shout the loudest, but most of us still stand somewhere in the neglected middle, hoping to keep our families fed and our communities whole. That’s the ground I want to honor: - I believe in secure borders **and** humane treatment. - I believe in law enforcement **and** accountability for misuse of force. - I believe free speech protects protest **and** it protects those who disagree with protest, so long as disagreement doesn’t slide into threats. - I believe strong leadership matters, yet no leader is above the guardrails meant to keep every citizen safe. When any side claims infinite authority because “the crisis demands it,” the train inches closer to the cliff. ### The Heart Behind *No Kings* I titled both poem and song **“No Kings”** for a simple reason: our nation was built on the idea that no single person should sit beyond question. Our founders argued, bled, compromised, and wrote checks and balances because they understood power’s gravity. When we let loyalty to a leader outweigh loyalty to principle, that gravity tilts everything off track. The poem is lean, almost a whispered prayer. The song carries a heavier rhythm, a warning drumbeat beneath a plea for sanity. Each chorus ends with a challenge: *Is this really what you voted for?* That question is not an accusation. It’s an invitation to look again, from whatever vantage point we occupy, and decide whether the path still matches the values we claim. ### A Request for Conversation, Not Combat I welcome honest discussion. **I just won’t conduct it in a comment brawl.** Social media rewards outrage, not understanding. If you want to talk, reach out privately, meet for coffee, hop on a call. Tell me what you see through your lens, and I’ll share mine without a digital crowd urging us to throw sharper elbows. ### A Blessing for Protesters and Protectors Alike To everyone raising signs, cameras, or prayers in the days ahead: **May courage guide your steps, wisdom steady your words, and safety shield every peaceful gathering** *.* **I pray that those tasked with maintaining order remember their oath to the people, and that demonstrators remember the power of disciplined non-violence. Evil thrives on chaos; it despises steadfast compassion.** ### Where We Go From Here We stand at a crossroads where fatigue tempts us to surrender the wheel. **Please don’t.** The child still cries. The train still barrels forward. Our job, left, right, and center, is to keep our hands on the brakes when needed, to steer toward the common good, and to remember that no passenger is expendable. Listen to the song if you have a moment. Read the poem. Sit with whatever stirs inside you. If it sparks hope, share it. If it sparks anger, tell me why. Either way, let’s refuse the easy slide into enemy-making. There are no kings on this soil, only neighbors navigating a rough season. The middle seat may shake the hardest, but it also keeps the whole car balanced. I’m staying here, feet planted, voice steady, eyes open. I hope you’ll sit with me a while. — **Mike Baker** ### *Listen & Read* - **Song “No Kings”** ➜ https://on.soundcloud.com/buKiqv61T771Cxk1pu - **Poem “No Kings”** ➜ https://www.facebook.com/share/1AZShu2hRh/ ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi2-471.jpg) ### What Fatherhood Really Feels Like URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/what-fatherhood-really-feels-like/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:09.000Z *By Mike Baker* There’s a kind of love that doesn’t need applause. It shows up quietly, does the work, and holds steady even when no one’s watching. That’s the love I was raised with. My dad lives to make other people happy. He never chased praise, but the way people lit up when he walked into a room told you everything. He built trust the way some people build furniture, piece by piece, with patience and intention. He didn’t just love us. He loved people. He served them. That love shaped me, even when I didn’t fully understand it. Since my mom passed, I’ve seen something quieter in him. Like a part of his spark left with her. She was his rhythm and his fire. The one who made the ordinary feel bright. And while he still shows up for others in that steady way he always has, I know there’s a space in him that can’t be filled. Watching him carry that grief with grace has taught me just as much as anything else. **Their love shaped our family. It still does. And we all hope he finds a little of that spark again.** Becoming a father changed everything. Nothing prepared me for how much I would feel, how much I would learn, and how much I would question myself. And I wouldn’t even be a dad without Kellie. She is my wife, my anchor, my best friend, and the reason I have this title in the first place. I’ve leaned on her through every high and every low. She’s the strongest person I know. And somehow, she still makes space for all of us to keep becoming who we are meant to be. **Our kids, Jake, Cameron, and Samantha, have taught me more about life than any book, class, or job ever could.** Jake is thoughtful to his core. He notices things most people miss. He overthinks, because he cares deeply. He’s shown me the power of slowing down and paying attention, especially when the world says to rush through everything. Cam has that same depth, but with a different fire. He moves with urgency and heart. He feels everything and still chooses to dive in. He’s taught me that you don’t need to wait until you feel ready. You just have to care enough to begin. Sammie brings a quiet strength that is hard to put into words. She leads with kindness. Her presence is calm and steady. She’s taught me that gentleness is its own kind of power. **Somewhere in the middle of all that, I am still learning how to be a better dad.** I think a lot about my Uncle Chuck. He was the cool uncle. Jeep top off, music up, always ready for an adventure. But more than that, he was reliable. Constant. He showed up without being asked. That kind of presence stays with you long after the ride ends. And then there’s my BGO brothers. We grew up together, and now we’re raising families of our own. I see them ache for their kids to be safe, to be known, to be okay. Behind the jokes and sarcasm, there is something fierce and quiet that lives in all of us. That deep hope that what we are doing is enough. And my brother Jon, he’s one of the most amazing dads I’ve ever seen. The way he shows up for his kids, the way he leads with heart, it’s something I’ve always admired. His presence, his patience, his steady love, it’s the kind of fatherhood that sticks with you. Watching him parent has shaped me more than he probably knows. The truth is, this role carries weight. **Fatherhood comes with pressure. Expectations.** The fear of messing it all up. There are nights when I lie awake wondering if I am failing. Some of those nights turn into music. Others into art. And some just live inside me until I find the courage to speak them. I’ve failed in ways that still hurt. There are people who’ve seen me at my lowest. People who may read this and only see what I got wrong. People I led, or loved, or let down. I know what it feels like to be misjudged, to be written off, to have no space to explain. And if you’re someone who’s felt that from me, I’m not here to defend. I just want you to know I carry that. There have been seasons in my life where the weight of assumptions, silence, or misunderstanding has been heavy. Moments when people formed opinions without asking questions. Times when things I built or cared about were dismissed like they never mattered. That kind of thing can break you if you let it. And it stays with you. I think about those moments more than anyone knows. I think about the impact. I think about the loss. And all I can do now is try to live in a way that honors the lessons, even the painful ones. I can’t undo what’s been done. But I can keep showing up with more honesty, more care, and more heart. **I’m still here. Still trying to be better.** To rebuild what can be rebuilt. To grow from the parts I didn’t handle well. To speak more truthfully. To live more fully into the man I say I want to be. Not everyone will see it. And that’s okay. I just want to keep showing up, even when it’s hard. I hope others do too. **You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to stay in it.** This month is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. And that matters. Because too many dads are carrying more than they can say. Some are lost. Some are just surviving. Some are here but completely buried. If you’re one of those men, please hear this. You’re not broken. You’re not weak for feeling tired or overwhelmed. You are strong for staying in it. A friend once gave me a postcard with a quote from Robin Williams. It said, **“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”** That quote stays with me. Not just because of how his story ended, but because of how many people are walking through pain we never see. Kindness is not just for others. It’s for ourselves too. **This Father’s Day, I’m not offering advice. I’m offering truth.** If you’re trying, that counts. If you’re tired, you’re not alone. If you’ve messed up, own it, and keep going. Your presence matters more than your perfection ever will. Your love is the legacy that lasts. To my dad, to Uncle Chuck, to Jake, Cam, Sammie, Kellie, Jon, the BGO crew, and every man still trying to love better and lead with heart—thank you. You matter. Keep going. **And if any part of this landed with you, if you’re a dad doing your best, if you’re healing something you don’t talk about, or if you just needed to hear that you’re not alone, I hope you’ll check out some of the other ways I’ve been working through it. I wrote a book called** **[The Optimist’s Way](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5NLFG9D?ref%5F=cm%5Fsw%5Fr%5Fffobk%5Fcp%5Fud%5Fdp%5F1QKR3HTAC0HRZP886E4P&bestFormat=true&ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **that holds a lot of these stories, and I’ve been** **[writing and releasing music that carries the same heart](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2hbJLbX7FkveIAz0xnJce9?si=Ik6NdYoHQkq2WhHO8yWkVw&ref=mikebakerhq.com)** **.** **It’s not perfect, but it’s honest. And knowing someone is reading or listening, it helps more than you know.** ### Too Much Noise; A Letter from Inside the Record URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/too-much-noise-a-letter-from-inside-the-record/ Last updated: 2025-05-27T08:26:26.000Z **By Mike Baker** This album wasn’t written to chase a sound. It was written to chase **connection,** something I think all of us are quietly desperate for. Every track on *Too Much Noise* comes from real moments, mine, my family’s, my friends’. Some I lived directly. Others I watched from the outside, wishing I could carry the weight for someone else. This record holds the things we usually don’t say out loud: Disconnection. Numbness. Ghosted friendships. Survival. And the deep hope that maybe… we’re not alone in it. Here’s a deeper look into the stories behind each track, and what they’ve meant to me. ### 🎧 **1\. Everyone’s Talking** I’ve never felt more disconnected than when everyone around me was “available.” We’re all reachable now. Messages. Notifications. Scroll. Swipe. Repeat. But somehow it’s harder than ever to be *seen.* This song came from that overload, being surrounded by voices but not really hearing anything real. It’s overstimulation in a quiet, soul-deep way. I was in rooms full of people, conversations everywhere… and still completely alone inside. This track sets the emotional tone for the whole album, like saying, *“Hey, I’m still here… even if I feel like I’m fading.”* ### 🎧 **2\. Smile for the Camera** We all have a version of ourselves we send out to the world. This song is about the one that’s smiling when your heart’s in pieces. The photos that look perfect, the laughs that hit just right, while something inside you is unraveling. I’ve done that. I’ve watched people I love do it. This track came after a conversation where I asked someone how they were doing and they said, “Fine.” But everything about their face said otherwise. That line, *“Nobody knows what I bury in songs”* came from a place so raw it almost didn’t make it in. But it’s the truth. This one hurts, but it needed to be said. ### 🎧 **3\. This House Is Loud and Empty** This came from a very personal space, moments in my own home where everything felt “normal,” but emotionally, it was anything but. There’s a certain kind of loneliness that lives in familiar places. Kids upstairs, dishes clinking, a TV on in the background. But no one’s talking. No one’s really *there.*It’s not about blame. It’s about silence that isn’t peaceful, it’s hollow. This song was hard to write because it held up a mirror. And I think that’s why it matters. ### 🎧 **4\. Made a Mess, Stayed in Bed** There are days where the weight is too much. When brushing your teeth feels like a victory. This song isn’t a cry for help. It’s a quiet truth that a lot of people live with and feel ashamed to name. I’ve seen it up close, in people I love, and if I’m honest, in myself. The mess isn’t just physical. It’s emotional. Mental. And sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stay. This song doesn’t judge. It just **sits with you in that room**. ### 🎧 **5\. The Friend I Don’t Talk To Anymore** This is one of the most personal songs I’ve ever written. It’s about a friend I love like family, someone I grew up with, someone who used to light up every room. And then… he was gone. Not physically. Just… gone. Something shifted. He pulled away. Stopped answering, stopped trusting, stopped letting any of us in. Every time I’m back in town, I still drive past his place. I still hope the porch light’s on. The bridge of this song comes from one of the last times we were together, we sat outside, talked for hours, and for a moment it felt like the version of him we missed was still in there. Then the silence came back. I carry this song like a prayer. And I still hope he hears it. ### 🎧 **6\. Ghost Me Too** This one’s about self-sabotage, the kind where you leave before anyone has the chance to hurt you. It’s protection… but at a cost. I’ve been guilty of it. Shutting down. Pulling away. Telling myself “they won’t stick around anyway” before anyone ever had a chance. The song sits in that space, where loneliness is self-inflicted, and yet completely understandable. It’s hard to listen back to this one. Which tells me I needed to write it. ### 🎧 **7\. Talk Like That** Some conversations drain you. Surface-level, shallow, safe. We’ve built a whole world out of them. But every once in a while, someone says something real, and it hits you like fresh air. This song is for the ones tired of pretending. Tired of "I’m good, you?" Tired of laughing when their heart’s screaming. It’s a quiet rebellion. A request: *Please, let’s say something true.*Even if it’s hard. ### 🎧 **8\. Group Chat Silence** Friendship breakups don’t always come with explosions. Sometimes, they just… fade. You’re still technically “in” the group chat. Still tagged. Still liked. But something’s changed, and no one says your name anymore. This one hurt to write because I’ve felt it. I’ve seen the conversations keep moving without me. And I’ve watched people I love feel that same slow erasure. This song is a quiet grief. ### 🎧 **9\. I Just Wanted to Feel Something** This track came from conversations with people I love who struggled with self-harm and self-destruction, not because they wanted to die, but because they just wanted to *feel something again.