Ep #140: (Part 1) Reimagining Your Life and Legacy with Sherry Frey

In today’s episode I’m sharing a very special conversation with one of our beloved Art School and Art School Mastermind alum Sherry Frey. We have a prismatic conversation that includes many topics that I think you will find pique your interest, that you’ve told me are some of your favorite themes; moving through transition, creating a new life, prosperity consciousness, change, legacy work, making an impact.

And one of the meta themes that emerged is reimagining life. And this is not surprising given that many of our Art School alum speak of the Art School experience that way; that it was a container in which they could ask themselves these bigger questions and then really work on what it is to reimagine and recreate one’s life.

And so, Sherry is going to share so much wisdom. I’m so excited for you to meet her. She is a legacy consultant and entrepreneur, a speaker. She is also a natural and a talented storyteller.

So, I wanted to, in this intro, then leave you with a tidbit, a tantalizing introduction to one of her amazing stories. It’s quite a bit longer than most of my excerpts for intros, but it is such a good story. I’m excited to share it with you. Here it is.

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Sherry: I did get to the point in corporate that I was just like, I’m giving too much. And I was so drained and so burnt out. And I remember, we went on a vacation. We went to Italy. And we were with friends and we had this farmhouse and I was cooking for everyone. And I just remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, I miss me. I’ve lost me.” I was so focused – you’re working so much. I’m putting so much into this business that also wasn’t nourishing me back, or nourishing me back anymore, you know, it kind of had evolved, that I was like, gosh, I kind of fell in love with myself again.

And I remember my friends were saying that, like, “God, we missed you, like this Sherry.” And so, I just kind of decided that maybe it was time for a change. And I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I quit. And I remember telling people, like, I don’t know what I’m going to do but the universe is going to bring it to me.

And people were like, “Oh my god, this doesn’t sound like anything you would say,” right? And I was like, “You’re right. It freaks me out a little bit too.”

And I actually took time off. I took a lot of time off. And I’m calling it – I’m coining this, but I’m actually seeing this is truly becoming a trend. I’m calling it my first mini retirement. And it was just this chance for me to reset and get back to who am I? And I for sure took a year and did nothing but traveled and worked on myself spiritually. And I spent a lot of time with my family.

With my career, I’d actually lived in Chicago. And so, I wasn’t near my family for many years. And so, I spent time being with them, just being truly not just for a holiday, but being present in their lives. And I’m really glad. I don’t regret that I wasn’t there, but I’m really glad that I just took that time to say I just want to be here. And I started to think about what I’m passionate about. And I’m so passionate about our Earth, our land…

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You are listening to The Art School Podcast; a show for artists and creatives who want to become the next greatest version of themselves. Learn how to cultivate an extraordinary way of being and take the mystery out of making money, and the struggle out of making art. Here is your host, master certified life coach, artist, and former lawyer, Leah Badertscher.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Art School Podcast. I am joining you, speaking with you from a happily chaotic, crowded art studio. I have been painting and playing in here so much the last couple weeks, and it feels amazing.

Maybe I said this last week. It’s still going. And I’m really enjoying it. So, wherever you are, I hope you are in a great groove with your creative time as well, even if it’s the season of your creativity where you lay low and you let things be quiet and you’re letting the fields be fallow for right now.

Been there. Sometimes it’s something we resist, but it’s absolutely necessary. I think right now, I am reaping the benefits of having had some fallow time myself and really enjoying it. Lots of new art supplies, lots of new colors, lots of new things different from what I’ve done before. So, that has been fun.

And also, some of you have written to say that you enjoy the updates from the pure Michigan farm life. And so, I think of you as I walk around about the week or we’re doing various things, like if I could just import some sort of audio version of like a movie scene shot. Because I think there’s been some movie-worthy scene shots this last week.

My husband and I went for a walk the other night after we’d had a few families over, some new families he had met and wanted to have over for dinner. So, that was a lot of fun. Kids running around and getting to cook for new people and new conversation.

And then he and I went for a walk later and the sun was setting and we’re walking along one of our trails and there’s corn that’s growing and it’s about shoulder, head-high on one side now, which reminds me of home. Smells like home to me. Totally, that smell of corn and the sight of it brings back such a nostalgia for me. And then, on the other side, we have the prairie growing up and there are new flowers every day and there are so many fireflies right now. And with the sun setting, the light how it was, the fireflies, the prairie flowers, the corn on the other side, we were just marveling and taking it in, and also having a good conversation about what we have both been through to get here.

