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.

Eric Williams

I didn’t find tattooing. Tattooing found me.

I wasn’t chasing a career—I was chasing meaning. Trying to find a place where I felt like I belonged. Growing up the way I did, I always felt like an outsider. Misunderstood. Too intense, too focused, too much of something no one could name. Later in life I came to understand I’m neurodivergent, and suddenly a lot made sense. But long before I had the words for it, tattooing gave me direction. Read More>>

Christopher Moonlight

Finding my purpose wasn’t a lightning bolt moment; it’s been more like assembling a complex, beautiful, and sometimes frustrating puzzle over a lifetime. Honestly, for many years, my purpose felt less like a clear path and more like an insistent, nagging current pulling me in a direction I couldn’t always articulate, especially with the added complexities of navigating the world with diagnosed dyslexia and ADHD. These aren’t just labels; they’ve profoundly shaped how my brain works, how I see patterns, and how I struggle (and succeed!) with traditional structures. Read More>>

Paige Figueroa

I believe that a person’s life purpose develops over time and that we have to go through certain experiences in order to fully discover precisely how we want to impact the world in a way that’s aligned to our unique gifts and experiences.

For example, I think I’ve always been destined to be a guide and coach in some capacity. My mom tells me that even when I was in second grade, my teacher would observe how I would constantly be teaching my classmates how to do something once I figured it out for myself. So even from a young age, this sense of guiding others was integral to my identity. But the roles and jobs I have taken on over time have allowed my purpose to evolve from this foundational path Read More>>

Ilse Mckee

Finding my purpose as a baker has been a heartfelt journey filled with passion, experimentation, and the joy of creating something delicious. It all began in 2010 when I became a mom and we settled into our first home as a family of three. I knew my way around the kitchen thanks to my upbringing, but baking was still a mystery to me. I mostly relied on store-bought premixes. Read More>>

Cletis Carr

I started out playing music from a young age. I had my first paid gig at 15 and my first songwriter royalty check at 17. Then on to decades of recording and touring. I guess I’ve always been a “lifer”.

Then a funny thing happened on the way to the pandemic. With all the changes that occurred in its wake, I found myself being drawn more behind the scenes. I’d always been active in the “business” side of the industry, worked for indie record labels, management, etc. But this seemed to come to me more easily now that it had in the past. Like many others, I found that I could pivot from one side of the music biz to the other. So now I’m a talent agent, booking and promoting tours for other artists, instead of my own. Read More>>

ShaQuia Glover

I found my purpose by being one of my customers! I was once and still am somebody that deals with pain and medical conditions like endometriosis. Knowing how that pain feels has pushed me to want to help out others going through what i go through! Read More>>

Brett Burch

PilotHelper is the first aviation company solely focused on certifying every pilot as a trained peer supporter to increase safety across the skies. Our mission is to make peer support as fundamental as flight training by equipping pilots with the tools to recognize when a fellow pilot is struggling and confidently offer support. Many pilots avoid therapy due to stigma or fear of losing their medical certificate, which is why having trained peers they can trust is essential. By partnering with airlines, flight schools, and regulators around the world, PilotHelper is building the global standard for mental health support in aviation, creating a future where emotional support is not optional, but expected. Read More>>

Michael Dvoskin

With my live experience, I’ve come to realize that living without purpose can leave a person with a profound emptiness. We are purpose-driven creatures, constantly setting a course for ourselves—whether it’s the small goals that get us through the day, a year-long business project, or the lifetime aspiration that becomes our North Star. Read More>>

Hannah Altman

My path wasn’t traditional and neither was the way I found my purpose. It was messy, creative and kind of magical in its own weird way.

I grew up in a small Southern town where pursuing a creative career wasn’t really the norm. But I always had this pull toward storytelling, especially the kind that explored the unknown. When I was 15, I got my first camera and entered a video contest for my favorite band, The Used. I made this dramatic video in a bloody bathtub and, somehow, I won. Meeting the band was a surreal moment, but more than anything, it showed me that my creative instincts were worth trusting. Read More>>

Shannon Laine Smock

Before my breakthrough, I believed purpose was something you just knew. And for a while, I thought I did. I loved leading the children’s health museum I built. I was also teaching graduate-level nonprofit courses at WashU and actively auditioning and acting in St. Louis. From the outside, I was doing meaningful work. But inside? I was exhausted. Burned out. And increasingly unsure that I was still the right person to grow the organization I had once poured everything into. Read More>>

Jennifer Newberg

I’ve learned that – while not always -purpose often rises out of pain. That was certainly the case for me. In May 2024, my husband died suddenly of a heart attack while we were on vacation in Greece. He was 49. One minute we were sleeping, and the next, he was waking me up to say something was wrong. Within 10 minutes, he was gone. Read More>>

Arman Sayat

Well, I’ve always felt that filmmaking was my purpose. Since childhood, I was naturally drawn to creative expression—photography, painting, and eventually filmmaking. Looking back, I realize it was always a part of me. It just needed time, reflection, and a bit of reinvention—like dusting off an old engine and giving it the chance to grow and evolve. Read More>>

Emma Jackson

My purpose didn’t arrive in one big lightning bolt moment like I think most people expect it too. Instead, it came through very quiet nudges, unexpected pivots, and moments of deep deep surrender.

