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.

Zhengyu Zhang

I believe it’s all about focusing on the things I’m truly passionate about and genuinely care for. By immersing myself in what excites and motivates me, I’ve been able to find direction and purpose over time. Read more>>

Louise Leonard

The journey to finding one’s purpose is often shaped by life’s experiences, challenges, and unexpected turns. For me, the revelation of my first purpose came in the midst of profound personal tragedy and unwavering love.

When my son tragically passed away in 2003 at the age of a year and a half, after he strangled on the umbilical cord during birth, the lack of oxygen to his brain resulted in cerebral palsy. His struggles with cerebral palsy, inability to walk or talk, lack of a gag reflex, and reliance on tube feeding for nourishment marked a profound chapter in my life. Read More>>

My passion fuels my purpose. I’ve always dreamed of being a wedding planner because I genuinely love celebrating moments, both big and small, and connecting with people. Wedding design is a core part of who I am, and it’s an incredible honour to work closely with each couple, crafting something intentional and personal for their special day. Read more>>

Tiffany Tan

Before I decided to do music, I worked as a bank teller and in various other office clerk jobs. Although those jobs could guarantee a stable lifestyle, I didn’t enjoy them and couldn’t find my value there. At that time, I asked myself: What’s my true purpose? Where do I want to see myself in 5 or 10 years? Read more>>

Danielle Reddick

Unfortunately, I found my purpose through the loss of my pregnancy in 2016. On November 3, 2016, I experienced a miscarriage. With this being my first pregnancy I was unsure of what to expect, but a loss was the least outcome in my mind. However, through my tragic loss I created a nonprofit organization called, Tiny Hearts Remembered, Inc. I did not receive the proper support or care while navigating through my loss. The mission, vision, values, and programs were developed through a needs assessment, research, and lack of resources for those impacted by pregnancy and infant loss. Read more>>

Ainsley Toal

For much of my young adult life, I was clear about what I didn’t want to do, but I struggled to find a career that felt right for me. The one constant was my love for people and my passion for creating experiences they would remember. That’s why I was drawn to working as a server and bartender from the age of 15—I loved the energy of the job and the connection it allowed me to have with others. Read more>>

Nina Rodriguez

I found my purpose in the aftermath of the most painful day of my life—the day my only sibling, Yosef, died unexpectedly. It was a loss that changed everything I thought I knew about life, purpose, and identity. On September 10, 2019, we celebrated Yosef’s 32nd birthday. The very next day, we received the devastating call that he had passed. He didn’t even get to experience a full 24 hours as a 32-year-old, and in that blink of time, our lives transformed from joyful celebration to the painful reality of choosing his casket. Read more>>

Brett Rein

I love this question because it is something I help a lot of my clients with. I believe we all have a purpose, or several, and we need to be actively working towards our purpose(s) to feel happy and fulfilled. There is an intersection with my purpose between professional and personal. During my first master’s program, I read a book called The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. He had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer at 47 years old. As a Carnegie Mellon professor, it was customary to give a last lecture prior to leaving one’s position. Read more>>

David Zolo

I believe I found my life’s purpose through art, after more than 11 years of fully dedicating myself to it. As an artist, I’m able to express my emotions and share my experiences while representing Colombia in a positive light. Through my work, I hope to offer a fresh perspective and shift away from the negative narratives often tied to our past. Read more>>

Suare

I needed a different and genuine method to express. I really like the fact that SUARE is genuinely me. My music and my performances are consequences of my life experiences. We all need a reason to get off the bed and start our days. For me, it’s my music, besides those who I love, of course. Music just keeps me sane and alive, allowing me to deal with a world that never stop and changes every day. Read more>>

Harry Friio

Ever since I can remember, music has been my only real true love that has gotten me through the worst and lead to the best of times, and will continue to create them. I did band, chorus and theater in elementary and middle school, and would have in high school if they had it at the four different ones I attended. I always knew that I would have a career founded in music, the path was and is never clear though. As I’ve been exposed to and learned more about the entertainment world, specifically music, I realized that the market and space for creating real, authentic, heartfelt music of all genres, especially coming from a skinny white red head is not the most accepted in the industry.  Read more>>

