Stories & Lessons for Finding Your Purpose

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.

Elyssa Gerber

I think we all just know the answer to this as children, but growing up makes us forget. The work of our lives is remembering who we are and what we love. Creating has always been part of my life, but it was easy to think of it as just a hobby once I had to decide what I wanted to do for a living. I noticed as I got older that no matter what job I did, what classes I took in college, or how stressed I was, that picking up a craft project always made me feel the most like myself. Read more>>

Egypt Bradley

The Queenz of Conversation is now down to Queen Egypt as the LLC owner and Host of this dynamic show. I learned now as many lessons that on this road to success that everyone is not meant to go along with you. That is okay.. Since being down to me as the only host the Platform has opened up so many more opportunities to share their stories and show case their skills. Read more>>

David Berumen

I don’t believe in finding purpose. It unnecessarily complicates the simple joy of existing and throws oneself into all manner of existential crisis. But since we end up spending most of our time earning a living, and there are so many choices, I do think it’s important to find a vocation that is personally meaningful. Read more>>

Jenny Robberson

I have always felt compelled to be a “helper.” Someone who supported other people. I have imagined a variety of iterations of what that looked like, particularly from a professional perspective, but I ended up finding my way to doing that through yoga. Read more>>

Tracey Etelson Stephanie Lipp

For Tracey Etelson and Stephanie Lipp, their newest venture, Spirit Well, was prompted by their shared experience as longtime, professional educators in school-based settings. After observing the effects of stress and trauma on family systems, they researched the field of complementary modalities and technologies to assemble a unique variety of services all targeted at addressing wellness as unique as the individuals they serve. Read more>>

Sam Pickens

I read a book. I really did. It was called Beekeeping For Dummies. I read that book cover to cover, and once I was finished with it, I told myself that I was going to become a beekeeper. That is exactly what I have become. It started off as a hobby with just two hives. That was 8 years ago. Today I manage over 100 hives. It is no longer a hobby for me but a passion. Not just for the honey but for all to enjoy the benefits from keeping bees.  Read more>>

Shanayvia Lattimore

Finding my purpose came after a close brush with death, an experience that forever changed me. I’ll never forget that night. It was 10:30 pm on June 21st, 2022, just three weeks before the delivery of our third child. My husband had just returned from refereeing a few basketball games, and we were sitting on our bedroom floor, talking about our evening. Read more>>

Candice Hicks and Melissa Gabriel N/A

We’ve worked together on and off since our first real jobs in post production in the tv industry. Here we are over 15 years later and we found ourselves asking “what’s next?”. One thing we knew for sure, we really like working together. We also realized we both harbored a strong desire for more stake in the creative process. From concept to execution, we wanted to be more involved in shaping a brands voice and connecting them with their audience. Once we came to that realization, starting our own production company was the clear next step. Read more>>

LaKeisha Glover

As a women of God, I rely on the Lord to guide me and define the calling He has on my life. Because of Him I have a purpose to serve others and give selflessly to those in need. It is always my goal to serve the Lord with excellence and to bring my best self to each outreach experience. I could not do this without our extraordinary executive board of directors. We take the time to develop ourselves, plan and logistically outline each outreach with those we serve as the center focus. How can we serve our neighbors in need best? We aim to answer this question with action. Read more>>

Kelsey Critchfield-De Ferrari

Starting at a very young age, I was fascinated with art and drawing. I remember before I was even old enough to go to preschool, I would copy and draw the covers of Disney movies. My mom noticed how much I enjoyed art and put me in private art lessons at only five years-old. I continued going to art lessons for nine years, then moved on to complete AP Studio Art in high school and received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in college. Read more>>

Marie Dillard

Thank you for the question! I am Marie Dillard, Scholar, Artist, Athlete, and Founder of Persistent Endeavors Foundation, Inc. (PEFI). I started my foundation in 2022 when a quote by American activist and scholar Pauli Murray deeply resonated with me. Murray stated, “What is often called exceptional ability is nothing more than persistent endeavor.”  Read more>>

Kenji Boyd

Well, when I was 11 years old I watched my first anime ever. I’d love to say it was Dragonball Z but it was Detective Conan! From the moment I watched the first episode I was hooked and after that, all I did was draw anime characters. Since that moment I always knew that making manga was what I wanted to do with my life. Read more>>

Rachael Niles

After hitting a low point in my life, I was searching in all the wrong places for love, identity and purpose. I had hit rock bottom, and was desperate for change. I knew it was time to rededicate myself back to God, because I had walked away and tried doing life on my own which led to my demise. My passion for Him and His kingdom began to grow as I desired to know of this God who even in the midst of suffering desired to comfort and commune with me. Read more>>

