How did you find your purpose?

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.

Lisa Carey

Strange, but I really believe that my purpose finds me. Throughout my life I’ve always been in conversation with myself, asking questions, getting curious, and moving toward what makes me feel most alive — doing things I’m passionate about. I’ve come to know that what we give attention to grows and expands.  Read more>>

Sylvia Beatriz

A late bloomer in nearly every category, I constantly felt deeply flawed, like I didn’t belong anywhere. I majored in Dramatic Arts at USC, where I realized I didn’t have the passion necessary to sustain a career in acting. While I dabbled and floated my way through retail and corporate jobs in my twenties, frustrated to no end at not having found my “thing”, my childhood dog passed away and changed my life forever.  Read more>>

Gauri Junnarkar

I discovered my purpose through a series of meaningful experiences rooted in my childhood home in the heart of Mumbai. Growing up, I actively assisted my mother in preparing family meals, exposing me to the world of cooking and proper nutrition from a young age.  Read more>>

Ying Chen Shu

How does one find their purpose? That is a burning question that quietly lurks around one’s subconscious. I think about this question during different stages of my life, it changes ever so slightly. However, I think I’ve settled on one. It’s not easy to find one’s purpose.  Read more>>

KeishaMarie Douglas

After leaving the military in 2013, I moved to Florida from Minot, North Dakota. I had a really difficult time re-adjusting back into civilian life. Therefore, I found myself in a loving community of other supportive women in a very popular network marketing company. I formed many friendships with the other ladies however my heart was always thinking about the veteran woman. Read more>>

Luke Messa

Finding my purpose took nearly all my adult life, and is an ever-unfolding process. It didn’t truly begin for me until I encountered God. He pulled me out of a deep pit and rescued me. My life’s purpose had been aimless until that point. For most of my adult life, I grappled with deep depression and suicidal thoughts. Read more>>

Lokelani Oliveros

Philanthropy is at the heart of my purpose. From early childhood I remember having a desire to make an impact through my singing, dancing, modeling, acting, and musical theater. I was also a beauty pageant title holder.  Read more>>

Tanya D.

My purpose in life is to help people in addiction recovery find peace and serenity in their lives. I found my purpose through my own journey to sobriety. I dead inside, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, before I found recovery. I hated myself and everyone around me. Read more>>

Tré Palmer

I think from a young age I always had this feeling. A feeling that told me I was destined to make an impact in the lives of those around me. I discovered I had a passion for music, and with music I was able to touch hearts and change lives. Finding my purpose is an ongoing process though.  Read more>>

Stephen Dummit

Well now, that is the million dollar question, isn’t it? In hindsight I see that purpose was something that had always been there, lying in wait for that perfect mixture of fuel, friction and fire to be set free. In reality, it has been a meandering, often unexpected path to get there. Read more>>

Ashley Garritson

I am a healer and a leader. As a human being, woman, professional, wife, daughter, sister, mentor, and friend – everything I am and do emanates from and embodies those two things. As a professional musician for 40 years and a spiritual coach for 20 years, my soul’s purpose is to create healing space and to share my musical gifts in order to powerfully raise the vibration of the world, uplift consciousness, and, in kind, inspire others to do the same. Read more>>

Nina Shyne

I struggled for most of my life with binge eating and emotional eating, and buying into toxic diet culture’s shame and blame. My mother put me on my first diet at 10 years old (when I was simply starting puberty and was naturally and normally “filling out”) so this was when I first felt like food was my enemy and my body was unacceptable.  Read more>>

Destanee Bonds

My purpose found me. There are themes of life that I feel have followed me throughout my journey, sometimes forgotten by me and revealed again. Writing, sharing my story, empowering others and poetry always float back to me. As time goes on and confidence increases, I started to see that my purpose isn’t simply to be a creator or curator of art through words, but to cultivate a mindset through the words that I share. It’s a simple idea: there is power in being yourself. Read more>>

Justine Brown

I found more recently, an ability to accept my purpose. Like many others, during COVID, when there was no choice but to stay home, I found a way to work inward. Through a WhatsApp women’s group where we embodied the elements daily & talked about our dreams and fears weekly, I was able to explore many hidden parts of myself that helped me accept and own that I am an artist. Read more>>

Lora Qiu

I think my purpose comes together by checking out people who I think are pretty cool and figuring out how that fits with who I am. When I’m trying to nail down my purpose, I’m all about trying stuff out. It’s like, by doing things, I get a handle on what vibes with me, what makes me feel fulfilled, and what I’m not really into. Mixing that self-awareness with my actual experiences and what I hope to achieve gives me a clearer idea of my purpose. Read more>>

Elina Fuhrman

Finding your purpose or calling is a funny thing. You don’t get to choose it; it chooses you. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer and given a grim prognosis, I asked the universe to help me find a way to live. I promised that if I do, I will share what helped me with others. Read more>>

