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.

Kathe Madrigal

My name is Kathe Madrigal and I am an oil painter and also the President of the International Association of Art- USA. I found my purpose early on in life. I receive such joy lending a hand or ear to others that being in my position now, is not a surprise. Read more>>

Samantha Rohr

My purpose found me. I’ve had countless careers, from adult probation officer and high school Spanish teacher to marketing executive and home decor store owner, all before the age of 30. I never felt fully fulfilled so I just kept pushing through. I always heard “just wait” in my head as if something better was just around the corner and low and behold – at the ago of 30 I am quite certain of my purpose. Read more>>

Cindy Scott-Fuchs

I’ve always told my retreat clients that “my purpose”, was to be part of a conscious shift, an awakening in the world. I don’t believe I actually knew what that meant until recently. There’s a lot of darkness in the world at this moment. More than ever a radical shift is needed. That shift begins with each of us. Every day, every moment, brings an opportunity to contribute to the ripple effect.  Read more>>

Tricia Tanaka

Finding my life’s purpose has been my entire objective to living a fulfilled life. I continue to find my purpose as I evolve, with age, lessons, wisdom and awareness. My life purpose is based on what brings the most joy and happiness and that is being a creator. It allows me to share love, beauty and connection. Read more>>

Jessica Hass

As a childless, 27yo women in the mid-2000s, and I was a late bloomer in terms of launching my career, and was lacking direction. I began to apply more meaning to my career as a means to a life’s purpose in lieu of hanging out with friends and partying. I started to contemplate “What would make me fulfilled in life?”, not entirely sure whether or not I was ever going to have a family, which wasn’t necessarily one of my long- or short-term goals at that time.  Read more>>

Ashley Lauren Pohl

All through high school, I had one dream in mind: I wanted to be a news reporter specifically for sports–the next Erin Andrews, if you will. I graduated high school with that dream in mind and went to college eager to study Journalism and go wherever the job took me. But then the summer before my senior year of college rolled around and I did an internship at the exact news station where I’d one day dreamed of working. My life was right on track. What could possibly go wrong? Read more>>

Sunshine RA

Finding purpose is a journey that I believe takes a lifetime. Most likely your purpose is overall the same though the strategy will change. Since childhood, I’ve had connections or some would say “gifts” when it came to working with children, all things medical, and the arts/music areas. When I was younger, I thought my purpose was to be a doctor. For the arts, I found myself on the consumer end though my “ear” and likes were very specific and to most peculiar. Read more>>

Giana ‘Regal’ Christopher

My journey as a madras fashioner wasn’t planned; it bloomed organically. Designing was a childhood escape that grew into adulthood with me learning to sew my sketch designs. Then, madras caught my eye – its vibrant colors, bold patterns, and unspoken stories resonated as our Caribbeans identifying fabric during a time in my business when African print fashions were very popular with a culturally identifying history of its own.  Read more>>

Brittney McCurry – Wingate

I’ve always had a servant’s heart and passion to empower and help others reach their full potential. This passion led me to the field of human resources. After years of laboring with helping employees and managers while working in the corporate sector but always feeling like more could be done, I knew my purpose was greater than working in one place for one organization under their set standard. I knew God had more for me and bigger ways for me to utilize my gifts to positively impact others.  Read more>>

Sterling Drake

Well, this is definitely not an easy question to unpack but it is one that speaks to me. I believe in short; we are meant to bear responsibility and challenge our understanding. I found a great deal of fulfillment in continuing to learn new things and to expand upon what we already know. I’ve found myself most engaged with when I treat continual growth as a basic mode of operation. I have always been leery of objectifying myself to what it is that I do. On the surface, I’m a musician, this was obvious for me as music has been the most constant thing in my life. As long as I could hear a melody or feel a rhythm I had music, that could never be taken away from me. But in truth, I’m much more than a musician. Read more>>

Amy Goodson

My purpose all starts with my faith in God and for me, the twists and turns, opportunities, and experiences that I have had in my career is what has brought me to where I am now. I spent the first 10 plus years of my career in my dream job working with athletes from peewee to pro. While it was a stable, really good job, all of the sudden good wasn’t good enough, which led me down a path to becoming a solopreneur. Read more>>

