Need a Lift, and Love Harry Potter? We’ve Found Your Girl!

Amanda Schrader doesn't just give people a Lyft, she gives them a joyride. The 35-year-old in San Diego gave up a corporate career to drive people around, and she did so because it allowed her the chance to capitalize on her talents for creativity, storytelling and entertainment, and to brighten someone else's day.

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It may sound strange since Lyft is a ride-sharing service similar to a taxi, however, once you know more about Schrader and her ride, it will make sense. As Lyft allows its employees to explore their own passions and interests, Schrader gave her car a Harry Potter theme, and filled it with wizard wands, candy, and sparkly matchbooks.

She does it all to make people happy because she also found happiness through the service.

"Back when I interviewed with Lyft, they were talking about who are you, what you love and how you can incorporate that into your vehicle," Schrader tells the Good News Blog. "They said to have the thing that you really love around with your passengers."

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For Shrader, that meant she needed to Harry Potterize her vehicle.

Prior to driving for Lyft full-time, Schrader worked for seven years as an executive consultant in Southern California, managing various clients as an independent contractor. She was once told by a client that she needed to control her "whimsy," and decided she was much too colorful to be corporate.

Thus, Schrader quit her gig and turned to Lyft.

"This is definitely an environment to be whoever you are and to be that person 100 percent," she comments. "It's about expressing yourself to new people in your community… meeting people from your community and listening to their stories. It's had this really profound effect on my life."

Some people are more excited than other about riding Harry Potter-style, but Schrader says she can easily gauge a person's mood and will adapt accordingly.

"I had three girls the other day get in my car, and they saw it was a Harry Potter-themed interior and they all three had Harry Potter tattoos," Schrader recalls. "Sometimes I can sense they think I'm a little bit over the top, but it always morphs into them telling me about something they're really into… that's what it's all about."

Though she's not making the same salary as she previously did (actually, she's not always guaranteed a check if she doesn't get any rides), Schrader feels the payoff is the joy she's bringing to other people and to herself. She wants for nothing, and most importantly, she looks forward to work every single day.

With Lyft, she believes the opportunity is there to change the world with each passenger and each 15-minute journey.

"We move really fast, and we spend a lot of time isolated, and we're having interactions with people that aren't as genuine as they could be," Schrader points out. "I'll ask people, 'Tell me about your day. Tell me some cool thing you learned today.' Everybody can benefit from a little bit of genuine human interaction. I hope to send them out a little brighter, and let them know I was genuinely happy to talk to them and maybe I'll see them again."

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