In this episode of Inside Scoop, host Paula Rizzo interviews author, speaker, and life coach Sheri Lead about her ambitious "50 States Project," in which she plans to meet one woman in each U.S. state over the course of a year. The conversation covers Sheri’s personal motivation—overcoming a family‑generated belief that she might not be welcome across the country—and how the project aligns with her friendship‑focused book series. Sheri explains the logistical backbone of the undertaking: two master spreadsheets (alphabetical state list and chronological travel schedule), a visual US map for clustering nearby states, and a structured communication cadence (6‑month, 3‑month, 1‑month, 2‑week, and week‑of check‑ins) that she runs through a virtual assistant. She details the creation of reusable templates for each check‑in, the importance of clear, concise information for the women she meets, and the need to balance structure with flexibility when plans shift. Packing is managed with an iPad checklist and the Stylebook app, allowing her to plan outfits and gear for rapid, often same‑day travel. Paula interjects with her own list‑making expertise, promoting her free List‑Making Starter Kit and a LinkedIn Learning course on the power of lists. Both hosts emphasize how systematic list‑making enables both massive organization and adaptability, turning a massive travel project into a narrative that will feed into future books and inspire others to use lists for complex personal projects.
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Hey there, welcome to Inside Scoop. I'm Paula Rizzo. How many times have you had a project, you know, like a big project where it has a million to-dos and all of these different things that you have to make sure to get done, and you're like, how am I going to do any of this? What if you were planning a trip, not just one trip, but 50 trips, a trip in every single state. That is a lot of coordination. That's a lot of lists, my friend. So today we're going to talk about the coordination of not only travel, but a huge project. And I'm going to bring on a friend and colleague and client of mine in a moment who will tell us all about her project where she actually is doing this. She's going to all 50 states, and I recently had a visit with her. She came to visit me. I was one of the people that she visited in, uh, in one of the 50 states. So we'll talk to her about her travels all around the country, why she's doing it, and how she's doing it logistically, because I am So curious. I love to travel, but that is a lot of travel moves right there. Um, but first I have a resource for you because, you know, if you're watching this, you're going to love lists as much as I do, and so does my guest actually. Uh, if you go to paularizzo.com/list, you'll get my list-making starter kit, which will help you in all areas of your life. And there is a packing list in there too. So when we're talking about travel, you'll find a little packing list in there to help you. I'm also a LinkedIn Learning instructor, and I have a few courses in all areas, productivity especially, and I do have a course called The Power of Lists to Get Stuff Done. So you could go to linkedinlearning.com or you can use the QR code right there to check out that course. And I would love to hear from you throughout the broadcast. So if you have questions, you're watching the replay, put them below. If you have a friend who is, you know, maybe not the best traveler or could use a little bit of help coordinating how to do all of this, just tag them below so that they so you can see this conversation too. And without further ado, let's bring on my guest, Ms. Sheri Lead, who is a wonderful, wonderful author, speaker, life coach. Hi.
Hi. I am so excited. I've never had a chance to talk about lists before. And as you mentioned, I also love lists. So this is such a great opportunity. Thank you.
I love it. I know we worked together. You had hired me as a media coach to help you with the launch of— you have several books. Um, but to, to talk about, you know, your, your books. And, you know, we did this all through the pandemic. Obviously we only met this way, but we bonded a lot over our list making. And, uh, I have to say, I have been happy to see you out and about in the world. We finally got to meet in person when you came to Florida. So before we get to the list, because I need to hear all about how you're coordinating this, you— let's talk first about the, the book that you have, your current book. Um, let's pop that up so we could, we can show everybody. It's, uh, The 60-Day Journal Challenge: Ask Yourself This: Ultimate Life Lessons from and for My Girlfriend. So this is part of a series of books that you've written. So tell me about the, the books that you, you know, why you've put this out into the world. And I want to talk a little bit about the project itself, the 50, 50 States Project.
Sure. Well, this last book really is a journal challenge because I believe that journaling is one of the best basically free self-coaching tools that you can use. And so this, this book takes somebody through basically kind of their life from, from the start, day one. Who taught you, you know, how to ride a bike? I mean, that's one of the first questions in the book. It gives you a little story from one of my girlfriends. I interviewed several women, 50 women, to be a part of this book, and they answer the questions, and I also answer along with them and invite the reader to do so as well with with different prompts, and it takes you all the way through till some of the last questions are more like, you know, what do you want to be said in your eulogy? Kind of what do you want your life purpose to look like? And the idea is that we form habits in, I think the average now they say 66 days. And so that's the idea of trying to form this journaling habit in a really fun way. And all three of these books actually in the Friendship series, this being the last one, are all journaling through books.
