Below you’ll find the stories and lessons of some of the best and brightest entrepreneurs, artists and creatives in the community and how they found their purpose.
Jamie Dykstra
I basically found my purpose through trial and error. It’s been a long and winding road. When I went to college, I majored in accountancy. I knew that if I could learn accounting, I could have so much flexibility with what I wanted to do in the business world. Read More>>
Jordan Goodman
I was fortunate enough to develop a deep and intimate relationship with myself very early on. As a kid, I recognized how naturally I identified with the impressions music, creativity, and storytelling made on myself and others—these weren’t and didn’t simply feel like hobbies, they were my lifelines. Read More>>
Kamila Batyrova
How We Found Our Purpose A few years ago, our lives were turned completely upside down. We had set out to travel, but unexpectedly found a place that felt like home. The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything — life slowed down, plans shifted, and suddenly we had something we’d never truly had before: time. Read More>>
Maggie Zheng
I don’t think purpose arrives all at once — it’s something you uncover through small discoveries and the experiences you put yourself in. At every stage of my life, my sense of purpose has shifted because I was out there doing things. At 18, as a pre-med student, I believed my purpose was to become a reconstructive surgeon. Read More>>
Sasha Bellucci
My path in life has always pointed me in the direction of helping people. As a young child I would have people sharing their secrets with me. Read More>>
Victor Selin
I did not wake up one morning with a clear sense of purpose. For a long time my life looked like two parallel tracks that refused to cross. In the daytime I was a materials scientist in labs and clean rooms, measuring how plastics breathe and how molecules move. Read More>>
Anthony Drews
How do I find my purpose? My name is Tony Drews, and I come from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. I find my purpose in the place my ancestors left for me, in our language, our culture, and the identities that make our people who we are. I didn’t arrive at this purpose all at once. Read More>>
Taylor Shiff
My purpose as an entrepreneur comes directly from my husband and children. They’ve been my greatest source of motivation and support. Knowing that I’m building something that not only reflects my passion but also creates a better future for my family has driven every decision I make. Read More>>
Therese Mbaye
Finding my purpose has been a journey filled with twists and turns, much like life itself. Like many, I followed the conventional path—getting an education, marrying, and raising a family. However, I never took the time to pause and truly reflect on what my purpose was. Read More>>
Susan Michel
I found my true purpose when I discovered A Course in Miracles. Through its teachings, I realized that my purpose isn’t something outside of me that I need to chase–it’s an inner alignment with peace, love, joy, and happiness. ACIM teaches that it cannot define the meaning of love, because that is beyond what can be taught. Love is who and what we are. Read More>>
Mikal Davila & Sharima Brathwaite N/A
Starting as two halves before coming together, one of us first discovered their purpose through photography, capturing anything they found beautiful, from people and places to small, fleeting details. That love grew into a desire to document meaningful moments for remembrance, including taking portraits of themselves. Read More>>
Nako Adodoadji
Design. Character. Calling. These three things can help inform purpose and vision. Design addresses your unique personality and innate talents and abilities. Character – your values, worldviews, philosophies, convictions – is connected to who you are becoming and the choices you make about who you are. Read More>>
Teri & Patrick Caserta
Patrick and I found our purpose the moment we realized that Brandon’s story could save the lives of others. The Brandon Act, a military law that gives active-duty service members the right to ask for and receive the help they need, became the foundation of that purpose. Read More>>
Kaio Cesar Oliveira
My name is Kaio Cesar, I’m a 28-year-old Brazilian-raised photographer currently based in Los Angeles. It’s funny to say now, but photography was never something I planned to pursue as a career growing up. I liked images in general, but never thought of it as my path. I grew up in Vitória, Espírito Santo, and moved to the U.S. Read More>>
Christina Spence
I did not find my purpose in art at once. I felt a bit lost; I didn’t know my path. I always knew my route was art. Instead, it was a slow unfolding — a series of quiet realizations, small victories, and deeply human connections that led me to where I am now. Art was always the place where I felt most like myself. Read More>>
Angeliese Wisdom
I didn’t go looking for purpose, I kind of stumbled into it. There was even a short season where I stopped dreaming all together because it felt pointless to hope for something different. As a teen stepping into adulthood, I had a whole plan for my life. I knew where I was gonna go, what I was gonna study, and where I’d be by 26. Read More>>
Seoryung Park
Finding my purpose has definitely been a long journey. After I graduated with my undergraduate degree—a goal I had dreamed of since I was a kid—I actually felt a little lost. I always knew I wanted to do something creative, but it took me some time to figure out what that really meant for me. Read More>>
Megan Cavato
The path to my purpose was unexpected, painful, and ultimately very rewarding. My experience through infertility and multiple pregnancy losses over the course of our three year journey reshaped my perception of myself as a person and solidified my focus as a mental health therapist. Read More>>
Josh Bryant
Now this is a good one. To be honest, my life has always been shaped by music in one way or another. I started playing the drums when I was three and would often mess around with other instruments like the piano just for fun. Read More>>
Corissa Saint Laurent
I found my purpose on the side of a mountain on the Coromandel Peninsula in the north island of New Zealand. After my tumultuous teens, I had left the United States for a year to study abroad and clear my head. I didn’t know what awaited me but I was desperate to make a change in my life. Read More>>