Mela Clark – Pitts

Throughout Mela’s profound expedition of the soul, she has acquired a profound understanding and conviction that our innate talents and passion bestowed upon us by God, should serve as the driving force behind our life’s mission and purpose. Read more>>

Cari Tiller

For 18 years, I worked in Advertising and Marketing. I felt like I was spinning my wheels and never really making a difference or making the world a better place. I feel like God had a higher purpose for my time and talents. Once I combined my passion for the outdoors with creativity and gardening, I realized I could improve the world one yard or garden at a time by designing functional outdoor spaces for families to enjoy. I love creating landscape designs to provide peace and beauty, but also to support and attract bees, butterflies and all sorts of wildlife (lizards, beneficial insects, birds). Read more>>

Shonda Kelly

River Road Hats, LLC was created as a result of me losing my hair to Alopecia Areata. In retrospect, while my hair loss was debilitating, it spurred me into action resulting in a brand that promotes self-beauty, quiet strength and encouragement. As a business owner, I am most proud of being able to sow positive affirmations in people’s lives that live out loud (I don’t know what this means) or who suffer in silence with hair loss and provide them, if they choose, a stylish way to cover their head. Read more>>

Niurka Castaneda

Transitioning from the military to civilian life marked a period of profound personal upheaval, characterized by the realization that I needed to navigate a completely unfamiliar way of living. Overcoming depression and seeking a sustainable plan, I opted to utilize my education benefits and return to school—a pivotal decision that opened doors to the vast world of business.  Read more>>

Ryan Ploch

I found my purpose in life when I was at my lowest. I found it when I had a last minute decision to make about my whole life. But looking back it was developed slowly over my whole life, and it makes perfect sense once I committed to it and was able to reflect back at my life through that new path and perspective. Music is my purpose. Making music, recording music, writing music. Without a doubt Music is what I was put on this earth to do. Read more>>

Roderick Jackson

I believe I had found my purpose at a moment in my life when I was most uncertain of it. I was young (19) juggling career choices and eager to utilize my creativity somehow. Photography found me while I was “taking a break” from school. After picking up a camera to shoot a friend’s party, and then various events after that for 6 months, this was in late 2007.  Read more>>

Saige Surya

Finding purpose is not found in the act of finding. For me personally, my purpose has become apparent to me as I have continually chosen to live a life in accordance to that which I believe in most, I am in my dharma, my purpose. Read more>>

Fatimah Bee

My past experiences as a summer camp counselor taught me firsthand the impacts a positive mindset can have on children. I recognized that teaching children core values could have tremendous positive consequences; Drawing from those experiences later on in life when working closely with kids ranging from pre-k up through high school seniors allowed for me to understand crucial issues confronting today’s young people – giving insight into how we can help them succeed tomorrow. Read more>>

Allie Sarnataro

Somehow I was lucky enough to find my purpose in life through horses and therapeutic riding. When I started as a volunteered I remained one for 8 years, never skipping a year or taking time off. The therapy students needed me to be there each week so they could ride. I found my purpose through them. Now I find my purpose every day by working for RAD. Read more>>

Alondra Dimas

My name is Alondra and I am the Brujita CEO and first-generation Mexican American Artist behind La Mujer Blanca Botanica an online service based virtual healing space. I started many years ago by watching my mom who learned from my great-grandmother so I never lost that touch of working and implementing curanderismo practices/healings. Read more>>

Yunhong Pu

While I was attending university, I had a profoundly impactful encounter with an individual who was fundraising for children battling leukemia. Their stories resonated with me on a personal level, sparking a curiosity that led me to pick up a camera for the first time in an attempt to capture and document their lives. This was not just about recording events; it was an emotional journey that allowed me to connect with their struggles and hopes. Read more>>

Noah Westbrook

I found out what my purpose very early on. My purpose is to serve Jesus in all things. I was blessed to have a family that taught me that at a very young age. To those who may not know Christ, serving him may seem like having no fun and following a bunch of rules. Well, I’d like to think I live a pretty fun life! Serving Jesus is not just following a bunch of rules, it is showing others’ the love God has shown me. Read more>>

