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.

Carmen Smith

Finding my purpose didn’t come until later in life for me, after age forty. I’m a retired healthcare professional but I didn’t feel like that was my true purpose in life. Let me explain. My desire has always been to help people. That’s my heart. But the avenue in which I’m supposed to help wasn’t always clear to me. I’m a Respiratory Therapist by training but I always felt there was something more I was called to do. Choosing a career in healthcare was safe. It meant a stable career, decent pay, and the ability to take care of myself and family when needed. Pursuing my passion or even finding out what my passion was had to be based in security and a paycheck. When I was deciding career choices and which colleges to attend, I tossed around many traditional career paths in my mind. Such as teaching, nursing, and being a doctor. Careers I felt women were supposed to choose. I decided against those careers for various reasons and settled on respiratory therapy. I believe if I had career shadowing opportunities in various fields I would probably have chosen differently. But career shadowing wasn’t big when I was high school. Maybe someone would have nurtured my love of reading literature or assisted in developing my writing and speaking abilities. Writing is my passion. I’m still embracing the whole speaking gift. Read more>>

Briana Outlaw

To be honest, I feel as though my purpose found me at a time in my life when I needed it most. After many years of seeking meaning, I found myself alone in a new city with seemingly unlimited possibilities. After meeting someone there that had a social media platform, I realized that my journey and my voice could inspire others. I proceeded to step outside my comfort zone and be openly vulnerable in my first video and I received messages about how people felt inspired by my story. The feeling of inspiring others was so heartwarming that I realized that this was the right path for me and my future. Read more>>

Allison Rann

How I Found My Purpose

Finding my purpose was not something that happened overnight. In fact, it began as a struggle, and I had no idea at the time that it would lead me to where I am today.

My journey started with my own skin challenges. I’ve been there, looking in the mirror, frustrated by breakouts and flare-ups that seemed to have no end. I tried product after product, listening to advice that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t, hoping I’d finally find a solution that would actually last. Through the trial and error, I found myself getting curious. I didn’t want temporary fixes; I wanted real answers. And slowly, that desire for answers turned into something more than just a way to help myself—I realized I wanted to help others who were going through the same struggle. Read more>>

Ronald Ruben

Well it took me a while to discover my purpose. At a very young age I knew that I was called to serve. However, I was reluctant and preferred to stay in the background. Growing up I stood and saw my parents lose friends and experience church hurt because of ministry. This caused me to run away. I wanted to be an itinerant minister. Preach and go home! However, one Sunday I went to work ( the only Sunday I ever worked) a client stopped me and simply said “You know you’re going to be a Pastor.” My response was “no thank you.” Over the next three years I continued to run from Pastoring. I received prophecies and message saying that I am called to be a shepherd. One day I went to a church service and the preacher called me out and she said “you have a Pastor’s heart” and I was called to a fast where God reminded me of the call on my life I also grew more and more frustrated with the lack of structure and discipleship in my local church. I felt told me that my frustration was a gift and the reason I was so frustrated was because I had solution to that problem..and her I am. With the help of the love of my life, my wife, Faimire, I am walking in my purpose as a Pastor and as a leader Read more>>

Ryan Griswold

My purpose seems to be a metamorphosis process for me. It’s a constantly evolving process of changing, creating, and self-actualization. My interests first led me to study art and design in combination through a pursuing a degree in architecture. While there I discovered photography, 3D modeling, graphic design, and a study of detail that few degrees teach or allow you to discover. Understanding the environment of how things go together and how to make them better was what drew me to architecture. 3D modeling is becoming a larger part of the industry. Which really changed my pursuit because of my childhood obsession with video games. So I started to focus on combining both and focused on becoming the best Architecture Visualization artist. This forces you to study lighting, become a texture artist, and Photoshop compositor, and to study photo realism because that is the job to recreate reality in the computer to showcase new buildings for marketing. While pursuing 3D Artisty as my full-time job I would always have the wanderlust to go out and shoot real photography on the weekends. Studying special effects in camera and in post-production because reality is very boring to me. I want to be an architect of the world, to create peak experiences everywhere, and to redesign things, places and spaces the way I would if I could. The best way to do that is in Photoshop, which is the epicenter of my workflow for the last 12 years. As time rolls on you I get bored with the reality of stagnation. Over the last five years, I was researching the Vitruvian & Renaissance Man, studying philosophy, neuroscience, digital art, fitness, skill acquisition, time, and mortality. Those are the core chapters of my book which I’ve printed but have yet to publish. In the mean time, I’m making the book into a movie. Focusing in on the American Dream and the American Nightmare. Read more>>

