Becoming Who You Truly Are!

How to Let Your Inner Light Shine, Build Consensus, and Be a Lifelong Learner

This week Nancy Walker (retired professor of voice at UNC Greensboro) and I talk about proud memories during her 33 year teaching career as well as life lessons from marriage, motherhood, and her Quaker faith.
In this episode, Nancy shares three important turning points in her journey to letting her life speak authentically: taking a big leap in changing her major from English to music in undergraduate studies, meeting her husband at age 27, and putting down roots in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she had children and finding a community in the Quaker faith tradition.
I’m sure that by the end of this hour, we’re all going to be inspired by Nancy's story, which demonstrates that we can all be lifelong learners through the people we meet, places we go, and things we read and see.
Link to Mongolian Throat Singing: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv...
Link to more info on Quaker faith: https://quakerspeak.com/
Join our BRAND NEW Patreon and get cool perks including a FREE Audible copy of my book while supplies last!: www.patreon.com/patrickaaparker
If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe to our channel for more videos! Order my book Becoming Who You Truly Are 📚: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Who-Y...
To find out more about me, and to submit questions for me to answer on the show, visit www.patrickaaronparker.com!
"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." -Carl Jung 

Losing His Mom, a Near-Death Experience, and Fatherhood Taught My Friend the Value of Sacrifice

This week my gym buddy KC Andersen joins the podcast to talk about turning points in his life that helped him grow into a more authentic version of himself.
In this episode, KC gets real about how losing his mom at an early age helped him understand personal responsibility, how a brain injury helped him appreciate life more, and how having kids taught him the true meaning of priorities and sacrifice.
KC and I have a lot of fun with a couple rapid-fire questions, and he leaves us with powerful parting words about how to choose our regrets.
I’m sure that by the end of this hour, we’re all going to be inspired by KC’s story, which will prove that honesty with yourself, self-knowledge, and not avoiding hard things can help you grow into an authentic and fantastic life!
Join our BRAND NEW Patreon and get cool perks including a FREE Audible copy of my book while supplies last!: www.patreon.com/patrickaaparker  

Air Force, Marriage, and Motherhood!

Originally from Orange County, California, Courtney Draughon ended up seeing the world through the Air Force before meeting my nephew and having a beautiful baby boy!
In this episode, Courtney and I reminisce on our first impressions of each other as well as our recent time together in Doha, Qatar, where she currently lives.
We talk about her childhood in Orange County, California, and her high school years.
Courtney shares about how the Air Force gave her a sense of safety and tells stories about boot camp and her tour of duty in Kuwait.
Courtney also gives us the gossip on how she and Davon met, how he proposed, and their wedding ceremony!
Courtney also gets real about the difficult labor process of delivering their child, and how his presence has given her immense purpose and meaning.
I have to say this rapid fire was the most difficult of any episode because Courtney had DEEP questions for me!
And finally, my favorite part of the episode was Courtney's parting words, where she challenges us all to be less offended by opinions we don't like and how to desensitize ourselves to the noise of the world rather than obsessing.
Join our BRAND NEW Patreon and get cool perks including a FREE Audible copy of my book while supplies last!: www.patreon.com/patrickaaparker  
If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe to our channel for more videos!
Order my book Becoming Who You Truly Are 📚: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Who-Y...
To find out more about me, and to submit questions for me to answer on the show, visit www.patrickaaronparker.com!
"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." -Carl Jung

Better Relationships with God, Self, and Others

This week I'm joined by my longtime friend Mickey Peters who has seen me through all sorts of ups, downs, and sideways turns over the last decade of my life!
In this episode, Mickey gets real about how his college years helped him go from an intellectual understanding of God to a real, intimate relationship with his Higher Power.
Mickey courageously shares about how a marital affair helped him develop a deeper relationship with himself through the process of therapy and twelve-step recovery.
Mickey also discusses how his recent quadruple heart bypass helped him develop more authentic relationships with his friends.
I’m sure that by the end of this hour, we’re all going to be inspired by Mickey’s story, which will prove that deep, intimate relationships-whether with your higher power, others, or yourself-are key to becoming who you truly are.
Join our BRAND NEW Patreon and get cool perks including a FREE Audible copy of my book while supplies last!: www.patreon.com/patrickaaparker If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe to our channel for more videos!
Order my book Becoming Who You Truly Are 📚: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Who-Y...
To find out more about me, and to submit questions for me to answer on the show, visit www.patrickaaronparker.com!
"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." -Carl Jung

Talent Does Not Equal Self-Worth, the Importance of Music Education, & the Spiritual Value of Hymns

My childhood piano teacher Kristen Anderson has created a powerful legacy through her holistic methods that teach students how to laugh at ourselves, to just breathe when we get nervous, and that our value and worth is NOT tied to our talent.
In this episode, Kristen and I reminisce on her first impressions of me as a sixth grader and her childhood working in tobacco fields with her highly musical family, as well as in depth discussion of our mutual love of southern gospel music and the spiritual and psychological power of hymns like It is Well with My Soul, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, Abide with Me, Day by Day, and more.
We talk about how words are powerful and share stories of her graduate advisors encouraging her to finish her degree and Kristen’s note to me to always remember that people are more important than music.
Kristen shares how even though she had achieved the American dream and had a graduate degree, a good job, and a family, she woke up one morning and realized that she wasn’t taking care of herself. We discuss her return back to health, and how exercise is a powerful antidote to stress and anxiety.
Kristen reveals a difficult moment in her personal and family story, and we talk about how God is never finished with us. Even when we feel like giving up, God doesn’t give up on us. We discuss how to come back from those difficult situations.
We conclude with a fun rapid fire segment, and finally, Kristen shares powerful words that we are lovable and valuable simply because we are all God’s children.
Join our BRAND NEW Patreon and get cool perks including a FREE Audible copy of my book while supplies last!: www.patreon.com/patrickaaparker
If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe to our channel for more videos!
Order my book Becoming Who You Truly Are 📚: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Who-Y... To find out more about me and to submit questions for me to answer on the show visit www.patrickaaronparker.com!
"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." -Carl Jung

Curiosity took my friend from the slums of Mumbai to Google!