Because we are approaching – not quite to 20. We’re almost there, at the 20^th anniversary. And we’ve been through a lot. The therapist Ester Perel talks about how, in a lot of marriages, if you’ve been married longer than 10 years, that sometimes it can seem like there’s two marriages.

And I think that’s the case, like in a healthy way. Because I think for us, it’s been a healthy thing that we have evolved and changed and learned how to navigate all of that together. So, it was a really beautiful moment, like made deeper. And this was the talk we were having about the fact that it hasn’t always been easy and that we’ve navigated and grown through that.

So, that was beautiful. We have raspberries on. I picked them for breakfast this morning. And while I was over there, where our raspberry patch is, there is a huge woodpile and I found new baby kittens in there too, which the kids were excited to learn about. And taking my studio breaks by going swimming outdoors, which is just heaven. I absolutely love that.

I want to give a shoutout to our amazing Morgan, who is our college student who helps out at least two days a week. She’s been incredible. And we are also packing for our week at Lake Michigan.

So, I hope you all too are, you know, whatever you’re moving through – because I also forgot to mention I threw out my back in the last… oh, there’s that too. I’m getting better. And I got a respiratory infection. But I’m getting better. And then just in time to go to Lake Michigan.

So, I kind of was laughing. I felt a little bit prescient when I offered a Your Best Summer Yet workshop because I had a sense that I needed to remind myself of that work, of how the master and the artist uses all of life and everything that comes to them and you don’t create something in spite of that, but through that, because of that.

I, yeah, was kind of laughing at myself that I sensed that that workshop and revisiting those ideas and that energy was every bit as much for me to have handy and at the forefront of my mind as it was for everyone else.

So, I hope you all are enjoying good seasons. And I am really excited, no matter what season you find yourself, this conversation with Sherry Frey offers timeless, classic wisdom. The themes of prosperity, of what it actually takes to transition and reimagine a life and how I think particularly many of you will appreciate when she talks about how there were times when she committed to a change and it took some time, and that we can be in a hurry to move through change and the difficult parts of things.

And she says, for her, the last two years, she’s so grateful for them and would rather not do them again. But it’s again one of the reasons I wanted to offer these Art School spotlights, these conversations with our alum. Because I know within the community, everyone talks about how much they benefit form one another’s presence, because it really is a remarkable community of brilliant, big-hearted, creative people.

And I talk a lot about being an energetic learner. And there’s something about the people in this community, and Sherry is a shining example, where just being in her presence, you feel a positive impact. You feel like you’re learning something. It’s like an insight into another way of being and moving in the world, whether that’s in the arena of prosperity or being a leader and being a woman leader.

It’s by osmosis. You feel like you have an education and that you’re energetically upgraded. And so, I think that gets imparted through these podcast conversations too. I love seeing that dynamic happen in real-time in the Art School.

As I mentioned in the intro, one of the overarching underlying themes in this conversation is reimagining life. And I get a lot of questions from people who aren’t familiar with my work and who just catch it on the fly and hear about the Art School.

And I know it’s not intuitive that the Art School would be about something bigger, about exploring something bigger. And it’s not about at all – I don’t teach medium. I don’t teach painting or writing. I don’t teach the craft. But it is about the art of exploring these greater questions, the art of imagining and creating your life on purpose.

And Sherry articulates her story so beautifully. And I think you can hear, as she speaks, the wise and loving way that she talks about her evolution. And sometimes, I think it can seem to people like if you’re talking about your evolution, you have to be dismissive of where you were and somehow Sherry is able to avoid that. Not even avoid that. She just doesn’t do it.

It’s so elegant, the way that she processes and thinks and moves in the world. So, I think what you get to hear really is this part of a story of the evolution of a creative powerhouse. Because Sherry is definitely a powerhouse.

As I mention – I can’t remember if it’s in this first episode or if it will be in the follow up, but her sister was also in the Art School and in the mastermind and something – I wondered about their family because something about both of them immediately struck me as very powerful women leaders and with very strong remarkable feminine leadership aspect and presence, just naturals.

So again, two people that I was really grateful to have in this community and to have their energy and presence and contribution as a part of the overall experience. So, let me introduce you to Sherry first via her bio.

