Over the years we’ve had the good fortunate of speaking with thousands of successful entrepreneurs, artists and creatives. Some are happy, some are not. The happy ones almost always had a strong sense of purpose and so we are very focused on trying to help our community members and audience find their purpose. This series is our attempt to create more dialogue around finding your purpose.
Ali Gilbert
I think like many people, I look back at when I studied Exercise Science in college and think “If you said I would be in men’s health and doing what I do now I would think that is crazy” But I am go glad I landed here. My friend Dr. Jade Teta once said “your pain in your purpose” and I didn’t think that applied to me, until it did. Read more>>
Noriko Nomari
After I had the third level lesson of Usui Reiki, including Traditional Japan Reiki, about 1 month (autumn in 2017), I fortunately found handmade works. I was hooked on making resin jewelry. I was so happy to make them and gave them to my family and friends. Read more>>
Sarah de Leon
Earlier this year, I returned home in a foul mood—utterly despondent. Despite having produced a terrific show, I was having none of it. I know, I was confused too. I sat down, grabbed the nearest puppy, and did what I usually do when societal courtesies prevent me from burning a building: I wrote. What emerged was a thinly disguised allegory for how I felt about my career and the place I hold in people’s lives. Read more>>
Paige Annette
I would have never believed that this, being a storyteller, an actress in hollywood especially was part of my purpose. Truth be told, Its been quite a journey; but I’ve never been happier. And how did I find it? FAITH. I always tell people God gave me an endless amount of faith through my mother who’s name is Faithe. My mother has taught me so much, how to love, how to stay focused and never give up and above all how to live by faith. She instilled it in me. She never let me quit anything, she taught me to always keep going and know my worth. Read more>>
Nickie Jean
I would say that probably one of the most important moments in my life was when I fully connected to my purpose, or my Dharma which is what you would call your soul destiny. Once I understood my Dharma I could see how it had been staring at me so powerfully and potently for my whole life. When I was younger I had encounters that created an enormous fear of demons or demon possession, aliens, & alien abduction. Read more>>
Noah Andrade
I noticed from a young age that I love performing and making people either smile or laugh. Whether I was retelling jokes from Stand-up comedy specials or doing school plays. I realized my purpose was to entertain and bring out the positive nature in others. Read more>>
Shaun Rutherford
Having had the privilege of being coached by various individuals throughout life, I have come to appreciate the profound impact they have had on my development as an athlete. Each coach has left a lasting impression, and I strive to incorporate elements of their coaching styles into my own approach. Additionally, I have experienced firsthand the importance of certain opportunities that I missed out on while growing up. As a result, I am dedicated to giving back to every athlete I come across, ensuring they have access to those experiences and opportunities that I once longed for. Read more>>
Valeria Espinosa
For over 20 years, I worked for corporations in Ecuador and Miami until I decided to change careers and became a certified Coach specializing in hormonal health. I aimed to study a field of her interest while raising my young children. At the age of 44, I experienced Menopause in a natural and unexpected way. This life-changing experience, along with my coaching knowledge and skills, was the motivation to start guiding other women on their journey through Menopause. Read more>>
Lauren McMinn
Finding purpose (the why) is the ultimate question. I don’t believe that purpose is a finite (static) objective. It can, and should be malleable, as life and seasons change. Purpose can also be relative to what you believe and act upon in multiple dimensions of life – personal and professional. I want to be transparent about this because it is the holiday season, and I would imagine that many people may be questioning their purpose now. Read more>>
Marta Sulima
It definitely took me a long time to truly find what I wanted to do with my life. I spent many years pursuing a degree in Chemistry, and even have a PhD. However, I honestly never felt like I really belonged in this field. It was something I was good at from High School and I just continued pursuing it through college and then grad school. Eventually, I found my way to turning my passion for photography and the outdoors into my career. Read more>>
Megan Lyman
I have found my purpose from a lifetime of learning from obstacles that came my way. From fighting cancer as a teenager, to battling an ulcerative colitis in my twenties, I have always been driven by ways to help others through negative experiences and diagnosis. I knew from a young age I wanted to help people and that I was an educator. My motto has always been, ” it’s not why me, it’s try me”. Read more>>
Andy Blakeslee
You can often locate your purpose by finding the intersection of competence and passion. What are you good at? and