* And I’ve felt versions of that in my own way, craving some spark, even if it hurt. There’s no judgment here. Just the reality that sometimes pain feels more human than numbness. ### 🎧 **10\. Autopilot Heart** This is what it feels like to function perfectly on the outside while feeling completely gone on the inside. Waking up. Working. Smiling. But not really being there. Not really feeling anything. Just drifting. So many people are in this space and don’t have words for it. This song tries to give them a few. ### 🎧 **11\. Louder Than My Thoughts** I’ve left the TV on just to not hear my own brain. I’ve cranked music to avoid that 2AM spiral. This one’s for the ones who need the volume up to survive. Because silence isn’t peaceful when your own thoughts won’t leave you alone. ### 🎧 **12\. Turn It All Off (and Stay)** This song means a lot to me. It’s about the kind of love that doesn’t try to fix you, it just stays. No answers. No pep talks. Just someone sitting beside you when you’ve got nothing left. That kind of presence changes everything. ### 🎧 **13\. Can You Just Be Here?** This is probably one of the most vulnerable songs on the album. It’s built around a question we rarely say out loud: *“Can you please stay? Can you just be here with me?”* Not forever. Not with solutions. Just **right now.**That moment where someone being near you is the difference between giving up and holding on. ### 🎧 **14\. Still Here** *(Bonus Track)* This one is for the survivors. For the ones who almost left, or tried to. It’s for the people I love who didn’t think they were going to make it… and are still here. It’s for my kids. It’s for my friends. It’s for anyone who heard the dark calling and somehow woke up anyway. This is one of the most important songs I’ve ever written. And every time I play it back, I just say *thank you.* ### 🎧 **15\. Second Breath** *(Instrumental)* No words. Because by this point, we’ve said enough. This track is the breath after the breakdown. The moment of calm. The stillness after chaos. A quiet reminder that *you’re still here.* ## 💬 **Final Words** This record isn’t built for trends. It wasn’t made for algorithms. It was made for someone sitting in their car wondering if they’re the only one feeling this way. If you’re that person, this album is for you. Thanks for listening. — Mike ### Weekend Magic on the Ice URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/weekend-magic-on-the-ice/ Last updated: 2026-08-13T23:35:31.000Z This weekend, I laced up my skates for the [5th Annual Panhandle Spring Classic](https://bit.ly/inghf-tournament2025?ref=mikebakerhq.com), an adult hockey tournament here in Coeur d’Alene that raises funds for the [Inland Northwest Girls Hockey Foundation.](https://www.inghf.org/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) **What they’re building is nothing short of extraordinary, and it’s already changing lives.** The foundation is making it possible for girls across the region to dream big through hockey. They’re creating space where young women can see a future in the game, not as spectators, but as players, leaders, and teammates. They are shaping a culture where belonging starts at the rink. Before one of my games, I saw Sam, a player I’ve known for years. I remember when she was just a kid on the ice. Now she’s grown into a strong, confident young woman with big dreams and the drive to chase them. We sat before a game, she had a huge smile and she told me about her future, what she’s aiming for, and how excited she is. **That moment hit me in a quiet, powerful way.** That’s the heartbeat of this tournament. That’s the purpose behind the play. **But it goes deeper than that.** Every person who stepped onto that ice this weekend was carrying something. Some were wrestling with health challenges. Others were carrying grief. Some had the weight of family stress, job insecurity, or the thousand small worries that pile up and wear us down. You don’t always know what people are holding, but you can feel it. It’s there. Then something shifts. The gear goes on. The puck drops. And all that heaviness, at least for a little while, gets left in the locker room. That’s what this game gives us. A break from the noise. A place to breathe. A few hours to forget the chaos and just play. Just be part of something bigger than ourselves. That’s the magic of hockey. It doesn’t solve everything, but it helps. It heals in quiet, unspoken ways. **That magic was everywhere this weekend.** It showed up when I walked into the locker room of the team that had just knocked us out and heard my [own album](https://open.spotify.com/album/7r3VmxsUQwAO037mwl1zkA?si=8AQf2PUASniTEFMS9iDcyw&ref=mikebakerhq.com) playing over the speakers. They didn’t know it was me. They were just enjoying the music. And I stood there, listening to lyrics I wrote playing over a speaker in a place where I’d just left it all on the ice, and I couldn’t stop smiling. It showed up again and again in the conversations between periods, when people asked me about *[The Optimist’s Way](https://a.co/d/ai5tJd0?ref=mikebakerhq.com)*[,](https://a.co/d/ai5tJd0?ref=mikebakerhq.com) shared their stories, told me what the book had meant to them, or asked how they could get a copy. There’s something humbling about people connecting to your words in the middle of a hockey tournament. It reminded me why I write. Why I share. Why I keep creating. The world should feel more like a locker room after a good game. Tired bodies, full hearts, and no one left out. #### **The Teams That Carried Me** I played on two teams this weekend: the **Cobra Chickens**, and an upper-division squad proudly wearing the **Heritage Health** jersey. **Let’s start with the Heritage Health team.** I’m almost 50\. Most of those guys were 18 to 20, with a few in their late twenties, including my son, Jake. And still, they welcomed me in net without hesitation. They were fast, skilled, and intense. But what impressed me more than their play was their character. They treated me like I belonged. Lifted me up when I let a few in. Celebrated the big saves. Played hard and laughed harder. They made space for me without question, and that’s something I won’t forget. They’ve got bright futures ahead. And while they may not carry this tournament with them the way I will, I’ll always remember how they made me feel. I tried to give them my best, made some big stops, let a few go I’d love back. I saw other goalies dialed in at the highest level and felt that nudge in my gut, you’ve got more work to do. I felt so out of place, that imposter syndrome raging in my head, but their kindness let it rest for a bit and I was able to feel that joy and know that I have a place on the ice. But the way they stood with me, especially having Jake out there on the ice beside me, that was something special. That’s a memory that’ll stick. **Then came the Cobra Chickens.** We fought hard and clawed our way to the championship. Tied it up with seconds left and forced a shootout, despite my very clear pre-game plea: no shootouts, please. Goalies know what that pressure feels like. First round, I made the stop. We missed. Second round, they scored. We missed again. Third round, I made the save. We had one last shot… it went high. And that was the game. **Second place. Proud effort. No regrets.** #### **Joy in the Unexpected** One of my favorite stories of the weekend came from a team I wasn’t even on, the **Zambonis**. They were the underdog team with something electric in their locker room. Coy, their captain, was the most enthusiastic person on the planet. He kept his guys pumped and loose, and when they won their first big game, his celebration lit up the rink. You couldn’t help but grin. Their goalie, Blake, posted a shutout, and the look on his face said it all. Joy. Relief. Pride. Then they came back the next day and won again, a rematch of the night before. When the final buzzer sounded, the roof practically lifted off the place. **If hockey is a mirror of life, this was one of those moments where the mirror caught the best of us. That’s the kind of joy you don’t need to explain. You just feel it**. And then, to cap it all off, I got to watch the final upper-division championship. Two goalies I look up to, **Zane Hill** and **Jordan Belley**, were in net. And man, were they good. Calm under pressure. Technically flawless. Mentally locked in. It was like watching a masterclass in goaltending. They reminded me why I love this position. Why I keep working at it. Why I still believe I’ve got something left to give. #### **Behind the Mask** Being a goalie is different. You carry the weight of the game. You’re the last line. Every goal feels like it’s on you. Every save feels like a redemption. It’s lonely, brutal, beautiful work. It’s why I wrote *[Behind the Mask](https://open.spotify.com/track/3BoUe9UGpDj1L4kB17EHEa?si=030e3715db874714&ref=mikebakerhq.com)* and *[The Goalie’s Prayer](https://open.spotify.com/track/4PEC4lkE0w4s0mlwDvkPl0?si=b35381e96aa043c1&ref=mikebakerhq.com)*[,](https://open.spotify.com/track/4PEC4lkE0w4s0mlwDvkPl0?si=b35381e96aa043c1&ref=mikebakerhq.com) to put words to a role that most people don’t truly understand. It’s not just hockey. It’s a metaphor for life. You stand your ground. You stay calm in chaos. **You hold your team together and hope that you’re enough.** And at the end of the tournament, as the crowd left and the lights dimmed, I sat in the locker room for a while. Soaking it all in. Letting it settle. When I stepped out onto the now-quiet rink, a small group was still carving slow circles into the ice. No scoreboard. No pressure. Just the sound of blades slicing the surface and laughter bouncing off the rafters. Just joy, pure and simple. **That’s hockey. That’s what it gives us.** #### **Gratitude** To the Inland Northwest Girls Hockey Foundation, thank you for giving this weekend purpose. For creating opportunity. For making space for future generations to dream, skate, and lead. To the volunteers, the teams, the fans, and the families, thank you. You made something beautiful happen. To everyone who skated, cheered, shot, saved, coached, or just showed up, I hope you felt it too. Because for a few hours, we all got to set the weight down. We got to breathe. We got to remember who we are. That’s the magic. And I can’t wait to feel it again. ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/4209139933283404971.jpg) ### Shaenol: A Memory That Found Its Way Back URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/shaenol-a-memory-that-found-its-way-back/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:10.000Z ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi2-397.jpg) **“You hear now, mm? this not sound like music. this be memory crawlin’ back, soft, like mist ’round fire. voice no come from mouth. come from heart, from tear you didn’t cry. you ready? then let shaenol speak.”** That’s how it opens. No beat. No hook. No melody to hold onto. Just a voice, soft, strange, cracked open, speaking in a language you’ve never heard but somehow recognize. It doesn’t introduce itself. It doesn’t ask permission. It just *enters,* like a dream you weren’t expecting, but somehow remember. That’s *Shaenol*. And this is where the story begins. ## 🕯️ A Song That Started With Family This track was born one quiet night, sitting with my brother **Jon** and his son **Tommy**. Two gifted musicians. Two artists with the kind of intuition that turns strings and rhythm into something spiritual. I’m still learning, taking lessons, trying to get my fingers to cooperate with what my heart already knows. They weren’t showing off. They were helping me. Encouraging. Patient. And as I sat there, feeling more inspired than intimidated, something in me lit up. Not in competition. Not in comparison. Just… creative fire. It’s a familiar feeling. It shows up when I’m watching people I love doing what they’re made for. That fire always asks the same question: **What are** **you** **going to make with what you’ve got?** I don’t have their hands. Not yet. But I do have an instrument. A different one. One I’ve been learning to master in my own way. And that night, I picked it up. Not to match what they were doing. To build something that only I could make. That’s where *Shaenol* started. ## I Use AI as an Instrument, and I Know How to Play I use AI to create music, and I’m not here to defend it. Because I’m not asking for permission. I’m creating with full intent, heart, and vision. When I build with AI, I don’t step aside. I step *in*. I design emotional arcs. I choose tones, textures, pacing, progression. I create vocal characters. I write original lyrics. I build language systems — like **Neh’ael**, the invented language of *Shaenol* — that don’t *translate*, but *resonate*. The result? **Not something a machine made**. **Something I made, through the machine.** AI is my instrument. And I’ve trained my ear, my heart, and my imagination to play it in a way that’s real. And just because the tool is new doesn’t mean the soul behind it isn’t ancient. ## ⚡ I Have ADD. And Imposter Syndrome. And They Both Try to Take Me Down. There’s something else I’ve carried with me through this creative life: **ADD**, and its close companion, **imposter syndrome**. ADD doesn’t just make focus hard. It creates noise. It short-circuits self-trust. It fuels guilt for not doing enough, not finishing enough, not being enough. And imposter syndrome? It tags in when ADD wears me down. Together, they whisper all the worst things at exactly the wrong time. And some days, I believe them. So I overcompensate. I work harder. At work. At home. In the net on the ice. Trying to prove, to *myself* more than anyone, that I’ve earned my place. But here’s what I’m learning: Those voices don’t always tell the truth. And when I’m quiet enough to hear something deeper? I can feel the gift inside both. My ADD lets me dive headfirst into creation. It makes time disappear when I’m in flow. It’s why I can create across genres and mediums with a kind of emotional agility that’s hard to explain. And the imposter voice? It’s a reminder that I care deeply about the work. But it doesn’t get the final say. Because when I zoom out, really zoom out, I can see what’s real. I’ve helped lead an organization that improves lives every day. I’ve raised kids who are compassionate, brilliant, and strong. **I’ve loved a woman who brings light into every room, who grounds me, challenges me, and makes this life worth coming home to**. I’ve built a life rooted in love. In purpose. In creation. I don’t owe anyone an explanation. I have not done this on my own. But I owe myself the truth: **I’ve earned this and so have you..