And friendship, right? Friendship is your main theme, is about women and connection. And so that is what brought you to then the 50 States Project, right? So tell me about that project where you are going to all 50 states and you are meeting with one woman in every state. I happen to be in Florida, so I was, I was Miss Florida. We met up together for the first time in person. Um, but what, what gave you this? And, and there it is right there, you can see our, uh Oyster eating. Oyster shots. Yes, we did oyster shots. We hung out, we drank, we drank some, some lovely rosé. We had oyster shots. It was awesome. So why did you decide to do this?
Well, I have never traveled the US. I've been fortunate with my husband to take my kids, our kids around the world. We did family trips as they were growing up. They're now in college, but we had the fortune of being able to take them internationally once a year. But I never traveled the US. And I realized a lot of that had to do— my parents, I'm adopted, but my parents, I'm Korean American, my parents are Japanese American and a generation older than most of my peers' parents. So they were actually interned during World War II because of their Japanese background, even though they were born in the Seattle area. And so my dad didn't feel comfortable traveling and I adopted his beliefs unknowingly. Idea that maybe I'm not welcome everywhere. Um, and I decided that I want to challenge that belief and believe that I am welcome everywhere and go, go with that idea instead. So I decided I wanted to travel the US, but I also wanted to make it really meaningful. And what would be meaningful for me would be to do this where I meet basically a stranger or someone I've never met in person, um, and share a meal with that one woman in every state.
I love it. It's so fun. So let's talk about logistics because this is a big project, right? It's, it's 365 days, so you're doing it over the— this year is 2023. If you're watching this on a replay years later, this is when Sheri did it. Uh, and so what— every— are you going to multiple places at once? Like, how did you start to even map this out? I mean, I just feel like this is a spreadsheet on top of a spreadsheet on top of a spreadsheet.
Basically, I have two really strong spreadsheets going right now, one in alphabetical order of states and the other is in order of travel dates. Um, so I decided to do this in March of 2022, and it did seem very daunting. And it started first by writing all the states and then deciding or figuring out who I knew or had some type of contact myself in every state. And I got to 27 women on my own. Then I went out to France, and then from there I had maybe 13 states left, and I started doing internet LinkedIn searches for women in those states. But it was a huge project, and my only criteria really was that they communicate well with me because I am traveling, and some of these places I travel for one full day flying and driving, have lunch the next, and fly and drive the third day. So it was really important that we were able to communicate well. Uh, but yeah, so from the names and it went to logistics. I, I don't drive in the snow, so where can I go that's warm, you know, during the— or at least no snow?
Yeah, exactly. You were here in Florida, it was January. Smart move to come to Florida in January. Very good.
Wow.
Okay, so once you had the map of all of the women and everyone who you were going to meet with, um, then it is about like do you have the plans already set for the whole year or are you doing every month? Like, how have you decided to, to structure the, the actual booking of, of the places?
I have it mapped out for the entire year. And I had to, given the size of this project, because I really need, you know, to, to plan the flight, the hotel, the car rental. I took a big US map and started circling the cities when I received them to see where they you know, we're located and if I could do, uh, visit multiple cities or states, uh, on one visit.
Ah, do you do that often? Is that, is that something that you have going a few times where you're going from one state to then you're going to another one? Does that coordinate well or not really?
Uh, about 3 of the trips I do that. So for instance, I have one coming up in April and I believe I go to— I visit Tennessee, Alabama, Tennessee, Alabama, Indiana, and Kentucky all at once, and Georgia. Uh, that'll be my first multiple multi-state visit.
Well, we'll have to see how that goes because that's a lot, but I think that's a good move because they're all very close together. You know, you could drive if you need to. Um, so that's actually a really good plan because it just, it feels like it's a fun project, but are you— I mean, you're now on what, state 5 or 6?
Uh, state 7, actually. State 7. Um, I just finished in Missouri.
Missouri. I was state 4. Florida was 4. So that's very interesting. I mean, I feel like you still have high energy now. I want to talk to you at 48, 49.
Yeah, yeah. And that's, that's a part of this too. I honestly could not do this without Liz, and I've been thinking about this a lot because As you mentioned, I naturally love lists. So the idea of lists in and of itself, I never really thought of how they actually make me, help me to function.
Yeah.
And with this, boy, I am relying on lists also because my assistant is virtual and so I need to communicate with her as well. So I use the list to communicate with her so she has access to them and we're able to exchange information without having to email back and forth.