What do you like to do? Next, if you can pair purpose to a vision or positive view of the future, you can gain much needed clarity for your life! Vision can be found by tapping into what some might call ‘Holy Discontent’. Do not quickly dismiss areas that ruffle your feathers or cause you distress. Oftentimes, that uncomfortable feeling or ‘discontent’ is something that God wants to use in and through you to make the world a better place. Read more>>
Janet Vermillion Moos
The path to a true sense of purpose is often obscured by the many distractions of modern life. It’s so easy to get caught up in the pursuit of wealth, or power, or pleasure. Yet, these are not goals that satisfy. They are most often not the purpose for which each of us was born. Inherently, throughout time, humankind has searched for that which may bring meaning to life, for deeper truths that hold the promise of fulfillment. Read more>>
Elle Gargano
I found my purpose, unfortunately, through tragedy. Often times it’s through life’s most terrible moments that we find our biggest sources of inspiration. My story starts on October 1, 2017. I was about a year out of college, fresh in my first big girl job in marketing and I decided to take a long weekend off to attend my first three-day music festival in Las Vegas, NV; the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Read more>>
Yutong Xie
I believe in practice and patience. I am not seeking a specific purpose in my life. Instead, I take pleasure in the process of working with visual art, even when I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing, all while maintaining a sincere and diligent attitude. Read more>>
Sarah Cieslinski
Growing up in Florida, I spent my free time out in nature. My dad was always outside, and he taught me all about our local birds, native wildlife, gardening, and more. We grew milkweed for Monarch Butterflies, my dad built bird boxes for our neighborhood Screech Owls, and we sat in our yard together while he taught me how to identify different birds based on their songs. Read more>>
Jana Tingom
Traveling and writing have always been a love of mine. I happily married a man who enjoyed these as well! So Phoenix With Kids is really just an extension of what we already enjoy. Arizona is often viewed as all desert, or a barren land with the Grand Canyon and nothing else. There is so much more in our state! Our main goal for the blog is to bring awareness to the beauty and exciting places Phoenix and Arizona have to offer, and how families can enjoy them as well. Read more>>
Lacey Pruett
Helping busy women identify their individual superpowers to live a healthier, more abundant and fulfilled life became my passion after part of my life’s journey led me toward an unhealthy, fear-filled, and un-fulfilled mindset. It’s no fun feeling hopeless and stuck, but sometimes we make choices that aren’t aligned with our true being and desires. Read more>>
Jennifer Stewart
While in college, I struggled to figure out what I wanted to do as a career. I knew it would be a career in healthcare or science, but I didn’t have a clear picture of what that would look like. I shadowed my next door neighbor and my own optometrist, and quickly realized this was what I was meant to do. Fast forward many years, optometry has been a true gift. Read more>>
Hannah Smoot
Though I was born in South Korea, I spent my formative years living in various countries. Amid language struggles, art became a universal language, allowing me to communicate across cultures. My paintings reflected my surroundings and peers, allowing them to better understand and relate to what I would say to them. Today, my work explores cross-cultural themes and human reactions to our ever-evolving environment. Read more>>
Sandy Patterson
I was an elementary school teacher for 14 years and I always believed my purpose in life was to teach. I spent thousands of dollars and years on my education to become a teacher. So when I left my teaching job (which was supposed to be my “forever” job) in 2022, I realized that teaching was actually holding me back from stepping into the person I know I’m meant to be and finding my true purpose. Read more>>
Christopher Bunyi
I suppose my goal of a career in the entertainment industry can be considered my purpose. It’s difficult to solidify that term as the the definition of what my pursuit has been but when I think about it, it is apt. My initial exposure to the performing arts came as an opportunity of convenience. Read more>>
Tiana Pongs
I’d say I found a sense of purpose organically— and probably also through self-reflection and some hardship in life. I journaled every morning for many many years and I still do. It’s my free therapy session every morning. I also talked about what matters to me with good friends which made me think more intentionally about my life and my purpose, I also had to learn that life is a journey and not a destination, and what makes my life fulfilling today might change in a few years. Read more>>
Jason Kramer
I was under chiropractic care in undergrad and the Doctor and I became buddies. He asked me one day what I thought I wanted to do with my life. After talking and telling him I wanted to do something meaningful that would make a difference in peoples lives he told me I needed to be a chiropractor. I sarcastically told him ‘no, I mean a real difference… not just get people out of pain’. Read more>>