Adam Peter

We’ve been a band since we were 14 years old in high school and it has always been of utmost importance to us. So I think our purpose just sort of presented itself in that way. Read more>>

Alynn Martin

I knew I wanted to be a chef owner at a young age, from the countless food experiments to playing with my toy kitchen, the chef life was for me! I remember in Fourth grade we were asked to do a PowerPoint on what job we’d like to have in the future and my presentation was on the presumption I would end up a coffee shop/ bakery owner. Well here I am at 26, working farmers markets and events selling my home baked treats. Close enough! Eventually my husband and I will settle down and open a coffee shop or B and B style business. Read more>>

Diana Lundin

Finding my purpose was a journey deep within, triggered by an inspiring professional conference followed by really looking at what I want at the age I was when I began seeking, which was at 64. I wrote down in my journal not so much the things I wanted to accomplish as much as who I wanted to be and do in the later chapters of my life. And for me, it came down to combining my interests in photography, journalism, writing, animals and climate change. Most importantly, to do these works within what interested me in the goal of service. And that led me into a very interesting direction, one I’m exploring today. Read more>>

Meaghan Dunham

For years, I struggled with crippling self-doubt in my professional life. I knew I wanted more from my career (I was a public school teacher at the time), but I had no idea what it looked like or where to start. I thought that, because my degree was in public school education, that’s all I could ever do. Read more>>

Annie Yorty

As a young woman, I thought my purpose would be found through a career, so I worked full time, put myself through college, and became an accountant. I poured myself into my career and felt very confident in my ability to handle life. Read more>>

Charity Jones

Each of us arrives in this world with mental and emotional preset wiring that makes us completely unique. We are born into unique family dynamics that radically shape our presets. These two things: Nature and Nurture, create the base foundation of who, and how, we will become. In my case, I was born -neurodivergent, hyper creative, and intuitive – into a large, religious, creatively rich, and financially poor family. We were all musicians and artists – all ten of us. There were too many children for my parents to really focus on any of us very much. Read more>>

Cheryl Meyer

How I found my purpose was by spending time alone with God. In those moments, God made me realize that I cannot walk in my purpose alone. God has guided me by allowing life to make me surrender to him and let God take control. Read more>>

Karissa Burkee

I always knew I wanted a career in the beauty industry, so I went to a Paul Mitchell cosmetology school right out of high school. After working in a salon for a while, I fell in love with doing wedding hair and having the privilege of styling brides on their big day. I saw the need for brides and their bridal parties to have the luxury of convenience and onsite glam, so they could relax and enjoy their day in the location of their choosing, without the stress of traveling to a salon to have their hair done. I also desired the flexibility of creating my own schedule with motherhood and owning a home. Read more>>

Dj Lancia

As a DJ and content creator, my purpose is to inspire others by turning creative ideas into reality. Driven by a strong mindset and a commitment to never give up, I strive to give back to my community through my music and content, helping others find their own inspiration and encouraging them to pursue their dreams. Read more>>

Sobrina Taylor

I found my purpose by asking the One who created me–the true and living, Almighty GOD! My pastors from Gary, Indiana have always shown us through the Word of GOD that purpose was His idea. Jeremiah 29:11 is GOD’s voice, telling us, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. To prosper you, not harm you. To give you hope and a future.” So, one day, I inquired of the Lord regarding my purpose, and clearly heard Him tell me that I would be positioned to promote artists. There are specifics involved regarding my involvement with record labels, but I want to delay sharing what they are for now. Read more>>

Crystal Buckley

After i came out of an abusive marriage, broken and distraught, i didnt know where to turn or what to do, i had experienced abuse of all sorts, so i had refrained from speaking about it for years.
Alot of persons to date still dont know my story, or has just heard of it since i wrote the book, or they see me on platforms. Read more>>

Mary K. Savarese

My purpose found me! I am now a traditionally published fiction Author but it took a journey, a ten year journey to achieve my dream. My genre, fantasy adventure novels, intertwined with romance have garnered numerous awards and achieved best-selling status but not overnight. Read more>>

