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.
Angie Berrett
I found my purpose as I healed from the deep trauma that had shaped my life. As a child, I was sexually abused by family friends—without my parents ever knowing. The abuse was so significant, I buried it completely. I had always felt this deep “black hole of pain” inside me, but I could never understand where it came from.
It wasn’t until about 10 years ago, when someone I trusted deeply betrayed me, that my buried memories came flooding back. Then, I hit rock bottom. Read more>>
Chrishan Wright
I landed on my purpose during the pandemic. For many years I struggled to find my purpose. While I had my share of professional success and accolades, those were for things that I was good at, not necessarily things that lit me up inside or that aligned with my spirit. Read more>>
Neil Teller
I found my purpose at an early age but wouldn’t really know it was my purpose until much later in life. I started playing the saxophone when I was ten years old in Gainesville, Florida under the private instruction of a musician named Lavell Kamma. The joy in his eyes and the vibrancy of his spirit when he performed or talked about music helped to form the foundation for what would be my purpose. I knew from that point that I wanted music to be a part of my daily life but I wasn’t sure how. After high school I moved to Pensacola, Florida where I attended the University of West Florida and graduated with my BM in Classical Saxophone Performance and a BA in Telecommunications & Film. Read more>>
Heather & Jesse Waltz
Two things have always been important to us: ensuring the products we consume are natural, and doing our part to reduce negative impacts on the enviroment. We knew we wanted to create something with ingredients we would feel comfortable using ourselves while also helping reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up polluting our oceans and affecting wildlife. Read more>>
Kyra Schaefer
I found my purpose through a deeply personal experience. It all began when our community suffered a tragic loss, and a group of friends came together to heal by writing a collaborative book, *Happy Thoughts Playbook*. What started as a way to process grief became something much bigger. I realized that many people have a message they want to share with the world but feel overwhelmed by the publishing process. Read more>>
Justine Yarngo
Finding my purpose didn’t happen overnight. It was a journey filled with self-discovery, patience, and a lot of trial and error. Before becoming an esthetician, I didn’t have much knowledge about skincare, nor did I care for my skin properly. My skin wasn’t at its best, and I felt incredibly insecure about my appearance, which affected my confidence. I remember looking in the mirror and feeling disconnected from the person staring back at me. In those moments of insecurity, I realized I wanted to address the issues with my breakouts. Read more>>
Dr Amelia Wendy Searle
I think I’ve always had ‘purpose’ rather than ‘a purpose’. So I’ve always tried to do everything to the best of my ability, whether that’s being a mother, skiing to the South Pole, or bar work when I was a student. I had my family young; I had pretty solid plans to join the Army, but that wasn’t going to work with young children, especially more than 20 years ago. I wanted to be a journalist when I was at school, so I set about finding experience and training to make that happen. It took me years, and not taking no for an answer. I was eventually given a job at a newspaper by a legendary editor who taught me a lot about excellence. Read more>>
Lisa Sugarman
In the summer of 1978, two weeks after my 10th birthday, I lost my father to a massive heart attack. He was my person. My hero. My best friend, and he was gone. And I would never be the same. What I didn’t know, and what I wouldn’t discover for another 35 years, was that the narrative I’d been told about my father’s death was a lie. Read more>>
Farhan Khan
We are a partnership, a couple of creatives that have fulfilled a need in our community by creating a blend of eastern music and western music.