Reed Mann
We definitely got influence from other local artists in the Memphis area. Once we started to make the art that we display today, it just sort of took off. We suddenly had dozens of ideas for new pieces. I’ve found my purpose through the reactions from our customers and friends. When they see what exactly we do, they fall in love with it just as much as we did. Read more>>
DaWayne Nettles
Finding purpose is a personal journey that involves self-exploration, reflection, and experimentation. It’s a process, not a destination, and what works for one person might not work for another. I found my purpose through service. I a proud believer in Servant Leadership and decided early on that giving back in where I found my calling. Read more>>
Morgan Hannaleck
I found my purpose, ironically enough, through pain! I learned at a pretty young age that I am someone who feels everything really intensely. When I am sad, it is a very deep, painful sadness. On the other hand, when I am happy, I cherish that moment and hold onto it so closely. I can easily hold space for other people’s emotions and can feel with them. It is a bittersweet gift. Read more>>
Dayanita Ramesh
I think purpose makes itself known in many ways, and it is a matter of paying attention to what you are drawn to, what sparks curiosity and joy within you, and what feels right in your heart. I believe in The Artist Way and Carl Jung’s idea of synchronicity. A sage person told me that moments of synchronicity are reassurance that you are on the correct path, and once you slow down and observe these moments, you will keep seeing them. Read more>>
Linda Taylor
I used to believe you can’t find purpose, you just have it. Now I think the truth is we have purpose, but it must be acknowledged. It’s easy to ignore those gut feelings because while you may have purpose, that doesn’t mean you will succeed. Many other factors will come into play. Read more>>
The Smoogies
Before we became known as The Smoogies, we were curating and leading bi-monthly jam sessions in Miami, FL. In that series, we would show up and improvise as a collective unit, and the chemistry was just there as a band, and we were playing for our friends. From the start, we were playing music we loved and playing music for the crowd; we wanted everyone hanging and bopping their heads when they were listening to us. Read more>>
Kevin E West
While I know this is about me, I do however feel, that my answer is more universal than it may appear. Based on my childhood in a single-parent home, and with that parent absent most of the time, I didn’t receive much “encouragement”. Not intended as a sob-story – just factual. Throughout my life, most of the people I have known, befriended, colleagues, partners etc., have had pretty good stories and relationships with their parents. Read more>>
Julie Anne Christophe
At 27, I entered the world of food sales, drawn to the freedom and daily interactions but soon found myself discontent with the industry and the pressure to conform to a prescribed persona. After nearly two years, burnout set in, and during a five-month sick leave, exercise became my solace, leading to a transformative recovery. Read more>>
Ebun Ekunwe
Being a medical doctor opened my eyes to the dangers to which our cosmetics and other beauty products expose us. Do you think it is a coincidence that the rate of cancers is higher in the developed world where there is a lot of chemicals in our food, water and beauty products? Is it a coincidence that a hair relaxer from the past has been linked to cancers? Read more>>
Julian Bennett
Honestly…my purpose kind of found me. I felt like for a large part of my life I was lost. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do or how I wanted to express myself. Music was just always an escape from reality for me. It’s like you can listen to any album & just immerse yourself into another world, so it’s been like that since I can remember. Read more>>
Wayna
I think we find our purpose at the intersection of what we do best and where life has tested us the most. For me, being raised by a single Black immigrant mother exposed me early to the challenges women and people of the African diaspora face. Those inequities was always clear and present, and I always wanted to fight on behalf of people like us, who maybe didn’t have the advantages we did. Read more>>
Manisha Chulani, LMFT101388, NCSP39376
I believe my purpose is constantly evolving—in terms of not only my career, but also my sense of self. As a child, I remember going to the museum with my family and seeing an exhibit about the galaxy eventually dying off. I got so scared. I didn’t understand that this wouldn’t likely happen in my lifetime, but it still got my anxiety going. Read more>>
La’ Shae Alexander
I found my purpose by self reflecting. I sat with myself many times reflecting on the hood and the bad. Thinking about the younger me and what brought my heart joy, what I wish I had when I was younger, and what I seen others ask me for or needed in general. This all became full circle and I knew philanthropy was for me. Read more>>
