Core to our mission is helping our audience and community reach their full potential and the most important part of reaching your full potential is starting to find your purpose. Below, we’ve shared stories and insights from the community around how various folks found their purpose and we hope it helps you in your journey.
Corrine Fang
I found my purpose while attending community college and pursuing nursing. I didn’t finish because I felt that it wasn’t something that I truly wanted to do. My parents encouraged me to pursue it because it would allow me to always have a job no matter where I moved. I have a big passion for the beauty industry, especially interested in makeup and skincare. My mom encouraged me to try beauty school because she saw that my passion was in that industry. Read more>>
Jamala Wallace
Thank you for asking me such a thought provoking question. My life wasn’t handed a silver spoon, and my parents worked hard to provide a home and they instilled strong work ethics, morals and values, but they mainly taught the importance of having an entrepreneurial spirit. Growing up in middle class American in an urban area where life can seem overwhelming, my father was the driving force who made it clear that home ownership, real estate investment and commercial property was a path to establishing family wealth. Read more>>
Eric Benner
Everybody from all walks of life strives for purpose. Some search for it for a long time and for others like myself it finds them. What started as a hobby grew into a side job which then filled me with so much happiness that I knew I wanted to do it for the rest of my life. And that purpose that found me is media production. I was always obsessed with the movie industry growing up. Read more>>
Jennifer Aguirre
Finding my purpose in photography came to me easy. When it comes to photographing, I love telling a story. I now take portraits of people; however, that interest started from my background in journalism in high school and college. In photojournalism, the goal was always to capture an authentic story through an image. I have translated those goals into the portraits and weddings that I document now. But what makes my heart really flutter is the aftermath of delivering a photo gallery. Read more>>
Jada Imani
I think purpose is found wherever your passion can be leveraged to serve others. It’s whatever thing you can do and totally lose track of time. It’s whatever you do and feel an adrenaline boost or moment of clarity. Read more>>
Aaron Adams
My purpose in creating content was realized during a dark time in my life. In my early 20’s, I struggled with depression, addiction, and finances. I was working a minimum-wage job, living paycheck to paycheck, depressed, and trying to date as a biracial gay male in a predominantly southern county. Read more>>
Alina-Sari Vasquez
I didn’t always feel like I had a purpose. When I first began songwriting at the age of six, I didn’t really grasp the idea of song form I just wrote whatever came from my heart while I sang the melody flowing through my mind. I still remember that day. The afternoon I picked out a piece of graph paper and a pencil. I sat on the floor of my parents room and got inspired by the melody I heard of popular song playing on the radio during that time. Since I had no idea what the correct structure of a song was, I just wrote out sentences in a long paragraph. It was a song I titled “Beautiful” about my mom. I spent my childhood in dance classes and performing on stage. Read more>>
Crystal Wilson
Growing up, my mom always exposed my sister and I to age appropriate books and often took us to the library. As a teenager in high school and young adult in college, I tended to what I thought was more important and didn’t read as much. Once I began to settle down and especially as I began to become more family oriented, the habit of reading came back in my life. I would read to my children while they were still in my womb and would continue when they were born. Read more>>
Meet Darla Nelson
I believe we all are on our own journey’s and for all, the timing is different as to when we will find our purpose, or if we even will. Many people will spend years, if not decades, living in a career that brings them little to no satisfaction. Read more>>
DeJuan Strickland
I was inspired by Chadwick Boesman and his role in Black Panther. After seeing him on the big screen I realized there was a lack of positive Black representation in movies, TV shows and books. This inspired me to create my own superhero Tech Boy. I have always had a passion for technology. So it was important to create character who not only looked like me but also increased representation in STEM ( science, technology, engineering and math ). Read more>>
Norris Comer
Interesting question! I’m not sure if I subscribe to the idea that we find a purpose. Read more>>
Skye Choyce
At the age of 16, I started baking. If you were to ask me at 16 if that is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I would’ve told you ‘no’. I was fully invested in being a police officer to make a difference in my community as a woman and a black individual. I’ve always strived to make a difference in everything I do, so I just knew being a cop would bring change to my community. Well things changed during the course of life and I ended up finding myself back in the kitchen. Read more>>
Chapter 28
Growing up I wasn’t always confident ,if I was confident at all. Back then the clothes they made for plus size women were terrible cheetah prints, flowers, and polka dots can only go so far. Back then there were no plus size advocates that helped plus size women with confidence or showing it’s okay to embrace your size. Read more>>
Gregory Kopp
