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.

Ebenezer Nketsiah Mensah

I found my purpose in the dust and noise from construction and mining sites, in the sharp weight of a shovel, and the smell of metal mixed with sweat and heat. Working alongside men whose names you may never hear, but whose labor holds up whole cities. Read More>>\

Deborah Crowley

I didn’t find my purpose overnight. I lived my way into it—through trials, tears, breakthroughs, and divine moments of clarity.

It started in survival mode—escaping domestic violence while raising two sons as a single mother. I had no roadmap, just a deep desire to give my children something better. That became my first “why.” Read More>>

Rachel Lavin

I always knew that helping people was my purpose. It brings me joy,
I haven’t always felt this way about my own life. I always knew that happiness was out there and I definitely experienced glimmers of it but it never felt consistent, thats what I wanted to be happy every day! I worked hard to heal from my past. I learned to be kind to myself and to treat myself with love, dignity and respect. Read More>>

Tahnee Wilson

For years, I worked as a respiratory therapist in an ICU—through the thick of the pandemic, through heartbreak, exhaustion, and the kind of soul weariness you can’t quite put into words. I was showing up for everyone else, but I had lost sight of myself. Somewhere between the beeping monitors and the sleepless nights, I broke a little. Maybe more than a little. Read More>>

Crystal Persons

I didn’t discover my purpose in a straight line. It came through ashes—through a journey marked by wounds I never asked for, and pain I didn’t cause.

As a young teenager, I was groomed for trafficking. What should have been a season of innocence became a battle for survival. That experience tried to brand me with shame, powerlessness, and confusion. But even in the darkest moments, God never left me. His presence pursued me, even before I fully knew Him. Read More>>

Breanna C. Johnson

I found my purpose through poetry and healing. I am a sexual assault survivor of 11 years and counting. That trauma stripped everything from me. My body was stolen. Persistent paranoia permeated my psyche. I was convinced that I would never be okay again. Read More>>

Jessica Harper

I’m still figuring out exactly what I want to be when I grow up, but I’m grateful that Liberation Cat House has become a clear and meaningful part of my purpose. I grew up on a small farm in northeast Ohio, where my mom instilled in me a deep love for animals and a strong sense of responsibility for those in need.  Read More>>

Denise Porter

I believe that becoming a massage therapist was a calling. I had been working as a freelance writer/admin for a few years. I had the opportunity to interview many people in the holistic healthcare field.  Read More>>

Chuck Patton

I would prefer to say that I found my Purrpose. Early on, I started to recognize that saw the world through a disruptive lens. Maybe it was the rebel in me or the entertainer but my motivation soon grew into a desire to do things different, that others did not feel possible. Read More>>

Tanya Sturm

I was first introduced to wish granting in 1998 as a volunteer with an organization called Dream Makers. From the very beginning, I knew that bringing joy to children battling cancer was my purpose. Giving them something to smile about during such a difficult time deeply resonated with me. Read More>>

Brooke Geis

After Graduating from my undergrad I have always found myself volunteering to lead employee engagement responsibilities and roles. Looking back at my career. I have over ten years of digital marketing experience, but I am the most proud of the work I have done with employee engagement and event planning.  Read More>>

Rick Clark

Funny story how I came across my purpose. I was working in higher education, married, and looking to earn extra money. The good ol’ side hustle. I came across a Craigslist ad that asked a few basic questions; do you love music, are you good with people, have you ever thought about being a DJ? Read More>>

Maria Paula Arboleda

When I was a teenager, I found myself hyper-focused on finding my purpose. I think that came from realizing I was queer and different, and also from going through that teenage angst of “what am I doing here?” Eventually, in my search for purpose, I stumbled upon existential nihilism — the idea that “the meaning of life is that there is no meaning” — and it clicked for me. Read More>>

Paulina Tetteh

For me as a Christian, my purpose is deeply rooted in my relationship with my Creator — God Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega. From childhood, I was blessed with a strong foundation in the Christian faith, and that grounding gave me the space to truly explore the question of why I was created. Read More>>

Elizabeth Sanchez

For many years, I found myself in a series of unhealthy relationships. At one point, I even moved across the country, leaving my family behind, to be with someone I believed was “the one.” But the relationship turned out to be full of lies and deceit. I was heartbroken, lost, and had no real clarity about where my life was headed. Read More>>

Thomas L Rosenberg, MSc, MBA, CIC

I have always been passionate about guiding folx to grow and transform. However, coming from a medical and scientific family, I felt the need to pursue a technically challenging career path in order to be seen as a man. Read More>>

Jordan Chapman

I found my purpose in photography through a mix of passion, pain, and healing. What started as a creative outlet became something much deeper a way to connect with people, to tell stories, and to preserve moments that might otherwise be forgotten. But it wasn’t until I lost my mentor that I truly understood why photography mattered to me on a soul level. Read More>>

Sherrie Allsup

As a survivor of long-term sexual abuse, trauma, and suicide attempts and much hard work and healing, I became the founder and CEO of Courage Starts With You Nonprofit 501 (c)3. For victims, Courage means telling someone and reaching out for help. Read More>>

Claudia Logi

I found my purpose through dance, first as a form of personal expression, and eventually as a way to connect, inspire, and teach others. Growing up, I was drawn to the emotion and storytelling within movement. As I trained and performed professionally, I realized that while I loved being on stage, I felt an even deeper sense of fulfilment when I was creating work and guiding others, especially young dancers.  Read More>>