I graduated from business school with a degree specializing in marketing and was managing several therapy businesses behind the scenes. I followed the traditional path, checking all the boxes of what I thought success was supposed to look like. And for a while, it really did work… until it didn’t. I felt unfulfilled, disconnected, and like I was living someone else’s version of success honestly. Doing what I thought I “should” be doing. Read More>>

Krystal Long

How I Found My Purpose

I didn’t set out to become a Doula or Lactation Consultant. In fact, I didn’t even know those careers existed. But birth, my own birth experience, cracked me wide open, and suddenly, my purpose became clear.

Looking back now, I can see that being of service and working with women and children has always been at the root of my purpose. As a teen, I volunteered to support other teens struggling with addiction. I started college intending to become a therapist, but the psychology path didn’t feel quite right, so I shifted to sociology.  Read More>>

Heather Clohessy

From a young age, I felt a powerful spiritual calling & a deep sensitivity to energy & the unseen. My path has been shaped by profound life experiences, including personal trauma & loss, which have only deepened my compassion & intuitive wisdom. These challenges became the catalyst for my own healing journey…one that led me to reclaim my voice, reconnect with my truth, & fully step into my purpose. Read More>>

Julia Garnett

When faced with injustice, silence has never been a real option for me. My heart doesn’t let me take the easy way out, and in that constant decision, I have found an immense sense of purpose, one that has directed me towards activism.

In 2022, my Tennessee school district tried to ban the book A Place Inside of Me by Zetta Elliot from elementary school libraries. This powerful story follows the journey of a young Black boy and his experiences and emotions after he witnesses a police shooting.  Read More>>

Dawanna Gregg

Honestly, I think my purpose found me.

I’ve always had a thing for numbers and finance — math came naturally to me growing up. I still remember being the only student in my freshman algebra class to score a 100% on the final. My teacher said it had never happened in his 20+ years of teaching at the time, and it never happened again up till he retired. That stuck with me. I didn’t fully understand it then, but looking back, that was one of my earliest signs. Read More>>

Stephanie James

What I have learned in my short time here so far is that purpose is the thing you would do for free, the thing that brings joy to your heart and others. The pull that is naturally innate and allows you to exist in a space and time that you love and benefit the world around you in the process.

I continue to discover my purpose in life and continually redefine what I want it to be. I initially discovered it by playing basketball at an early age and deciding to be disciplined for a sport that I love. That love earned me a full ride at Hampton University and helped me begin my adult life debt-free. I discovered poetry while interning at Wells Fargo Bank as a teller Read More>>

Tassiana Laurre

Throughout middle school and high school, design had never been mentioned as a career option. I always thought I would pursue engineering. However, having been fond of drawing my whole life, I was disappointed to have to put the creative aspect of my personality to the side.
I remember visiting a Ross Lovegrove exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 2016, and all of a sudden it clicked. I loved how visionary his work was, and how it used new technology and processes. Read More>>

Richelle Taylor

How did I find my purpose?

I think I’ve been looking for it always—and that matters. You can’t find something you’re not actually looking for.

I grew up around addiction and alcoholism. People seemed unhappy. There was laughter, but also a lot of musts. Go to work. Get home. Recover. Repeat. It looked like drudgery. And to me, drudgery meant unhappiness. Read More>>

Matt Kwiatkowski

How I found my life purpose was not easy but in the end it was destiny. I took a drama college course in 2001 in Petoskey MI. I took this class to meet new people/make new friends. In that class I met a couple screenwriters working on their first draft scripts for a feature film.
I’ve been doing theater since age 6, so growing up I was used to being in the spotlight. Because of my theater acting, it got the attention of two screenwriters. My performances stuck out in this class of 33 and I came out top 3 in my class. I was asked if I wanted a role in two films in 2001 which I gladly accepted. Read More>>

Darla Ridilla

How I Found My Purpose: From Narcissistic Abuse to Empowering High-Achieving Women
By Darla Ridilla, Founder of High Value Woman

If you had told me ten years ago that I’d be coaching other successful women on how to break free from toxic relationships and reclaim their self-worth, I wouldn’t have believed you. Not because I didn’t think it was important—but because I hadn’t yet faced the full truth about my own life. Read More>>

Ivone Reyes

How Did You Find Your Purpose?

