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.

Natasha Gabbayan

My purpose came at a very young age. I never had to question where my passion came from or what career I wanted to go into. Creativity was always in my DNA but I would say I really found my purpose in middle school. After being isolated by your classic middle school bullies, I began to frequent thrift stores solo and experiment with thrift flips. Each day I’d test out a new outfit I created by scratch out of what I had sourced that weekend. I would sit down and cut up and redesign old classics and turn them into pieces that could transcend time. This is when I started my vintage blog, The Vintage Influence which has now become TVI; my own vintage brand. From 2006 to 2023 my purpose has continued to be fueled by the world of vintage. Read More>>

Dariana Cordeeo

I found my purpose through the tests and processes that brought me closer to Christ, I understood that all adversities, tests and processes are necessary as His perfect plan to form and train us to fulfill our purpose on earth, and in this way in everything. whatever we undertake to be successful because we are already ready for that! finding or understanding our purpose in Christ gives us identity, for this reason everything we do goes well, we are full, happy, complete! Read More>>

Justine Berges

The word purpose is thrown in the conversation quite a lot. We all strive to achieve a sense of purpose, yet I feel we don’t really know what it means and how to get there. To me it started making sense after reading Think like a Monk by Jay Shetty, he explains that purpose is something that you enjoy doing, you are good at, and that helps others. Read More>>

Tobias Platt

I discovered my purpose with music back in 2018. I was enrolled in culinary arts in San Diego and realized it wasn’t a trade I could see myself doing for a long period of time. I knew I had to find another trade to pursue. Ever since I was young, I was always a fan of music. I could clearly remember being at my auntie’s house in Virginia and hearing Rick James and Earth, Wind, and Fire for the first time. Fast forward to 2018, I decided to go all in and become a music producer. Read More>>

Brandon Taylor

I found my purpose in my natural abilities as leader as well as my passion for health and wellness. Throughout my life, no matter how much I ran from being a leader, I always ended up in a leadership position. I had to learn to man up to be a living example of how things should be done. I started to post motivational quotes, which transitioned into doing videos on Snapchat and Instagram. My teammates and friends looked to me as a leader, because I did the simple, intangible things of life the right way as best I could. I am far from perfect, don’t get me wrong. But I did my absolute best to be disciplined, punctual, consistent, and positive on a daily basis. God showed me at an early age as well as now, how the power of meditation, prayer, or whatever you would like to call it works. Everything I have prayed for throughout my life has pretty much come to fruition. Through health and wellness, I have helped quite a few people lose weight and lead healthier lifestyle through advice and being a living example. I do the things people believe they cannot do to show it is possible. I went vegetarian to show people you can still be a strong, nice-sized individual without consuming meat. I stopped lifting free-weights to let my body recover after playing football for 9 years to show it is possible to be build a strong, solid stature without using a barbell or machines. I chose to lead a more holistic lifestyle to show the pharmaceutical industry is not needed to remain healthy. As a leader and fitness enthusiast, it is important to be a living example to show the endless possibilities of doing what is not the status quo in whatever industry you are apart of in today’s society. Read More>>

Samantha Minor

Finding my purpose wasn’t easy. To be honest it came from the darkest moments of my life and feeling lost, alone and helpless. I was diagnosed with cancer not once but twice. From that I realized it was here to teach me a lot of life lessons. Like how to love myself, set boundaries with others and how to truly care for myself mind, body and soul. Once that was realized I then wanted to help other women on their healing journeys and teach them what I knew to help get them through those same dark moments. Read More>>

Gail Turner-Cooper

Throughout my life, I have always had a strong inclination toward helping others. It’s ingrained in my nature to offer my skills and support to those in need. Growing up, I was fortunate to have been taught an incredible work ethic, which further reinforced my desire to make a positive impact in people’s lives. Early on, I embarked on a career in the corporate world, recognizing it as a valuable opportunity to develop my talents and skills. While the corporate environment provided me with valuable experiences and growth, I couldn’t help but feel a void in my soul. It was during this time that I realized I needed to explore my true passions and align my work with my inner calling. Read More>>