Rachel Coppola

I’ve had a long journey to get me to where I am today. I finally feel like I am doing exactly what I should be doing in this moment. I’ve always had a love for theatre of all kinds. I started singing and doing live shows as soon as I could speak. Growing up I was always in chorus, schools plays, and continued to do so in college where I majored in musical theatre and was also director of my school’s co-ed a capella group. When I was 25, I moved to NYC to pursue my dream of being an artist. There I met my now husband who introduced me to Maggie Flanigan Studio where I completed their two-year Meisner conservatory program. I’ve studied at various programs through out my time in the city and have done countless auditions. My husband and I just produced our first feature movie together that we also both acted in. He is also the writer and director. Together I feel like we are an unstoppable team and can accomplish anything we set out to do. We’ve both had success recently getting cast in major network tv shows and indie films. I feel grateful for the opportunity to have such a supportive partner and to be able to work together and take the journey to create art into existence. We both have big goals that we are trying to achieve and are working hard to do so. I’ve never felt like I should be doing exactly what I’m doing in this moment until now. Read more>>

Ronald Berrian

We found our purpose through caring for our son/brother who is diagnosed with autism who experienced a lot of difficulties receiving haircuts. When Ronald was younger, we had to restrain him to cut his hair. This went on for a few years. Then one day, he stop resisting and allowed us to cut his hair. Although he stopped resisting, it still took a while for him to sit for the shape-up. During this time in our lives, my wife (Monique Berrian) was occasionally being asked to decorate for small events. Although she had a love for being creative, and I had a love for cutting hair, we could not take our talents further because our son Ronald Jr. had severe aggression and other issues. During this time, we were also on a lot of ministry positions at our local church. Although our life was difficult, we could hear God speaking to us about helping the autistic community. Read more>>

Yevheniia Neff

I can’t say that I was looking for my purpose. But I always wanted to understand why I’m in this world, what makes me different from others, why many people don’t respect the time given to them so much that they live in vain…. Because of everything that has happened over the past 2,5 years, I can confidently say that I was inspired by the opportunity to simply live, simply breathe, to see my kid happy. When I realized that this is the main value in life, at one point I realized that it is the opportunity to live a full life that inspires me most of all. After all, while we are alive, absolutely everything is in our power Read more>>

Shameeka Samuels

I always knew I would have a business because I always had side hutsles. I remembered my daughter’s 1st Birthday/Christening, I went all out with decorating, theme etc. For the next couple of years she had a birthday party, Next thing I know I was planning parties and events. I was getting paid to be an event planner. Event Planning is something that comes naturally to me so I was able to incorporate in my current Business. Read more>>

 I’geal “cherie” Turner, Mot, Otr/l

To be honest, my purpose found me. My journey truly began when I embraced the roles of Occupational Therapist, wife, and mother. Balancing a career with motherhood can certainly be challenging. Some aspects come easily, while others require considerable effort. I have worked hard—and continue to do so—to fulfill these important roles. Read more>>

Nicholas Diak

There is that saying that one should not compare themselves to other people. When we compare ourselves to others, especially in creative endeavors, we will always find some metric we are failing at: the wish to be more successful (commercial, critical, or both), the wish to be recognized, the wish to be more proficient, and so on. When focusing on these perceived faults, one can overlook or forget their successful and unique contributions to the world. Read more>>

Xiaoyi Peng

A while ago, like many others who tend to internalize and overthink, I fell into a spiral of existential crisis. We may easily answer the purpose of doing a particular thing, but then, what is the purpose of achieving that purpose? After questioning it a few times, purpose itself seems to dissolve, leaving only more questions about this absurd world. Between the present and our inevitable death, what exactly can we do to resist being eroded by this sense of meaninglessness? I try to distract myself from these thoughts. And so, I found myself drawn to certain things, like drawing and painting. When I’m engaged in making art, I don’t think about whether it’s meaningful. Creating gives me the illusion of escaping this absurd world. Perhaps life should be filled with things like this. Read more>>

Keith King

For me, finding my purpose wasn’t just about fitness—it was about something deeper. I realized that men today often lack a true sense of brotherhood, faith, and the drive to become the best version of themselves. Many men feel isolated, competing rather than connecting, and unsure of what it means to be truly belong. There’s a sense of always going at it alone, where they say or they’re told to just ‘figure it out’ and be strong without showing vulnerability. The isolation can be crippling for most. Brotherhood used to be a key part of men’s lives, but in the recent generations, it has faded and become part of the past. Read more>>

Vincent Veloso

My purpose is ongoing and always going through refinements and adjustments.  Stephen Covey describes one of the habits of highly effective people  as ‘beginning with the end in mind.’ One’s purpose or end can deviate or change over  a lifetime, but there are themes, interests, passions that each of us can cultivate and nurture.Introspection and intuition can help play a part, determining the end, a course of action and one’s direction and purpose in life. There are many aspects of life where you can find a purpose in the areas of health, wealth, career, relationships, etc.  Read more>>

Danielle Parkinson

From an early age, my purpose seemed to find me through a love for reading and storytelling. I devoured all kinds of literature—fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, encyclopedias, comics—you name it. I even remember reading out loud to impress the adults in my family, and writing stories that delighted my teachers. Although my end-of-term reports often read, “She’s a great student but too talkative,” my energy for storytelling and connection continued to grow. Read more>>