Welcome to the Pinkleton Pull-Aside Podcast. On this podcast, let’s step aside from our busy lives to have fun, fascinating life giving conversation with inspiring authors, pastors, sports personalities and other influencers, leaders and followers. Sit back, grab some coffee, or head down the road and let’s get the good and the gold from today’s guest. Our host is Jeff Pinkleton, Executive Director of the Gathering of the Miami Valley, where their mission is to connect men to men, and men to God. You can reach Jeff at GatheringMV.org or find him on Facebook at The Gathering of the Miami Valley.

Heather Parady in her own words:

The real story.

Here’s a little about my unconventional path: I grew up in Arkansas, was homeschooled my entire life, and played Mary, the mother of Jesus, in more church human videos than I can count. Originally, I wanted to go into full-time ministry (that’s what Southern Christian Bible Belt folks do, y’all). I even got ordained. But through a series of events, I realized that wasn’t the path for me. I still wanted to make a difference in the world, so I went to school to be a nurse. I almost failed A&P 1 (yes, the first class), switched to psychology, and eventually earned a master’s degree in it. Therapist? Done deal.

But then I stumbled into the online space, fell in love with media, and discovered the world of creativity. Ironically, I feel like I found my way back to God through the creative process. This time, there wasn’t a weird institution behind it—it was just a straight connection. After graduating and getting my license as a Therapist, I turned down three perfectly good job offers to see if I could build something on my own.

Along my journey, I’ve hosted several top-ranking shows (conducted over 1,000 interviews), been hired by Old Navy to create content for their socials, ran a podcast with over 1,000,000 downloads in 8 months, spoken on stages about creativity, and worked with over 50 brands on their storytelling and content creation journeys. I’m more convinced than ever that the way to make an impact in your work is to bring every single ounce of you to the table.

Unashamed. Unbashful. And lit UP. I also believe there’s something greater at work—and It can be trusted.