Megan Correa

We all find our purpose when we stand in it for the first time. We spend our whole lives searching for gratification based on what our family, our ego and what society tells us we need, but until we actually find our true purpose, we continue to feel this inescapable emptiness. I’ve found my purpose multiple times and in a lot of ways I am still on the search for my purpose- I think we all have more than one purpose if we have the capacity to invite that possibility into our reality. Or perhaps a better way of looking at our purpose is that it is multi-layered and as we journey through life we start to peal away at each layer until we see what is at the core. Read More>>

Reven Marie Swanson

The activity to be creative and find meaning in that creative act involves a choice. A choice to dedicate time, money and effort to a purpose. The art I create must always answer to the eternal “WHY”. Not all the artwork is successful. Not all the time spent is effective and productive. I look at the decision to create something with purpose is a journey of a lifetime. It’s an exploration to understand culture, community and diversity. I am sensitive to understanding materials and how to convey a message, thought or stewardship. The world is full of meaning and purpose. It’s a choice to develop a purpose in your artwork. Read More>>

Dani De La Rosa

Being the owner of DigitalMyst Photography I found my purpose early on in my childhood. I absolutely loved working with kids when I was an assistant teacher in a daycare and apart of the safe sitter babysitting club! I also loved taking photos (even in the early days of a flip phone) I always wanted to document my life as a teen/young adult. I suppose those two skills merged when I realized I could actually book clients and make a living having fun! Read More>>

Katharina Boger

I have always been singing and dancing in front of people, and as a child, it was a hobby that seamlessly transitioned into a career that I love. Music has been a calling for me; it found me and became an integral part of my life.I am a singer-songwriter, born in Kazakhstan (Asia), raised in Europe, and I have been based in Los Angeles for some time now. I have had the incredible opportunity to work with a renowned producer, Nick Turpin, who has collaborated with artists like Justin Bieber and David Guetta. My brand, DAngel, plays a significant role as it represents my two personalities: a very loving and compassionate side, as well as a cheeky devil who is willing to go to great lengths to achieve my goals and is deeply passionate about music. Read More>>

Jeff Williams

I’ve always been interested in painting and making art but it wasn’t until I found Sign Painting that I feel I found my purpose. It’s a functional art form that speaks to my interest in vintage design and precision of structure. Since discovering the trade it has completely consumed my identity and given me a practical outlet which not only benefits me but every business I have the opportunity to work with. Read More>>

Sara Howard

I believe that my purpose in life found me. My calling is to serve the community to aid in releasing and/or softening pain and suffering. My passion in life is to create food with love; specifically by cooking nutrient dense meals that heal. I have been blessed to utilize wisdom from my personal health journey to aid others, specializing as a Functional Nutrition Coach and Nutrient Dense Personal Chef. Read More>>

Kedric Barrett

I found my purpose while on my journey of taking back my health. The very thing that I was really good at it almost became my undoing. I started cooking at the age of 12, but reluctantly. I was a latchkey kid and my mother called me from work one day to let me know that she was going to be late coming home and she needed me to start dinner per her instructions on how to do so. At that time all I wanted to do after school was watch Yo! MTV Raps and talk to girls on the phone. Long story short I went from starting dinner to finishing dinner. I come from a long line of great cooks so it was in my DNA to be great, but I had to find my own path. My father also went to culinary school after he was injured on the job and could no longer work in his field and he became a chef. He was already a great cook and becoming a trained chef only helped to enhance my abilities. My gift also became my curse. I was already a fat kid from the age of 8, and learning how to cook did not help me. I used my gift to fuel my appetite that only grew more and more voracious and it contributed to me ballooning up to 461 lbs. After decades of being obese and mounting an overwhelming amount of health problems I had weight loss surgery and I lost 245 lbs. I had to re-educate myself on how to eat to live and no longer live to eat. Doing this helped me to realize that I had a gift from God that I should be sharing with the world. I found my purpose, becoming a chef. Read More>>