Noelle & Joshua Locke

For us, we had a massive God-moment when we were faced with possibly leaving a job in the U.S. Air Force. The nation was on the brink of dividing over freedoms in choice, government mandates, and so many political agendas when COVID spread across the globe. We prayed to God about what to do next, and found His direction was to start a kombucha business of all things! Whilst a bit surprised, we still ran with it. Read more>>

Ernesto Rodriguez

My sense of purpose has evolved from my life’s path. I grew up in Cuba amongst paint, brushes and art. My grandfather, a renowned muralist for the Cuban railroad, instilled in me a love of creating art. In October of 1962 we came to the United States on vacation to visit my uncle. The Cuban missile crisis erupted and relations and travel to Cuba were closed. When our visas expired we went to Canada. Read more>>

SYDIE

I was fortunate enough to know very young. As a young child I always wanted to be an entertainer and I felt the most pull towards music. I sang as 3 year old to my family and blew them away, I think then they realized they had a star on their hands. I did choir, theater, dance, as a young child and into my teenager years I began to focus on dance more and soon realized I could generate income through choreography later on in life.  Read more>>

Eric Ranks

Finding my purpose was a path marked by personal battles and a close connection to the military community. Having a father who worked as a clinical and neuropsychologist in the Air Force, I grew up with a deep awareness of mental health issues, especially those affecting veterans. This background became a cornerstone of my understanding and compassion, especially as I navigated my own physical and mental health challenges.  Read more>>

Michael Tanaka

Finding your purpose as a videographer and photographer is a personal journey. I started by reflecting on what aspects of storytelling and visual expression resonated with me. Starting with subjects that ignited my passion like travel lifestyle. I then explored various styles and techniques within my craft as a videographer and photographer which excited me. You can’t be afraid to evolve and adapt. Read more>>

Dr. Beyth-Shan Yodhhewawhe

Well, when it comes to purpose, I always believed life is like a big adventure where we discover who we really are. When I was a shy kid, fear was always there, making every step scary. But even in my shyness, there was a strong determination pushing me to try new things and learn. Chess became my thing. Despite being timid, I challenged my dad and sister, and it felt amazing to win. Chess victories stayed with me, even when my sister went on a different path. Read more>>

Ulrike Kerber

How did I find my purpose? As a motion designer, my journey to finding my purpose has been a roadmap and process of making mistakes, revising, and iterating. Mistakes are the porthole to creativity. In motion design, where visual storytelling and technical skill intertwine, every error provides a chance to learn something new about both the medium and my own capabilities. It’s like navigating a maze; each wrong turn offers a chance to see the path from a different angle, eventually guiding me to the solution.Read more>>

Shiva Mehta

I consider myself to be innately creative and ever since I can remember, I have always been drawn to the natural world, whilst being a dentist by day. Having been close to experiencing burn-out, I was focussed on finding work-life balance and photography provided me a therapeutic outlet of both calm and creativity. Pursuing wildlife photography has allowed me to combine both of these passions and find my purpose to use for the greater good. Read more>>

Venus Bird

Since my childhood, I’ve harbored a deep love for birds. As I grew older, I became increasingly aware of the myriad beautiful bird species that coexist with us. Motivated by this passion, I made it my mission to raise awareness and share the avian wonders with the world through my art. I create realistic bird art using watercolours, each piece I paint is meticulously designed to encapsulate not just the bird itself, but also gives a sense of their environment.  Read more>>

Antoine Brimbal

In a way, I have always been destined to work in the field of politics and international relations. I consider myself to have been ‘born into conflict’ as my parents met during the Yugoslav wars and most of my conversations since a young age consequently revolved around political issues. In a way, I have been brought up into this world, so the wider focus of my ‘purpose’ has never really been at question. Read more>>

Evo Love

I believe I found my purpose when I moved from Port Orange, Florida to Miami Beach, Florida when I was the young age of 16 years old. A friend of mine had went to Miami Beach and loved it and suggested we go and check it out one weekend. Miami Beach during the late 80’s and early 90’s was comparable to the east village in NYC in the 70’s. It was thriving with Artist’s, Musician’s, Models, Creatives in every form and fashion. Read more>>