** ## 🎨 Some Days I Create Chaos. Some Days I Create Calm. I’ve made people cry with an image I created. With a lyric. With a single line that cracked something open in someone who thought they were fine. Some days, the work is raw — gritty, confrontational, heavy. Other days, it’s tender. Minimal. Built to whisper instead of shout. I’ve made country songs. Rap tracks. Piano scores. Survivor anthems. Dark grooves. Love notes. Grief letters. Some of it I release. Some of it I create just for one person. Some of it never leaves my hands. And then... There might be a kind of work that lives even further out. Different voice. Different current. Unclaimed. Unfiltered. A presence that doesn’t wear my name, but might still carry my fingerprints. Maybe you’ve stumbled across something that felt strange. A little too raw. A little too free. And something about it made you stop. Maybe it felt like mine. Maybe it wasn’t. There’s no way to know for sure. And that’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be. ## 💬 What *Shaenol* Really Is *Shaenol* didn’t come from a concept. It came from a place I couldn’t explain, a space where emotion was louder than thought. I built **Neh’ael**, an invented language where no word has a fixed definition, but every sound is tied to feeling. There’s no map here. No tempo. No melody. No form. Only space. Breath. And memory. The voice that opens the track doesn’t sing, it speaks in pulses and fragments. It invites you in without guiding you through. This piece isn’t meant to be heard. It’s meant to be felt. And maybe, remembered. ## 🤲 Let This Song Be a Blessing More than anything, *Shaenol* was made to hold people. To quiet the noise. To pull you back into something sacred. To connect. It’s not a single. It’s not a stunt. It’s not chasing likes or playlists. It’s a sound offering. And I hope, in some quiet moment, it becomes a blessing for you the way it has been for me. ## 🌙 A Quiet Moment That Said It All Tonight, as the house settled and the day wound down, I sat on the couch , show playing, lights dim, everything slowing down. Kellie looked over and asked, *"What are you working on tonight?"* I smiled and said, *"Just playing."* But I wasn’t *just* playing. I was deep in it. In that place where time unhooks and the only thing left is *presence*. Where the guard drops. Where the noise quiets. Where I stop proving and start *listening*. That’s what *Shaenol* gave me. And I’m going to keep following that thread, wherever it leads. ## 🎧 *Shaenol* Is Now Live on SoundCloud Like all of my public releases, early access starts here — on [SoundCloud](https://on.soundcloud.com/iySq24L74QV3X9AB9?ref=mikebakerhq.com). You can hear *Shaenol* now. The full release across **Spotify, Apple Music, and all major platforms** drops **Thursday, May 23**. This piece wasn’t built for the masses. But if you feel something when it plays — if it stirs something without asking permission — then it’s yours now, too. Let *Shaenol* speak. Let it guide you. Let it remind you: > You are still here. You are still becoming. You are not done. — *Mike Baker*🔥💀🕯️ [www.mikebakerhq.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/) ### 💬 What *Shaenol* Really Means #### **(for those who stay a little longer)** In **Neh’ael** *(pronounced: NAY-ha-el)*, words aren’t defined, they’re *felt*. *Shaenol* is not a name. It’s a state. A shift inside you that wakes when memory does. It blends three emotional tones: - **Sha** *(SHAH)* a sacred call, the stirring of something long buried - **Ae** *(EH-uh, like breath catching at the top of the throat)* the ache, the longing, the place where love meets loss - **Nol** *(NOHL, rhymes with “soul”)* stillness, witness, the part of you that holds without judgment Together, they form *Shaenol,*A word that doesn’t describe the feeling… it becomes it. It’s the voice that rises when something unlatches in your soul. The hush that follows a grief you didn’t name. The feeling you didn’t expect, but needed. It doesn’t translate. It doesn’t perform. It remembers. ### 🧠 One Last Thing If you made it this far and you're thinking, *"Wait... Mike created a whole language?"* *"Is he okay?"* #### **Yes. I’m okay. I’m better than okay.** This post might go deeper than what I usually share. It might sound a little mystical, a little intense. But I promise, I’m not seeing aliens, I haven’t lost my grip, and I’m not living in a forest talking to crystals. (Yet.) **I just love creating. It feeds my soul. It opens my mind. And sometimes, that means building something that doesn’t quite fit into the usual boxes**. Thanks for sticking with me. Thanks for feeling this. I hope *Shaenol* finds its way into your own creative current, wherever that may lead. #### **Nice job.. This was a long one.... Congratulations. You made it to the end.** — *Mike*🔥💀🕯️ ### What I Carried Home from Washington URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/what-i-carried-home-from-washington/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:11.000Z Some trips are about meetings and agendas. This one included all of that. We showed up, we worked hard, and we got a lot done. But it also left a mark on my heart. I am headed home from Washington, D.C., and I am still carrying it with me. Not just in my suitcase, but in my chest. The conversations were important. The connections we built and the clarity we sought were real. But behind every meeting was a deeper question: What kind of future are we building together? There is a lot of tension in the air right now. You can feel it in every hallway, every headline, and every conversation. People are tired. Systems are strained. The path forward is not always clear. And more than ever, we need leadership that does not just check boxes or bends the knee, but brings people together. We need leaders who are not prideful or self-serving. Leaders who are not afraid to speak the truth, even when it is uncomfortable. Leaders who do not look the other way when power goes unchecked. We need people who will stand up with integrity, who will listen more than they speak, and who are willing to do the hard work of holding space for others. That kind of leadership creates trust. That kind of leadership changes things. In the middle of that tension, I found something I did not expect: peace. It started with a lunch recommendation from a new friend. We walked over to the **National Museum of the American Indian**, thinking we would grab a bite before heading back into a full schedule. I was not expecting what came next. Even before we walked inside, I felt it. The space was different. The water flowing quietly along the path. The trees that felt placed with care. The stillness of the pond. And right at the entrance, a large circular sculpture rising from the middle of the water. It was bold and quiet at the same time. It made me stop. In the middle of a noisy city, something in me settled. It felt like the world slowed down, just for a moment. Inside, it was peaceful and thoughtful. Every exhibit, every space, seemed to invite reflection. It was not loud. It did not overwhelm. It was designed with reverence and intention. I had come expecting lunch. I walked into something sacred. I spent time with the stories, stories of survival, resilience, heartbreak, and hope. One that stayed with me was the **Two Row Wampum Belt**. It is a symbol of an agreement between two nations to travel down the river of life side by side, each in their own vessel, neither steering the other. That kind of mutual respect should have been the foundation. But history tells a different story. A story of broken promises. A story of pain. A story that is still unfolding today. The more I read, the more I felt the weight of what has been lost. And the quiet strength of those who have held on. The wisdom of Indigenous communities, their connection to the land, to community, to spirit, these are not things of the past. They are lessons we need now more than ever. While I stood in that space, I thought about the **[Coeur d’Alene Tribe](https://www.cdatribe-nsn.gov/?ref=mikebakerhq.com)**, my neighbors back home in North Idaho. Their leadership is steady and humble, deeply rooted in care. But what I admire most is that their care does not stop at their own. They include all of us. They show up for this region in ways that are generous and often unseen. They build. They protect. They serve. They lead with compassion and courage, and they remind all of us what it means to belong to one another. That morning, before our hill visits, I had a cherry blossom latte and it had a perfect heart poured into the foam. Later that night, I was with friends at the rooftop bar at our hotel, and we shared a cherry blossom cocktail. It was a mix of Toki whiskey, citrus, sparkling sake, and a little smoke, and it caught us off guard. The flavor was incredible. Unexpected. Powerful. That bright, unforgettable taste broke through the noise of the day. And somehow, it reminded me of the heart in that latte earlier. Two small moments of quiet beauty. One at the start of the day. One at the end. Both of them soft and strong in their own way. That cherry blossom became a symbol for me that day. Beauty in the chaos. Color and flavor in the middle of tension and complexity. Something gentle that still carries strength. **That is how I want to move through the world**. We ended the night the way we always try to when we are in D.C., on that same rooftop, looking out at the Capitol, glowing through the rain. I was with people who care deeply. People who give their energy to this work day after day. People who believe in healing, in progress, in showing up when it would be easier to walk away. We talked about the broken systems. About burnout. About the weight we all carry. But we also talked about the good. About what still inspires us. The hope that does not quit. Before flying home, I left behind a few copies of my book, *[The Optimist’s Way](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5NLFG9D?ref%5F=cm%5Fsw%5Fr%5Fffobk%5Fcp%5Fud%5Fdp%5FNGEN3QX3FQ3PZAVKSPFH&ref=mikebakerhq.com)*. One in my hotel room. One on a table at a the coffee shop. A few more tucked into quiet places where someone might find them. I included a small note, just a simple message. If the book speaks to you, I would love to hear from you. Not for attention. Just connection. Just to say, if this landed with you, you are not alone. **Sometimes, I wonder if it all matters**. The songs I write. The art I create. The stories I share. I see posts go viral for things that are shallow or cruel or designed to provoke. And yet the words I pour my heart into, the ones that could move someone, or maybe even help, get five likes and disappear into the scroll. It feels like untapped potential. Like there are sparks of truth just waiting to reach the right person, but the algorithm keeps them buried. And it is hard not to feel discouraged. But then I remember: even one person reached is enough. That is why I keep going. I keep leading my team. I keep serving my community. And I keep writing. I keep making music. I keep creating art that tells the truth. These things are my outlet, my therapy, my way of processing what I carry. Because I believe in the quiet power of optimism. The kind that does not need a spotlight. The kind that does not quit when things are hard. The kind that keeps showing up, even if no one is watching. The kind that leaves something behind for a stranger, just in case they need it. We need better leadership. Not louder. Not flashier. Just better. We need people who care about others. People who build trust. People who can look at the bigger picture and still see the individual standing in front of them. I saw that kind of leadership in that museum. I see it every day in the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. And I see it in the people who keep doing the work, even when it is hard, even when it feels like no one sees it. So if you are tired, if you are wondering if what you do makes a difference, this is for you. You are still here. Still trying. And that means something. — Mike ### Why I Wrote The Optimist’s Way URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/why-i-wrote-the-optimists-way/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:38:49.000Z ## A personal note about failure, hope, and choosing to keep going By Mike Baker I started writing this book in November, during a season that knocked me off balance. Not in some dramatic way, but in the quiet, personal way that life sometimes wears you down. My optimism, something I’ve always leaned on, started to feel distant. The noise got loud. The weight got heavy. And I found myself questioning everything. **I didn’t set out to write a book. I just needed somewhere to put all the things I was carrying.** So I started writing. Not to build something big. Just to make it through the next day. Quiet notes. Short reflections. Simple reminders to keep going when things felt foggy. Over time, they started to take shape. One small page at a time. And slowly, what began as survival started to feel like healing. That’s how *The Optimist’s Way* came to life. ### Wrestling with the Voice of Doubt This might be the hardest part to admit, but I’ve carried self-doubt for most of my life. It’s not loud. It’s quiet. Persistent. It sneaks in after the crowd is gone, after the meeting wraps up, after the music fades. And it says things like: *“You’re not the kind of person who gets to write books.”* *“You’re not qualified to lead.”* *“You’ve already failed too many times.”* Whether it’s leadership, music, writing, or art, I’ve heard that voice over and over again. And some days, I believe it. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve let people down. I’ve second-guessed decisions, doubted my instincts, and wondered if I’m actually making a difference, or just getting in my own way. There are moments when I look at everything I’ve built and still feel like I’m coming up short. But I keep going. I keep showing up. Because something in me refuses to quit. *The Optimist’s Way* wasn’t written from a place of certainty. It came from the tension of feeling like I had something to say and also feeling unqualified to say it. It came from showing up with shaky hands and a wide-open heart. It came from choosing to move forward, not because I had all the answers, but because I knew someone else out there might be feeling the same way. This book isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about being honest enough to admit you don’t, and still pressing on. ### What the Book Really Is *The Optimist’s Way* is a book of reflections. Of reminders. Of breath. It’s for the person doing their best to hold it together, not perfectly, but honestly. It’s a book you can open on the hard days, the slow mornings, the in-between moments. A quiet nudge. A pause. A little light. I included original music and some art throughout the book, not as a gimmick, but because those are the tools I use to process the world. When words fail, creativity fills the space. These pieces are deeply personal, and each one is part of the larger experience of what it means to keep showing up. This isn’t just a book you read. It’s something you sit with. ### What Keeps Me Going People have started reading *The Optimist’s Way*, and the messages I’ve received have stopped me in my tracks. *“This is what I needed right now.”* *“It felt like you were sitting beside me, saying: you’ve got this.”* *“It helped me feel less alone.”* That’s everything. Yes, I’d love for this book to reach more people. But not for the numbers. For the conversations. For the connection. For the hope it might offer someone on the edge of giving up. That’s what drives me. That’s what’s always driven me. ### If You’re Still Here, Still Trying… This book is for you. If you’ve been navigating a quiet storm that no one else sees… If you’ve been holding things together while carrying self-doubt and shame… If you’ve been showing up even when your heart feels heavy… You are not alone. And you don’t have to feel ready. You just have to begin. 