Adriana Foster

Finding my purpose as an occupational therapist wasn’t a straightforward journey; it was a process of discovery that took time, reflection, and experience. At first, the field felt vast, almost overwhelming. As a recent graduate, I was bombarded with choices—pediatrics, geriatrics, hospitals, outpatient settings, home health, and even the allure of traveling for therapy assignments. The possibilities seemed endless, and it was difficult to know where I truly fit. Read more>>

Rbiii

Here is the story about the first time I learned what my gift was for. It was 2AM on a random week day. I was sleeping good when suddenly–*Phone Rings* “Hel– Whoa Whoa. Slow down. Who is in the hosp–…..Oh man, really? I’m so sorry to hear that brother. Which one: Grady? Aight man. Here I come.” I woke my mom and told her where I was heading over to the hospital because my best friend’s great-grandmother was preparing to take her last breath. I didn’t know her personally nor had I yet faced grief myself ,but I wanted to be there for my brother from another mother.  Read more>>

Lara Sleiman

It took me a while to define my purpose. For years, I had an extremely vague idea: art. “What exactly?” you’d ask. I had no idea… I saw a career counselor who suggested auctioneer when I was 16. It sounded great, structured, and secure. But I had to start with Law. As a public profession in France, it required studying art and law. My parents were worried: as a Lebanese woman who grew up in Senegal without a guarantee of where I would live in the future, what if I moved to a country where auctioneers do not exist…Where the field is not developed enough… We agreed that I would first get my master’s in law and then specialize in art.  Read more>>

Analia Melina Traituros

I met Cristian on December 09,2007, at a NIght Club in Las Canitas , in Buenos Aires, Argentina. he was celebrating his birthday with his friends and sibilings an I was with with 2 clients from my Travel Agency after take them to the Polo Final.
We start talkin and deancing and Cristian asked me do you like to play with fire ?
We keep dating like a summer love. sice I had my mother fighting a Pancreas Cancer and she had all my attention to support her all the way. Read more>>

Evelyn Shaw Corley

I spent years feeling like a misfit in the traditional education system. I believed that the problem was me, that I wasn’t trying hard enough or that I didn’t fit in. But as I moved from school to school, the same pattern emerged: a lack of support for students and teachers alike. Read more>>

Dr. Morgan Riggins, Pt, Dpt

I come from a long line of educators–my grandma on my dad’s side, my grandma on my mom’s side, my step-grandma on my dad’s side, my mom, and my aunt. My mom always said that I would end up a teacher, too. Although I tutored my peers in highschool and worked as a writing tutor in college, I never pursued a career in teaching. Or so I thought… Read more>>

Yuchen Cui

My goal is simple—to become an illustrator, a dream that stems from my childhood passion for drawing. Since I was young, I have always been immersed in my own world of imagination, using a brush to express emotions and stories that I couldn’t put into words. In conversations, I often feel that words fail me, and language doesn’t seem to fully capture my feelings. But drawing has given me a way to release my inner emotions. Read more>>

Ariana Leblanc

It wasn’t until my late 20s that I discovered my purpose: helping others navigate the struggles I once faced. Today, I work as a mental health counselor and sports performance coach for gymnasts. As a teenager, I battled mental health challenges, including an eating disorder and anxiety, which took a toll on my gymnastics. I spent more time in the gym crying than enjoying the sport, often paralyzed by fear and the belief that I wasn’t good enough. Read more>>

Arman Hodasefa

I believe that as human beings, we carry valuable stories—stories that make us laugh, cry, think, and reflect. Stories that, if left untold, will remain unheard. The journey that pushed me to become a filmmaker has been quite a long one! Ever since I was a kid, my greatest joy came from watching movies. I would watch films with my parents and lose myself in the world unfolding on the screen, imagining what it would be like to step into the character’s shoes. Read more>>

