Free Daily Podcast Summary
Unconventional Leaders: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Heather Parady
If you feel like the misfit, the one who thinks differently, or the one who never quite fit the mold, this show is here to help you take the parts of your story you once felt unsure about and turn them into your greatest advantage.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 5 days ago46 min
Telling A Story vs. Delivering A Message | Pastor & Fiction Writer Zac Cannon
Zac Cannon is not only an award-winning storyteller, novelist, and screenwriter…he is also a pastor. His background is in film and fiction writing, but he has also spent years communicating from the pulpit.In this conversation, I wanted to ask Zac about how (and if) the intention behind storytelling changes across fiction and spirituality. We also talk about the difference between compelling an audience and manipulating one, and how to communicate strong convictions while still leaving room for curiosity.WATCH EPISODES ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/heatherparady TOPICS FROM THIS EPISODE:What is the difference between telling a story and delivering a message?How do you communicate strong convictions without manipulating your audience?Does a good story need an agenda—or should you let the audience decide what it means?How do you give yourself permission to create without needing your work to serve a larger purpose?How can fiction help us understand perspectives and experiences outside our own?CONNECT WITH ZAC CANNON:Website: https://zaccannon.com/ Buy ‘Stillwater Trace’: https://zaccannon.com/books/stillwater-trace-a-novel-zac-cannon/B0H5XHW244 CONNECT WITH HEATHER:Follow Heather on IG: https://www.instagram.com/heatherparady/ Access Full Show Notes Here: https://www.heatherparady.com/blog/180
- 1 weeks ago57 min
How to Communicate in a World That Doesn’t Listen | Nigel Darius
On Nigel Darius’s IG bio, he says that he is “helping the world heal…with words.” As an artist, he uses storytelling and language to foster empathy, curiosity, and human connection. In his latest book, We Say Shalom, he looks at 40 words across 15 languages to uncover their meaning, deepening our experience and connection as humans.In this conversation, we explore the responsibility that comes with using your voice: how to communicate honestly while having respect for nuance, why we should never avoid discomfort if we really want to grow, and the dangers of when we stop listening to perspectives outside our own. Nigel shares why “agreeability does not lead to authenticity,” how artists can use their unique voice to reflect culture back to itself, and why every communicator should remember that within every word, there is a world.WATCH EPISODES ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/heatherparady TOPICS FROM THIS EPISODE:As a communicator, how do you get around the limitations of language?How to communicate truth without losing nuanceHow to develop a message with depthCONNECT WITH NIGEL DARIUS:Website: https://nigeldarius.com/ His book, ‘We Say Shalom’: https://a.co/d/08qXXBd0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nigeldarius/ CONNECT WITH HEATHER:Follow Heather on IG: https://www.instagram.com/heatherparady/ Access Full Show Notes Here: https://www.heatherparady.com/blog/179
- 2 weeks ago47 min
How to Handle Criticism Without Losing Your Creativity | Doogie Horner
Doogie Horner is an accomplished author, illustrator, and stand-up comedian. Across each medium, he’s learned how to navigate the tension between making work you believe in and accepting when folks don’t get it.In this conversation, we discuss how to respect and develop your creative point of view without becoming closed off to feedback, why your “sketchbook should be a laboratory, not a gallery,” and how to stay enthusiastic when you can’t control how people respond.WATCH EPISODES ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/heatherparadyTOPICS FROM THIS EPISODE:Looking at your work objectively and navigating criticism (and praise)Developing your point of view while staying open to growthStaying enthusiastic about your work when success isn’t guaranteedCONNECT WITH DOOGIE HORNER:Website: https://www.doogiehorner.com/comedyHis book, ‘The Adventures of Invisible Boy’: https://a.co/d/023ICvDaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doogiehorner/CONNECT WITH HEATHER:Follow Heather on IG: https://www.instagram.com/heatherparady/Access Full Show Notes Here: https://www.heatherparady.com/blog/178
- Aug 4, 202658 min
TRIGGERED: This is what's happening | Catherine Plano
Catherine Plano is an executive coach, leadership expert, author, and host of The Catherine Plano Podcast. Drawing from psychology, emotional intelligence, and decades of coaching leaders, Catherine helps people understand the patterns, beliefs, and emotional reactions that quietly shape how they experience the world.In this conversation, we explore what our emotional triggers are actually trying to tell us, why curiosity is one of the most powerful tools for personal growth, and how the stories we carry influence the way we respond to conflict, relationships, and ourselves. Catherine shares practical ways to create space between reaction and response, challenge unconscious patterns, and better understand the inner narratives driving our behavior.WATCH EPISODES ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/heatherparady TOPICS FROM THIS EPISODE:What your emotional triggers are really trying to tell youHow curiosity interrupts reactive thinkingWhy the stories you believe shape the life you experienceCONNECT WITH CATHERINE PLANO:Website: https://www.catherineplano.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherineplano Listen to ‘The Catherine Plano Podcast’: https://open.spotify.com/show/3H8vdgXprgfHf9wrSJnPbn CONNECT WITH HEATHER:Follow Heather on IG: https://www.instagram.com/heatherparady/ Access Full Show Notes Here: https://www.heatherparady.com/blog/177
- Jul 28, 20261h 2m
The Price of Being Misunderstood | Jeremy Jernigan