📘 You can grab *The Optimist’s Way* here: [https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g](https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g?ref=mikebakerhq.com) If the book resonates with you, I’d be grateful if you’d leave a quick review on Amazon. Or share it with someone who needs it. That’s how it finds its way into the hands of the people it was written for. Thanks for walking this road with me. Thanks for believing in something quiet and honest. Thanks for choosing to keep going. — Mike Baker ### The Weight No One Sees This piece of art is called *The Weight No One Sees*. I created it late one night after a day that just broke me down. Sometimes I don’t know how to talk about what I’m feeling, so I turn to art. It’s like a Pensieve from Harry Potter, a place to store the emotions I don’t always know how to carry. I pour them into color, shape, texture, and let them sit there so they’re not all trapped inside me. If this image doesn’t show you what I feel on the inside some days, I don’t know what else could. That heaviness, that ache in your chest you can't name, the collapse behind the brave face. That’s what this is. And I know I’m not the only one who’s felt it. Sharing this is my way of being vulnerable, not to draw attention, but to offer connection. To say, *“I’ve been there too.”*Maybe you have. Maybe someone you love has. If this art reaches someone who’s been silently carrying their own weight, then it’s done what I hoped it would. ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/600_Mike-Baker_452781_The_Weight_No_One_Sees.jpg) ### When the World Gets Louder, Get Kinder URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/when-the-world-gets-louder-get-kinder/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:12.000Z **“People Are Angrier. Whatever Happened to Peace and Love?”** I was watching *The Pitt* the other night, a gritty hospital drama that doesn’t shy away from hard truths. In one scene, after a nurse is assaulted by a patient, a staff member says: > *“The world's changed. People are angrier. Tempers are shorter. And we're still just trying to help.”* Later in the episode, during a mass casualty event at a music festival, a patient, wounded and overwhelmed, looks around and says: > *“Whatever happened to peace and love?”* Those two lines, shook me. Because they don’t feel like fiction. They feel like right now. You can sense it almost everywhere you go. The tension. The frustration. The sense that people are just *done*. It shows up in waiting rooms and grocery store lines, school board meetings and social media comment sections. And yes, it shows up in the hallways of our clinics and hospitals, too. If you work in healthcare, you’ve lived this shift. You’ve felt the mood change. The tone. The impatience. Sometimes, even the danger. It’s heavy. And it’s not just happening in healthcare. It’s happening *to us all.* We’ve walked through a pandemic. We’ve lived with division. We’ve watched trust erode. And somewhere along the way, we forgot how to see each other clearly. How to listen. How to slow down long enough to give grace. But I’m an optimist. I don’t believe this is the end of our story. I believe it’s the *middle*. The part where we decide who we’re going to become from here. When that patient asked, *“Whatever happened to peace and love?”,* they weren’t just mourning the past. They were asking something of *us*. Because peace and love are not gone. They’ve just been drowned out. And it’s up to us to bring them back. Not with grand gestures, but with everyday choices: - Choosing kindness when it would be easier to shut down. - Offering patience instead of blame. - Remembering that everyone is carrying something we cannot see. We don’t need more division. We need people willing to stand in the middle and hold space for something better. I’m not naïve about how hard things have become. But I *am* clear on this: we will not build a better future through fear or contempt. We will build it through compassion, courage, and community. That’s the kind of leadership I believe in. That’s the kind of country I still believe in. One where people show up, lift each other up, and reach for something higher. So the next time you feel the anger, the pressure, the heat, pause. Take a breath. And ask what that patient asked: *Whatever happened to peace and love?* Then choose to be the answer. **— Mike Baker** *Author of* **The Optimist’s Way**This is exactly the kind of message I wrote *The Optimist’s Way* to explore, what it means to lead with hope, even when the world feels heavy. If that speaks to you, I’d be honored if you gave the book a read. Pick up your copy of the book today: [https://a.co/d/0Sxatfv](https://a.co/d/0gu1tta?ref=mikebakerhq.com) Here's a song that connects with this story - [https://on.soundcloud.com/etjiLs1zHXWDJVpz9](https://on.soundcloud.com/etjiLs1zHXWDJVpz9?ref=mikebakerhq.com) [www.mikebakerhq.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/5ca1bf1e-cdf6-4588-be05-a5a06f21a35e.jpg) ### The Village of Moms: Celebrating Love in Action URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-village-of-moms-celebrating-love-in-action/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:12.000Z Mother’s Day reaches beyond a single household or family, our entire village raises us, a circle of care holds us, and a network of kindness turns strangers into neighbors. Today, I want to honor every person who mothers in our community: birth moms, chosen moms, mentors, coaches, neighbors, friends, anyone whose love helps someone else grow. I’ll share lessons from my own mom, celebrate my wife Kellie’s journey, and connect it all to my song “More Than a Word (For All the Moms)” and my book *The Optimist’s Way*. ## A Network of Care Wherever you call home—mothership appears in many forms: - **New parents** up at midnight learning each baby’s unique cry, chasing every small milestone because they know those moments shape a lifetime. - **Mentors and teachers** who trade an evening of rest for one more question answered, one more idea explored, because your potential matters to them. - **Coaches** who demand one extra effort, then celebrate your courage as if they scored the winning goal themselves. - **Neighbors** bringing soup when illness strikes, tending your garden while you’re away, offering a lift when schedules collide, care given without being asked. - **Friends** who hold space for your fears, your hopes, your messy middle, reminding you that vulnerability can be a source of strength. Each gesture, large or small, builds a community where no one faces life alone. To mother means choosing, again and again, to show up fully, even when doing so asks everything of you. ## Remembering My Mom Alzheimer’s began stealing my mom’s memories about five years before she passed away. I still remember the shock of her forgetting our kids’ names, a crack in time that changed everything. Even as her recollection faded, her loving spirit and kind eyes were still there. She taught me to spot miracles in everyday life: the beautiful rock or tree, the comfort hidden in a handwritten note, the power of a simple “I believe in you.” Now, in my role as CEO of an amazing healthcare organization, her lessons still help guide every decision: kindness requires no ledger, hope defines what comes next. Whenever I pause to admire a flower or write a quick word of encouragement, I honor her legacy. ## Honoring Kellie Kellie began as a reserved Barre instructor; she became a business owner whose confidence grows through service. Day in and day out, she balances being a mom, wiped tears, medical appointments, and whispered encouragements. She is the calm in our storm, the laughter at day’s end, the steady hand when we need it the most. In her actions I see that love can be practiced, and practiced well, through the simplest routines. Her example reminds me daily that believing in someone else can reveal strengths they didn’t know they had. ## My Song for Mothers: “More Than a Word” This song grew out of countless conversations with moms in my life, my own mom, my wife Kellie, and the hundreds of mothers I’ve seen show up and make a difference. I wanted the melody and lyrics to feel like a warm embrace, a reminder that love is proven through action. When I wrote this, I thought of late‑night feedings and early‑morning school runs, of whispered encouragements and quiet sacrifices. Every chord became a thank‑you note for the unseen work of motherhood. Here’s a moment from the song that I fell in love with: **‘Cause "mom" is more than just a name, It’s kindness wrapped in everyday** **It’s sleepless nights, and soft goodbyes, It’s “I’m right here” a thousand times** **To every kind of heart that gives this love, This world is brighter because of you.** When I was making this song, I couldn’t help but think of Kellie balancing three kids’ schedules and still finding time to build a business or lend a hand at the school. I thought of my mom, whose gentle faith in me still guides every tough decision. I hope when you listen, you feel seen and celebrated. You can watch the full video on YouTube [here](https://youtu.be/EJT4KLUnGpM?si=k8tsZzfMWGYii1cr&ref=mikebakerhq.com), stream it anywhere you get music, or share it with a mom who lights your world. Watch the full video on YouTube [here](https://youtu.be/EJT4KLUnGpM?si=k8tsZzfMWGYii1cr&ref=mikebakerhq.com) and find the song on every streaming platform. ## Hope in a Book: *The Optimist’s Way* In *[The Optimist’s Way](https://a.co/d/dNnrCVr?ref=mikebakerhq.com)*, I dive deep into how hope isn’t a one‑time event but a practice, something we choose in the small moments. One act of hope can spark another, just as a single kindness can start a chain reaction of compassion. That chain is the essence of motherhood: one hug inspires empathy, which spreads from person to person, strengthening families and neighborhoods alike. In the book, you’ll find stories of choosing optimism in the face of uncertainty. Those moments mirror the acts of mothers everywhere: constant, often unseen, but powerful enough to change trajectories. Each chapter ends with a reflection and simple prompt, because hope grows when we act. Whether you’re a mom, an aunt, a mentor, or a friend, these prompts invite you to pay forward the kindness you’ve received and watch the ripple effect in your own community.. ## A Community Call to Action Let gratitude become action today—choose a few ways to make Mother’s Day real for the moms in your life and beyond: **Reach out with a note.** Handwrite a letter or send a message to a mom who made a difference—share a memory of how her care uplifted you. **Offer your skills.** Volunteer time or expertise—tutor a child, help with yard work, or lead a free mini‑workshop for new parents. **Cook or share a meal.** Prepare a homemade dish or organize a simple potluck so busy families can rest and connect. **Childcare swap.** Team up with another parent to exchange babysitting hours, giving each other a bit of time off. **Share the song.** Send “More Than a Word (For All the Moms)” to a mother‑figure in your life—watch it on YouTube [https://youtu.be/EJT4KLUnGpM?si=k8tsZzfMWGYii1cr](https://youtu.be/EJT4KLUnGpM?si=k8tsZzfMWGYii1cr&ref=mikebakerhq.com) or stream it on your favorite platform—and let the music express your gratitude. **Gift the book.** Give *The Optimist’s Way* ([https://a.co/d/dNnrCVr](https://a.co/d/dNnrCVr?ref=mikebakerhq.com)) to someone whose hope and kindness inspired you—so they know the impact they make. ## To Every Mom, Everywhere To those who carried us, who chose us, who guided us, who stepped in when we needed someone, thank you. Your daily choices create the foundation of community. Motherhood surpasses any single word. It lives in the aroma of pancakes, the hush of lullabies, the tough conversations that build character, and the unspoken promise that someone always has your back. **Happy Mother’s Day** to every mom in our community and beyond. Your love shapes our world, one caring act at a time. ### Penalty Box Confessions:The Soundtrack to the Game That Raised Me URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/penalty-box-confessionsthe-soundtrack-to-the-game-that-raised-me/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:13.000Z *By Mike Baker* This record didn’t come out of a studio session or a writing retreat. It came from late-night ice, tired legs, bruised knees, and the silence you sit in between whistles. I played hockey in high school, but the soul of this album was built in beer league — where the puck still matters, even when no one’s keeping stats. I live in North Idaho now. I’m a goalie. I play the whole game. And some of my best nights end with sore hips, fogged-up cages, and a parking lot full of stories. That’s where the real hockey lives — not in the box scores, but in the people who show up no matter what. That’s what *Penalty Box Confessions* is made of. But the roots go even deeper. Years ago, back in Salt Lake City, I drove the Zamboni at the Gallivan Center. That job wasn’t glamorous — but it was magic. The hum of the engine. The arc of the turn. The glassy finish. There’s something deeply peaceful about being the one who restores the ice. That rhythm still lives in my bones. I didn’t know it back then, but that seat was the first place I ever learned how to tell a story without saying a word. That memory shaped everything that came after. I’ve always been drawn to storytelling. I write, I create, I make art — and I wrote a book called *[The Optimist’s Way](https://a.co/d/6xnnnQ4?ref=mikebakerhq.com)*, which is all about holding onto something good even when life gets hard. It’s not about pretending everything’s fine. It’s about finding the light in real, gritty places. This album comes from that same space. Music was a harder door to unlock. I had lyrics. I had melodies in my head. But I couldn’t always get them out the way they sounded in my heart. That changed when I started working with AI tools — and I know that comes with a lot of opinions. Here’s mine: AI didn’t replace me. It empowered me. It gave me a new instrument to shape the things I already had inside. It let me finally build the sound I had been chasing for years. It wasn’t about cutting corners — it was about finally having the tools to tell the truth with precision and emotion. *Penalty Box Confessions* is the result — a 16-track concept album about hockey and everything that lives around it. It’s for the goalies who carry the weight of every mistake. The women who show up, outwork everyone, and never flinch. The player sitting in the penalty box, reckoning with the moment. The dreamer who still wants to drive the Zamboni just once before they die. The music blends country rock, outlaw Americana, southern grit, and cinematic textures. It’s raw, reflective, and honest. Built for the players who lace up when no one’s watching, who still love the game even when their body doesn’t. This album is for the lifers. The ones chasing clarity, not crowds. The ones who still feel something when they touch the glass. The ones who know the game won’t make you famous — but it might save you anyway. If you’ve ever taped a stick in silence. If you’ve ever felt at peace in a cold rink under bad lights. If you’ve ever put on the pads just to feel like yourself again... Then this is for you. Thanks for listening. — Mike 🎧 *Penalty Box Confessions* is available now on all streaming platforms. Here's the Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/album/7r3VmxsUQwAO037mwl1zkA?si=jrKk4wvaTk-elURNw-g6PQ 📘[ ](https://a.co/d/6xnnnQ4?ref=mikebakerhq.com)*[The Optimist’s Way](https://a.co/d/6xnnnQ4?ref=mikebakerhq.com)*[ is available on Amazon](https://a.co/d/6xnnnQ4?ref=mikebakerhq.com). 