Some people call this style of music “fusion”, however, we call it culturally blended music. We give it our best effort creating positive, sublime, uplifting music. Often we perform for Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Sikh weddings ceremonies bringing families together in love and compassion. One could say, with our partnership in music and love we have created our purpose. Read more>>
Crystal & Shomari Silvera
Fondon Medspa is a women & minority owned business, founded by 2 best friends, Crystal and Shomari. After years of working in sales on the strip, we wanted to pursue a career in a field that provided flexibility as well as positive change in the lives of others. This is a big contrast to the pressures of regular sales jobs. Read more>>
Logan Lynn
I think I am still finding this, but each time I create something that ends up working or mattering somehow, helps me feel like my being here is useful. That usefulness is the key to my sticking around, continuing to create, and wanting to keep engaging community impact opportunities. Read more>>
Karlie Larson
I feel like my purpose and passion go hand in hand. I started off photographing traditional weddings and knew there was just something missing in the work I did back then. I’d post the photos I took and looking back now, there wasn’t that spark that I was looking for. Being born and raised in North Idaho, I really wanted to be able to incorporate the beauty of where I live, with my passion of photographing in nature and wedding photography. At the beginning of 2020 I made the transition to switch over to photographing adventure elopements, and it has completely changed everything in my life and business! Read more>>
Karin Mitchell
In 2012, I went to see an acupuncturist for the first time to see if he could help with my insomnia. He did a long intake, asking many questions about my physical and mental health. He then inserted the needles throughout my body and asked one more question “Why are you here?” Confused, I said “for insomnia.” And then he replied, “no, why are you here on this Earth?” And then he left the room and I laid there for 30 minutes with all the needles in me, thinking “what the? How dare you ask THAT question!” I initially became defensive in my mind, but then eventually softened and gave into the examination of “why AM I here??” And so started the ‘next chapter’ in my life….coming off auto-pilot of my life and really living my life intentionally. Read more>>
Kurriizma (hector Diaz)
I found my purpose in the most dire of circumstances. In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to endure more pain and loss than I had ever in my entire life. During that time, I had to create an entire collection for my senior year of collage. I had been laid off, lost my home, and was in a massive pandemic that caused a lot of troubling times and a world that was left uncertain. I had to believe in my abilities and work with what was around me. That’s how I founded Kurriizmatic. I saw the need to use the things around me, and through that idea and sheer force of will, I was able to create my entire senior collection using only the clothes that were around me to make my own fabric plus materials. This would be the beginning of my brand Kurriizmatic and set into course the core message of our brand, being that we only use pre-existing clothes, fabrics, and materials to make new clothes. Read more>>
Camila Dipuglia
I found my purpose when I decided to go plant-based in March 2018. At the time, I realized how challenging it was to find recipes that were not only healthy but also delicious and accessible for people wanting to transition to a plant-based lifestyle. That lack of options sparked something in me—I wanted to show that eating plant-based could be vibrant, creative, and full of flavor. That’s how *Sano y Exótico* was born. It started as a space where I could share my own culinary creations, and it quickly turned into a passion for helping others see how enjoyable and satisfying plant-based eating can be. Read more>>
Adam Bannister
I had just landed home in the US after a summer abroad in Guatemala. My entire identity had been shaken after I learned that the career path I had chosen to pursue was no longer the path for me. I had spent the last two years studying pre-med with the intent of becoming a doctor and was halfway through my undergrad degree in Biology when I realized that medicine is incredible, but not for me. Read more>>
Joey Carbo
For me, I think it was always there. I was making up songs in a fully serious way as early as I can remember. I began procuring instruments in any way I could around age 13 and began to think of ways to get music recorded. I had no idea what to do and where I grew up was extremely rural so that didn’t help. My entire musical education was done with those buy one get a hundred Columbia Records Club memberships. I had at least two dozen in different names because I obviously had a lot of research to do. All I ever did was listen to music, try to learn to play, and write. Read more>>
Nicolay Jonsson
A week after I found out I was pregnant with my second baby, I was diagnosed with papillary cancer. I was in my early thirties, healthy – so I thought, and living with no symptoms or signs of cancer. I had no idea what papillary cancer was, and only heard the word cancer. My pregnancy was overshadowed by this diagnosis and all I cared about was that my baby survives whatever treatment was necessary. So, many challenges I had to overcome. The first being, using my voice. I had to use my voice and advocate for myself to convey the importance of what I desired for the treatment my medical team would advise me. Read more>>
Chevalier Deshay
Finding my purpose was a journey of faith, resilience, and embracing the very essence of who I was created to be. It wasn’t a single moment of clarity, but a series of experiences—both triumphant and challenging—that led me to where I am today. Read more>>
Angela Hugghins
Looking back on my childhood, I think I found my purpose pretty early on. I’ve always loved taking care of people and helping them feel their best. As a kid, I was all about making lotions and potions for my family. I’d whip up facial masks and treat my grandfathers to a little spa day, complete with a cozy space for them to kick back and relax. So, esthetics and product-making have been part of my life for nearly 50 years! Read more>>
Christina Mrkonja Sheleheda
I grew up in a first-gen American house. My parents always wanted my sister and I to get an education and work hard. I was bullied as a child for being quiet, for being poor, for being overweight – you name it. When my parents enrolled me in karate at 10 years old, I suddenly felt like I could be good at something. My instructors and I were (and still are) very close, so when I showed an interest and talent with teaching others, they helped to develop me into an effective instructor. Their guidance and mentorship offered me so much more though; it taught me resilience, dedication, responsibility and that I could make a difference.
