Heather Parady: Why Chasing Purpose Beats Chasing Followers
Heather Parady had to Google how to set up an iTunes account before she could start her podcast. She is not a tech person. She knew one thing: you can talk into a microphone and share stories, and that was enough to start.
Heather and I connected the way I connect with almost everyone who ends up on this show: we both came up through therapy, and within 5 minutes we were in a deep conversation about purpose, impact and influence. I recorded Episode 91 of The Purpose Chasers with her in 2020, and it is about what it means to get out of survival mode and build a life around purpose instead of performance.
Unlearning the Beliefs About Yourself
Heather hosts Unconventional Leaders, and she is honest that the question of why she does any of it is one she keeps asking herself. The real work has been underneath the podcast.
"I've really had to, and I'm still working through it, but unlearn a lot of the beliefs that I have about myself."
A mentor gave her a reframe she still uses. People who come from a hard starting point tend to overcompensate. Instead of fighting that urge, she was told to lean into it and point it somewhere useful.
"Instead of fighting that urge, instead lean into it and figure out how you can flip that into something that's good and purposeful and for societal good."
The Underdog Can Use It 2 Ways
I asked Heather about getting caught in the shuffle of chasing followers, downloads and dollars, because there are not many heart centered people in that space and it is easy to lose yourself in it. Her answer went back to where you start.
"When you come from kind of like a ground level place, whether you have zero followers or zero dollars, no education, whatever it may be that may make you feel like the underdog or unconventional or whatever, you can use that in two different ways."
One way turns it into resentment and hustle for its own sake. The other way turns it into fuel for something that serves people. The difference is what you let into your head.
"I'm not just going to consume podcasts and teachings and stuff about how to make a million dollars, but also really connecting with and staying grounded in the kind of material of greater impact and purpose."
Survival Mode and the Silence Tax
Survival mode in business looks like this: your confidence rises and falls with the last sale, you perform instead of document, and you never let your best results be heard. I call that the silence tax. The way out of it is not more hustle. It is proof. When a real client says on video what you did for them, you stop performing and start pointing. That is the Social Proof System, and it is the most grounding thing I know for a creator who is tired.
What Grounded Sounds Like
Aurora Potts came to my workshop knowing only that she needed something more within herself. How she left:
"Now I am awakened. I feel reborn. And I couldn't be more excited about the future."
Sam Haynes moves a thousand miles an hour. My workshop forced him to slow down and look in the mirror. What he found:
"A lot of times you can find out it's actually not a problem. It's a blessing."
More real stories on the Happy Check client results page.
Keep Listening
Tired of Performing? Let the Proof Speak.
On The Purpose Chasers I sit down with people who are building something that matters. In my business, The Happy Check, I help coaches, creators and service businesses turn that same kind of real story into video testimonials and content that bring in clients.
If you want to take your marketing to the next level, book an organic marketing audit call with me.
Or start with the free Happy Check book and learn who to ask, when to ask and how to use what they say.
Keep reading: how testimonials shape an entrepreneur's identity, what real clients say about The Happy Check.