🌐 More at [www.mikebakerhq.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/) ### You’re Still Moving, Even When It Feels Like You’re Not URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/youre-still-moving-even-when-it-feels-like-youre-not/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:14.000Z *By Mike Baker* There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes when it feels like you’re doing everything right — showing up, trying hard, staying present — but nothing seems to be changing. The doors aren’t opening. The clarity isn’t coming. The wins aren’t arriving. And in that silence, it’s easy to wonder if you’re stuck. But here’s what I’ve learned, and what I remind myself on the hard days: **not all movement looks like motion.** Some of the most important growth we go through happens underground. Quietly. Without applause. You may not be able to check off the boxes or post about a big breakthrough, but you might be doing something far deeper — shedding old ways of thinking, learning how to sit with discomfort instead of run from it, talking to yourself more kindly, staying instead of escaping. That’s growth. That’s movement. In *The Optimist’s Way*, I wrote: > “Realistic optimism doesn’t ask you to pretend it’s easy. It invites you to stay connected to your growth, even when you can’t see the result yet.” We are so conditioned to believe that progress has to look big, fast, and visible. But transformation often begins in the pause. In the quiet. In the decision to keep going, even without a clear path forward. This season of your life — the slow one, the confusing one, the one that feels heavy — is not wasted time. It’s a time of becoming. The stillness? That’s the seed underground before the bloom. The silence? That’s your spirit recalibrating. The pause? That’s where your inner strength is learning to speak louder than the noise. If today feels off, slow, uncertain — that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. That doesn’t mean you’re behind. It means you’re human. And your story is still unfolding. So breathe. Keep showing up. Let your rest be part of your resilience. **You are still moving.** **You are still becoming.** **And you are not alone.** If you’d like a subtle nudge of encouragement like this every day, grab a copy of *The Optimist’s Way* — now available on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5NLFG9D?ref=mikebakerhq.com) or directly from me via Venmo @Mike-Baker-85 for $12 (local delivery available in CDA/Post Falls area). #TheOptimistsWay #RealisticOptimism #HopeInRealLife #MikeBakerWrites #YoureStillBecoming ### The Kind of Leader the World Needs: A Tribute to My Brother Jon URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-kind-of-leader-the-world-needs-a-tribute-to-my-brother-jon/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:15.000Z There’s a rare kind of person who leaves people better than they found them. Someone who listens fully, speaks truthfully, and carries a quiet strength that makes everyone around them feel a little more grounded. That’s Jon Baker. My brother. My friend. One of my biggest inspirations. This isn’t about professional accolades or polished LinkedIn highlights — though Jon’s earned more than his fair share. It’s about who he is when no one’s clapping. The way he shows up. The way he leads with heart. The way he never stops caring, even when it would be easier to just coast. Jon has always been that way. Even as kids, there was something in him that just *got it* — how to read a room, how to comfort someone without words, how to stand tall without needing to stand above anyone. That quiet awareness, that deep empathy, it’s followed him into every chapter of his life. In his work at Zions Bank, he brings strategy, insight, and steady leadership. But more than that, he brings *humanity*. He knows every spreadsheet has a story behind it. Every client represents a community. Every decision has a ripple effect. And he doesn’t take that lightly. Outside of the office, he’s a coach, a speaker, and a person who lives his message. He talks to people about purpose, clarity, leadership — and he lives it just as clearly in his own day-to-day. Jon doesn’t ask people to be better and then walk away. He gets in the mess with them. He’s the guy who listens longer, leans in closer, and lifts others up with both hands. And me? I get to call him my little brother. What I admire most is how he’s stayed true to himself. In a world that rewards performance, Jon stays anchored in presence. He’s not chasing attention. He’s building something far more lasting — trust, meaning, connection. And he’s doing it one relationship at a time. I’ve learned more from him than I’ll probably ever admit out loud. (At least not when he's in the room.) But I’ll say this here: Jon, your life makes people better. Your work makes people believe again — in themselves, in leadership, in the good that’s still possible. And yes, even with all this growth and greatness, you’re still my brother. Which means some things will always be true: There will forever be spoons to pick up in the yard. There will always be a piece of furniture that needs moving right before chaos breaks out. And once in a while, I just might leave a little surprise in your cereal bowl. That’s the deal. Love you, Jon. Keep being who you are. The world’s better because you’re in it. ### The Quiet Work of Hope URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-quiet-work-of-hope/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:15.000Z **There were a lot of late nights.** Not the glamorous kind you see in movies. The real kind. The kind where the day started with a calendar full of meetings, a thousand little fires to put out, and a sense that maybe you're already behind before the first cup of coffee. The kind where, after the house goes quiet and the hockey gear is drying in the garage, you finally sit down with a Peach Monster and my laptop, hoping something honest will come out of you. **That’s when I wrote most of** **The Optimist’s Way.** I didn’t have a writing retreat or some perfect setup. I had the couch. My dogs, Gus and Odin, usually snoring nearby. And the belief that, no matter how loud the world gets, people still crave something real. This book didn’t come from a place of certainty. It came from sitting in the unknown. It came from the tension between what’s broken and what could still be healed. It came from a tired mind and a full heart. From doubt in one chair and hope stubbornly holding the other. Throughout my life, I’ve been told I’m "too optimistic." I used to laugh that off. But somewhere along the way, it started to hit deeper. That kind of feedback can feel like a dismissal, like optimism is childish or naive. But the older I get, the more I’ve come to understand that optimism isn't the easy route. It's not an escape from reality—it's a choice to stay with it. > "Realistic optimism means facing the truth of today without losing sight of what could still be possible tomorrow." That’s the foundation this book stands on. I coined the term *realistic optimism* not to defend myself, but to name something I believe is essential in a world like ours. It’s not about pretending things are fine. It’s about standing in the mess and believing that even here, even now, there is room to grow. Room to breathe. Room to begin again. I've seen what happens when people don’t give up. I've led teams through chaos and witnessed how they rise, how they adapt, how they care for one another. That’s where my optimism comes from. Not theory. History. > "You can begin again in the middle. Not when everything’s perfect, but when you decide you’re ready to try one more time." *The Optimist’s Way* is filled with those kinds of reminders. Not big promises or easy answers, but pages that sit with you in the dark and say, "You're not alone." It’s divided into reflections—on hope, connection, creativity, resilience, and purpose. Each section closes with a song I wrote for that chapter. Just scan the QR code and let the music meet you where the words leave off. Because sometimes, a melody says what a sentence can't. > "Hope grows when we feel seen. It deepens when someone says, 'I’ve been there too.'" We live in a world that’s overwhelmed with noise, division, and distraction. I wrote this book for people like me—people who want to believe in something better, even when it’s hard. People who are still showing up. Still trying. Still holding a little light in their hands. And if you're out there trying to stay hopeful? You're not alone in that either. Thanks for reading. Thanks for believing. And if you need a little hope today, you can borrow mine. — Mike I've got a secret link for my blog readers, the book can be purchased today on Amazon.. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5NLFG9D ### The Light We Share: Connecting the World Through Music URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-light-we-share-connecting-the-world-through-music/ Last updated: 2025-01-09T15:32:23.000Z Hi friends, I’m incredibly excited to share a project that has been one of the most meaningful journeys of my life. It’s called **The Light We Share**—a global music project where I’ve taken a single song and translated it into **31 languages** (so far). This project isn’t just about music. It’s about **connection**, **love**, and the power of art to bring us together as one human family. At a time when the world feels more divided than ever, I wanted to create something that reminds us of our shared humanity and shows that no matter what language we speak, we’re all part of the same story. ### **A World That Needs Light** Every day, we’re confronted with news of war, hunger, inequality, environmental crises, and suffering. These challenges are enormous, and they can make the world feel heavy and fractured. But sometimes, amidst all the chaos, we just need a moment of hope—something to remind us of the beauty that still exists. **Music has always been that for me.** It’s a universal language that doesn’t need translation to touch the heart. It can cross borders, transcend cultures, and bring people together in a way nothing else can. That’s why I created **The Light We Share**—to give the world something to sing, something to feel, and something to believe in again. ### **31 Languages, 1 Message** This project is built around a simple but powerful idea: - **Every heart has value.** - **Everyone is loved.** - **Together, we can make a brighter world.** Each version of **The Light We Share** has been carefully translated and adapted to celebrate the culture it represents. From the **Guzheng** in the Mandarin version to the **Uhadi** in the Zulu version, every track includes traditional instruments and styles to honor the uniqueness of each language. And at the end of every version, you’ll hear me speak these words in that language: *"This is Mike Baker, sending love to you from Idaho. Remember, you are loved, and together, we can make a brighter world."* This message isn’t just for one person, one country, or one culture. It’s for everyone, everywhere. ### **Launching on My Birthday: January 12th** On **January 12th, 2025**—my birthday—I’ll be launching all 29 versions of **The Light We Share** on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and other major streaming platforms. I chose my birthday for this launch because I wanted to celebrate it with the world in the best way I know how: by sharing something that brings people together. For me, this is the ultimate gift—something positive that I can give to a world that has already given me so much. ### **What’s Next? Expanding the Project in 2025** This is just the beginning. My goal for 2025 is to add even more languages and versions of **The Light We Share.** I want to reach as many people as possible and create a song that feels like it belongs to everyone, everywhere. Imagine a world where every person can hear this song in their own language, where every culture feels seen, heard, and celebrated. That’s the vision I’m working toward. With the help of incredible AI tools, I’ve been able to make this dream a reality. AI has helped me translate, adapt, and record this song in ways I never thought possible. It’s a powerful tool that I’ve used to amplify the human spirit, not replace it, and I’m excited to continue exploring how technology can help connect us through music and art. ### **How You Can Be Part of This Journey** This project is about connection, and I can’t do it alone. Here’s how you can help make **The Light We Share** even bigger: 1. **Listen & Share**On January 12th, search for **Mike Baker** and **The Light We Share** on your favorite streaming platform. Share the song in your language—or listen to others and discover the beauty of cultures around the world. 2. **Spread the Word**Tell your friends, family, and community about the project. Let’s share this message of hope and unity far and wide. 3. **Collaborate**Have ideas for new languages, cultural instruments, or collaborations? I’d love to hear them. Let’s make this project even more inclusive and diverse. 4. **Support the Mission**Donations can help fund translations, recordings, and outreach to bring this project to even more people. Every contribution helps make this vision a reality. Venmo @Mike-Baker-85 ### **Why This Matters to Me** As a proud dad of three, the CEO of an amazing healthcare team that’s changing the world, and a (very) average beer league hockey goalie, I believe in the power of **community, love, and optimism.** This project isn’t just about music—it’s about showing my kids, my friends, and the world that we can always choose to build bridges instead of walls. It’s about using the tools we have—music, art, and even AI—to create something meaningful and beautiful in a world that desperately needs it. And of course, I couldn’t do this without the incredible support of my soulmate, who inspires me every step of the way. ### **A World That Sings Together** If this project inspires just one person to feel more connected, loved, or hopeful, then it’s already a success. But I believe it can do so much more. I believe **The Light We Share** can remind us that even in the darkest times, there is always light. And that light doesn’t belong to just one of us—it belongs to all of us. On January 12th, let’s make the world sing together. Thank you for being part of this journey. 