Stop Trying!: The Life-Transforming Power of Trying Less and Doing More

by Carla Ondrasik

Overview

If you’re struggling to get things done or meet your goals, the problem isn’t that you’re not trying hard enough, it’s that you’re trying in the first place.

When it comes to getting stuff done, we fall short more often than we like to admit. This can leave us feeling frustrated and ashamed, because despite trying our very best we can’t seem to meet our goals. Why? The surprising answer is ingeniously outlined in Stop Trying!: The Life-Transforming Power of Trying Less and Doing More—an evolutionary guide that evokes the revelatory force of The Five-Second Rule and the sublime practicality of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Put simply, it turns out that trying is just an illusion for doing.

Stop Trying! illuminates the deception in a mindset built on trying, which can lead to anxiety, procrastination, perceived loss of control, fatigue, fear of failure, lack of follow-through, and overall life dissatisfaction. Importantly, this book offers a way out of the rut and into practical, progressive action. Stop Trying! reveals the compelling science behind our brain, behaviors, and beliefs when it comes to the notion of trying. Pulling from positive psychology, the science of habit formation, clinical studies, and more, motivational speaker Carla Ondrasik guides us to proven-effective strategies for better doing—and ultimately to goal achievement and a more fulfilling life.

Readers will learn techniques and tips, build skills through interactive activities, and hear sincere stories from everyday people who’ve made the transformative switch from trying to doing. Achievement is just one “do or do not” decision away, and it starts with eliminating “try” from our vocabulary. Stop Trying! shows us how to do that.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798895650172
Publisher:	Post Hill Press
Publication date:	09/23/2025
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Carla Ondrasik has been developing her “No Try” philosophy for two decades, researching, speaking, and promoting her message to business organizations, women’s leadership groups, and college-preparatory schools. She has reached such a broad audience through motivational meetups, one-on-one mentoring, and magazine writing. Carla is the former vice president of Creative Writer Development for EMI Music when it was the largest music publisher in the world. She is credited with the sales of millions of records worldwide. During her twenty-year career, she placed hit songs with legends including Barbara Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Cher, Huey Lewis, Martina McBride, Earth, Wind & Fire, Mariah Carey, NSYNC, and Christina Aguilera. Carla continues to mentor and promote the current generation of music makers. Carla attended University of Tennessee, Knoxville and resides in Southern California with her husband, musical artist John Ondrasik, who she discovered, signed, and developed under the moniker Five for Fighting. She has two adult children and is an avid swimmer.

Editorial Reviews

Carla Ondrasik’s Stop Trying! is a brave and liberating look at how eliminating a ‘trying’ mindset by taking action and making a commitment to ‘get it done’ can bring us closer to the success we crave in all aspects of our lives.

Gary Sinise

Carla’s book does a fantastic job of motivating anyone who reads it, to stop making excuses so they can dance all the way to the finish line of their dreams. Stop Trying! is a call to action that encourages us all to get off our butts and just do it. No more saying, ‘I’ll try to do this,...BUT!’

Paula Abdul

Carla Ondrasik’s Stop Trying! is a homerun! It confirms my belief that great things can happen to ordinary people if they work hard, never give up, and now, as importantly, stop trying and start doing.

Orel Hershiser

Carla’s book is a powerful reminder that the gap between where you are and where you want to be isn’t desire—it’s action. Stop Trying! shows you how to stop spinning and start moving, with clarity and conviction.

Suneel Gupta

Carla Ondasik’s Stop Trying! encourages us to separate our ambitions from our actions and to just go get it!

Jason Feifer

Lots of books promise change, but Stop Trying! is the change. Carla Ondrasik gives you one simple, yet insanely powerful tool that will flip your life into high gear. If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and actually start living a life that feels meaningful and successful, this book shows you exactly how to do it.

Mel Robbins