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.
Melanie Sue Bowles
Many years ago, I stumbled upon this quote, or a similar version of it: “The Purpose of Life is to Live a Life of Purpose.” From Robert Byrne, I believe. This aligned perfectly with the way I was raised. My dad was not very tolerant of hearing, “I can’t do it.” Or “I’m not good enough.” He used to say, “This isn’t about you. Take the focus off yourself. Read more>>
Brian Zwerner
After spending the last five years as a venture capital investor in the Atlanta market, it was clear to me that diverse founders in our city needed support getting their companies out of the starting blocks. Most of these founders did not go to the traditional startup pipeline schools like Stanford or Harvard, and most of them did not work at big tech giants like Google or Apple. These founders did not meet the pattern matching that early-stage venture investors look for when writing a check before a company has launched its product and achieved some revenue success. Read more>>
Kristian Riis
I never really searched for it. And then again I guess I am always searching for new adventures, new cultures and people. Right now I am traveling Bhutan and have met several monks and have been attending ceremonies across the country. My observation is that we always search for purpose in the west. Read more>>
Jonathan Park
Finding purpose can be a life-long journey with a dynamic destination. The path I walk today is one I walk confidently & comfortably, for the most part, albeit having an ending uncertain; as cliche as it sounds, I’ve enjoyed the expedition as much as the milestones. From birth, I’ve always been creative/craft-adjacent being born from two loving, creative parents. Read more>>
Amie Nemec
I love talking about purpose and believe living my purpose is the best way route to a full life. Years ago, I attended a seminar by Simon Sinek about finding the WHY for yourself and your business. It was so impactful to me and I immediately purchased his books, “Start with Why” and “Find Your Why.” Read more>>
Eric Remrod” Mayes”
I think my purpose found me, I feel like helping others is one of my best purposes in life. I love the feeling of giving more than receiving. I love being the one people speak about in a positive way. My purpose has always been to help others or make clients happy. Read more>>
Bella Bruce
Some people know their purpose early on. I often questioned mine. When I became very ill in 2013, my family was told their was no chance of my survival. During the next three years during my recovery, I really questioned my purpose. My children were adults at this point. Read more>>
Colin Easom
I became a vegetarian in the 1990s on ethical grounds. Then, after seeing what goes on behind the scenes in slaughterhouses and farms, I decided to go fully vegan in 2010. I didn’t want to be part of a food system that deliberately causes abuse and suffering purely so I could put meat on my plate. Read more>>
Nan Rae
A visit to Monet’s home in Giverny changed the trajectory of my life, redirecting me from being a Western-trained artist to studying art in the East. The woodblock prints in his foyer brought me to Brush painting and my journey in Chinese and Japanese art. The type of painting that I now do is based on the Literati in 17th century China who thought to be truly cultivated, you needed to write beautiful calligraphy, compose poems, and, most importantly…paint expressively. Read more>>
Cyrus Saidi
I think turning 45 this year, and going through what I felt was a year of ‘mid-life’ crisis, the existential question of purpose was at the centre of it all. Emerging from this past year’s internal questioning of what my purpose has been and whether I am serving that purpose; I have realized that I had not strayed far, but it is a time of re-defining the original purpose from my youth, with more crystal clarity. For me it has always been simple; to bring people together in unity, whether that is through my own creative work or by helping incredibly talented artists reach their visions of serving such a purpose. Read more>>
Magda Roub
grew up in a fine arts household. My dad is a musician, my mom is a former musical theatre performer and current high school drama teacher. I was always surrounded by music and theatre and knew from a very young age (honestly, as long as I can remember) that these things would always be an important part of my life. Read more>>
Shira Leibowitz
My purpose found me. Read more>>
Kelly Lott
In 2006, I lost my mother, who was my best friend. Two nights after she died, she came to me in a dream telling me about a treatment that could help people with migraines. I was a massage therapist for almost 25 years and loved to help people in pain. Read more>>
Rashad Clark
Honestly I feel like my purpose found me. I always knew that I wanted to get into the entertainment industry, but i never knew what lane I wanted to stay in. I started off dancing, and it was nice but I always felt like I was doing it because other people said I was good at it. Read more>>
Maddie Moore
Essentially we are given multiple purposes in our lifetime. Sometimes it’s evident and sometimes it takes time to learn. Personally, college was hard for me because I had to decide on a career choice at 18 when I wasn’t 100% sure who I was. Read more>>
Arielle Howell
Before I answer… I want to clarify, that for me… purpose isn’t solely my giftings or talents. They are definitely a part of it… because they are a part of me… but if i were to solely attach purpose to what it is I “do” the moment i’m unable to do those things for any given reason… then I would be fooled into thinking that I have lost my purpose. So I’ll repeat myself to drive home this point; Purpose runs deeper than our actions and abilities, yet, our actions and abilities are deeply rooted in our purpose. Read more>>
Onaji Rouse
It’s not something you find over night that for sure. For some it might be something you know at a young age but for others. It might take a while to figure out what your true purpose it. From creating comics, writing, filmmaking to just living with joy in this beautiful world. I am thankful God has aligned me to my purpose. Read more>>
Amy Piper
I experienced the powerful shifts that result from EFT (emotional freedom techniques, tapping) and this changed everything for me. I was thrilled with the quickness in which old beliefs, patterns, and obstacles could be released and cleared. I emerged out of a stuck place and was able to move forward after just a few sessions. Read more>>