My amazing friend Tushar Niras used curiosity to fuel his rise from the slums of Mumbai to jobs in Google and Amazon!
In this episode, Tushar and I discuss the meaning of his name and tattoo, what life was like in his childhood village, and how life changed when his family moved to the slums of Mumbai.
We talk about his culture shock in moving from a village of 1,000 people to one of the biggest cities in the world, how he didn't know what a resume was and had never seen a computer, and how he started as a construction worker living off a dollar a day.
However, Tushar shares that through the power of curiosity--and meeting others who helped him--he learned about computers, figured out how to interview, and landed his dream job.
Tushar shares life hacks and inspires us all to be proud of where we come from, no matter how humble...and that curiosity is a key factor in success!

Childhood friends discuss small town starts, teen pregnancy, & what it's like to be a woman

My childhood best friend Morgan Thompson and I take a trip down memory lane! Morgan and I reminisce on how there wasn’t a time we don’t remember being friends, we remember showing animals during our 4-H days, and share memories from church youth group, and spill the beans on a very memorable night at a Kelly Clarkson concert!
We open up about how as teenagers we hid parts of who we truly were and how lucky we felt to be each other’s secret keepers; we also discuss the pros and cons of growing up in an evangelical church.
Morgan reflects on how being a teen mom saved her, and I share my regret that I didn’t know how to leave Four Oaks without ending our friendship. Then, we explain how we reconnected through a very special project where I asked Morgan, among others, “What’s it like to be a woman?” As a result, I learned that there’s no safe time to be a woman, how to be a trustworthy friend to women, and the 3 big struggles women face.
Morgan and I then go to a lighter note when we laugh about how you can’t get new old friends and we play the slowest-ever round of rapid fire questions!
Plus, Morgan explains the 3 turning points in her life story, shares that we’re all a work in progress, sheds light on how DIY projects and nature lead to authenticity, and gives us some great resources for BWYTA hacks!
Join our BRAND NEW Patreon and get cool perks including a FREE Audible copy of my book while supplies last!: www.patreon.com/patrickaaparker

Cancer doctor shares his journey to oncology and reveals life lessons from the dying

Hardeep Phull, M.D. (cancer doctor, pilot, girl dad) shares his journey to becoming himself up to this point in his life.
He opens up about his path to becoming a medical doctor, including his mom's career as an oncology nurse, volunteering at the VA as a teenager, being rejected from medical school and how that shaped his journey, and how the financial support of Cleveland Clinic's endowment helped him choose his interest in oncology over the becoming a surgeon, and the innovative, divergent training he received at the Cleveland Clinic.
Hardeep reflects on how he overcame the resentment that naturally arose when he was rejected from every medical school he applied to and how he regrouped and eventually found success.
He explains why caring for dying patients is one of the great honors of his life, shares life lessons from caring for terminal patients, and tells us why there's no physical explanation for what happens when the soul leaves the body.
Hardeep also discusses how he combats stress and burnout, how to balance action vs. being present, tells us the 3 major turning points in his life story, shares the importance of following your calling, and how solitude and self-reflection leads to authenticity.
Plus, Hardeep tells us there's no life hack or self-help trick except the one we make for ourselves, and we end by discussing his love of the Interstellar soundtrack featuring the pipe organ and we chat about my first career as an organist.

Becoming Who You Truly Are Podcast - Official Trailer

Welcome to the Becoming Who You Truly Are podcast!
We all come into the world as unique personalities. Personalities that come from a part of us which existed before we were born and continue long after death.
But while we’re on Earth, with all its joys and wonders and mountains and waterfalls and people and animals and rainforests, well, it seems like we get so excited by the playground that we forget that deepest part of ourselves. 
And we start to live life from a less true place. 
And then, slowly, slowly, the merry go round stops spinning and things get real difficult.
I started my YouTube channel almost two years ago because I wanted to help myself and others rediscover who we truly are. Because I believe that when we become who we truly are, we reconnect to our deepest creativity and vitality and we’re able to make a better life for ourselves and others.
Through my YouTube channel, I’ve shown you places around the world and shared how they helped me reconnect to and become more of my deepest self.
Now, in this podcast, I’m going to bring in people: the people who have helped me in my journey to becoming more of who I am. People who are walking their own gloriously imperfect path to authenticity. People that I admire, respect, and want to introduce to you!
My hero, Carl Jung, once wrote that, ”The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are,” and I hope that through this podcast, we’ll all learn a little more about how to live life the best we can. Not as others see fit, not as prescribed by a doctor or society or expectations, but as pure and unique as possible!
Becoming Who You Truly Are is, in a way, the simplest thing in the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Therefore, it’s super helpful to have good companions along the quest, and that’s exactly how I hope you’ll think of me and my guests!
I can’t promise a bed of roses in this podcast, but I can promise to engage your curiosity, make you laugh, and have conversations that provide you with the flexibility to see life in a new light!
Together, we’ll laugh, cry, and everything in between as we explore how to create a life of deep meaning and authenticity. 
So, whether you’re tuning in on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, thanks for your support, and together, let’s go further down the journey of becoming who we truly are!