Shari Leid received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Washington in 1992 and graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 1995. A former litigator, she currently owns and operates An Imperfectly Perfect Life, LLC, a professional life coaching business serving women, helping guide them towards recognizing their power. She married her law school boyfriend, and they are the parents of two grown children. Now in her early 50s, she believes all of her life experiences and challenges were placed in her life to allow her to share what she has learned. She lives in Seattle, Washington. Her debut book, The 50/50 Friendship Flow: Life Lessons From and For My Girlfriends [Capucia Publishing, October 6, 2020] offers a conscious path to not only maintain friendships but to deepen those relationships to support connection while bringing joy and a sense of purpose to both of you. The book details the personal challenge the author embarked on by sitting down one-on-one with 50 friends over the course of one year to share the positive impact they had made in her life.

In today’s new episode, Shari shares the moments that changed her life overnight. Every time, these moments made her life amazing - not immediately, but eventually. When Shari was just 22 years old, she was in a car accident that would change her life forever. She felt lost. The sadness was so heavy, and she can still feel it when she allows her mind to wonder back to that time. One evening when Shari was having a difficult time, there was an evening janitor at the hospital who looked at her and said, “it will be ok, you will be ok, and you will be better.” Shari knew he wasn’t just talking about her appearance, she knew he was talking about who she was as a person. He knew that hardships make us better, and for Shari - he was an angel sent from heaven. She was able to come out of her darkness and gain perspective, she focused on becoming physically and mentally strong, and she began to look for the lessons in her experience. His words kept her going, and have carried her through a number of hardships in her life.

As Shari so beautifully shares, hardships make us stronger, they teach us who we are, and often if we let it, they lead us to the best destinations.

“When I look back at how these moments of sudden change have forced me to regroup, to gather my strength, and to find the opportunity for the light in the darkness, I realize that these challenging moments propelled me to something beyond my plan or even my wildest dreams.”

— Shari Leid

Tune in on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bZHrtjAzbksbLWNaak1NM

Tune in on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stories-of-inspiring-joy/id1510488632

To connect with Shari and learn more visit her website https://animperfectlyperfectlife.com/ and on Facebook @animperfectlyperfectlife Instagram @an_imperfectly_perfect_life and you can find her book on Amazon here

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.