Doug Grady

Years ago, Wayne Dyer taught me that every time he wrote a book, he had his design team create the cover first. I used that same approach for The Ripple Effect. Now, AI makes that process easier than ever. This is what I’ve landed on so far for the upcoming book — FOLLOW: The Lev of the Leader.

There Is No Word for “Try” in Hebrew

Did you know that?

In ancient Hebrew, there is no verb that means what modern people mean when they say try.
“I’m trying to achieve success.”
“I’m trying to be better.”
“I’m trying to do good.”
It doesn’t exist.
Trying is a modern psychological idea — effort as identity, strain as virtue.
Ancient Hebrew has no such concept.
Instead, it has several words that get translated as “try,” but none of them mean “give effort toward something you may or may not accomplish.”
נָסָה — nasah
To test. To prove.
Used when God tests Abraham.
Not “try.”
בָּחַן — bachan
To examine. To scrutinize.
Not “try.”
צָרַף — tsaraf
To refine. To purify.
Not “try.”
בָּדַק — badak
To inspect. To check.
Not “try.”
נִסָּיוֹן — nissayon
A trial. A test.
Still not “try.”
So what’s the closest biblical idea?
Here’s the revelation:
There is no word for “try.”
There is only the word for “walk.”
הָלַךְ — halakh
To walk.
To go.
To live.
To embody.
In ancient Hebrew thought:
You don’t try. You walk.
Trying is effort.
Walking is alignment.
Trying is strain.
Walking is obedience.
Trying is self‑powered.
Walking is God‑powered.
And walking only becomes possible after hearing.
שְׁמַע — shema
Hear.
Receive.
Internalize.
Obey.
Shema forms and centers the lev — the inner core.
Halakh expresses the lev.
This is the ancient pattern:
Shema → Halakh
Hear → Walk
Align → Move
Receive → Embody
This is the life of the leader God blesses.
Try it. Or better yet, don't try it.

Concepts for the cover of the upcoming book, FOLLOW: the Straight Path to Lead. I welcome feedback on the cover, and more importantly, the content:
https://open.substack.com/pub/douglgrady/p/all-in

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