Cristina Chianese

Purpose to me is the intersection of personal fulfillment and impactful actions. It’s about using our unique abilities to drive positive change and realizing that fulfillment often lies in these contributions. Purpose doesn’t always announce itself in grand strides; more often, it’s the result of the small, intentional steps we undertake each day. It’s a part of our daily decisions, where we match our skills and passions with acts that matter, cultivating a sense of purpose that is intimately ours, yet drives change or offers support to those around us. Read more>>

Chante Ramsey

Through self discovery and healing, I found what I was meant to do. It felt like mysterious veil was lifted and a wave of relief consumed me. Read more>>

Tracy Yang

In 2020, my eight year career in fitness ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I was devastated, but I wasn’t hopeless. I did, however, allow myself the time to grieve because I really loved my career then. My sister has a flower farm that the family has always pitched in to help with. Of course with all this time on my hands suddenly, my sister asked me to start helping out with her business. At the time, all the farmers markets were closed because of the pandemic so the only way we were able to sell flowers was to offer contactless delivery.  Read more>>

Jake Deptula

I found my purpose once I began working with stalking survivors through a true crime podcast and discovered that one of my gifts is helping survivors of traumatic events feel comfortable and safe to share their personal stories. It’s more rewarding than I could have anticipated or imagined. Read more>>

Winter Clark

Finding my purpose has been a journey of its own; learning to lean into my heart and wombspace, listening to my body wisdom, trusting my higher Self and Source…all of this has helped me align with the work I’ve been called to do in this world! Read more>>

Zayn Hesham

Honestly, I didn’t find my purpose, but my purpose found me. In all honesty, I did’t imagine becoming an artist or having anything different in my life from the rest of the people. Singers are considered a minority in the world. It was a crazy idea. I was sleeping one night thinking. I was lost in thought and I said to myself, “Why don’t you do something crazy new?” I was unable to sleep because of the rush of adrenaline, and suddenly I grabbed my phone and i wrote lyrics of a song that came to mind, one line after another, literally without any introductions, and my first song it was for my dear mama. Read more>>

 Michelle Porjes

Ah finding purpose…. Something that is very “in” lately. For me my purpose has developed and evolved over time and with experience. All of the experiences–the good, the bad, the amazing, and the ugly have had a hand into creating who I am today. With regards to my professional purpose, I pivoted around 4 years ago. I spent time thinking, planning, trying out and adjusting my experience along the way. Read more>>

Robyn Warren

I went to 3 different colleges and universities and had 6 different majors by the time I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in 5 years. There was psychology, pre-law, photography, liberal arts, communications, and then finally physical education. Read more>>

Brooke Major

Every child has dreams of some sort and children tend to be relatively unfearful of the unknown, seeking out new possibilities as an undiscovered adventure. As an artist, we have learned that not only must we think like children (anything is possible) but we must shy away from ever growing up. The thought that everything and anything is possible is my motto. Read more>>

Mary Harcourt

“Your most significant frustrations can also lead to profound revelations.” During that time, I managed a popular lash spa in Los Angeles, Hermosa Beach, to be precise. We prided ourselves as the highest-rated salon in the area, with a consistently packed appointment schedule. One of our biggest frustrations was the lighting. Read more>>

Gabe Wolf

Only very recently have I been able to say, with confidence, that I know what my purpose is. And the reason I’m now able to do so is because I know what my life is like when I’m not living that purpose. When I was fourteen, I had a big revelation that I was a musician, and that I’d pursue music for the rest of my life. But I stopped doing that in my early twenties, because I was scared that my music wasn’t good enough. For those years in my early twenties when I wasn’t working on music at all, I was completely lost.  Read more>>

Devin Moore

I found my purpose after going through the devastating pain and trauma from bullying. I experienced bullying and I saw how other kids were going through it too. Since I knew that it wasn’t only happening in my environment and because it has impact so much of the world, I knew that I needed to do something about it. I needed to Race To Speak Up. It led me to finding my purpose. My purpose is to educate all about bullying prevention and empower students to be upstanders for themselves and each other.  Read more>>

Teresa Kiplinger

I enrolled in my first metals workshop in midlife to keep myself busy through the end of a painful marriage. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Shortly afterward, my teen stepson took his own life in 2015. I poured my grief into my fledgling metalwork. I made a bracelet in his memory, etched with a poem I wrote for him; in the following months, I was comforted by the presence of the bracelet on my wrist. From within this loss, I found my voice. Read more>>