Margaret Miller

I struggled a lot finding purpose in my early twenties, mostly because I had a myriad of interests that did not really seem compatible career-wise. The one common thread however was people and their stories. Whether through art or reading I found I had a deep curiosity about the experience’s of others. Read more>>

Stephanie Aguayo

My journey towards finding purpose has been marked by. numerous pivots within the vast landscape of entertainment. Through diverse experiences in film financing, nonprofit work, radio production, theatrical marketing and even delving into costume design, I gradually accumulated knowledge in various areas.  Read more>>

Mary Jo Howell

I found my purpose by paying attention to my body. My husband and I used to run a small hotel in a ski resort in Idaho. While it seemed on the surface to be the perfect fit for us, we are both creative, like people, and create fun engaging spaces that people want to be in, it was torture for me. Read more>>

Eddie Pimentel

Brazilian guitarist Eddie Pimentel releases firsts tracks from his debut album produced by Tim Carmon. With songs “When the Rain Sustains” and “Don’t Stop, Go Ahead” and ‘’Too Far Gone”, Eddie brings out his blues and soul! Guitarist and singer Eddie Pimentel from Rio de Janeiro Brazil, has recently debuted with the singles “When The Rain Sustains”, ‘’Don’t Stop Go Ahead’’ and ‘’Too Far Gone” from his upcoming album entitled “One Way Home”. Read more>>

Nicolino Di Pietro

Hour purpose is helping private clients, interior designers, architects and developers identify and source the best materials and products for their projects, no matter where you are located. You’ll have access to a wider range of options and find the perfect products to meet your design needs. Read more>>

Amy LaGesse

I have always wanted to help people. I wanted to be a dentist and then a physician, but Chemistry Class 6 and I were not friends. One day, I took a Sociology class, and I knew I had found my tribe. So many options with my master’s degree, I knew I was going to help others. Read more>>

Allison Klucaric Wright

When I started my business I knew that I wanted to use natural ingredients. I have always been passionate about the environment and my family and I were living a low waste lifestyle. I decided I wanted to incorporate low waste into my business from the start. I chose to use reusable glass containers for all of my products. I wanted every bit of my packaging to with be reusable or recyclable. Read more>>

Matthew Blong

It took a quarter-century of personal growth and exploration to identify my superpower. It’s reflected in the name of the company I run today, Charting Transcendence. For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt a strong, romantic passion for experiences that cut across time, place, and feeling. I began traveling independently in my teenage years, exploring and documenting my discoveries. Read more>>

Jazmine Scott

I discovered my passion and purpose in life by doing what I love. They say that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. For me, braiding hair and mentoring others was my calling. I started practicing on mannequin heads at the age of 14 and then began braiding hair for family and friends.  Read more>>

Tracie Bearden

Finding my purpose in life took 37 years, surviving some of the most traumatic experiences possible, and continuing to pay for research-based trauma therapy out of my own pocket. I am in no way grateful for the traumatic experiences that have happened to me. What I am grateful for is the way I chose to handle them and the decisions that I made. Read more>>

Courtney Dimoff

I think we view our life’s purpose as somewhat of a rule in the rule book, or something that’ll in some way tell us it’s our purpose in life. What I think actual purpose though and thus how I found mine, was by simply doing things my heart yearns for me to do. I do things that I couldn’t imagine living without, or I couldn’t imagine living a life where I didn’t do this one particular thing. Read more>>

Omobolaji Ajibare

I stumbled into it I would say. As someone who studied computer science and engineering, I was destined to become a programmer as I majored in computer science. Still, being in a Nigerian State University and going through strikes, In my second year I mentally logged out from anything science or engineering and started playing around with social media. Read more>>

Johnathon Allen

Looking back on my life, since a child, I’ve always been one to entertain others in some form. Whether being the class clown, cracking jokes in the lunchroom, or throwing epic house parties, I’ve always taken joy in making other feel good. Growing up, I watched my parents host great super bowl parties, fight parties, and family reunions. Little did I know that being around all that shaped who I am today.  Read more>>

Kristin and Corey Knighton

We found our purpose in 2019. My boyfriend at the time and I lost our jobs, our car, our apartment and had to move in with his mom with a 3 year old and a 6 month old. We were all sharing one room with nothing to call our own I was lost and depressed but sucking it all up. Read more>>

Terry McLellan

I found my purpose in life and my career after having a challenging upbringing. I am a daughter of an Airforce Veteran and grew up moving every 2-4yrs. This life had me growing up in England, Germany, Phillipines and America. As a child there was abuse. As I became a teen and young adult I had to strive to not let actions that happened to me define me. Read more>>