Kearsten Monielle

I’ve had many failed attempts at discovering myself and discovering my purpose in this life. I’ve juggled with my faith, my self esteem many times over. But life began to look clearer for me April 2020. Because in April 2020, I gave birth to my daughter and I finally realized how important this life is and what you make of it. I made a decision that day to make her happiness my mission. This determination lead to my leaving her father and acknowledging how unhealthy that relationship was and also acknowledging some of the unhealthy ways I treated myself. I didn’t want my daughter growing up with the same issues I struggled with, so I began to do the work. I drew back to my first love and began pursuing music again, In that pursuit I regained a power about myself I hadn’t tapped into for so long. My music is doing better than ever, Im finding happiness and strength, balancing motherhood, loving Christ, and serving my purpose to bless others through song and through example through my testimony. Read More>>

Natacha Zamor

I believe that it is an ongoing journey to zero in on one’s purpose. Personally, I am very introspective. I have never been one to follow trends, or wanting to fit in. I must say that being this way helped more than it hindered. I assess what gives me joy, pushes me to be more productive, satisfies my need for self actualization and what am I competent in all together. This is how I am able to understand what my purpose is. It helps to keep myself focus even if the execution or the journey differs. Read More>>

Marisela Marquez

My name is Marisela Marquez. In 2018, I had the most devastating year of my life.

I saw my father take his last breath after battling a year-long journey with pancreatic and liver cancer. Then four months later, my husband had an accident and died. Days after my husband’s death, I miscarried our second child.

After experiencing my losses, I fell into a deep depression. I felt like an empty vessel roaming this earth without direction or purpose. My grief was so intense that it felt unbearable and unlivable at times.

I still had to care for my young child and everything else that accompanies loss. It took me some time to realize that I couldn’t continue to NOT do anything about my situation. I needed to seek help, and I needed a lot of it. Read More>>

Tarvia Bills-Hardison

This is a great question ! I found out that I was going to be Tarvia Bills The Cleaning Lady when I cleaned my very first house and got paid !! It was amazing to see how pleased the client was and how proud I felt by making him happy ! Yes I will never forget Mr.James he died this year and he still was my favorite client and my very first one. Read More>>

Anthony Montes

I found my purpose, by accident. I didn’t set out to do what I do now. From the age of 5, I wanted to be an actor for all the wrong reasons. I wanted to be anyone but myself. I grew up with a physically abusive, emotionally abusive, alcoholic father, who convinced me I was worthless. On July 4th, 1983 I had enough of this life. I was leaving work in Queens, NY, and waiting for the train on the elevated, to take me home. I needed to silence my father’s voice in my head. So I jumped. As soon as I hit the tracks, I thought of my Mother and knew I couldn’t put her through this, so I jumped to my left and was able to squeeze between the train and the fence. As the train passed it hit and fractured my left arm. I was lucky. I was no longer able to see the subway without breaking down so living and pursuing a career in NY, became impossible so I moved to LA. I studied the Meisner acting technique for about 4 years. Read More>>

Austin Miles

This is going to sound like the most cliche answer I could give but I truly feel like my purpose found me. I was going through a time where I wasn’t the most confident in myself and was trying to figure out what would make me happy long term. I always thought I would go into the criminal justice field just because I liked it and I was familiar with it, but I never had a passion for it. Since I was a little kid I always enjoyed shopping with my mom and putting on a nice outfit, but never thought that it could lead me to a career that would sustain me. Eventually it clicked for me that Fashion was the industry I should be in and ever since then it’s been nothing short of amazing. Read More>>

laura madden

This is a great question for me- multilayered and one that continues to unfold, so I’ll start with the most pertinent both personally and professionally. I have always believed in living a stylish lifestyle to ease the stressors of everyday modern life, but with one caveat- I have made it my mission to make sure it is not at the expense of the planet, and I have transmuted my mission into the creation of my art business, ReFashioned Art- what I consider the merging of sustainability and style. Read More>>

Katie Moise Simmons

Discovering one’s purpose often emerges from personal experiences, and my journey as a pelvic floor physical therapist began after my own experiences with pelvic floor PT at a young age. I was dealing with some recurring hip pain while running and the wonderful PT I was working with referred me to a pelvic PT at her clinic. Turns out, I had some pelvic floor dysfunction that I did not realize could be connected to my hip pain. This experience led me to the realization about the lack of resources available for women experiencing pelvic floor symptoms across different age groups. As a young twenty-something year old, I wanted to start bringing awareness to this area of the body that can often feel taboo for many people to talk about. Read More>>