She is, as I mentioned, a legacy consultant, entrepreneur, and speaker. Through her businesses, consulting, and speaking, Sherry’s mission is to inspire others to deeply love themselves, love others, and love the Earth. She passionately works with businesses and leaders in awakening to their true calling and consciously creating their legacy toward a greater world for all. Her vision is a world where business drives social change and makes a profit, where leaders show up as their most authentic selves and where prosperity is shared by all and humanity is collectively elevated.

And if you want to connect with Sherry and learn more about her work – I’ll mention this now because often I forget at the end. So, let me say it now. You can find her on LinkedIn, Sherry Frey on LinkedIn, and we will have that link in the show notes as well.

Also, this conversation, we also touch on the energy that you get back when you leave behind your second and third jobs of people pleasing and perfectionism, or the fourth and fifth jobs of being the valedictorian and super-overachiever at both of those things.

That’s a fun part of this conversation, and being people who not only talk that but walk our talk and live it, we are starting the podcast on a very authentic, vulnerable note. And what comes next is the part where we were just talking offline but already just slipped into the flow of a really meaningful, authentic conversation and Sherry was totally open and graciously willing to share that part of it too.

So, that’s where we’re going to start. I hope you love this episode, this conversation, and I will see you on the other side.

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Sherry: It took some time to get there.

Leah: Yeah, it’s interesting too, like, I mean, because you describe it as remembering who you are, but I’m sure too, the past two years have informed though that it’s different than it would have been two years ago.

Sherry: You know, I think I needed the last two years, even though they, you know, I’m not ready to go through them again any time soon. But I think I needed them for a couple different reasons. I needed them to grow into who I am, to really embody. And I think also I needed them to take off a lot of the labels that I was.

I needed that ability to kind of say this isn’t who I am anymore, you know, and kind of pick each one up and curiously look at it and say, like, “No, I don’t want that anymore. I don’t want that.” So, I think I needed the time and that space to just really grow into myself and try some things also. You know, I think part of it was also having the courage to realize, I don’t have to have all the answers today.

But I didn’t. Like, I wanted all the answers. I wanted to see the future and I wanted to have it all planned out. And so, I kind of needed to have a couple steps forwards and, “Oh, this isn’t it,” and a couple steps forward, trying this. So, I needed all of that to really literally come full-circle and be like, “Oh wait, this is actually what I want to do and this is actually what I’m really good at.” But I needed the amnesia, and I needed to try some other stuff that wasn’t me to know that that wasn’t me.

Leah: So well said. And I know you know, having been in the Art School, how often people are like, “I need to know everything now,” how much resistance there can be. And also, we don’t want to have those two years, or for some of us decades, where we’re wondering and sorting things out. Like, we want to have it tied up in a bow. But to hear you describe, like, why it was profoundly useful, meaningful to you…

Sherry: Yeah, absolutely. I’ll share anything. I think the more vulnerable I am, you know, the more I think it can really touch someone else, the more that we’re real.

Leah: I agree. I do think that people are most touched and moved and informed in ways that are really useful for them, like when we are vulnerable and honest and open. And I love for these conversations to be as close to an approximate as being in the Art School and having conversations. Because it’s always during those times when like, if people could just hear this, I think it’d be so useful, like the real time unfolding.

So, can you maybe from here – we’ll segue and we’ll circle back around – tell me about what brough you to the Art School. What was your genesis story?

Sherry: Oh, that’s a great question. So, first of all, my sister Katie did the Art School a year earlier I think. And she absolutely loved it. I mean, she talked about you – it almost felt like a cult, where she’s like, “I love this woman.” And it was an intensive.

She did the eight-week program. And I just noticed such a difference in her and really in how she would talk about things and how she would maybe catch herself and really be curious instead of any judgment. I was so impressed with something that, in eight weeks, could really have such an impact on someone that I love so much.

And then, when I joined it last year, it was during COVID. And I was in the middle of pivoting what I wanted – I hate that word. But I was in the middle of figuring out, like, what do I want to do? I wasn’t in love with my business. And I really thought, well maybe I just need some support. Because I really think – and I have thought this for a long time – there’s something bigger I’m supposed to do but I’m not sure what it is and maybe the Art School could give me that support, and supported space actually to figure it out.

And so, I was really excited to do the Art School last year and I actually got to do it with my sister. She did it again. Which was really special for us. We’re very close. And to be able to have that exploration together was pretty fantastic. And it was. The Art School was what I needed.