My father, a successful entrepreneur, spent the last several years of his life researching our family history without modern internet tools and publishing his results by hand. After his passing and with the success of my own business, I was inspired to utilize my creative talents and continue his research. Read more>>
Sophia Louisa Lee
I hear all the time, “what is your purpose?” and even to myself, I all too often ask, “what is my purpose?” I’ve come to realize my purpose is being my most authentic self, and that changes frequently as I am constantly learning more and more about who I am — not just on a physical level, but on an emotional and spiritual level as well. Read more>>
Andrea Tobin
I think finding your purpose is something so many people struggle with and I constantly struggle with. What am I doing with my life, why am I here, what gives me fulfillment? Even at 38 I still question what I’m doing with my life, so I started with when do I feel the most fulfilled in life and to answer that question: I feel full when I’m comfortable, out in nature (preferably on my MTB) and with my friends and family. So the first thing I said was comfortable, and I simply mean clothing. Read more>>
Jeffrey Ashkin
I remember when I discovered my purpose to be a writer. It was a hot September morning. I found myself sitting at my desk in Algebra I class staring at an F on my test. At that point in my life, I did not know what I wanted to do, I just knew I hated failing at anything. Read more>>
Coach Ella Destiny
I found my purpose through my pain. I always knew as a little girl, that I would be something or someone. I actually thought I’d be a singer! Anyone that knows me KNOWS Whitney Houston (my LEO sister, RIP), was my all time favorite and I was going to be just like her. Little did I know, God had other plans and a completely different plan for my life. I didn’t know that all of the obstacles, struggles, stress, strain and pain would put me on the path to my purpose. Read more>>
James Yoder
I found my purpose as we were struggling through life raising a family not earning enough money and barley making ends meet. I had worked really hard to succeed and no matter how hard I worked we couldn’t get ahead. I made the decision that even though I created this mess I needed the strength of a higher power for us to overcome our obstacles. I turned the whole mess over to God and told him that he is now in charge and I’m not going to worry about it anymore. Read more>>
Joshua Marchant
his topic is very important to me, Without my purpose I would not be the man I am today. When I was younger I didn’t know how important having a purpose is to a human being. Human beings need a purpose to survive. Look at what happens to people who retire too early. Without a new purpose to replace the job they left. Most of them wither away and die. Because when you lose your purpose, you lose the will to continue pushing forward in your life. You lose the drive to get up in the morning. For me, I learned this lesson the hard way. I have said in my past interviews that when I was a kid I wanted to be a lawyer. I was dead set on it. Read more>>
Shaneice Sims
I like for it to always be known that God has a planned purpose for me and reunited me realizing my purpose through my son. I have always been a great organizer, designer, and artist but as life passed I lost touch with those talents trying to focus more on a career I allowed society to make me believe I needed. One day while painting during quarantine, my son approached me saying he had no idea I had this talent and should really sell them. I was so amused by his excitement that I actually posted the painting just to test the waters not fully trusting it would get any attention it all. The painting sold immediately! I am grateful for my son’s suggestion that led me back to my purpose. Read more>>
Troy Gregory
I wanted to start off answering this question by acknowledging the gratitude I have for the higher power that governs the positive energy of the universe (other words known as God). In my life, I have encountered many people who do not have a purpose in life and I must say I am grateful that I do. Finding my purpose came from years of being homeless (15 years to be exact) and a lot of soul-searching. Read more>>
Deborah Houston
As a certified life coach, I found purpose through my journey of healing and empowerment. I experienced heartbreak and a dead-end relationship that left me questioning myself and crushed my confidence. To add to the pain, I also lost my son in a tragic accident. However, I refused to stay in the darkness and sought help, transforming my life. Read more>>
Joanne Rose
I always enjoyed writing and found it came naturally to me. Before I began my journey as a screenwriter, I studied acting at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Los Angeles. It was after joining a local theatre company in West Hollywood, that I discovered my true calling as a writer. This led me to create my first project, an award-winning US sketch comedy web series called, Vegan 101, which guest-starred Eric Roberts in Season 2. Following the success of my web series, I studied screenwriting in Melbourne, Australia and started writing original screenplays. I later formed my own film production company in LA called, Sweetest Pit Bull Productions. Read more>>
Hannah McBride
Growing up, it was hard for me to decide what I wanted to do or what my purpose was. Even once I was considered a full adult, I still didn’t know what my purpose was. I have always loved creating art but I didn’t feel art was my purpose alone. I fell in love with the witchy world of crystals, nature, metaphysical and magick. As I learned more about that, I began to realize that I wanted to create things using the knowledge that I had of sewing and art–related to crystals, metaphysical and magick. Read more>>
Da’Vida D.