Tessa Barlin

I grew up in nature. I spent so much of my childhood either in the bush or in the mountains or by the ocean. And if I wasn’t in nature, I would spend my time watching nature documentaries on TV. It was basically my dream to be Steve Irwin. He inspired so many people around the world and I wanted to be just like him. Read more>>

Laura Boatman

My purpose came to me during lockdown. One of the blessings of suddenly having SO much time on my hands was really being able to slow down, check in with myself and spend ample time doing the things that I love. I realised that whilst living in the crazy whirlwind of modern society, I had pushed my passions down for years, thinking of them as silly hobbies, or things that didn’t really matter, or weren’t of any importance.  Read more>>

Reza Amidi

Interesting question… because it took me a long time to figure it out. Even though I had a strong interest in cinema and entertainment technology as a kid, I didn’t start to pursue a career in film until I was in grad school at USC. And when I started working in visual effects and editorial department, my goal was always to become a filmmaker – but besides trying to tell a good story, I didn’t really know how I was going to contribute to the industry. Read more>>

Stella Cheng

I was a frontline healthcare worker for almost 7 years and have seen so much in my time. There was a lot of mental exhaustion after shifts. The early pandemic was one of our hardest times. Everyone was feeling down. Everything felt like it was on pause. During that time – I needed an outlet. I wanted an outlet. Read more>>

Antoinette Hines

I am a mother of six girls and I did not want them to experience the traumas I had endured over my lifetime. After a two hour conversation with five of my daughters on Christmas Eve a few years ago and hearing their hearts, I knew it was time to release my traumas in a way that they could see me transparently and understand me better.  Read more>>

Arturo De Larrea

Finding your purpose in life is one of the greatest blessing we can have. . I thought I knew what was my purpose not long time ago, thought I was sure what I wanted to do for the rest of my life but I didn’t count that sometimes life has other plans for ourselves. My passion has always been traveling, and I got the opportunity to travel for more than five years nonstop and when I thought I knew everything about me, life changed and had different plans for me.  Read more>>

Sarah Watkins

My purpose began with my son’s Autism diagnosis back in 2018, as a mother you automatically turn to your instincts and do whatever you can to make sure your child leads a fulfilled life. As a support needs mother, a child’s happiness is still an important goal but there is so much more to your future and the future of your child. There is much more patience, love, and understanding that comes with neurodiversity. Read more>>

Analeia Bella Madden

Aw! Wow I like this question. I have known my purpose of creating art ever since I could remember. My mom was an oil painter and my dad is an electronic music producer and they encapsulated me in that world. From towering canvases of angelic women and downtempo electronica to mud pies, peacocks and fairies, the foundation was set. It has never felt like I was ever meant to do anything else. Read more>>

Emily Kobayashi Woods

The hardships that I have gone through let me find my purpose. I grew up in a sheltered home where sex, alcohol, drugs, and politics were not talked about. I went to a conservative private K-8 school where they told us that women could not be pastors, and to never deny our faith even if a gun were put to our head and asked if we were Christian.  Read more>>

Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito

Most of my experiences with “finding purpose” have been chaotic and competitive, a constant juggle between versions of me that all have “purpose’ but different ones. In my day-to-day, I juggle the roles of mom, wife, daughter, sister, judge, publisher, bookbinder, storyteller, storykeeper, writer, teacher, mentor, and community-builder. I bet it sounds like the rows of a career bingo game. Read more>>

Janky Dood

I think my purpose was found through peeling back my “onion layers” and tuning into my intuition. Drawing is something I’ve naturally done since I can remember. In second grade, I started to draw a lot of sassy girl characters. I would choose different hair styles and outfits for them to wear. Our school library had a little section of “self-published” stories that students could write and illustrate to be checked out. Read more>>

Bridget Brown

My journey to finding my purpose has been an ongoing evolution of profound self-exploration. It has been guided by following my heart and understanding what it means to be in alignment with my destiny. It wasn’t a straightforward path and it hasn’t been comfortable; rather, it unfolded organically through various life experiences and moments of introspection. Read more>>

Natassia Gyger

I saw this quote recently that said “If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” – Bishop T.D. Jakes. This truly speaks to me and has so much meaning in what I do and how I found this journey in my life. Growing up I had a dream that I wanted to help people. It has always been in my soul to bring people joy, happiness and healing and I truly believe being a photographer is doing just that. Read more>>

Sava Ramirez

I found my purpose very randomly. It was 12 years ago when my daughter was born. I had an obsession with you tube and the “what’s in my diaper bag videos. I would find them so useful and I decided to start my own channel . I was creating content on what I carried in my diaper bag and how I kept my bag organize and ready for my baby.  Read more>>

Danielle and Alyssa Marrero

Our purpose for starting our business in Pelham, our hometown, stems from our deep connection to the community and the support we’ve received from them. We aim to extend that love and support to children of all ages by providing a nurturing environment where they can thrive and grow.  Read more>>