It was this chance for me to play, I think, and not take myself so seriously and to really start to step into being a creator and recognizing that everything’s an evolution. I’m an evolution.

We hear so often, “Your journey, my journey…” but gosh, it’s so true. We’re just unfolding. And for me then, the Art School was a big unfolding. And I will tell you, when my sister was so interested in you, one of the things she had me listen to was your moonshot podcast. And I do think that is your signature podcast. I’m like, yeah, I’m all in. I’ve got big moonshot dreams here.

Leah: Well, I loved having you and Katie, and you and Katie together. That was phenomenal. And you know I love moonshot people. So, if we – because we’re going to talk too about what you are doing now and speaking of journeys, I want to back way up and can you tell us what 18-year-old Sherry was doing and what she thought she was doing and then what the path is? Can you make any connections to what you knew then? What’s the same? What’s different?

Sherry: Oh wow, that is a great question. I mean, 18-year-old Sherry was just so driven. And 30-year-old Sherry was very driven. And 40-year-old Sherry was pretty driven too. But 18-year-old Sherry was maybe a little bit racing. I was racing for life. And so, I was so excited for college, but I was so excited to be done with college. It’s almost like – I think that’s been a lesson for me in my life, that I’ve always been too far ahead instead of just stopping and enjoying the journey. And that’s something I’m learning in my 40s of, “Wait, this is the fun part of being here.”

So, 18-year-old Sherry was, you know, this probably will come up a couple of times in our podcast conversation here, but all about achieving. All about being the best at this or having this award or whatever. And so, very kind of focused externally on achievements.

Leah: So, do you think, because I know how intelligent and brilliant you are and the leadership skills you have. And I don’t know 18-year-old Sherry. I have a sense though that it’s innate. And then you found paths that allowed you to channel and cultivate that gift. So, with the achievement part, how do you think about this then as someone who is so bright and intelligent, and also has these leadership skills?

Because I think we’re drawn to achieve things. It’s a lot of energy. And you’re looking for channels for that energy. And achievement is a more constructive channel than other ones you could use…

Sherry: Absolutely.

Leah: So, does that resonate with you? You don’t have to say, but go ahead, I’m all for the non-humble brag. Yes, I am brilliant. I am like a powerhouse of a woman and I needed to have an arena in which to play with these gifts. How do you discern that? How do you discern, like, what is an achievement that just feels external to you versus, “Ah, this is me using my gifts?” I guess that’s the question that I’m getting at.

Sherry: I don’t even know. For me, a lot of it, they were mixed together. So, it was just doing things that came naturally. And I really, I mean, I’ve always loved to be in leadership. My family will tell you I always loved to be the boss. But that’s not true. I’ve really always loved to work with people and think about how we can make things better.

I’ve always been kind of pushing for what can be better, what could be different, how can we think about things differently? So, I’ve always been in that space. But I think too, the discerning part would be, if I could go back and talk to 18-year-old Sherry, it would be about saying really pick what lights you up. Because you do have a lot of skills. You’ve got a lot of things you can do. But pick the ones that really light you up.

And for me, I think – and it’s just always been natural and I couldn’t put my finger on it probably until the last 10 years – it’s about making an impact, you know. Like, really about making things better for other people. And so, choosing the leadership opportunities and where I put my energy in those places where I can really feel and see the results.

Leah: So, did you – because I know you had a very successful corporate career. And were there opportunities in that realm? Did you feel like to have that kind of impact, or was it like whet your appetite for it and then you were looking for maybe a more expansive place to play with that kind of energy and dynamic?

Sherry: No, I mean, I loved my career. I started out in public relations. And I’ve always been in that space in the food and ag space. But I spent most of my career actually working in the perimeter of the grocery store. So, working with retailers and manufacturers and growers to expand the perimeter of the store.

And so, for me, it was fantastic because my passion has always been, you know, how do we get more people to eat healthier? How do we get retailers to think more about growing that perimeter of the store, what they carry, and then how do we get farmers and growers to think about not just growing things that are good for yield but how do we grow things that are good for what the consumer wants?

And so, I had such a blast in my career because it really was kind of being – I always called it missionary work, you know. Because we had the data and we did the analytics on the perimeter of the store. And so, for a lot of people, it was the first time they had access to data. So, it as educating them on how to think about pricing and promotion and assortment. It was getting people to think about, just because we can grow this tomato and it holds up well in the distribution chain, but it tastes like crap when it gets to the consumer, that’s not success. So, how do we rethink and go back and look at what are the attributes consumers want of their tomatoes? What are the attributes that they want of their watermelon?