🌍🎶 With gratitude and love, **Mike Baker** ### Echoes Reimagined: Revisiting the Past, Telling Untold Stories URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/echoes-reimagined-revisiting-the-past-telling-untold-stories/ Last updated: 2025-01-02T03:57:34.000Z When I first wrote the songs on *Echoes Reimagined*, I released 22 songs on the album *Beyond the Shadows* I was inspired by the experiences of people close to me. Family, friends, and my community shaped these tracks as I watched them navigate their own struggles with mental health, resilience, and finding hope. Over the years, I’ve felt the weight of life’s pressures too, but this project is less about my own journey and more about reflecting on the strength, vulnerability, and courage I’ve seen in others. At the time these songs were originally recorded, they felt incomplete. The emotions were real, but I didn’t have the tools or experience to bring the stories to life as fully as I wanted. Reimagining them now has allowed me to revisit and finish those narratives, adding depth and clarity that wasn’t possible before. This project has been a chance to take songs that meant so much to me and make them even more powerful and true to their purpose. ### **The Stories Behind the Tracks** Each song on *Echoes Reimagined* reflects a moment of introspection, a battle fought, or a quiet triumph observed. Together, they form a journey of resilience, vulnerability, and hope. 1. **Fields of Sorrow** – This track opens the album with a powerful portrayal of endurance. It tells the story of navigating life’s heaviest moments, carrying invisible burdens, and holding onto hope even when it feels impossibly distant. It’s a quiet tribute to those who keep going despite it all. 2. **In the Shadows** – Late at night, when everything goes quiet, doubts and fears can feel the loudest. This song captures those moments of solitude when the weight of the world feels heavy, but it also offers a reminder that strength and clarity can emerge from introspection. 3. **Shades of Grey** – Life rarely fits into black-and-white answers, and this track explores the murky in-between. It’s a reflection on the complexity of human emotions and how navigating uncertainty can often lead to growth and understanding. 4. **Shadows Follow Me** – This song dives into the experience of living with internal struggles that seem to linger like constant companions. It’s about acknowledging those shadows without letting them define your story, learning to walk alongside them while striving for the light. 5. **Weary Soul, Winding Road** – Inspired by the quiet strength of people who carry heavy burdens, this track paints a vivid picture of a journey through life’s shadowed valleys. It’s a reminder that even in moments of weariness, there’s beauty in the road we travel and the hope waiting on the horizon. 6. **Broken Pieces** – This track reflects on the resilience it takes to rebuild after life shatters you. It’s about finding strength in your brokenness and recognizing that even in the most fragmented parts of yourself, there’s a quiet, unyielding power. 7. **Hope in the Shadows** – Even in the darkest places, hope has a way of making itself known. This track reminds us that light can exist alongside pain, and that even when hope feels distant, it’s always waiting to guide us forward. 8. **Corners of My Mind** – This song explores the hidden spaces of the psyche, where fears, doubts, and memories reside. It’s a raw look at the battles we fight in our own minds, but it’s also a reminder of the courage it takes to face those corners and emerge stronger. 9. **Hard to See the Sun** – Life’s storms can make it difficult to find the brightness we seek. This track is about those moments when hope feels obscured, and the fight to keep moving forward feels endless. It’s a reflection on perseverance and the belief that light is always waiting beyond the clouds. 10. **Shadows** – Closing the album, this track embraces the reality of pain and sadness. It’s a reflection on the healing process and the idea that sometimes we need to sit with our darkness to truly move through it. While acknowledging the heaviness, it also offers solace—a reminder that the light is always within reach. ### Why These Songs Matter These tracks were inspired by the people around me—their stories, struggles, and strength. While I’ve felt the weight of life’s pressures too, this album is about more than my journey. It’s about the universal experience of facing life’s challenges and finding ways to keep going. Whether you’re navigating your own struggles or watching someone close to you fight their battles, I hope these songs offer a sense of connection, hope, and understanding. ### **Reimagining the Music** When these songs were first recorded, I did everything I could to make them meaningful. But something always felt unfinished. With the tools I have now and the perspective I’ve gained, I’ve been able to bring out the layers that were missing before. These new versions have richer instrumentation, deeper harmonies, and arrangements that match the emotional weight of the lyrics. Reworking these songs has felt like adding color and depth to a sketch, turning the ideas I started with into something fully realized. It’s been an incredibly rewarding process, one that has allowed me to connect more deeply with the meaning behind each track. ### **Why This Album Matters** This project isn’t just about music. It’s about the stories we all carry, the challenges we face, and the ways we find light in the hardest times. These songs are meant to connect with anyone who’s ever felt the weight of life pressing down, whether it’s your own struggles or watching someone close to you navigate theirs. For anyone feeling that weight, I want you to know that you’re not alone. It’s okay to struggle, and it’s okay to ask for help. Your story matters, and your strength is real. The world needs you, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. ### **Looking Ahead to** **From the Ashes** Later this month, I’ll release the second part of this project, **From the Ashes**. While this album focuses on struggles and finding moments of hope, the next one turns its attention to growth and transformation. Tracks like **Sunflowers in the Rain** and **Rise Above the Shadows** celebrate resilience and the beauty of moving forward after life’s hardest moments. If *Echoes Reimagined* is about reflection, *From the Ashes* is about renewal and empowerment. ### **Thank You** This album has been such a meaningful process, and I’m so grateful to share it with you. The stories behind these songs aren’t just mine—they belong to everyone who’s ever fought through their own challenges or supported someone they love through theirs. Thank you for listening, for sharing, and for being part of this journey. Stay tuned for **From the Ashes**, coming later this month. Together, we can keep moving forward. - Mike Baker ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-104.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-107.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-75.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-86.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-108.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-118.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-103.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-87.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-83.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-94.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi24-93.jpg) ### The Story Behind Louder Than Lies URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-story-behind-louder-than-lies/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:16.000Z Music has always been a way for me to say what’s hard to put into words. With **Louder Than Lies,** I wanted to take a closer look at the struggles we face every day—things like corporate greed, environmental destruction, and the resilience of people fighting to make it through. These songs aren’t about giving up. They’re about the power we have to stand up, push back, and find hope, even when things feel heavy. This album challenged me in ways I didn’t expect. It’s a mix of styles, instruments, and messages that reflect how complex life can be. I worked in sounds like a kazoo and a didgeridoo, wrote some of my grittiest lyrics yet, and found moments of fun and optimism even while exploring serious issues. Let me take you through the tracks and what they mean to me: ### **The Songs** **House of Cards**Systems collapse when they’re built on lies, and too often, the people holding everything up are the ones who get crushed. This song is about seeing the cracks in those systems and deciding to rebuild something stronger, something real. **White Collar Dope**Addiction has torn apart families and communities, and much of it traces back to the greed of pharmaceutical companies. The fight is hard, but I’ve seen incredible strength in the people who push through recovery and support each other. **Leaders in the Trenches**When leaders make decisions about war, they should be willing to face the consequences. This track shines a light on the disconnect between those in power and the people who actually fight their battles. **Wage Slave Blues**The grind can feel relentless, but it also shows how resilient we are. This track is about the struggle to make ends meet while holding onto the belief that we deserve more. **Privatized Pain**Healthcare has become more about profit than people, but the frontline workers—doctors, nurses, caregivers—remind me of what’s possible when we prioritize humanity over dollars. **The Hunger Game**It’s frustrating to see people go hungry in a world that produces so much. This track is a call to rethink how we approach food, focusing on fairness and sustainability instead of waste and profit. **Locked In, Locked Out**The prison system doesn’t just lock people away—it locks entire communities into cycles of pain. There’s a lot of work to do here, but I believe in the power of second chances and reform. **Drowning in Debt**Debt feels like quicksand—it keeps pulling you under. But even in that struggle, there’s hope. The fight to escape and build a better life is worth it, no matter how heavy it feels. **Ashes and Empires**This track looks at the damage we’ve done to the planet, but it also reminds us that we can rise from the destruction. It’s about protecting what’s left and fighting for a future where people and nature can thrive together. **Broken Promises, Empty Pockets**Broken trust doesn’t have to mean broken spirits. This song is a rallying cry for everyone who’s been let down by the promises of those in power. Together, we can demand something better. **Abecedarian Alchemy** (**pronounced** **ay-bee-suh-DAIR-ee-an**) Sometimes, after all the heavy topics, you just need to have fun. This track is a playful dive into optimism and creativity, inspired by the energy of **Alphabet Aerobics**—a song my son mastered when he was younger. It’s fast, it’s wild, and it’s a reminder that there’s always room for joy. ### **What This Album Means to Me** Every song on **Louder Than Lies** carries a piece of the stories I’ve seen and the hope I hold onto. There’s a lot of work to do in the world, but I believe we’re capable of rising to the challenge when we come together. Thank you for supporting me through this journey. This album is one of the most personal projects I’ve ever taken on, and I can’t wait for you to hear it. **The album drops on 1/1/25**, and if you want early access, send me a message. Let’s start 2025 off with some real noise. Let’s Fuckin Go! 🎶🔥 **Enjoy the album art below. I love how these turned out.. I hope you do too!** ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1745.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1747.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1748.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1746-46042ac.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1749.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1744.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1743.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1750.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1751.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1753.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1742.jpg) ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1752.jpg) ### Reflecting on 2024: Progress, Connection, and Gratitude URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/reflecting-on-2024-progress-connection-and-gratitude/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:17.000Z As the year draws to a close and the holiday season fills the air with warmth and reflection, I find myself looking back on 2024 with a mix of pride, gratitude, and excitement for what lies ahead. It’s been a year of progress, connection, and meaningful moments both professionally and personally, and I want to take some time to celebrate and share these with you. ### **A Year of Impact at Work** This year, Heritage Health reached one of its most significant milestones: the opening of the Center for Healthy Living. This isn’t just a new building; it’s a space designed with purpose—a symbol of hope and healing for our community. Moving our Behavioral Health programs into this new space was a pivotal step forward, creating a welcoming and integrated environment for patients and staff alike. It’s a space where lives will change, care will flourish, and our mission will continue to shine. But the Center for Healthy Living is just one part of what made 2024 so meaningful at Heritage Health. From expanding programs and streamlining resources to building stronger partnerships and earning recognition as a leader in community health, this has been a year of growth and innovation. None of this would have been possible without the incredible team at Heritage Health. Their dedication and compassion are the driving forces behind every success. ### **Finding Joy and Connection Through Creativity** Outside of work, my creative pursuits have been a source of joy and connection, offering a way to share stories and hope with others. This year, I’ve been humbled by the reach and impact of my work. My music has surpassed nearly 200,000 plays worldwide, a milestone that reinforces the power of storytelling and connection. Sharing my art on an international stage, including a show in Norway, was an unforgettable experience. Closer to home, I’m honored to have several pieces featured in a local gallery, and I’m preparing for two art shows in 2025 that I hope will inspire and connect even more people. Looking ahead, I’m exploring innovative ways to blend my music and visual art into immersive experiences. Whether it’s through a painting, a song, or a combination of both, creating gives me a sense of purpose that complements everything else I do. It’s deeply rewarding to see how these creations resonate with others, bringing light, strength, and connection into their lives. ### **Family Adventures and Life’s Changing Seasons** On the personal side, this year has been a beautiful reminder of how life evolves. Our kids are off chasing their dreams, and it’s been inspiring to watch. Jake is in Boise, working hard to become an electrician and building a life he’s passionate about. Cameron is in New Zealand, embracing an adventure of a lifetime as he hones his craft in hospitality at a stunning restaurant. Meanwhile, Sammie, now a Junior in high school, is still at home with us. She’s strong, compassionate, and constantly impresses me with her determination and heart. I’m so grateful for the time we still have with her. Kellie continues to thrive, sharing her love for Pilates with her clients and helping them feel strong, confident, and healthy. Her passion and dedication are truly inspiring. And when I’m not working or creating, hockey keeps me busy and grounded, offering a chance to connect with friends and enjoy the challenge of the game. ### **Looking Ahead to 2025** As we move into 2025, I’m filled with excitement and optimism. Whether it’s through my work at Heritage Health, my art and music, or the moments shared with family and friends, I’m ready to embrace what’s next. The year ahead holds so much potential—two art shows, new creative projects, deeper community connections, and continued growth both personally and professionally. It’s a chance to build on the momentum we’ve created this year and keep reaching for new heights. To my family, my friends, my team at Heritage Health, and everyone who has supported me this year—thank you. Your encouragement, love, and belief in me fuel everything I do. This holiday season, I hope we all take time to pause and appreciate what truly matters: the people we love, the connections we share, and the moments that bring us joy. From my family to yours, I wish you a holiday season filled with peace, love, and laughter. Here’s to a bright and beautiful 2025! Let’s keep creating, connecting, and making the world a better place, one step at a time. Mike ### To Those Who’ve Served: You Are Not Alone URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/those-whove-served-you-are-not-alone/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:24:59.000Z ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1699.jpg) For anyone who has answered the call to serve, who has stood on the front lines or supported from the shadows, this is for you. While I haven’t served myself, I carry the legacy of service close to my heart. My grandfathers both served—one during World War II, the other in the Korean War. My dad was a mechanic during Vietnam, keeping planes in the sky and soldiers moving forward. Their stories are woven into who I am, but even more than their tales, I’ve been shaped by the voices of my friends who’ve served. Their courage, their struggles, and their resilience inspired *"Scars in the Light"* and this message to you. I’ve learned that the battles don’t always end when the uniform comes off. For many, the weight of service is something you carry long after—in the memories, in the silences, in the scars that don’t always show. I’ve heard the pain, the pride, and the perseverance in your stories. This song is my way of honoring that journey—your journey. It’s about the strength it takes to keep moving forward, even when the path feels impossible. To every veteran, every active-duty service member, and every person who has borne the weight of service: *you matter.