Travis Duda

I feel like I discovered my purpose early on, which is to connect people and create. My interest in graphic design showed itself pretty early, whether it was the books of monsters I’d draw with my friends or when I made my brother jump over me in his rollerblades so I could turn it into the jankiest magazine article. Throughout high school, I bounced from group to group, never quite fitting in anywhere outside of the shop classes.  Read more>>

Tyra Moore

I discovered my purpose through the challenges and life choices I faced as a teenager. Navigating the journey of being a teen mom forced me to confront the responsibilities of adulthood and helped me understand what I needed to do to grow and provide for my child. Read more>>

Kylo Gun

I knew I wanted to make music ever since I was a little kid. When I was eight or so I wanted to either be a famous actress or a popstar. My parents introduced me to the local theater in my town and I got to follow my acting passion through there, but the more I grew the more I fell in love with music, and by age 12 I knew music was my true calling. My genre of choice started to change more and more from pop music to emo and metalcore, and then punk. Read more>>

Xinyu Liu

I grew up in a metro city in China where such alienation was emphasized. The city feels like a giant multi-faceted crystal, in which layers of glass mirrors dissociate us from our surroundings. Such an environment shapes my perspective a lot on my path to becoming an artist. As a photographer, I’m always drawn to the distance between me and the objects that I look at. Oftentimes, such distance draws me into strangers – How do I find myself attracted to them? How close yet unreachable they are.  Read more>>

Laasya Goriparti

If I didn’t believe in my purpose I would have never been able to face every moment of helpless isolation and abandonment or even the bittersweet milestones I’ve encountered along this journey. I spent all of my childhood and teenage years observing the world as if it were some fantasy realm that I’d never truly be able to be a part of. It felt like I was an alien forbidden from escaping my seclusion.  Read more>>

Adam Sherkin

From an early age, I strove to find both expression and excellence through creative outlets. I grew up in an artistic household and was encouraged to pursue musical and visual practices, even as child. Beginning my musical education at the piano, aged five, I evolved a passion for performance and by the age of twelve, I think I was hooked! Read more>>

Dallas Knight

My purpose emerged from a deeply personal journey to heal from layered traumas and eventually facing my military career. In 2021, I found myself in a dark space and embarked on a healing journey the following summer. As part of this process, I revisited a journal I kept during my 2003 deployment to Iraq, which had been untouched for years. Over six months, I painstakingly read, processed, and digitally transcribed 89 journal entries.  Read more>>

Kelly L. Campbell

It’s been said that the purpose of life is to discover your gift, then develop it to give it away. It took me four decades to understand that I was meant to help others heal their childhood trauma. I thought that my greatest purpose was to empower leaders through coaching, speaking, and retreat facilitation so they could tap into their innate power and contributory gifts, including regeneration of the earth. I will continue to do so, but I also recently accepted the call to take my work a step further—as a holistic healing practitioner for individuals who have experienced deep trauma. Read more>>

Catrina Mitchum

First and foremost, my purpose is to live life. I found my calling in service by following my interests and looking back for the themes. When I was in undergrad, I was a reader for a blind professor. I would read student papers, textbooks, bank statements, you name it. I also took a course on human communication on the internet (this was back in 2004). Fast forward 2 years and I was in my Master’s program in professional and technical writing, learning how to teach writing at the college level. A year later, I taught a writing class for the first time. Read more>>

Gracie Singleton

While finding one’s purpose is often a large, looming question, for us, it boils down to one thing: living to honor God. My business partner Cece and I are rooted in Christ, so for us, our purpose is simply to serve the Lord and follow the path that He has set for us. We strive to be encouraging, loving, and to do our best to show people the Lord’s Spirit through us, so it was an easy choice to begin an event planning service. Read more>>

Shuyi Li

I always admire artists worldwide and find inspiration in their work. I can feel their passion for their journey to becoming artists, which inspires me and helps me find my purpose when I doubt myself. Read more>>

justin mirsch

I’d have to say that I found my purpose, through experience and patience. The patience to give myself time to learn new skills or hobbies I may not have been great at first try, From a young age I always enjoyed drawing and art. Even though I wasn’t very good at it. But I always would try to take art classes in school, and then make it my major as I got older. Making it a career was proof enough for me this was my purpose and passion; to design and create. Read more>>

Dr. Colecia Williams

I am Dr. Colecia Williams, a principal with 19 years of experience in Texas schools. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership & Technology from Tarleton State University. I have worked as a classroom teacher, curriculum writer, assistant principal, principal, and principal mentor. Read more>>