Hi, my name is Ivone Reyes.
I am originally from Argentina and came to Los Angeles more than 20 years ago.
I always knew what I wanted to do in life. When I was 5 years old, my parents took me to see the musical Annie. That impacted my life forever because I always remember that feeling: I want to do that. I want to sing and dance, and be up on that stage. Read More>>

Alex Breijak

I came from a background of scarcity. My parents both worked hard at their jobs, and my siblings and I always had the things we needed, but there was always that presence of struggle, hardship, and want. During my teenage years and early twenties, I grew up in Michigan, and the local economy there was among those who were struggling the most in the United States. I worked mostly kitchen jobs at that point, and my manager at a local steakhouse produced a stack of resumes as thick as “War and Peace”, telling their crew that this is the amount of people who were looking to take our jobs, so better to “suck it up” and be grateful.  Read More>>

Dawn Benjamin

I found my purpose when decided to raise funds for my church function in 2018. When I graduated from college, I didn’t focus on my gifts or purpose I just went to look for a job. I put together a Women’s Empowerment event which included vendors, music, brunch, the Go Red foundation and a speaker. The event was a hugh success and all the women wanted to know the date of the next event. The women also said, my story touched them so much and what a gift I had to speak. Now, I had no desire to speak again but the pull within me was so strong.  Read More>>

Tabitha Mellette

I found my purpose through motherhood and my faith in God. Becoming a mother changed everything for me it gave my life a deeper meaning and a new sense of responsibility. My children became my greatest motivation. I wanted to show them what strength, resilience, and faith look like in action. Through every challenge and season of uncertainty, I leaned on God for guidance. He reminded me that my story, my pain, and my healing could serve a greater purpose. Read More>>

Riyan Ali

Finding my purpose came through trial and error. I believe discovering one’s purpose lies in the doing—in taking action. With intention comes the responsibility to protect that purpose and shape it into the path we choose to follow.
I grew into my path through experience, by the idea that I wanted to be somebody—not just for myself, but to carry a responsibility bigger than my own life. Read More>>

Nina Hart

I’m one of those people who has always trusted my gut — and my heart. It might sound a bit woo, but I often get a feeling in my body, or a clear image flashes before my eyes, or I even hear a name and just know it’s right. When that happens, it’s a sign for me to follow that path. I’ve had this ability since childhood, and I assumed everyone did. Maybe we all do — though many of the writers and creatives I work with have lost touch with that internal “true north.” One of my greatest joys is helping them reconnect with that inner guide — the one that tells them to follow their art, their creative dream, their joy. Read More>>

Laura Kinney-Porter

I found my purpose by looking backward. The moment that set it all in motion happened when I was in sixth grade. My mother took me to the Downtown Cincinnati Public Library, to the Genealogy & Local History Department. We went upstairs to the microfilm section where I remember sitting in front of a large machine with a glowing screen. The librarian handed us a roll of film, and I listened to the soft clicking sound as it scrolled through the machine. My mom was searching for someone in the newspaper. Then she paused, pointed at the screen, and said, “That’s your grandmother, Mattie Bell Kinney.” It was an article from the Cincinnati Enquirer naming her Mother of the Year in 1969. Read More>>

Marina Eng

I am still looking for my way in art. When I was young, I never thought I will do something creative. But later, after I tried few office jobs – like manager, secretary, bank worker – I understand that I always feel pull to create something beautiful. Especially when I discover Photoshop.

Instead of boring office tasks, every free minute I was editing photos and learning by myself programs for retouch and design. And even at work they start to ask me to make advertising materials. Read More>>

Renae Myrie

I discovered my purpose during a time in my life when I felt deeply disappointed in myself. I felt lost and worthless, like I wasn’t doing anything meaningful with my life. Growing up, I was bright and full of potential, but somewhere along the way, I let that go. My life became consumed with partying, and I knew my parents and even my son were disappointed in me. Read More>>

Suzanne Buckland

I’m not certain I have a purpose so much as a compulsion to create. I believe this compulsion keeps me going, searching new opportunities, new people and new places. As a visual artist, I need wall space. Every wall I see that is empty inspires me to create more. I’m not shy about asking the owner or manager of the wall if I can show my artwork there. In creating artwork, I’ve recently felt like I want to create things people won’t get bored with or tired of. I want them to look at it often to see something they might have missed before. I not only bring beauty in my work but also provoke thought. That’s my main purpose. Read More>>

Elizabeth Dryden

I found my purpose in creating art that glorifies God’s creation and showcases the beauty in everything around us. I mainly focus my work on animals and plants of the Southwest and try to show nature and the things we see on a daily basis in a new light. God is the ultimate artist and everything around you, no matter where you are located, you can see His beauty that was created just for you to enjoy. I love to spread that message within my work and I believe that is truly my purpose in life. Read More>> 

Nicole Denzler

I discovered my purpose through God and my friends. It wasn’t until I grew older that I recognized the gifts and talents within me. My childhood was filled with struggles and challenges, often overshadowed by anger and fear at home. Photography became my refuge. I remember being in 8th grade, capturing moments on my iPod Touch. When my dad told me, “You have an eye for beauty,” those words resonated deeply and stayed with me as I pursued my BFA in art college. Read More>>