*Your service matters. And your story matters. I know the world doesn’t always make it easy to ask for help. But let me tell you this: you are loved, and you are needed. It’s okay to lean on others. It’s okay to reach out. The same strength that carried you through unimaginable challenges can guide you to ask for what you need. Whether it’s a friend, a family member, or a counselor, there are people ready to stand with you, just as you’ve stood strong for so many others. **Scars in the Light**isn’t just a song—it’s a reflection of the hope that endures through pain, of the light that can still shine even when the darkness feels overwhelming. It’s about the love and connection that remind us we’re never truly alone. It’s about honoring your journey, the sacrifices you’ve made, and the resilience that defines you. Please hear this: you are not alone in this fight. There is no shame in feeling overwhelmed, in carrying scars that others may not see. You’ve given so much of yourself, and it’s okay to take time to heal. You’ve been a protector for others—now let others protect you when you need it. To every service member and veteran who feels the weight of the past, let this be a reminder: your life matters. Your voice matters. The scars you carry tell a story of strength, and they’re proof that you’ve endured, that you’ve survived. And that survival is not just enough—it’s heroic. We see you. We love you. And we are here for you. Reach out, connect, and know that even in your darkest moments, there is light to be found. You are part of a community that will always stand by your side, ready to lift you up. Thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your courage. Together, we carry our scars. Together, we heal. Together, we rise. **Play the new song on my homepage** **[www.mikebakerhq.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/)** Mike Baker ### Never Again: A Personal Journey Through the Holocaust Museum URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/never-again-a-personal-journey-through-the-holocaust-museum/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:17.000Z Today, I visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and it’s a day I won’t forget. Walking through those halls, seeing the faces of those who lived—and died—through one of humanity’s darkest chapters, is an experience that goes far beyond words. It’s gut-wrenching, sobering, and deeply personal. One display had Elie Wiesel’s quote: **"The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”** It stopped me in my tracks. **Indifference**—that word hit me hard. So much of what happened during the Holocaust wasn’t just because of active hate, though there was plenty of that. It was allowed to happen because so many people stayed silent, turned a blind eye, or believed it wasn’t their fight. Another display featured a quote from Martin Niemöller that’s etched in my memory: “**First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”** These words weren’t just a history lesson—they felt like a warning. The Holocaust didn’t start with gas chambers and concentration camps. It started with words. It started with division. It started with people being "othered"—labeled as less-than, blamed for society’s problems, and stripped of their humanity bit by bit. It happened gradually, and it grew because too many people thought, **This doesn’t affect me**, or worse, **This isn’t my problem**. Walking through the museum, you see the unimaginable made real. Families torn apart. Children sent to their deaths. Ordinary people turned into numbers, into ashes. It’s impossible to grasp the enormity of the suffering, but what struck me the most was how many chances there must have been to stop it before it got that far. And how those chances were lost because too many people stayed silent. I thought about the world we live in today—how hate, fear, and division are creeping back into our lives. It’s not the same, but some of the signs are frighteningly familiar. Antisemitism is rising. Racism, bigotry, and xenophobia are out in the open. People are being dehumanized, targeted, and cast aside. The warning signs are flashing, and it’s up to all of us to pay attention. As I left the museum, I knew I couldn’t just walk away from what I’d seen. It’s not enough to remember. We have to act. We have to speak up—every single one of us. We have to spread love and kindness, not just in big, sweeping gestures, but in the small, everyday moments that shape the world we live in. I made a promise today: **I won’t be indifferent. I won’t stay silent. If I see hate, I’ll call it out. If I see someone in need, I’ll help. I want to be someone who builds bridges, who fights for kindness and compassion, who tries, in whatever small ways I can, to make the world a better place.** I know it won’t always be easy. The voices of division are loud, and the pull to just stay quiet can be strong. But silence isn’t an option. As Martin Niemöller’s words remind us, if we don’t speak up for others, there might not be anyone left to speak when the time comes for us. This is about more than just remembering the past—it’s about protecting the future. It’s about standing up for what’s right, even when it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient. It’s about choosing love, even when hate seems easier. Elie Wiesel also said, **“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.”** Bearing witness means more than just acknowledging what happened—it means letting it change the way we live. It means committing to be better, to do better, and to love more fiercely. Today, I’m carrying that commitment forward. I hope sharing this inspires you to do the same. Together, we can push back against hate. Together, we can choose kindness and compassion. And together, we can make sure that history’s darkest chapters are never repeated. **Stronger together,** **Mike** ### Written in the Wind: A Journey of Connection and Hope URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/written-in-the-wind-a-journey-of-connection-and-hope/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:18.000Z ### ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1603.jpg) Some albums are created to entertain, but this one was made to reach deeper. *Written in the Wind* is about life—its struggles, its unexpected joys, and the quiet strength we find when we keep moving forward. It’s music meant to resonate, to heal, and to remind us of the beauty in the climb. For me, this project began as a way to process everything I was feeling—the chaos of the world, the weight of being strong for others, and the hope I hold on to when things feel uncertain. Each song became a reflection of a moment, a story, or a truth I couldn’t keep to myself. **A Labor of Love** Every track on *Written in the Wind* is a snapshot of life’s journey. *The Man Behind the Mask* dives into the struggles we keep hidden, the parts of ourselves we only show when we’re brave enough to be vulnerable. *All Roads Lead Somewhere*is a quiet reminder that even when we feel lost, every step has meaning. Then there’s *Even the Strong Break,* a song that hits close to home. It’s about understanding that strength isn’t about never falling apart—it’s about finding the courage to rebuild when you do. That’s a truth I’ve learned time and again, and I wanted to share it through music. **A Song That Demands to Be Heard** The album closes with its boldest track, *We Won’t Go Quiet.* Featuring the unforgettable voice of Elizabeth Kelly—an AI-powered creation who symbolizes resilience and grace—it’s an anthem for justice and unity. This song came from a place of fire. I’ve seen what happens when people are told to stay silent, to accept less, or to step aside. As a husband, father, brother, and friend, I’m not willing to let that continue. *We Won’t Go Quiet* is a call to action, a reminder that real change begins when we stand together and refuse to back down. **Finding Strength in the Journey** At its heart, *Written in the Wind* is about learning to trust the process. It’s about the lessons we find in the hardest times, the unexpected connections that change our lives, and the strength that grows when we face the storm instead of running from it. Whether it’s the hopeful pull of *Written in the Stars* or the raw power of *Pain is Your Friend,* these songs reflect the resilience we all carry. My hope is that they feel like they’re not just mine, but yours too—that they meet you wherever you are on your journey. **An Invitation to Listen** This album is more than a release—it’s a moment of connection. Right now, *Written in the Wind* is streaming exclusively on SoundCloud, with all platforms to follow in the coming days. If you want a sneak peek, you can also listen at **[www.mikebakerHQ.com](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/)** **.** If these songs speak to you, I’d be honored if you’d share them. Follow me, tell a friend, or let me know which track resonates the most. These songs aren’t just meant to be heard—they’re meant to be part of something bigger, a reminder that none of us are in this alone. Thank you for letting me share this journey with you. Thank you for listening, for believing, and for being part of something that I hope will inspire strength and hope in all of us. Together, we rise. ### Carrying the Weight: The Story Behind The Man Behind the Mask URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/carrying-the-weight-the-story-behind-the-man-behind-the-mask/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:19.000Z Life has a way of demanding so much from us. For me, those demands come from all directions—being a husband, a father, a friend, a CEO, a community leader, and even a hockey goalie. I wear so many hats, and I care deeply about showing up for the people in my life. Most of the time, I feel strong, capable, and ready to take it all on. But every now and then, the weight gets heavy. That’s where the inspiration for **The Man Behind the Mask** came from. It’s not that I’m not grateful for all these roles—I am, deeply. But there are moments when I feel like I’m being pulled in a hundred directions at once, and the strength I pride myself on starts to feel like a mask I wear to keep it all together. As a husband, I want to be a partner who provides love, security, and stability. As a father, I want to guide and protect while still making space for joy and connection. As a CEO and community leader, I carry the responsibility of making the right decisions, inspiring others, and always being the person people can count on. And then there’s hockey, where I’m literally the last line of defense—a goalie expected to stand strong no matter what’s coming at me. It’s a great metaphor for life, really: you do everything you can to protect what matters, but some shots are just unstoppable. I wrote **The Man Behind the Mask** after a stretch of particularly heavy weeks. You know those moments when it feels like no matter how strong you are, no matter how much you give, it’s never enough? I was in that space, and I realized that I’d been carrying so much inside, trying to keep it hidden behind a mask of composure. This song became my way of processing those feelings, of giving myself permission to acknowledge that even when I’m strong, I’m still human. **"Out in the daylight, I’m the strong one, The steady hand to guide the way.** **But here alone, the tears keep falling, A man can’t always save the day."** These lyrics are deeply personal, but they’re not just my story. They’re for anyone who’s ever felt the pressure to be everything to everyone. I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. Men and women alike carry the weight of expectations—whether it’s in our families, our work, or the communities we care about. Being vulnerable isn’t always easy for me. I’ve spent years believing that strength means keeping the cracks hidden. But writing this song reminded me that real strength comes from being honest about those moments when the weight feels too much. It’s not weakness to admit that—it’s courage. This song isn’t just for men like me who feel the pressure to be the strong one; it’s for anyone who’s ever felt like they had to wear a mask to get through the day. It’s for those who carry the invisible weight of life, who give and give without asking for help. I hope **The Man Behind the Mask** resonates with you, whoever you are. Whether you’re a parent, a partner, a leader, or simply someone trying to make it through, know that it’s okay to take the mask off. It’s okay to let yourself feel. Thank you for listening and letting me share this story with you. Writing this song was cathartic for me, and my hope is that it can be healing for you too. Let’s start more conversations about what it really means to be strong. 