My purpose will always be to offer the stability and kindness I sought as a child. Read more>>
Olivia Trim
I was so lucky to grow up in an artistic family. My entire family (immediate and extended) is connected to a creative or artistic pursuit. Growing up I was extremely encouraged to devote time and energy to artistic pursuits. Even to this day my parents house is covered in artwork created by my sister and I. Despite all of this love and devotion toward the arts as an expressive pursuit, I still felt outside and societal pressures to not pursue art professionally. I also felt connected to other professions. They were non-traditional, but were generally part of a larger organization and therefore felt a bit more “real” than trying to build a business as a painter. Read more>>
Steven Martine
I started my career early, as a college photojournalist. I was invited to all the cool events, and the darkroom was its own social club. While in school, I was assigned to photograph some friends/students who were going to picket at McDonalds restaurants around the city. The issue was their use of styrofoam and the environmental / non-recyclable damage it caused…
I shot “great” pictures that ended up gong out on the wire services and the protest received a lot of national and some international attention, It was standard David v Goliath stuff, but the result was that shortly afterward, McDonalds stopped using styrofoam clamshells for their hamburgers.
That is the moment when it all clicked… photography, storytelling, documentary images… they have the power to change the world. Read more>>
Cain (odessa Da Gawd) Coleman
Finding my purpose has been a journey marked by learning, growth, and self-discovery. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to the power of movement and expression. My passion for art, music, and dance led me to train with numerous schools, institutions, and companies, all in search of mastery and understanding of my craft. However, the deeper I immersed myself in these spaces, the more I realized that something fundamental was missing—kindness and queerness were either lacking or absent entirely. Read more>>
Olga Torres Baker
Over the years I have found myself drawn to help, support, connect, be a cheerleader, engage with people, have a positive attitude and persist. I was never able to have my own bilogical children and waited too many years, and three marriages, hoping it would “happen”. Then into my mid fourties I realized that waiting was over and accepted I would never get pregnant. Still, there was a desire within me to create or give birth to something and that let me to become a part-time entrepreneur. I learned that I enjoyed people, meeting new people and volunteering in the Latino community, especially Latinas, sharing knowledge and connecting my collection of friends, coleagues and other entrepreneurs with each other. That is how I found my purpuse – to be a connector. Read more>>
Adam Ramirez-rial
That Damn Moto Fam was the brain child of a few friends who saw a community that was greater than the outside perspective. Looking in, it is easy to condense the world of motorcycles into biased views presented by pop culture, media outlets, television and cinema, but the actual community that is involved is as diverse, and extraordinary as any other that you might encounter. We have enthusiasts from all walks of life, with varied political views, socio-economic backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, cultures, and beliefs. In that, we face a myriad of problems, and we must learn to overcome each and every one of them. The obvious issues of broke down motorcycles being repaired or restored barley scratch the surface of what we deal with, and one could never truly fathom the resiliency it takes to simply ride a motorcycle, unless you commit yourself to it. Read more>>
Chris Hill
I was laid off from teaching during the pandemic and started making pizza at home for family and friends. Eventually, I became obsessed with the science behind the dough process and my pizza started improving. Meanwhile, I was having trouble finding a teaching job again, so I started selling pizzas out of my house and then at local farmer’s markets. I quickly began to realize that our region of New Jersey, where it’s less populated and more rural, there is an absence of artisanal pizza. In order to have higher quality pizza and toppings, you’d have to head east towards New York City. Read more>>
David Gregory
