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.
Jessica Neilas
I knewn I would be an interior designer for as long as I can remember. What started with a childhood dollhouse quickly became obsession—and the more I learned about design history and how to construct with different materials the further down the rabbit hole I ventured. Read More>>
Lisa Fyfe
I found my purpose at a time when I felt the most like a failure. I didn’t find it all at once; it revealed itself slowly, during a season of life when I felt a bit untethered. It was during Covid, when I was homeschooling my son. Read More>>
Maria I Limardo PhD
I did not “find” your purpose in a single moment; my purpose emerged as the only honest way to make sense of being a hypersensitive, multisensorial human who could feel and read what others could not, and to turn that into service instead of suffering. Read More>>
Kyon Ball
I found my purpose by paying attention to what consistently called me back. No matter how much I explored, music was always at the center. It was where I felt most aligned, most myself, and most fulfilled. What started as a simple moment in church eventually revealed itself as my calling—one built on rhythm, growth, and the desire to connect with others through sound. Read More>>
Erin Myers
Years ago I danced with the Radio City Rockettes and during my first season became very injured. The manager told me I needed to do Pilates, or I wouldn’t be returning for a second season. I fell in love with Pilates, fixed my injuries, and a year later opened my first Pilates studio. Read More>>
Hunter Wayne
My father Ritchie Marty attempted to pull someone out of a car involved in an accident caused by a drunk driver. It blew up and they didn’t make it. The model of car in question was supposed to be recalled, and my family sued the manufacturer. On one hand, I never had one-singular father figure like the average person. Read More>>
Ke Royal
This is a very powerful question because purpose by definition means, the reason for which something is done, created or exists. To me, purpose is a journey that is rooted in intention and knowing your why. My why became clearer as I got older, it revealed itself through three things, my personality, my passion and my connection with others. Read More>>
Sarah Free
I think I found my purpose during the moments I felt most lost. Music gave me a place to put the feelings I didn’t know how to explain yet. I think my purpose is to be honest, raw, and to make other people feel a little less alone. Read More>>
Brittany Gowler
For a long time, I thought my purpose was something I would magically discover. I believed there would be a single moment like a lightning bolt or a clear calling that would suddenly make everything make sense. What I have learned instead is that purpose is something you build, quietly and steadily, through the seasons that shape you. My story starts with loss. Read More>>
Alanna Roneice
I found my purpose by asking God and keeping him first. I’m a firm believer that God always has a plan for everyone and everything is for a reason. Before, I started filmmaking, I thought I was going to become a physician. I spent so many years in undergrad going to classes that I hated. Read More>>
Christin Bratton
I could say the desire to nurture ecosystems was always within me but passions are usually developed over time. My passion was discovered when I was just a kid in 1st grade. I was swinging off swings, jumping from anything I could, playing tetherball, making friends with unlikely other kids, and running around like I had the zoomies during freeze tag. Read More>>
Reginald Green
I believe my purpose found me /choose me through creating. Art became my medicine — it helped me quiet the noise, heal from trauma, and block out negativity. Because I know what it’s like to be overlooked and undervalued after serving in the military dealing with pains and traumas. I now use my work to help others find their voice. Read More>>
Hannah Pate
I think people would be shocked by how many journals I’ve had over the years, but I didn’t really find my purpose until I started doing structured self-reflection. It’s no surprise that I now build a lunar guided self-reflection app, especially when you consider that the moon and journaling are what brought me the most clarity. Read More>>
Carla Gilmore
It all started in July 2015. I was on a family vacation in Fort Myers, Florida and it was the last day on the trip before heading home. After dinner, my family and I shopped for souvenirs as well as walked along the pier. At the pier, there was a view of the gulf which I thought was a pretty sight. Read More>>
Ashleigh Garrod
I found my purpose as a mental performance coach because I’ve lived what so many athletes are going through. I was an athlete myself, a D1 soccer player and team captain, and sport gave me a lot: discipline, resilience, and focus. What I didn’t realize at the time was how much those mental skills would carry over into the rest of my life. Read More>>
Katerin Mullan
My optimism comes from choosing to move forward even during the hardest moments of my life. When I moved to California in January 2025, I was far from my family, in a new country, and later faced one of the most painful losses imaginable. For a while, I felt very alone and disconnected from myself. Read More>>
Priyanka Sethi
This one is really personal. I didn’t wake up one day knowing my purpose. It stemmed from a journey of pain and self sabotage to self discovery through healing old emotional patterns and traumas. I spent years chasing externally because we are taught at an early age that ‘Ignorance is bliss’. Well is it? Read More>>
Andy McGuire
How did you find your purpose? Purpose is an interesting thing. I went to college for theatre, and trained primarily in directing and performing in live theatre. I really thought that I was going to perform in big venues or try to make my way as a stage director in those same venues. Read More>>
Joyce Caraway
I found my purpose through a combination of lived experience and listening closely to what kept pulling at me. Growing up, I learned early how much environment, access, and encouragement can shape a child’s confidence and future. Education became a safe place for me, and literacy became a way to understand the world and find my voice. Read More>>
Erica Pepper
I rediscovered my purpose in art after a 15-year break, during which I lost confidence in my abilities. Four years ago, my husband encouraged me to start creating again, and it marked the beginning of a fulfilling new chapter in my life. Read More>>
Michelle Donald
My work is deeply rooted in family and tradition. I draw inspiration from my grandparents and my mother, who instilled in me the value of creativity, hard work, and craftsmanship from an early age. Watching them create, build, and express themselves taught me that art is not just a skill, but a form of storytelling, pride, and legacy. Read More>>
Jane Clark
There are many people for whom a sense of purpose makes itself known early in life—or perhaps is made known through their parents’ expectations. My parents were both academics and expected me to excel in school, and my desire to meet those expectations pushed me to do well. But they also believed their job was to raise a well-rounded human being. Read More>>
Lizzy Booth
Ever since I was a kid, I knew that I would be an actor. I was fortunate to grow up in a household that celebrated education and creativity as core aspects of development. I grew up exposed to Ancient Greek and Roman texts, Medieval literature, and, especially to the works of Shakespeare. Read More>>
FRAN
I think I was almost thrown into my purpose. At the time, I didn’t recognize it as such. It actually felt like everything in my life was falling apart. I always liked singing, or maybe more accurately, I liked the idea of being able to sing. Read More>>