And so, it was very fun to kind of be in the forefront of getting an entire industry to think differently. And you know, I’m really proud because throughout the time there, I really did actually see the perimeter of the store grow. And if you think about even your grocery store, you probably have seen the perimeter grew and the center store has shrunk in a lot of ways in terms of what size is associated in the store.

And I think that’s just, for me, that was part of not just the mission of educating people and thinking differently. But it was a bigger mission of, “Wow, how can we get people to eat from the perimeter of the store more and give consumers more options?” And to be a big part of that, I was just so passionate about that.

Leah: So, getting people to think differently, that to me seems like a common thread. And then now the work that you’re doing now – or maybe it’s tapping into how they already are thinking differently and then serving that. So, I’d like to then talk about, from there, how did you move from working the perimeter of the store, expanding that to the legacy work, the prosperity work with women that you’re doing now?

Sherry: I did get to the point in corporate that I was just like, I’m giving too much. And I was so drained and so burnt out. And I remember, we went on a vacation. We went to Italy. And we were with friends and we had this farmhouse and I was cooking for everyone. And I just remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, I miss me. I’ve lost me.” I was so focused – you’re working so much. I’m putting so much into this business that also wasn’t nourishing me back, or nourishing me back anymore, you know, it kind of had evolved, that I was like, gosh, I kind of fell in love with myself again.

And I remember my friends were saying that, like, “God, we missed you, like this Sherry.” And so, I just kind of decided that maybe it was time for a change. And I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I quit. And I remember telling people, like, I don’t know what I’m going to do but the universe is going to bring it to me.

And people were like, “Oh my god, this doesn’t sound like anything you would say,” right? And I was like, “You’re right. It freaks me out a little bit too.”

And I actually took time off. I took a lot of time off. And I’m calling it – I’m coining this, but I’m actually seeing this is truly becoming a trend. I’m calling it my first mini retirement. And it was just this chance for me to reset and get back to who am I? And I for sure took a year and did nothing but traveled and worked on myself spiritually. And I spent a lot of time with my family.

With my career, I’d actually lived in Chicago. And so, I wasn’t near my family for many years. And so, I spent time being with them, just being truly not just for a holiday, but being present in their lives. And I’m really glad. I don’t regret that I wasn’t there, but I’m really glad that I just took that time to say I just want to be here.

And I started to think about what I’m passionate about. And I’m so passionate about our Earth, our land. I’m passionate that we need to regenerate our Earth, you know. We need to give back. We need to nourish, very similarly to our bodies, like how we think about our bodies. It’s the same way of collectively how we have this opportunity with the Earth.

And I felt that there was this opportunity for us to get back to plant healing, get back to healing ourselves naturally. So, I get really frustrated when it feels like, “Well, here’s a pill for this and here’s a pill for this, by the way, this pill has this indication with this.”

And so, I actually started a CBD business. And because I believe we can heal again, it’s a beautiful healing herb. It comes from the earth. It actually is a great plant for the earth because it’s also very regenerative in terms of what it does for the earth. So, it’s so good for our body; hemp is. And I’m just really passionate about getting people to think about healing themselves back with nature.

And the business, actually, the name of the company is LYLOLE. It’s an acronym for Love Yourself, Love Others, Love the Earth. And I’m just so passionate about that because I really think for my journey, it has been a lot about having to really love yourself first and truly love yourself and part of that has been getting to know yourself and honoring yourself and nourishing yourself.

And I think, when we do that, when we really do that, we start to wake up to who we are, the divinity of who we are. And then we connect differently to people. Because we also can see that in each other. We can see that divinity in other people. And I feel like it is kind of like, if this then this. And then, we see the Earth that way too. Then we can really say, “Wow, this is really Mother Earth. How would I want to repair her?”

If I’m really connected to all these other people, if we’re connected and we’re connected to her, how do we think differently about how we show up every day, what we purchase, how we again regenerate and give back and maybe stop taking so much?

So, that was my first iteration though. I really realized, as you can kind of tell, I’m passionate about plant healing. But I’m really passionate about that mission. And I started to really recognize that LYLOLE was more than just a brand of product, but it’s like my personal mission. And I wanted to step into that in a greater way. But I didn’t really know how.

