You’ve got to meet the amazing and authentic Andrea Scher (@andreascher). A mother, sister, and daughter. Fun Fact! Andrea is also my cousin. 🙂
A friend to many, a life coach, and an author. Whew – that’s a lot of titles, but they all somehow connect together, which allows Andrea to be who she really is. Amazing and authentic.
Andrea’s debut book Wonder Seeker takes the reader’s hand and leads them to seek out 52 ways to wake up their creativity and find joy. The pages are overflowing with beauty, positivity, and light. It’s hard not to smile and feel motivated to find something that will brighten one’s day.
The very famous Brené Brown (yes, you read that right) has shared her perspective on Wonder Seeker right on the cover. “The Perfect guide to help us slow down and find the beauty and wonder right in front of us.”
Although I didn’t have the pleasure of receiving Ms. Brown’s words on my book, Get Up, I did have the honour of receiving Andrea’s.
And that’s more than fine with me.
Let’s dive in to learn about the amazing and authentic Andrea.
Who is Andrea Scher?
I’m an artist, author, and life coach in Berkeley, California. But really, I’m a storyteller and healer. I love helping women be braver, use their voices, and live a more vibrant life.
You wear lots of hats! What are they? And do you have a favourite Hat?
A coach once called me a feaster, which I love! A feaster is someone who wants to feast on life, they wouldn’t be satisfied just having one thing at the buffet. They want to taste it all! I’m a blogger, podcaster, painter, online workshop teacher, life coach, retreat leader, and mom of two boys. At the moment, my favorite role is creating manifesting courses online and gathering women on Zoom for transformational work. So juicy!
Can you share the journey of writing Wonder Seeker?
I have wanted to write a book for more than 20 years and had sent out many book proposals. Right before the pandemic, I found an agent and by the time we prepared my book proposal for Wonder Seeker, we had all been quarantined for several weeks. This turned out to be divine timing! And publishers could see that it was medicine for this moment.
I was so lucky to have this project to work on during 2022. Writing about wonder and contemplating what created the best conditions for wonder and joy to arise made for a buoyant year for me. (Even inside of all of the anxiety and loss of that time) I was my own best case study. Does seeking wonder make for a more joyful life? Yes! It actually does. 🙂
Can you share what it was like to work with SARK?
I found SARK’s books in the ’90s and felt the resonance immediately. As soon as I opened one of her books I knew I wanted to write books like that – creative, unconventional, and aimed at helping people heal and have a more joyful and colorful life. Getting to work with one of your heroes is a lucky thing and I am deeply grateful. She showed me what it was like to run a creative business and showed me a template for how to live a successful and unconventional life.
What has been the most meaningful lesson you have learned so far?
The most important bit of wisdom I learned from early motherhood (and yet seems to still apply) is this. Get more help than you think you deserve!
Why?
- What we think we deserve is not enough.
- What we think we deserve is just the tiniest slice of what we actually need.
Because needing help and support doesn’t make you needy, it makes you human.
How do you relax?
I relax by making colorful things! Like these rainbow wall hangings.
And by going to the dog park every night to hang out with my neighbors and dog friends. I don’t have a dog, I just love the joy there! (Editor’s note: I just love that.)
Let’s unpack your quote: What did you mean by:
“Letting go of your story gives you back your power.”
We have all of these stories about who we are, that we firmly believe are true. But often, they are self-limiting beliefs we created a long time ago.
Stories such as:
“I’m too sensitive. I’m not good with money. I could never run a marathon. I’m not artsy. I have to work long hours if I’m going to succeed. If I really let people know who I am, they would run for the hills. I’m too much. I’m not enough.”
Once we can identify our story/belief about ourselves, we can get curious. We can ask if we know for sure that it’s true. We can ask ourselves when was the first time I believed that thought? When was that story created?
When we look with a loving heart and witness ourselves with compassion, we can decide whether we want to go forward believing that story as if it’s true.
If it’s disempowering, I would hope we would choose to not keep that belief. Our power, however, is in our power to choose.
The opportunity to seek out joy. Providing a safe space to be oneself. Sharing words of wisdom. Thank you, Andrea, for using your strong voice to help those who need a little help to be their amazing authentic selves, like you.
