Culture, economic circumstances, family traditions, local customs and more can often influence us more than we realize. With the benefit of hindsight, we asked some wise and experienced members of our community whether they think they are doing what they were meant to do or told to do.
Sara Mizrachi
I truly feel like my business and making jewelry are my purpose and part of my soul! Even decades later it still calls to me and resonates deep within me. Building my business brings me great joy, even the boring parts like making spreadsheets lol. Read More>>
Kathryn Starke
I know I’m doing what I was born to do, but I had no idea I would be a published author or CEO of a publishing company. I always dreamed of becoming an elementary school teacher, which I did for over a decade then became a literacy consultant. Today, I am consultant and keynote speaker for teachers. Read More>>
Larry Tucker
That’s a deep question. Honestly, I’ve been making music for so long that it’s hard to separate what I love from what feels innate. Growing up, my parents filled our house with all kinds of music, and I was always rapping, beatboxing and banging away on whatever I could find – tables, my chest you name it. Read More>>
Kneelen Buotte
I believe that I am doing what I was born to do, I typically don’t do as I’m told. I have always been infatuated with sewing and design ever since I was little. My grandmother taught me how to sew when I was only 6 years old and I’ve been doing it ever since! Read More>>
Ramesh Kumar Kannan
I am doing what I love doing the most and that is making music’ Read More>>
Lawrence Grobel
I was lucky that no one ever told me what to do. True, my parents worried that it would be very difficult to make a living as a writer, but they believed in me enough not to discourage me. I was 12-years-old when I began submitting poetry to magazines–always getting rejected, but always believing that they would one day be accepted. Read More>>
Kristin Murphy
I am genuinely doing what I was born to do. The art of crafting, building, restoring and repurposing has run in my family and it was something that I picked up when introduced to me. My parents let me run with whatever I wanted to do and supported me in what I chose. Read More>>
Christian Haynes
It may have taken a while to realize, but I believe that I am doing what I was born to do which is being a storyteller. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been writing short stories or comic books and creating different characters and worlds. Read More>>
Layla Todd
I am here to do what I was born to do: write. I have known I am a writer and a storyteller since I was a 7 year-old girl writing by hand in Mead Five Star notebooks. I wrote throughout my teen years dozens and dozens of handwritten novels exploring epic fantasies and romances, poetry and essays. Read More>>
Dianna Robicheau
After so many years of doing what I felt like I was ‘supposed to do,’ I pinch myself daily that I actually finally feel like I’m doing what I was born to do. Being a good copywriter means being a good writer, of course, (and trust me, I still can’t believe that I get to write for a living! Read More>>
Honest Lee Soul
Fear. Fear is an emotion we all experience. When it becomes debilitating, it’s dangerous. It can keep you from making progress. So many of allow fear of being hurt, or fear of failure to keep us stuck in place. Read More>>
Donna Steele
I believe I’m now doing what I was born to do, though I have for some time, just in secret for most of my life. For the public I did as told to a large degree, but the real me was always there and with my husband’s help and support it grew. Read More>>
Brian Neu
That’s a tough one, because for me, it’s really both. Growing up, there was no escaping construction. My grandfather and my father were both contractors for their entire lives, running R&W Construction. My mother also managed their office, so the dinner table conversations were always about bids, job site issues, or client contracts. I spent my summers sweeping up sawdust and holding a tape measure. Read More>>
Amy Capello
For a long time I did what I was ‘told’ to do. Not specifically that role, but pursuing things that society elevated. A title, a salary, benefits, retirement, marriage, children. I made choices for myself ultimately but all of those things were heavily influenced by family, friends, myself, and society’s indoctrination of what’s ‘supposed to be’. Read More>>
Caletta Harris
I truly believe I’m doing what I was born to do. From an early age, I recognized two things about myself: I was a communicator at heart, and I was deeply fascinated by technology. Over time, those two passions naturally merged, and that intersection led me to where I am today, running a production company that allows me to tell powerful stories through media. Read More>>
Melody Pittman
I don’t think so. While storytelling and influencing come naturally to me, I’ve always believed my true calling is in caregiving—perhaps even nursing. I genuinely love people and have an innate ability to help them feel at ease, comforted, and safe. Several psychics have even told me I’m a natural healer, which only reinforced what I already felt in my heart. Read More>>
Letisha Flake
I’m finally doing what I was born to do. For years, I followed the path I was told was “safe” or “expected”—checking the boxes, doing the work, but feeling like something was missing. It wasn’t until I fully embraced my purpose that everything started to align. Read More>>
Alison Ratner Mayer
I am definitely doing what I was born to do. I have luckily always been fulfilled by my work, and everyone close to me has always been supportive. It has always been the right fit, and I have luckily never grappled with my professional ‘path’. Read More>>
René Romero Schuler
Oh goodness, if I wasn’t born to do this, I really could not even begin to explain why I want to create every single day. Being an artist is so clearly in my genetic code. I just can’t NOT do what I do-—whether I’m any good at it or not! Read More>>
Eileen Seitz
I have always done what I was born to do. I have left people behind and places that I have lived. The only times I follow instructions rather than commands are for clients and their art projects. The Holy Spirit that speaks to me communicates clearly. It is my best friend, given to me by God. Read More>>
Rach aka Coach Pike
I am doing what I was born to do! I am so grateful to be able to say that. I didn’t know the path I would take to fulfilling my purpose and I didn’t have ‘co-founding a queer bar’ on my bingo card but here we are! I always knew I wanted to spend my days in community. Read More>>
Sabrina K. Garba
For a long time, I was doing what I was told to do or what I was taught was possible, not necessarily what I was born to do. I followed the path that seemed most logical, the one others expected of me. Read More>>
Adelia Nazyrova
I do what I love and listen to my intuition. I couldn’t work a job I don’t enjoy or do something that doesn’t bring me pleasure. I work hard and understand that it brings me joy. But if there’s no growth, it’s better to change the path or direction. Read More>>
Ricky Martel
Being a board member of the Second City Outlaws and serving as the creative director is exactly what I was born to do. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to fully utilize my love of the best of country music old and new and bring it to life with a wide variety of styles of dance. Read More>>
Elena Denisova-Clark
I’ve honestly never been great at doing what I was told to do—especially if it didn’t feel right. Even when I had to take survival jobs, I always tried to find some meaning in them, to bring my voice into whatever I was doing. And if something really didn’t sit right with me, I’d just leave. Read More>>
Nancy McKay
For most of my life, I was absolutely doing what I was told to do. Growing up in a household where children were seen and not heard, I learned early that my worth came from pleasing others and meeting their expectations. This conditioning led me straight into the oil and gas industry – find a good job, stay there, be grateful for the security. Read More>>
Melina Waldrop
I’m absolutely doing what I was born to do—not what I was told to do. I’ve always had a bit of a wild, rebellious streak, especially when it comes to authority, which is why I built my own woman-owned business rooted in mysticism and empowerment. Read More>>
Christy Clark
Am I doing what I was born to do—or what I was told to do? No question—this is what I was born to do. I was made for this. For loyalty. For storytelling—not with words, but through art. Through photos that freeze time and speak louder than anything I could say out loud. This isn’t just a job to me—it’s part of who I am. Read More>>