And that was really the Art School, you know, kind of exploring what does this look like. And I’ve always been one of those people that I can see a lot of trends. I can see things happening and be like, “Isn’t that interesting,” or kind of pull things out of the air of this and this and this, I think this is a shift that might be happening.

And I really started to recognize that this conversation around how we think about ourselves, how we think about the Earth, it has a lot to do with if we have a scarcity mindset, if we’re taking, or if we have an abundant mindset and if we have that prosperity mindset. And so, that started me down the path of working with women on prosperity.

And specifically, as I started this, I started to work with women without children. I don’t have kids. I’m not married. And I just kind of felt like that’s a very interesting group; a group that in my mind is kind of reimagining what it means, you know. It’s kind of like society said this is what it is. You’re going to grow up and white picket fence and 2.5 kids and a house in the suburbs.

And there’s this whole group of women that are saying, “I’m reimagining what life is. And a lot of times, they’re really empowered in that space. And a lot of times, they’re a little like, “Oh, you know, the world wasn’t quite made for me.”

And so, I just felt this strong pull to work with women without children. And especially also, I realized in the work, it started out work on prosperity. It started out kind of like this idea of let’s get your crap together. There’s a lot of women that aren’t thinking about – really, money is just a reflection. How you treat your money, that’s just a reflection of how you treat yourself, how you love yourself.

And for me, it was an easy one to talk to women about because it was so tangible. It was easy for them to say, “You’re right, I’m ignoring money. Yeah, you’re right, I don’t have a vision for money. I don’t have a plan. I’m not nurturing money at all.” Really thinking about money from a relationship perspective.

So, it was kind of an easy conversation. And then, to talk about the idea really that money is just a way that you amplify who you are. It’s just a tool to be like, “I’m going to be more me in the world.” But you’ve got to have that loving of yourself. Before, you’re just using money as a tool. And in that work then, I really realized it’s about legacy for me.

It’s about this conversation with women around is the world better because I was here? And not just women without children. And not just women actually. It’s kind of all people that are interested in this conversation of, what is my legacy? Is the world better because I’m here?

And a lot of this has been for me, because this was the stuff I’ve been doing, it’s been helping people take off their labels. And I think working with me in the Art School, you saw this. For me, it was a lot about my identity.

So, for a couple of years, it was, “I’m not this corporate person anymore.” And I had the end of a relationship, you know, an 11-year relationship, so I’m not this person anymore. And taking off all the labels and saying, “Who am I?”

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So, this brings me to the part of the podcast where I want you to do more than just listen. I want you to lean in and really work with me. Coach with me. So, because this is a two-part episode and I am deliberately leaving you hanging. There are some really juicy bits in this second part. So, be sure to come back around next week.

But I thought about what would be the best way to link these two coach-with-mes together. And reflecting on the entire conversation, this is where I wanted to start.

I have two questions for you. The first is what is your relationship to process? Any kind of creative process. And my second question would be, what would you like for that to be? What would be your ideal intentional relationship to process?

So, beneath these two bigger questions, there are obviously a lot of implicit questions that would be really helpful to explore. For instance, beneath what is your relationship to process currently, any creative process, it might be useful to ask yourself, what aspects are working really well? What aspects are not serving me? What aspects do I think are necessary and I think serve me? And can I question those?

Maybe something that I thought served me, like Sherry and I talked about people pleasing and overachieving and perfectionism, we’re often taught that those things serve us. And they do to an extent. And so, it can be difficult to put them down.

But then questioning, are these actually serving me? What is the ultimate goal? Are these actually the ideal intentional creative process I would choose for myself? Or is there something better?

And then, to go to the next question, what is your ideal intentional relationship to process, you could ask yourself, if I know this – maybe you didn’t know before. Maybe no one has asked you the question. Maybe you’ve considered it before but there are certain obstacles that are now within your awareness and you can ask yourself, what about this obstacle could be an opportunity?

I want to offer an example and insight into one place that comes up for most of us around process, and that is our relationship to time. We’re often in a hurry. There’s often some scarcity around it. We often want to know and have things wrapped up.

And I have so much compassion for this. I’m exploring these questions myself right now, as luck would have it. I’ve given myself time this summer to sense into and to contemplate, what is the next evolution of me, my work, my art, my business? And there are not immediate answers.

