The why not podcast

On July 1st, 2012, Jared Ward was riding his motorcycle when he got into a major accident. He hit two bumps in the road and skidded across two lanes. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Life flashed before his eyes. When he snapped back to reality, he realized he was in trouble. He had a dislocated clavicle, broken wrist, and cracked ribs. 50% to 60% of his body was covered in road rash. He ended up spending 19 days in a level one trauma center ICU, where doctors told him that he would need help just to walk. He was constantly in and out of surgery.

The crash flipped a switch in him- he went from off to on. Sitting in the hospital, he knew his perspective and mindset was about to be challenged, and he rose to overcome this obstacle.

Paul Pendergast has been on a journey of advocacy and advancing of LGBTQ businesses since 1992. Doors started opening when leaders of big businesses in San Francisco such as Bank of America and Gap realized that, to be successful advocates for business at large, they’d have to make sure that all groups were benefiting from their actions, and that included LGBTQ ones. Suddenly, Paul found himself sitting next to these CEOs at the table, all advocating for the same business issues, which was a major milestone to be included in these discussions and meetings. These connections continue to have far-reaching effects on the LGBTQ business community today.

I’ve come to realize that the story of success can be told in many ways, and no two stories are ever going to be the same. Our journeys to where we are in our lives are what define us, what make us who we are. Sure, there are paths that some consider “easier” or “harder”, but no one person’s story is ever going to be only the positives. There are the negatives, the ones that our parents told us “build character”. We are all in this book called life together, but we each tell it in our own way, with our own words.

With $300 to her name, Lorena Cantarovici came to the states without knowing a word of English. Since then, she became the Founder of Maria Empanada with five locations in the Denver area, won 2017 Colorado Small Business Person of the Year, and earned a spot with Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.