“Live in your purpose is not only a motto for me but it is a lifestyle.” Read more>>
Michael James
Purpose is a multi-pronged concept to me, but I think every prong relates to duty somehow. Read more>>
Mitch Thomas
I think we always look for our purpose. I wasn’t quite sure what mine was. I was a father at a young age and I always wanted to make sure that I could provide for my family. But, I was supposed to do that. I worked hard. I would do things that would make me happy but still searched and asked what was my purpose. I was at a crossroads in life and going thru some struggle. A friend asked me to join him for a Sunday at church. I was not much of a church guy. That day I left in tears. Read more>>
Ruth Teeple
I have been in the education field for about 12 years but my business idea did not come until COVID hit. I had worked at schools as a pre-k and kindergarten teacher and with families providing private tutoring but wasn’t until COVID that I realized parents needed a way to support their kids as schools closed and classrooms became virtual and some parents took over their kids’ education needs and began homeschooling them. I knew exactly how to help, This is when I found out my purpose and my business was created. Read more>>
Dr. Lunide Adeeko
Once upon a time, I found myself caught in the usual whirlwind of motherhood. My purpose – to make the task of cleaning baby bottles easier and less messy for mothers everywhere – was not born from tranquility, but from a chaotic kitchen at midnight. Read more>>
Rachael and Julia Loeks and Gengenbach
It was a gradual process of self-discovery and aligning our passions with our business. We started by asking ourselves what truly brought us joy and fulfillment. For both of us, it was always about creating art and helping others tap into their creative potential. Read more>>
JNabe
I found my purpose by going through tough times. I had a psychotic break in my junior year of high school and spent a good amount of time in various psych wards. That led me to find my purpose. I saw how a lot of people regretted not pursuing their dreams. After those experiences I knew I wanted to pursue a music career. Read more>>
Kenzie Miller
I’m sure I had already found my purpose at a very young age. I rarely ever watched cartoons, it was always some form of wildlife documentary whether that was NatGeo, Animal Planet, and/or Planet Earth. I had a variety of field guides and I’d use a few of them to identify the songbirds and the birds of prey in my area. We’d see foxes in our neighborhood and would follow them hoping to get a better look. There were Desert Cottontail bunnies that lived under our front porch, and so every morning I would go outside and sit with them while they ate. Read more>>
Ashlee LaFavor
I found purpose through the obstacles I have overcome in life . I began to realize that if God took me through it. It will benefit & could help others overcome those same roadblocks in life. So by me being the help & solution to the problem for others. Read more>>
Lo Lo Eat’s
I found my purpose when I understood that I am not defined by my mistakes I’ve made in the past. My purpose is to live authentically me! My purpose is not defined with materialism, career, or by others. My purpose in life is to be myself and help others along the way. I live in my purpose everyday as social worker, family member, and friend. Read more>>
Tonia Johnson Mays
Can I go left before I go right into what you’ve asked? Yeah? Cool. Read more>>
Edie Ann Goodwin
How did I find my purpose? Growing up in a family of four, my mother, sister, brother and myself, I always felt like I needed to take care of my family. They always came first. I worked various jobs to just get by, but I never really felt like I was doing what I was meant to do. I just did jobs. Until I went to a major concert while I was in college to be an English teacher. I fell in love with music and the behind the scenes happenings. I just knew that music was my path. Read more>>
Kimberly Christopher
I started experimenting with makeup through hands-on learning years ago after watching beauty tutorials. Makeup quickly became my first love, and I loved seeing the results of my work and look recreations. Read more>>
MaDonna Collingwood
After completing six years as a traditional student at a university and receiving a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture I started to look at the amount of student loan debt that I was in, and the roles/jobs I was able to obtain after graduation. Read more>>
Leigh Purtill
To be honest, I ignored my purpose in life for many years before rediscovering it. Read more>>
Simone A Clarke
My purpose and our firm’s mission is to educate our clients on how to strategize and utilize the tax code to maximize after tax income. I noticed there was limited access to qualified tax professionals who focus on tax strategy in lower to middle income communities’ and I decided that I would focus my energy into this area. I also noticed that if the resource was available the information is not easily understood/or was not applicable to their unique tax situation. Read more>>
Jennifer Marnowski
I had worked for years as a journalist, including 10 years at CNN. I always wore many hats and was always interested in healthcare stories as well as all the daily top stories. Mental health and substance use issues run in my family and I went into that field after over 20 years in TV News. I combined my many years of experience in both fields to take a leap and start my own PR business focusing on wellness, behavioral health and other healthcare topics. That is my lane and to be able to spread hope and advice through what I do is a very rewarding experience. Read more>>