💙 Click here to listen **[The Man Behind the Mask](https://on.soundcloud.com/mxURMR9z13AE2azT7?ref=mikebakerhq.com)** on SoundCloud Click here to listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/0QO5TWQoMoji0bheEQnnea?si=608123e6f8a44aa1&ref=mikebakerhq.com) **Having trouble with SoundCloud? You can find this song and many more on all major streaming services**. #TheManBehindTheMask #MentalHealthAwareness #LifeCanBeHeavy #BreakingTheStigma #MusicWithMeaning ### The Story Behind The Cost of Silence URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/the-story-behind-the-cost-of-silence/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:19.000Z ![](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/content/images/imported/InfiniteCanvasAi-1541.jpg) These days, it feels like the gaps between us are growing wider, and the silence is becoming too heavy to bear. That's where **The Cost of Silence** comes in—a collection of songs born from a deep need to speak up, to heal, and to find common ground. Each track isn't just music; it's a story woven from threads of pain, resilience, unity, and an unshakable hope. This album is a call to break through the barriers that silence has built, a tribute to everyone fighting for love, justice, and the simple right to be themselves. **Beginning with a Whisper in the Dark** The journey kicks off with **The Quiet That Kills**, a song that doesn't shy away from hard truths. It's a stark reminder of the dangers that come when we choose silence over action. Ignoring the struggles of others doesn't just affect them—it diminishes us all. This track serves as a wake-up call, urging us to find our voices and stand against the injustices that thrive in the absence of opposition. Then there's **Stand or Fall**, a direct message to men about redefining what it means to be strong. It's time to move past outdated notions and stand alongside women, challenging behaviors that have been ignored for too long. From dismissive comments to passive complicity, this song calls for a commitment to be better—for ourselves and for those around us. **Threads of Resilience and Unity** With **Sister, I Hear You**, the album reaches its emotional core. This isn't just a song; it's a heartfelt tribute to the unwavering strength of women everywhere. It's about acknowledging the burdens they carry and offering genuine support. True strength is found in empathy and the willingness to fight alongside one another, and this track is a pledge to do just that. **This Land Ain’t Just Yours** tackles the divisive mindset of exclusivity. It challenges the idea that any one group holds the keys to what it means to be "**American"**. We're all part of this tapestry, each adding our own unique thread to the bigger picture. This song is a reminder that our diversity is what makes us strong. Then comes **Make Our Hearts Great Again**, a reflective piece that asks us to reconsider what true greatness means. It's not about power or dominance but about kindness, compassion, and community—the values that can bring us together when so much tries to pull us apart. **Embracing Love and the Courage to Change** As the album unfolds, **Common Ground** highlights the importance of connection. It's about those moments when we sit down, really listen, and realize that we're not so different after all. This song celebrates the bridges we build when we're open to understanding each other. **Love is Love** stands as a straightforward yet powerful anthem for acceptance. It's a reminder that love doesn't need to be justified or confined by anyone else's expectations. This track champions inclusivity and the freedom to love openly and authentically. In **Fight for the Light**, the album confronts the shadows of extremism and fear head-on. It's about holding onto hope and empathy, even when it's tough. This song is a rallying cry to choose what's right over what's easy, staying true to our values in a world that often feels divided. **Healing Wounds and Standing Together** As we near the end, **Mending the Soul of America** brings a moment of introspection. This song is about facing our collective scars and choosing to heal together. It's a call to rebuild the trust and unity that have been frayed, recognizing that every voice matters in the journey toward wholeness. The album closes with **One People, One Song**, an anthem that encapsulates the spirit of unity. It leaves us with a sense of hope and possibility, a reminder that despite our differences, we're all part of the same story. This track invites us to stand together, build bridges, and look toward a future where we rise as one. **More Than an Album—A Movement** **The Cost of Silence** is more than a collection of songs; it's a movement calling each of us to action. It's a reminder that staying silent comes at a price we're no longer willing to pay. Each track invites us to speak up, stand firm for what's right, and come together in solidarity. These songs are stories, promises, and a vision for a kinder, more connected world. So take a moment to listen. Let these songs resonate. Let them remind you of the power of empathy, the strength in unity, and the change that can happen when we stand together. Because while the cost of silence is steep, breaking it could transform everything. ### Breaking Through the Noise URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/breaking-through-the-noise/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T08:39:20.000Z **Breaking Through the Noise** , Mike Baker The noise is relentless. From media overload to political shouting matches, we’re bombarded daily with messages designed to divide, distract, and exhaust us. This constant clamor isn’t just affecting adults—it’s harming our kids. As a healthcare leader, I see firsthand the toll this takes on mental health. Anxiety, depression, and hopelessness are on the rise, fueled by the toxic environment we’ve created. What example are we setting when anger and division dominate? Is this really what we want our kids to absorb? The damage goes beyond politics; it’s shaping a future where tearing others down becomes normal. We can and must do better. Our country was built on unity, dialogue, and shared purpose—principles that seem increasingly distant. Today, we find ourselves torn apart by forces that thrive on keeping us in conflict. The noise exploits our differences, eroding the empathy and understanding that build strong communities. We’ve leaned into division for too long. It’s time to reset and rise above the noise—not by fighting fire with fire, but by inviting people in, building relationships, and uniting against hate together. Progress comes when we focus on what connects us rather than what divides us. Here’s one simple way to start: meet with someone you think you disagree with. Don’t talk politics—talk about life, family, dreams. You’ll often discover you agree on far more than you think. These conversations won’t fix everything, but they can start to mend what’s been broken and restore trust that the noise has eroded. Much of today’s division stems from this relentless noise—a tactic designed to keep us fighting rather than finding common ground. Polarization, isolation, and the loss of empathy are the predictable outcomes of a society constantly at war with itself. But there is a better path—one that starts with rebuilding relationships based on compassion and respect. Real leadership matters—not just from those in positions of power, but from each of us in our daily lives. True leadership is rooted in humility, listening more than we speak, and prioritizing others over personal agendas. When we choose empathy, we reclaim the strength that the noise has taken from us. We are strongest when we come together with open hearts and minds. The noise only wins if we let it. By connecting with those around us, embracing our shared humanity, and seeking common ground, we can repair what’s been broken. It’s time to choose hope over fear, truth over manipulation, and unity over division. By lifting each other up and reconnecting with what truly matters, we can create a better future—for us, our communities, and the generations to come. **Published in The Coeur d'Alene Press August 24, 2024** ### Leading with Unity: My Call for a Positive Shift in Leadership URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/leading-with-unity-my-call-for-a-positive-shift-in-leadership/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T02:12:03.000Z I recently wrote an opinion piece titled "My Turn: Shut Up? No, Step Up and Lead!" featured in the Coeur d'Alene Press. This article reflects on the profound differences in leadership styles that I've observed within our community—contrasting the inspiring unity at a local scholarship event with the divisive rhetoric in some political discourse. The need for a leadership approach that fosters unity, integrity, and compassion has never been more critical. I wrote this article to advocate for a shift toward more inclusive and positive leadership, which I believe is crucial for the future well-being of our community. For those interested in a deeper dive into my thoughts and the full context of these reflections, I encourage you to read the complete article on the Coeur d'Alene Press website. You can access it here: [https://cdapress.com/news/2024/apr/25/my-turn-shut-up-no-step-up-and-lead/](https://cdapress.com/news/2024/apr/25/my-turn-shut-up-no-step-up-and-lead/?ref=mikebakerhq.com) ### Integrity and Unity: My Election Stand URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/integrity-and-unity-my-election-stand/ Last updated: 2024-04-27T19:32:52.000Z Today, I'm reaching out purely in a personal capacity, setting aside my professional role to share some thoughts directly with you. It's challenging to separate the personal from the professional when the issues at stake are so important to me. I've recently decided to run for precinct committeeman, driven by concerns over the actions of some current leaders who I believe are failing our community. This move has unfortunately drawn threats and hateful comments, tactics seemingly aimed at intimidating me. I am not naive about these tactics, but let me be clear: I'm committed for the long haul. Opponents have criticized my involvement on various boards they disagree with, somehow questioning my freedom to choose how and where I spend my time. I also play hockey—should that be an issue? My personal reasons for supporting certain causes are my own. I’ve never chastised you for the events you attend or how you spend your time, though I may strongly disagree with it; that is your right. I hope you sleep well each night reflecting on the impact of your work. I know that I do. Remember the old saying about walking a mile in someone's shoes before you judge them? My candidacy is driven by a desire to create a better environment for my kids and to counteract the spread of hate and fear that threatens our businesses and community welfare. Your attacks on me simply highlight the reasons behind my efforts. I was raised differently, taught to be respectful and supportive. I’m not sure who taught you that it’s okay to bully, lie, and intimidate people you disagree with, but it makes me sad for you and the people you are betraying. I also want to address some misinformation about our participation in events like Pride at Heritage Health. We provide care to everyone—no exceptions, no exclusions. Health challenges like diabetes or mental health issues do not discriminate, and neither do we. Our doors are open to everyone, regardless of who you are or what you believe. It's puzzling how some get worked up about our participation in this one event, yet I’ve never been handed a list of 'approved' events our private business should attend. Should we avoid the gun show or career fairs? Who decides what’s safe and who grants approval? It's disheartening to see false narratives suggesting I have hidden motives in supporting the LGBTQ community or any other group. I believe in building bridges, not creating divisions. It’s painful to see such misinformation spread. I still have space in my heart for those who spread these falsehoods. I hope you see what this does and how it tears us apart instead of finding common ground. At Heritage Health, we support each person on their health journey with empathy and care. I am committed to fostering healing and understanding, not just within the walls of our clinics but throughout our entire community. To those spreading or believing these false narratives, I invite you to a more constructive conversation. Let’s understand each other and work together for a healthier community. Thank you for reading, and to those who support and trust in our mission, I deeply appreciate you standing with us. Let’s keep the conversation going—because it’s through talking that we build a stronger, more compassionate community. Mike Baker ### Welcome to MikeBakerHQ: Your Gateway to Art, Music and More URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/welcome-to-mikebakerhq-your-gateway-to-art-music-and-more/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T07:03:40.000Z Hello, everyone! I’m thrilled to welcome you to my new website, MikeBakerHQ, which serves as the central hub for all my creative and advocacy endeavors. This platform is not just a showcase of my work; it's a space designed to foster connections, uplift spirits, and offer a beacon of hope in these challenging times. **A Fusion of Creativity and Compassion** At MikeBakerHQ, you'll find a unique amalgamation of my passions: art, music, and advocacy. Each section of the website is dedicated to one of these facets, crafted to not only display my work but to inspire and engage you. Whether you are moved by the digital brushstrokes of my AI-generated art on Infinite Canvas Ai, the soul-stirring melodies of Mike Baker Music, or the heartfelt campaigns of EndoDad, there’s something here for everyone. **Art and AI: Infinite Canvas Ai** The art section of MikeBakerHQ, Infinite Canvas Ai, is where I merge cutting-edge AI technology with traditional artistic techniques to create stunning visuals. This segment of the website invites viewers into a world where each piece narrates a story, tapping into the vast realm of digital creativity to explore new artistic horizons. **The Power of Music: Mike Baker Music** Music has the profound ability to connect people, transcending barriers and touching hearts. At Mike Baker Music, I share my compositions—melding classical influences with modern tech—to produce music that resonates with listeners across the globe. It’s here that notes and chords come together to form a universal language of empathy and unity. **Advocacy for Change: EndoDad** EndoDad is deeply personal to me. As an EndoDad and EndoHusband, I use this platform to support and raise awareness for endometriosis—a painful and often overlooked condition that affects millions. Through this advocacy, I aim to empower those affected and connect with families navigating similar challenges. **A New Venture: Political Aspirations** Excitingly, I’ve also ventured into the political arena as a candidate for precinct committeeman in Kootenai County. This new chapter is about taking the spirit of community service to the legislative level, striving to make a tangible difference in our local governance. Politics, for me, is another form of advocacy—a way to bring about positive change and ensure our voices are heard. **Connecting Through Creativity** Ultimately, my goal with MikeBakerHQ is to create connections. In a world that can often seem divided and daunting, I believe in the power of art, music, and proactive community engagement to lift spirits and spark hope. This website is not just a portfolio—it's an invitation: to engage, to be inspired, and to join me in making a small corner of the world a little brighter. Thank you for visiting. Explore, connect, and let’s inspire each other.