Jeremy Jernigan spent two decades in ministry, eventually leading a megachurch before walking away from the role that had defined his entire adult life. Today, through his book The Edge of the Inside, he helps people navigate the difficult space between who they've been and who they're becoming.In this conversation, we explore the psychology of identity loss, the hidden cost of bitterness, and why healing requires more than simply moving on. Jeremy shares what it took to let go of the need to defend himself, why becoming fully present to our pain is part of recovery, and how embracing the "death" of an old life can become the beginning of a more authentic one.WATCH EPISODES ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/heatherparady TOPICS FROM THIS EPISODE:How to move through bitterness without minimizing what happenedRebuilding your identity after losing the role that once defined youBeing deeply misunderstood (while following your calling)CONNECT WITH JEREMY JERNIGAN:Order ‘The Edge of Inside’: https://www.jeremyjernigan.com/edge-of-the-inside CONNECT WITH HEATHER:Follow Heather on IG: https://www.instagram.com/heatherparady/ Access Full Show Notes Here: https://www.heatherparady.com/blog/176
- Jul 21, 20261h 7m
Why He Walked Away From His U.S. Tour | Juno Award Winner Quique Escamilla
Quique Escamilla is a Mexican Mayan-Zapotec singer-songwriter, storyteller, and cultural advocate whose work explores identity, history, and the stories we choose to preserve. Drawing from his upbringing in Chiapas, Mexico, Quique creates music that invites people to look beyond headlines and rediscover the humanity behind the issues that shape our world.In this conversation, we explore how an artist's worldview is formed, the responsibility of creative work, and what it means to remain faithful to your convictions when it comes at a personal cost. Quique discusses curiosity as a creative discipline, why meaningful art often begins with asking better questions, and how music can preserve history, challenge assumptions, and help us see people (and ourselves) more clearly.WATCH EPISODES ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/heatherparady TOPICS FROM THIS EPISODE:How curiosity can become an artist's greatest creative toolWhy staying true to your work sometimes means sacrificing opportunityHow to create art that helps people see the world differentlyCONNECT WITH QUIQUE ESCAMILLA:Website: https://www.quiqueescamilla.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quique_escamilla/ CONNECT WITH HEATHER:Follow Heather on IG: https://www.instagram.com/heatherparady/ Access Full Show Notes Here: https://www.heatherparady.com/blog/175 Mentioned in this episode:Empowered PodcastingGrab your ticket here: https://empoweredpodcasting.com/check-out?am_id=heather444 Use code: EPC20 **“This is an affiliate link, which means. I earn a commission when you purchase through it**
- Jul 14, 202639 min
What Landscapes Teach Us About Storytelling | Professional Designer Tina Huffman
Tina Huffman is a landscape designer, educator, and viral content creator. After spending years building a successful marketing business, she returned to the work she felt most called to do: designing outdoor spaces that are both beautiful and intentional. Drawing from her background in horticulture, landscape architecture, and digital marketing, Tina believes great design begins long before choosing the right plants…it begins by understanding how people experience a space.In this conversation, we explore what landscape design can teach us about storytelling, creativity, and human behavior. Tina shares why every great design starts with intention, how creative constraints often produce better work, and the subtle psychological principles that shape the way we move through spaces, stories, and ideas.WATCH EPISODES ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/heatherparady TOPICS FROM THIS EPISODE:Why every creative project should begin with a feeling (not a rigid plan)The surprising psychology behind spaces that naturally draw people inHow creative constraints lead to better storytelling, design, and ideasCONNECT WITH TINA HUFFMAN:Website: https://www.greenhousestudio.co Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenhousestudio.co/ CONNECT WITH HEATHER:Follow Heather on IG: https://www.instagram.com/heatherparady/ Access Full Show Notes Here: https://www.heatherparady.com/blog/174 Mentioned in this episode:Empowered PodcastingGrab your ticket here: https://empoweredpodcasting.com/check-out?am_id=heather444 Use code: EPC20 **“This is an affiliate link, which means. I earn a commission when you purchase through it**
- Jul 1, 202639 min
it is only permanent | David Francisco
David Francisco is a singer-songwriter whose life changed dramatically after a devastating cycling accident left him paralyzed just weeks after moving to Nashville to pursue music full-time. What followed was a years-long journey of rehabilitation, resilience, faith, and rediscovering what it means to build a meaningful life when everything you planned is suddenly taken away.In this conversation, David and Heather explore identity, purpose, suffering, recovery, and the stories we tell ourselves about success. David shares how surviving a life-altering injury forced him to let go of certainty, why healing became about far more than learning to walk again, and how music, relationships, and faith helped him rebuild a life he never could have imagined. Together, they unpack the tension between ambition and acceptance, the power of choosing hope in the middle of loss, and what it means to find purpose when the future looks nothing like you expected.WATCH EPISODES ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/heatherparady TOPICS FROM THIS EPISODE:Why healing involves much more than physical recoveryThe role of faith, music, and relationships in navigating sufferingFinding meaning, gratitude, and hope when life doesn't go according to planCONNECT WITH DAVID FRANCISCO:Website: https://www.davidfranciscomusic.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidfranciscomusic Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1yOPhRMWrKLa3eUq42PzJg Listen to his new single, ‘it’s only permanent’ here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4dVwNuizrZh7gLfiv4dGWN?si=coSVcLtcQ9a0wB7ESZAeFw CONNECT WITH HEATHER:Follow Heather on IG: https://www.instagram.com/heatherparady/ Access Full Show Notes Here: https://www.heatherparady.com/blog/173
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About Unconventional Leaders
If you feel like the misfit, the one who thinks differently, or the one who never quite fit the mold, this show is here to help you take the parts of your story you once felt unsure about and turn them into your greatest advantage.
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