Yeah. Have you sort of created like a template now to be able to say, okay, this is, this is literally everything that has to happen for every single state. Because I know, you know, communicating with you, obviously I, you know, I know you, but communicating with you and with your assistant for this, it was, it was very much, um, felt very coordinated. Do you know what I mean? Like it just felt very much like Sherry's coming in on this day. Sherry will text you if she needs you. This, like, it was very, very organized. So I credit you and your lists for that.
Yes, that is absolutely my list. So I have a, a 6-month check-in, a 3-month check-in, a 1-month check-in. And when I say check-in, it means I communicate with the woman I'm meeting with, uh, either directly or through my assistant Carissa. So 6 months, 3 months, 1 month, then 2 weeks.
Yeah.
And, uh, I do it directly through text the week of, uh, so yes, it is very coordinated and there I did make templates for each of those check-ins to make sure that I had all the details that I needed and also that they had all the information that they needed. Because when I'm working with the women, they aren't necessarily the same type of list person that I am.
100%. Totally. Yes.
And I don't want to overwhelm them either, because I think if you're not a natural list person or you're more of a spontaneous person and not such a structured planner that I kind of naturally am, I realized that could really stress the other person out if I just brought all this to them in such a structure. So I try to be cognizant of that while orderly at the same time.
Oh, I know you're singing, you're singing my song there. Totally. I get it. I get it. The idea is once you do all of these, you know, essentially meetings, interviews, you know, you're going to put them together into a book and it's going to be something that then people will be able to read to see about these experiences. So it's very fun because there's a purpose behind it? I mean, one thing is you want to meet somebody, you want to see them, but how do you pick where you meet people? Like, are— is everyone suggesting— I mean, I suggested the place because I know you, and I was like, this is the place that you're going to want to go, right? It was perfect. Yes.
I, I typically ask them, I suggest a time or a time frame, and I ask the other person to, uh, pick a place, uh, since I don't know the area like they do, or A lot of times, most of the times I've never visited that state at all. So I usually ask them to pick a place and I, you know, I tell them it doesn't really matter to me. It could be anything from a coffee shop to a dive bar to a fancy restaurant. It doesn't really matter to me as much as the actual meeting itself.
Yeah. Getting together. Okay. Let's talk packing lists because now you gotta go from place to place to place and it's, it's sort of, you know, it's a lot of travel, uh, in between. You know, you live in Seattle, so going back and forth to the coast from wherever you are, I mean, do you have a template now down for what you're taking? Uh, because you said you do have sort of a formula of traveling one day, meeting the person, leaving the next day, or leaving the same day. For us, you left that same day.
Yeah, yeah, that happens a lot. And sometimes I'm actually going from state to state in the same day and having breakfast over here and dinner over here, but Uh, yes. And this is the first time in my life that I've actually written down a packing list.
Huh.
Where I actually, I have an iPad. And so I have a set packing list and I go through it every time with little different color checkmarks and then go back and erase those for the next trip. Um, because I'm also carrying with me, with me a bit of video equipment. Um, a lot of times I'm bringing a book or some prop and, um, things that I don't normally carry that would be very easy to leave behind if I did not have this list. I mean, even down to shoes, you know, remember, did you pack your shoes?
I make a packing list for every trip that I take, even if it's something that is like a weekend trip, something that, you know, it is— I can't do it without it. I literally— because I just— it helps you think through.
Yes. And I have, I have never been involved in a project where I'm actually thinking about so many different elements of it. I'm also thinking about the woman I'm meeting with, and I'm really kind of focused on what I hope this— not what I hope the conversation in the sense of what I hope we cover, but really kind of the feeling that I want and the energy I hope to bring. I even think about that with what I decide to wear. Uh, depending on where I'm going, what the weather is. And so having all these things going on in my head, plus knowing that I'm packing everything, I need that list.
Yes. Oh, for sure. Certainly. I mean, I think it's one of those things that I, I do it in advance for every trip that I take, just so that I'm thinking through it. Yes, I have a template and I have, you know, basically here's the things I know that I'm going to need, the toiletries that I always use or whatever it is, but really being able to think through and at the last minute, if you forget something, you know, you're like, oh, let me put that on the list real quick. You know, you don't have to worry about it. So I find it to be sort of like a calming, nice way to, to create the experience of the trip because you want to enjoy it. That's the thing. I mean, I know you're, you're meeting new people for the first time. You don't want to have to think about certain things, uh, you know, in, and clutter your mind in that way.