Some things are pretty clear to me. Some things, I can look back on what I’ve learned and I know what I want to adjust. I know what changes I’ll make. And other places, I can see maybe that there’s a letting go that’s necessary or it’s the right time. And there isn’t right away a quote unquote replacement anything, like security showing up in its place.

This is such a valuable set of questions, what is our relationship to process? Because really, it’s our relationship to ourselves as we move through process. And any dream, any vision is going to challenge us if it’s going to change us, if it’s going to evolve us.

And I think paramount for me has been to sit with this question; what do I want my relationship to myself to be as I move through process? And then therefore, what is my own relationship to process? So, actually, I gave you three questions there.

Taking stock, reviewing what has been your relationship to process, what do you want your intentional relationship with yourself to be as you move through process? And then flowing from that, flowing from your relationship with yourself, what is your intentional and ideal relationship to process?

Also, bonus section for those of you who love this kind of work. It can be so insightful to compare processes. So, for instance, when I wanted to have more of a relationship of ease with my art work, I looked to other places where I create things, prolifically. I enjoy it. I seem to create it well. I have a sense of confidence and ease and strength about it, almost a nonassumedness about it.

And then, I would compare, what’s my thoughts and what’s my energy? What are my belief systems? What’s my way of being around that particular process versus whatever process it was that I was wanting to reimagine? Let’s say in the beginning, really reimagining an easier more open relationship, a more natural relationship with painting.

And I have revisited this one too because I’ve found again I’m doing this now with painting, that I’m evolving. And so, I am reimagining as well what it is to have a new level of ease and trust with my process. And so, to aid in that, I look to other places where I seem to do this subconsciously and I do it well and I enjoy it and it works.

And then, I apply what I understand from that and carry it over to my studio work. So, for you, I know there are areas in life where you could almost move through in your sleep, people often remark on it. Maybe it’s something you’re known for. Maybe it’s something that you’re a little dismissive of as well. So, look at that, harvest that, and consider those things when considering these questions about relationship to process.

Thank you for listening to another episode of The Art School Podcast. I am truly grateful for you because without you, this would just be me sitting in front of my computer talking to myself, talking in front of the microphone.

I definitely have certain people I know in my head as I’m speaking sometimes. And other times, I feel connected to people I don’t know yet. So, it’s always delightful to then connect with someone that I didn’t know who later tells me that, “Oh gosh, I felt like you were speaking to me.” I think I was.

It’s definitely an imagining and a way I orient myself to process that really seems to work. So, thank you all for being here. If you’d love to learn more about this work, my work, the Art School, you can learn more by visiting my website, wee.leahcb.com. You can also connect with me on Instagram, @leahcb1.

Also, any questions you have about our work or anything you’ve heard me say here, you want to learn more about, please email us, support@leahcb.com. And we will be happy to hear from you and take excellent care of you.

So, in the Art School and a lot of the work I do, and if you’ve listened to this podcast, you know that we talk often about how being a Creative with a capital C means allowing yourself the knowing that you can build wealth, you can build health, you can be also spiritually rich, that you can be a creative powerhouse.

We talk about rolling up our sleeves and doing the work, and then also staying in the energy of magic and miracles. And all of these things were another reason that I was really excited to have Sherry come on the podcast and speak with me again, and also share her wisdom, her insight, her energy, her experience, her presence and spirit with you.

And as I was relistening to our conversation, I was thinking, you know, if people are listening and they want to learn from someone and takeaway, I never want to reduce someone to be reductive about a person. So, I’m not doing that here.

I also want to highlight one of the things that I think is one of Sherry’s many gifts, and that is her open-mindedness and willingness to continually evolve and learn and be really engaged in the process.

And then, I just had an intuitive hit that there was a Jim Rohn quote – I’m like, “Look for Jim Rohn quotes to go with Sherry’s podcast.” And I found this one, which I remember, and it is perfect. I’m excited to share it with you.

“Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.”

I think this is such a great way to tie into our conversation about process. Because so often, we want to microwave our transformations. We want to shortcut, short-circuit those spaces where, as Sherry described the two years where it took some time. It took some amnesia. It took some searching. It took some trying things and then realizing what did and didn’t work.

And that is not an obstacle to the process. But that’s actually part of the miracle. So, here is that quote one more time to carry with you throughout your week, “Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.”

Wishing all of you a beautiful and miraculous week. I’m excited to continue this conversation, part two with Sherry next week, and I look forward to talking with you next time.