Bhavana Chawla

I am an intuitive healer. With my natural born gifts of intuition and energy healing, I help people lawaken to their light”. How I found my purpose: I had intuitive senses from a young age. When I got to my mid 30s, I recall that time in my life, I felt lost and not connected to who I was and what my purpose in life was. So, I started spending time in silence. One wknd in silence while I was meditating, I reached my palms to God and asked to receive. I didn’t know what I was asking exactly. I saw and felt light in my minds eye and I also asked for wisdom and to be guided about my purpose. Not too long after, my right hand became hot. Read more>>

Chloe Dotson

I found my purpose through the difficult moments of being a military spouse. The lifestyle is not meant for the weak. The days can feel draining, lonely, and long. I love my husband with everything inside of me, but I chose to give up my old life to start this amazing new journey with him. I would not change my decision to stand by his side nor do I regret choosing the military lifestyle. But, it took what felt like a long time for me to realize that I was not doing anything for myself. I was living everyday through him and our beautiful marriage, and when I really reflected on myself I realized I did not do things for ME.  Read more>>

Paul Duerr

I suppose I was born with it. My affinity for history is the root of all I am. It led to my interest in writing, and it led to my interest in politics, both of which I am building as careers. I am currently a sophomore at Rutgers University with seven novellas published, immense political campaign experience, and a passion for history. I chose to double major in history and political science in order to pursue my purpose: history. I intend to share the lessons of history through writing, and to apply the lessons of history, through politics. Read more>>

Rafael Miranda

Since I was young, my family has always been my purpose. The one thing I dreamed of was making sure that my mother and my grandparents were well taken care of. Their sacrifices shaped who I am today, and I’m driven by the desire to give back to them in any way I can. Whether it’s through my work or personal growth, everything I do is to ensure their well-being and honor their efforts. Read more>>

Quazar Bloem

I’ve always had an affinity to be an artist, if a person asked me (it happens quite often) when I started to draw I would always respond by gesturing at a short height, the answer being since I was little. Throughout primary school it was dressing up as a cartoonist for work day, at high-school it was taking my first art class and cultivating my skills with wonderful teachers, scoring excellent marks. However the year I graduated I did not have the opportunity to go to an art college rather taking a tertiary education in something I was not happy with. Read more>>

Yaiza Ahsen Deserio

I’ve been drawing since I was a child, my friends, teachers and family always told me how beautiful my drawings were. But as I get older life had other plans for me and I ended working in a totally different field. But sometimes I still drew and posted my sketches and paintings online and random people told me the same: my paintings were beautiful and they really liked it. Read more>>

Terry Grahl

I believe we ALL have a purpose in life. Whether it’s being a stay-at-home mom, a painter, a baker, or a crafter. All of us were born with GOD given talents. No need to search or find. For me, I discovered that what gave me so much joy, was my purpose. My four children being the first, and then expressing my heart through action and how you make people feel. This all evolved organically and what was always in my heart. Read more>>

Daniel Sky

My purpose is to connect past musical traditions to possible future soundscapes, to captivate all audiences around the globe. I call this Modern Bop (M.B.). Modern Bop is rooted in Bebop’s Jazz tradition and modern melodic chromatic approach techniques. M.B. keeps Bebop’s spirit of innovation, technical complexity, community, melody, and rhythm, alive with a glance at the music of today, connecting time, culture, and history into a unique sound experience. Read more>>

Trevion Houston

Finding our purpose wasn’t easy for either one of us! However once Janay Cash and I had the conversation about Swaveway Playaz and how we wanted to change the culture of youth sports by teaching them business, name, image and likeness it was an easy decision to step out and create the path! Read more>>

Olabimpe Abaniwonda

I discovered my purpose through my faith in Jesus Christ. This revelation helped me understand that, as a child of God, I’ve always been destined for greater things. My purpose is to be fruitful and multiply in every aspect of life, fulfilling the potential God has given me. Read more>>

Marissa Chavez

This can be a challenging question to answer if you haven’t already found your path in life. Mine certainly took some turns and exploration along the way. An important aspect is to get to know yourself, needs, wants, what you are good at as well as what you would like or need to improve. I’ve learn that all of this does not come with a simple “there ya go” attitude. It’s something that must be fine tuned and ever growing. Read more>>