Christal Jordan
I was lucky enough to be directed to my purpose early on. Writing was my happy place early on. I was an avid reader so I had a colorful imagination I would write my hopes and dreams as poems and stories because I was a really shy kid. I remember writing a short story in 3rd grade that I was really excited about and my teacher accused me of cheating. Read more>>
Fabi Lima
I haven’t. I think this is one of the most challenging aspects of life. Purpose…We spend most of our early years trying to find what sparks our soul, and as we grow older we question ourselves more and more because there is a core belief that we must know what we want to do with our lives by a certain age. We constantly compare ourselves to what we see on the media or what we hear from people around us. Read more>>
7th Vizion Digital Creations
For us at 7VDC, our purpose has morphed and molded into what people and communities needed us to be as storytellers. At first, we wanted to tell stories through a journalistic style of view. Ranging from interviewing homeless communities to local businesses. With these humble beginnings, it quickly evolved into capturing moments in time within different photography and film genres. Read more>>
Evan Wick
There are many places my purpose comes from and almost all of them begin with the way I was raised and the difficulties I have persevered through. From growing up with little to no means of financial support I gained work ethic and perspective on life from people I worked with as a kid, my parents, my coaches when playing sports, and my firends and family. Read more>>
Courtney Kessler
I found my purpose when I was young and became bored watching cartoons, I sat there in my jammies snacking on some form of breakfast pastry and stumbled upon Julia Child on the local cable channel. Watching Julia and Jacques Pepin creating a delicious looking dessert set my heart aflame. From that point forward I would watch all the cooking shows I could find, there was never too many. Read more>>
Earth Mama
Peace finding my purpose in this life wasn’t hard because what I do feels like home! Whatever you do in life has to feel like home to you otherwise why are you there and what are you doing it for. So much of society builds up around just sustaining life, but what’s life without purpose or happiness. Read more>>
Briana Maia
I like to say that my purpose found me. I ran away from it for a LONG TIME. Growing up the daughter of a father who had a very successful career as a singer, I was set on creating my own path. The unspoken pressure to live up to his artistry, to carry on my family’s musical legacy, was TERRIFYING to me. Still, I knew in my core that I was meant to perform. Read more>>
David Weisberg
As a kid I enjoyed drawing, crafts, playing with clay and overall just making a mess, but working with my hands and creating something from almost nothing was always a favorite way to spend my time. Receiving a Bachelor of Fine Art degree with a drawing concentration was almost an obvious step for me as I couldn’t envision myself. studying much else. Read more>>
Alena Kozhevnikova
I found my purpose by realizing my passion for music and DJing. After achieving my own dreams in the DJ career, I decided to create a DJ Academy to share my knowledge and help like-minded individuals achieve their goals more efficiently, offering them a shortcut to their DJ careers. Read more>>
Jenny Berglund Castro
Ah, that word… purpose. I believe that our purpose can and does shift along the way just as we do shift along the way as humans too. I can find a red thread in my life along the purpose line, but I do not let that define who I am or determine my next steps. I am at this point in my life now where I say yes to what feels good in my body despite the yum / yuck analytical part of my mind. Read more>>
Trecia Ayers
Finding my purpose has been a journey and a process, directly tied to my life experiences. Everything you go through serves a purpose. Our experiences have a reason and lesson attached to them and often times we don’t understand the purpose of our life experiences until we’re out of that season. Read more>>
Ezra Vancil
The question of purpose always reminds me of times I travel with my kids. No matter how many times I answer their questions of “How much longer?” or “Why is it taking so long?” they ask them again and again until the trip is over. The ‘purpose question’ feels the same way—no matter how many times I address it, it resurfaces. Read more>>
Gina Grundmeier
I believe that my purpose wasn’t initially laid out for me. I spent many years trying to figure out exactly what my life’s work was supposed to be. I didn’t know why I was here & what I was supposed to be doing. I believe there’s an illusion for many that think that answer should present itself at an early age & their destinies are supposed to be clearly laid. Read more>>
Edgar Fabián Frías
In many ways, I feel like my purpose found me. It came to me in moments of silence. In moments of confusion and disorientation. In special moments when all the hairs on my arms stood up and I could feel something important and life-changing was happening. I am called to share a night I had when I was studying abroad. Read more>>
Ellen Hinton
Finding my purpose has been a journey of self-discovery and introspection. It’s about connecting the dots of my life experiences, passions, and the impact I want to have on the world. Read more>>
Saori Mitome
I am from Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan and have always been interested in fashion, music, and art. Among them, making clothes (including design) and making costumes are my current occupation, and I am very involved in them. By the way, my name is Saori, and when written in kanji characters, it means “to weave small,” which is also related to making clothes. Read more>>
Mason Greer
As it happens for most people I fell into a combination of what I gravitated towards naturally and some well timed dumb luck to follow. At a young age I wanted to write novels because of two fictitious movie characters, Harper Stewart from The Best Man, and Jamaal Wallace from Finding Forrester. Seeing these two young black writers succeed was pivitol to me at such a young age, I wanted to be like them so I began writing at the age of 7. Read more>>