Tree Of Life Stories

Tree of Life Stories was formed for collaboration and for kids’ voices to be heard over a society that may overlook them. Ira and friends wanted to be able to show that in their own community, kids could talk about their experiences and passions through their own lenses. Tree of Life Stories was the perfect outlet for this and through Soul Stir, we were able to reach all ages through writing. Read More>>

Ana Barajas

After a horrible experience; one of those life-altering moments that can break families and shake your sense of stability, I found myself standing in the middle of a gutted house, savings gone, trust shattered, and no accountability in sight. It wasn’t just a financial loss; it was emotional, spiritual. I cried for weeks. Read More>>

Amy Brooks

Throughout my life, whenever I encountered struggle, heartache or challenges, I went to God in prayer. My faith is where I have found my purpose for all the roles I have in life.
As a young student, I struggled to discover my identity. I wondered who I was, if I had talents and what I could do well. Slowly I realized that my Catholic Christian faith was an incredible guide and that prayer is an amazing tool, weapon and gift. Read More>>

Xiao Qin

In the course of my artistic journey, there was a time when I felt deeply lost. I struggled to define my purpose and couldn’t clearly see the path I wanted to follow. For a while, I believed that introspection alone—quiet contemplation and strategic planning—would help me find the clarity I sought. But over time, I came to understand that for someone like me, adventure, risk-taking, and hands-on experience were just as vital, if not more so, in shaping my artistic identity and direction. Read More>>

Maxine Yuling Zhou

Honestly… I think I found my purpose when I was three years old. I know, that sounds suspiciously early—like, “Girl, you probably couldn’t even spell ‘purpose’ at that age.” But I have evidence. There’s an old photo of me holding a paintbrush with such an intense, focused expression you’d think I was restoring the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Read More>>

Amy Hovland, Becca Spain

For both of us, Amy and Becca, our purpose didn’t arrive in one big moment. It quietly revealed itself over time, shaped by childhood passions, unexpected turns, and the people and places we’ve always loved. Read More>>

Honeliz Perales

Being a mom of two special needs kiddos, you learn to search from within to keep going. And in the past year, not only have I grown in my spiritual life but I’ve also realized how much more I’m capable of, from what I can handle to what I can do. In the last year we spent 4 months away from home, came back for 2 months and then were gone for 5 months. Read More>>

Tracy Winborn

Before I ever launched a business, I survived the kind of pain that makes you question everything. I lost my infant son. I went through a divorce. I battled depression and anxiety while raising a toddler who had just lost her baby brother. Life didn’t pause.  Read More>>

Kale Sudhoff

Throughout my life, I have always loved drawing animals in my free time. I have always wanted to do something with art as a career, but if I were told just a few years ago that I would be a published author, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. Growing up with a pretty noticeable stutter, one thing that I never really felt good at in school was reading and writing and it was probably one of my least favorite subject areas.  Read More>>

Bryan McClure

I’ve really found my purpose in Jesus Christ. Jesus tells me the two most important commandments are to love God with all my heart, all my mind and all my soul and to love others as I do myself. And that’s really the goal, to love and to serve others well in whatever it is that I’m doing. Read More>>

Amanda Paez

I’ve always felt a natural connection when working with children, it came easily to me, even at a young age. Teaching and tutoring felt like something I just knew I was meant to do. I’m so grateful I trusted that inner instinct and allowed it to guide my path. Read More>>

CHERYL GORDON

I found my purpose through my pain. For over 20 years, I lived in the shadows of an abusive marriage — silenced, controlled, and broken. But it was in the darkest moments, when I escaped near death more than once, that I realized I was still standing for a reason. Read More>>

Lizzy Lefkowitz

I found my purpose by following what made me happy, and that was astrology. Even when it didn’t fully make sense to me, even when I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, I kept pursuing something that illuminated my life. Read More>>

Kady Jacobs

I didn’t just stumble into this work, I lived my way into it. For years, I watched our communities struggle. While working at a local non-profit, I would get calls from people desperately seeking anger management or domestic violence support, only to have to tell them, “We don’t offer that.” That helplessness didn’t sit well with me. Read More>>

Ren O

I didn’t find my purpose at once but I did believe I must have one. To be the only me on a planet floating in space didn’t feel random. I spent time in nature and listening to myself. I studied mindfulness practices so that I could tune into my inner wisdom. I learned to observe myself and others so as not to take things so personally. Read More>>

Julius Olaoluwa

Finding my purpose wasn’t a single moment. It was a journey of recognizing pain points in society and realizing I could be part of the solution. Through personal experiences and countless interactions with people across communities, I became increasingly aware of the deep need for compassion-driven initiatives—especially in underserved areas. That awareness fueled the birth of Jovilius Heart Foundation. Read More>>

Samantha Harnish

Balanced Friends became a business completely by accident. At the time, we were just two best friends trying to navigate our own health struggles — things like mold toxicity, gut issues, hormonal acne, and unexplained skin rashes. We were frustrated with the lack of answers from traditional medicine, so we turned to at-home lab testing and functional detox protocols. Read More>>

Jackson Winters

Growing up with my group of friends skateboarding, I was always the slowest to get around so I was usually tasked to be the kid to hold that camera and the next big capture trick. Over the years I began to love to see the world through a camera lens. Read More>>