Daniel Benoit

After years of research, studying and observations, it was my passion & desire to share as well as educate the public on the awareness and existence of Sasquatch. I’m not out to force any beliefs on my view on the topic but only to get people to consider as well as to get them to Entertain the thought of a possibility that many don’t tend to consider or realize what is most logical! Read More>>

Brook Aitken

I think finding your purpose takes time, there are no shortcuts. Most people are not born with some innate direction in life rather we find our way, it can be a messy process at times, but that is ok. Maybe we are inclined to be a teacher, a business person or an artist but it just takes time to narrow it all down. It wasn’t until college that I finally had my compass pointed in a good direction. Read More>>

Lorenzo Chavez Fine Art.

I was blessed at an early age to fall in love with the arts. I knew by the age of 10 that I really enjoyed and loved the creative time I spent during the day.My Passion is drawing and painting subjects from around the American West. I love the landscapes, cultures and history of this part of America. The wide-open country and big skies are what I get the biggest inspiration from. My art is represented in 6 major art galleries around the American West, they are listed at my website www.lorenzochavez.com. I am constantly working on new subjects and paintings that are inspiring to me.I was recently asked what advice would i give my 25-year-old self, I am now 64. The first thing that came to my heart and mind was t0 Draw, Draw, Draw that is a skill that will take you far. Be passionate about your life and paint what you love and love what you paint. Draw and paint from life (Not Photos) that is where the great lessons are learned and earned.I read a great little book recently titled Beginners Mind. It was a great book about the empowering idea of always being open to learning. This has help me grow recently and to be very open to new art ideas and lessons from painting or drawing from life. It helps me get out of my own way and be open. Read More>>

Mike Kelleher

I did not find my purpose. My purpose found me. It was never my intent to do what I am doing now. I saw a need at a former practice is was working with. Our patients were going elsewhere for injectable services. I know that no one else can treat our patients better than we can, so I decided to give injectables a try. If I was good at it and liked it, that’s great, if not then that would be ok as well. Just so happens I fell in love with this subspecialty, was good at it and became exceedingly passionate about it. That was 10 years ago. It has since become my focus, passion, and devotion. Read More>>

Joyce Kyles

I really believe that my purpose has always been a part of who I’ve been all of my life. I developed a passion for writing at a very early age. My third-grade teacher would always encourage me to write short stories and poems. She entered one of them in a citywide poetry contest. I didn’t win, but I took a lot of pride in her belief in me. My paternal grandmother would have me and my siblings participate in a myriad of activities in the church. Many of these included public speaking. My father was very charismatic and very much a people person. He and my grandmother were very much involved in community service and servant leadership. Read More>>

Dr. Bianca ‘Mz Bee’ Lee

Finding my purpose has been a journey of self-discovery and exploration. It started from a young age when I was immersed in the world of music and creativity. Throughout my career as a recording artist, songwriter, producer, and bassist, I felt a deep sense of fulfillment and connection. However, as I evolved, I realized there was more to my purpose than just music. Read More>>

Niketa Calame-Harris

My mother used to tell the story of me as a little 5-year-old girl in tap and ballet getting ready for my first recital. She had a photographer come over to take pictures for the program and family. I was sitting there giving them nothing, sitting quietly as if I was a shy little one, which was not true at all. Right when they were about to give up, my mom placed a microphone in my hand and I came to life. I still have the pictures to this day. From that point on my mom dedicated the rest of her days to making sure that my love for entertainment became a reality and I have been pursuing that dream ever since. Read More>>

Angela Perkins

My purpose is to serve as a beacon of inspiration for individuals who silently bear the weight of their pain. Many people find solace in concealing their suffering behind a facade, unwilling to reveal their true emotions. I am dedicated to providing support and encouragement to those in need. Through genuine understanding, I aim to ignite a spark of hope within their hearts. It is my mission to empower individuals to embrace their vulnerabilities and embark on a path towards healing and self-discovery. Together, we can unravel the layers of pain and illuminate the path towards a brighter future, one step at a time. How I found my purpose is that I saw many people hiding behind a mask of pain. People who I thought were strong, wasn’t strong at all. They have been hurt to the point where they self sabtoge anything. It took some time for me to know that hurt individuals will hurt other people for no reason at all. Some hurt individuals will project their insecurities on you. It took me some time to realize how a person feels about you generally doesn’t have anything to do with you, especially if you have not done anything to that person or they don’t know you. Some people can’t get over their past and they bleed on people who have not cut them. Read More>>