Yeah. I even have an app that I use, uh, called Stylebook, where for instance, that long road trip I told you about, I'm actually flying from San Francisco to do that drive around the South and I counted just the other day, I need 9 different outfits, which is a lot to travel with. Um, and I'm not in one place long enough to do laundry. So I have this app where I am able to like take the pictures of the clothing and put it in a calendar so I could see it, uh, and make sure that I have every piece of that, you know, from shirt to shoes. That I need for that day. And also it allows me as I'm going really quick, sometimes I'm getting into these hotels late and have an early morning. I don't have to the night before really think, okay, what am I going to put together? Oh, shoot, I used that already. I was going to use it over here. Now I'm left with orange and green to combine together at the end of the trip. So even that photo app is like a list that's visual for me and helps me understand, okay, this is my packing. And this is what I have.
Smart. That's called style book.
Yes.
Yeah, I, you know, I do something similar too if I go on a long trip. So, you know, I remember my husband and I went to Greece for 2 weeks, um, and then recently we did, we did another trip that was, that was quite long too. Oh, I went with my mom. We went to Portugal and to Spain, and I did the same thing where I, every day I was like, here's what I'm gonna wear here, so that I knew in the morning I didn't change it. I was like, that's what I, I decided to wear. That's what I'm gonna wear that day. That's it, you know? And it made my life so much easier. I got to like enjoy the moment and not have to worry about it so much. So big fan of the packing list. We'll have to try out Stylebook. That sounds very interesting. And what about flexibility? Because that's the thing that makes list making so difficult, because we love to have our list so that we think we know what's going to happen, and then that doesn't always happen. So anything gone wrong so far or canceled or anything like that, or, you know, what, what have you learned about flexibility?
I have become flexible. And I have to say that going through the pandemic kind of helped gear me up for this because we all have to swerve in different areas of our lives because things were changing quite frequently. But with this project, just recently, I have, you know, somebody can't make it, or else I lose contact with someone, or I get another appointment along the way and have to change my drive around. Or whatever it is. And typically, because I love lists, like you kind of mentioned, I did not like spontaneity. I did not like things coming in and messing up my checklist. What I found though, with the size of this project, when something comes up, I'm able to look at these lists like a map. And it's like, okay, that's easy. I can just move this here and this there. And it'll work just fine. Whereas if I didn't have my lists and I didn't have my times and places and all of a sudden something new came in or something switched, I would have to rework the whole thing from basically top to bottom. And I would probably forget things as I change things if I didn't have it so well listed and organized.
Definitely. It does help you to be more flexible. A lot of times people think, oh, being so organized makes you so rigid. And yeah, I guess it kind of does, but it also does help you to be a little bit more flexible in that way. And I know this—
It actually has.
Yeah. I mean, this is like, I was a TV producer for many, many years producing live television and it's the same thing. I mean, we have a rundown of how we think the show is going to go and then breaking news happens and then this happens and then the reporter doesn't make their time slot and then the guest doesn't show up and you have to be flexible and move things around. But having that go-to map of where you thought you were going to be is really, really helpful. Sheri, it's been awesome to get to know you personally, to follow your journey, and now be a part of this project. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see the rest of the journey, uh, for the 50 States Project. I want people to follow along as well. So what they can do is to follow you on Instagram. I think that's the best— probably the best way to do it, right? So we have a QR code that will show you, um, so that you could— you can follow along with Sheri's adventures. There we are, um, doing our, our Such a good memory. Such a good memory.
So fun.
Such a good video. Uh, so if you use that QR code right there, you'll be able to follow Sheri on her, on her travels. Is there one place that you're really looking the most forward to? I mean, you've been to Florida before, obviously, but other places maybe you've never been?
There's not one place I'm looking forward to necessarily, but there's so many surprises. Like, I was just in Missouri. I had never been to Missouri before. And I had so much fun, and the people were so welcoming and friendly. I didn't realize how much music was out of there. I, I probably should have, but I never paid attention. Sure. Uh, so I'm just really excited to go to these places like Missouri, a place where I actually had to remind myself and relearn how to spell Missouri. I knew there were some double letters in there, but wasn't sure if it was the S's or the R's. And I realized doing this, there are so many places in the U.S. that I really haven't looked at since, you know, grade school, uh, middle school US history lessons. So I'm really excited about those places that I've kind of neglected.
Oh, well, I'm excited to go on the journey. Thank you again for being here. Thanks for sharing your story. And, um, before I go, I just want to tell everybody one more, one more little freebie from me. You can get my list-making starter kit, uh, that will help you with packing and to-dos. If you go to paularizzo.com/list, you can check that out. And if you have any questions for me or for Sherri or about lists or packing, leave them in the chat boxes below. We would love to hear from you. And, uh, until next time, I will see you. Thanks for watching.