I entered college as a biochemistry major, but found myself completely disenchanted with the physical sciences within a couple of months, as I took requisite philosophy and theology courses alongside my pre-med stuff. My philosophy professor, a fellow by the name of Frank Ambrosio, informed our first class in “The Beginning of Philosophy” that “philosophy is the practice of dying well”. I couldn’t sleep that night, and realized that if I really wanted to get into the medical sciences, I could do so after college, but I wanted to learn how to die well. Read more>>
Jamie Wang
Even though I have the most loving parents in the world, my babysitter was the television in my family. Ever since I was young, I have encountered many different genres of films and television, because I would always love a good story. No matter how am I feeling, stories are fuels to power me through a bad day of school or a relaxed weekend. I realized I wanted to work in the film industry after watching Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain because I wanted to create something that’s so emotional and touching that’s cross-culture. In my undergrad days, I went on many student film sets and gradually found my interest in production design and sound design. Read more>>
Cynthia Elliott
The hard way! Finding my purpose as Shaman Isis has been a journey shaped by external and internal transformation. It started with overcoming profound personal challenges, including being orphaned at a young age, recovering from long-term depression, and embracing my adventurous and unconventional side as I tried to find my footing in the world. Read more>>
Richard Blades
From my experience, I have found that purpose is the alignment of identity, passion and practice. Do we find it, or does it find us? I am not sure there is a right answer to that question but I believe that we will know it when we are living it. Read more>>
Madeline Fiore
I find purpose in the things that inspire me. Inspiration, for me, is elusive—hard to pin down in words but ever-present in the smallest details of life. Whether it’s the way raindrops race down a window or the streetlights shine through the fog, I see beauty and meaning in the world around me. But at times, my thoughts can become overwhelming, racing in my mind until I need to let them out. Writing helps me release that mental clutter, allowing me to make sense of the emotions that weigh on me. The act of writing—of expressing every feeling—brings me a sense of calm and clarity. Read more>>
Jonathan Leon
I found my purpose by having God in my life and trust Him. I never found purpose in anyone or anything. My purpose was found throughout my process of my photography journey. My process for my purpose was long because I invested most of my time in my business and God provided me with the strength and abilities I needed for this purpose. Read more>>
Mia Phoenix
I spent my 20s searching for who I was after growing up in a home that did not nurture my creativity or sense of individuality. My journey of finding my life purpose somehow led me to Hawaii, where I lived for 7 years. That’s where my soul was reborn. Read more>>
Hearon Dickson
In January, 2012, I attended my first yoga class. A friend had said to me, “you should try yoga,” and in very early January, 2012 (perhaps even New Years Day), I went to a class at the local YMCA. The year prior had been very challenging for me, in many ways, and I was looking forward to starting a new year. I went to the yoga class as a “new exercise regime,” not knowing much about yoga, and being new, of course I did not arrive early, the class was packed, and I had to set up my mat at the very front of the room right in front of the teacher. We all sat on our mats and the teacher began the class by saying, “inhale your hopes and dreams for the new year……..exhale that from the prior year which will no longer serve you.” Read more>>
Jason J. Battle
I like to think my purpose found me. I didn’t realize I was living life directionless & purposeless until I got on stage to perform for the first time. I was in my junior year of undergrad majoring in economics and finance. During this time, I guess I had some sort of epiphany. I realized I didn’t want to spend my life crunching numbers 9 to 5 in a cubicle 40 hours a week. I just wasn’t passionate about what I was majoring in. I emailed every theatre professor at my university letting them know I didn’t plan on changing my major this late but if they could give me private lessons on the side, that would be great. Only one of them emailed me back. Read more>>