VickKnew Zeus

For the most part, I always loved entertainment in general. Whether it was movies, video games, or whatever, I just loved it. I knew what I wanted to do since I was a child. Working with Gerald ( Director for Project Orange) taught me things, and you just have to stick with it. One of Gerald’s many lessons is show, don’t tell. That always gets me when writing a movie script or working on my manga (Project Bruja). Finding my purpose has always been there since day one. Read More>>

Harli G

Ever since I can remember, I have always asked myself the question: why am I here. What was I meant to do? Every time I thought about that question, I would be too intimidated or daunting to dig and figure out why. I kept going through life ignoring the voice that would pop up and would try to bury the feeling of unfulfillment. I eventually met my husband, got into my career and started a family. However, the feeling wouldn’t go away. I would chance having conversations with people I knew, but the answer I got was, “you have everything, the nice house, great career, beautiful children and a husband that loves you. What more could you want?” So I continued to ignore it. I got promoted at work, bought an amazing house with my husband, have 4 amazing and beautiful kids and still felt like something was missing. Fast forward to the pandemic, I started feeling depressed, anxiety, isolated, and had multiple breakdowns. It was at that point that I decided, now would be a great time to figure this thing out. I started my personal growth journey. I first honed in and had to identify my core values. Then, I identified what I was passionate about. What were my superpowers? Once I was able to do that, I asked myself, what could I do that would allow me to walk in those core values everyday. I wanted to provide an outlet and platform that would allow other women to discover and tap into their purpose. That’s when I created the podcast “Inside The Bubble with Harli G.” This platform provides a safe haven for mothers-on-the-go and high achieving career women to motivate and inspire one another through their stories and experiences. That is how I came to discover my purpose. Read More>>

Jesse Greene

I was struggling to understand how to find a voice and present myself to a broader audience. I always wanted to be in an art show or in a gallery. It was the first MFA show I attended in college that really opened my eyes to the limits I could push myself to with my creativity. It was that night that I found my purpose as an artist. Read More>>

Dr. Deborah Johnson-Blake

At that time is when I discovered my purpose in life. My purpose in life is to serve others and be the most effective servant leader I can be based on my life’s lessons and experiences after reflecting on my purpose in life and realizing that I was a resource to many people in the humblest form. Whether it was providing the correct spelling of a word or an address of a friend, I was the one person that individuals relied on for information. This was in the early years of the Internet age, but the information I provided couldn’t always be found on the wide world web. The journey to discovering my purpose was a simple message from God that transformed how I lived and determined my place in the world: to be a resource to others and serve. My service to others is not always publicized and ranges from small to large tasks. I live to serve! Read More>>

Anna

In the depths of introspection and exploration, I embarked on a search to align my passion with my values. It was during this journey that I discovered the profound connection between my love for self-care and the importance of using vegan body care products. Veganism and cruelty-free living had always resonated with my core values of compassion and respect for all beings. Now, I saw an opportunity to extend that philosophy to my skincare routines – to champion products that not only nourished my body but also aligned with my ethical beliefs. Read More>>

Rebeca Mata

How did I find my purpose? Such a deep question for most. I discovered my purpose in life following a traumatic childhood experience. My life drastically changed when I was about 9-10 years old. I was sexually abused multiple times by a distant family friend and was very confused throughout my childhood years as to why this had happened to me.

Growing up, I felt different than most kids as I silently navigated a world of confusion, blame, and fear. I relied heavily on my childhood dog, Snowball, to be my confidant and to help me through a lot of my fears from childhood to teenage years. I remember many times where I would repeatedly talk to Snowball about what had happened to me, cry into his fur and ask him if I was going to be okay, while also begging him to be in my life forever because I needed him. From that moment, animals became and continue to be a significant part of my life and healing. Snowball lost his battle to cancer and his death had a devastating impact on me. I silently grieved his death as I felt I had lost my best friend and confidant. Read More>>