Jasmine Lavette Barton
When I think about my purpose and how I found it the first thing that comes to mind is Matthew 22:14 “Many are called but few are chosen”. I have always been a seeker for enlightenment, and a follower of righteousness. Innately I was born with a compassion for all, an open heart and an unconditional lover. Read More>>
Betsy McKenzie
Inspired by my two children, The Youngsters was dreampt up during my maternity leave with our second child. I wanted clothing that wasn’t just cute but also comfortable and durable – because let’s face it, kids are adorable, but they’re also messy, playful, and constantly on the move! Read More>>
Jordan Costen
I discovered my purpose through intentionality and thoughtful reflection—long before I even realized what was happening. In college, I noticed a flyer seeking volunteer tutors for a local high school. I signed up without hesitation, unaware that this experience would become the foundation of my calling. I spent the entire school year tutoring, and by the end, I was hooked. Read More>>
Athena Lynch
I got my first job as an arts and crafts teacher at the Boys & Girls Club in Newark when I was twenty, and I loved it. That was the moment I knew I wanted to teach. Read More>>
Amanda Zoerner
Even as a little girl, I knew I wanted to be an ‘animal doctor’. At the time, I didn’t really know what that looked like apart from giving cats and dogs TLC. While tender loving care is a fundamental part of my day, that little girl could never have dreamed of what my life turned out to be. Read More>>
Julianna Manske
My first professional love was oncology nursing. My preceptor, Julie, on the unit instilled the value of making sure our patients were “tucked and fluffed” before starting any of our medical tasks. Eventually I moved into a clinical nurse educator role, and found that Julie’s advice was not only applicable to our patients, but new staff. Read More>>
Maggie Kerrigan
Though I have always loved drawing, painting and generally making things, art making had not become a compulsion until around 2010. My children were in full-day school and I was able to spend time again in classes and with my brushes. Watercolor is what I had learned, and I was determined not to abandon it for another medium until I had ‘mastered’ it. Read More>>
Spencer A. Murray
My life has been a manifestation of an unfolding purpose. I often think that my purpose found me, In order for my purpose to be realized, I first had to find my Self. Many years ago, as I began to ask myself the hard questions, the answers inspired me to assist others, particularly boys and men, to find themselves, as well. Read More>>
Karlee Warthen
I seem to be in a long-term relationship with my purpose, as it comes and goes, and reintroduces itself to me all of the time. I first felt purpose on my thirteen year old bedroom floor at 2:00 A.M, when I stumbled upon Button Poetry’s YouTube channel. I was going through an emotional time, and felt inspired by the use of poetry as an outlet. Read More>>
Roger Lee
I found my purpose through prayer, soul searching, and self-awareness. I define my purpose as the things that God put me on earth to do. I found my purpose by praying to God and asking Him what I was created to do, who I was created to be, and who I was created to serve. Read More>>
Nancy Watson
I have been a dedicated yoga practitioner since early in the year 2000, and yoga continues to play huge role in finding and honing my purpose. When my 26-year-old kiddo died in January 2019, the ONLY thing that made me feel a tiny bit less awful was continuing to come to my yoga mat. Read More>>
Joe Suarez
I was creating stories from as long ago as I could remember. I was one of those kids who could never sit still, always fidgeting, always squirming out of my seat. My mom, being the insightful parent she is, knew exactly how to keep me in my seat. Read More>>
Priscilla Horta
Long before I ran tours as a business, I have always been drawn to the natural world. That curiosity took me across continents to observe wildlife and explore ecosystems most people only read about. But the more I traveled, the more I understood something essential: there is no wildlife conservation without first caring about the people. Read More>>
Mansi Bhatia
My purpose became clear the moment I realised that my curiosity was bigger than any one industry or title. I have always moved between different worlds: journalism and corporate life, culture and strategy, storytelling and systems thinking. Instead of choosing one path, I built a career that allowed me to draw from all of them. Read More>>
Joseph Citro
I had been writing a series of Vermont-based novels, thrillers, derived from legitimate local history and folklore. ‘Shadow Child,’ ‘The Gore,’ ‘Lake Monsters,’. ‘Guardian Angels,’ and so on. While researching them and while interacting with audiences at readings, I realized there was far more oddball and mysterious local history and folklore than I would ever be able to adapt into fiction. Read More>>
Annette Czech Kopp
Actually, I didn’t realize that the Miso Mice had chosen me to chronicle their adventures until recently. ”Coincidence – something happened – maybe small, maybe big, or even a dream, but it made you take notice. It was significant to you and held a feeling of timelessness. Read More>>
Nia Bailey
To be quite honest I’m still finding it, but I’m sure that my purpose is to make people feel seen and heard, loved and valued, appreciated and respected and most importantly, introduce them to Jesus Christ. Our journey on earth is short. We are all passing through. My goal and purpose is for people to spend eternity in heaven. Read More>>
Jada Clark
I believe finding purpose is an endless journey in this thing called life. Despite all the risks I’ve taken so far to push myself out of my comfort zone; all for opportunities for success, building courage, lessons, and self discovery I’m still finding my purpose. Read More>>
Christopher Santoro
I think I knew my purpose pretty early on in my high school years, and even at that point, I always knew I wanted to be in a creative field. I was always a creative kid growing up. I drew a lot, loved watching anime and other cartoons, and loved playing video games. Read More>>
Taniyah WiseMan
I Found My Purpose After Speaking With My Boyfriend For Multiple Things On What I Wanted To Do And Sat Me A Told Me And Told Me Like You Love Doing This , Do What You Love Read More>>
