[Part 2] All About Love: What It's Like to Find Your Passion and Purpose in Life
In part one of All About Love, you were introduced to some extraordinary personalities and entrepreneurs who shared what it’s like to find your passion and purpose in life.
They prove that doing something you love, waking up every day to do something so rewarding and satisfying, is something you can do too.
Their stories are inspiring, unconventional, and hopeful. And those who were lucky enough to have already found it, or are making a clear path towards it, are only too happy to encourage others to do the same.
So here’s part two of this series featuring more people who continue to motivate us to find what we are truly passionate about—
Meredith Tanton
Entrepreneur, Sweet Grass Social
I love getting to see the client’s reaction on wedding days and all our hard work pay off.
It’s so rewarding to see the smile on their face and know we had a part in making their vision a reality!
My best advice is to get as much experience as you can and do an internship to make sure this is the best fit for you. While it may seem glamorous, it’s a lot of manual labor! Before committing to starting your own firm, make sure you know what all it entails.
Photographer
I am a food/lifestyle photographer based in Charleston SC. I realized this was the job for me while working on another job unrelated to photography. I recognized that my passion was not as I had thought and that instead I wanted the freedom, flexibility and creativity as an entrepreneur and creative.
I love most that I get to meet so many people and learn about their passions.
I stay passionate by seeing that I am fortunate to do something I love and hopefully lift others up through what I say and do.
Take the name of your God and jump off the cliff. There are few guarantees in life, so I believe that pursuing ones passions is a great way to light up ones own life and the life of others.
Daniel Epting
Events Manager, Epting Events
When we lost a facility contract to an out of state chain caterer. [that was] my ah ha moment to take care of our staff, and our company and most importantly the clients that wanted our personal, hospitable, southern, familial attention. This blessing in disguise was when I realized being an events venue owner was where I needed to focus my energy.
Being able to shake hands with clients and tell them to think outside the box and be creative is what I love about what I do. Assuring a client that I want them to think big because I want to help them see their vision come to fruition is so rewarding.
Seeing clients leave on an emotional high and following up on social media is amazing but at the day to day level, seeing my staff have the opportunity to voice their opinion on our venues and how to make it better for each client - wedding, corporate, social, all inspires me.
I always stress with our staff that we're in the business of helping people have fun and there's not a lot of jobs that do that. Therefore, the more we practice what we sell the better we'll be at it and hands down our best advertisement is the work we do. While we sell food, what we truly sell is hospitality.
So my advice for anyone who wants to get into this business? RUN RUN RUN… towards it.
Take care of your people and give them the tools to take care of your clients. Those tools will range from a fork to a truck, a tray jack to a new menu item or a chair to a whole building around it! Have fun and encourage creativity amongst clients, staff, and yourself. Lead by example and stay out of the box.
Jeff Crane
DJ, Craz-E Crane
I’m a DJ -- a Wedding DJ, Club DJ, Radio Mix DJ, On-Air Radio Personality. And, I create and produce re-mixes and original music.
I do remember when I realized being a DJ was something special. When I was 5, my parents gave me a clock radio – a Fisher Price clock radio which I still have. The radio gave me the freedom to scan and find new music that I would then share with my friends.
I was quick to figure out how a song can change someone’s mood. Fast forward to middle school, I would bring my CDs to parties, play music and watch the room come alive to what I was playing.
I love music more than anything. I love to dance. I LOVE to see people dance and have a good time. I love to see the effect music has on people.
I love the creative aspect of what I do – working to create, design and execute a unique performance, specifically designed for the people in front of me. No two performances are alike for me.
Also, I love the prep work of my job. I love the research aspect of it, evaluating and exploring new music, putting in the hard work in the studio. All this preparation helps me to know my music and it enables me to get creative and to make things fun and enjoyable for my audience.
I listen to music all day. Sometimes even when I sleep (yes, I sometimes sleep with my AirPods in!). What keeps me going is finding that new dance track or in some cases creating it and seeing the response once I play the song for others.
When I’m performing, I get really engrossed with what I’m doing, enjoying every minute of it. I’m fortunate. I never look at this as a “job”.
My dad always said, “Do what you love, and you’ll be successful.” So, take the first step. Don’t be afraid to mess up. Make a goal, work, achieve it, then repeat. Annnnd above all …. DON’T GIVE UP, DON’T EVER GIVE UP!
Elizabeth Fay
Photographer, Sean Money + Elizabeth Fay Photography
I take lots and lots and lots of photos. :) [It started when] I got my first camera (a Mickey Mouse camera from Disney World) when I was maybe 6 or so and never turned back.
The world is fascinating. To be able to freeze a little teeny tiny part of the way I see it and be able to look back at that time/place/person over and over again, it just simply makes me feel like me. It's not just job to me. It's who I am.
On a personal level, I'll always be passionate about documenting my life experiences. Life is so fast-paced and jam packed that I have to document it or I forget all the awesome stuff I have been able to do and see.
When it comes to work though, I do get bored when I am shooting too much of the same thing. It is very important to my partner and me to keep variety in our work.
We photograph a lot of weddings, but we also shoot with bands, comedians, models, actors, and so on. We get to travel from time to time for work, so a new environment is always a nice recharge.
I'm always learning. I know that I can take a good photograph, but I also know there will always be room for improvement. Stay open to that. That's the fun part.
Also, if you want to run your own business, you need to learn about, you guessed it, business. That is the hard and boring part, at least in my opinion. I had years of photography under my belt before starting a business but no business background whatsoever.
Luckily, I am a self starter and enough of a Type A that I picked up the business side of things somewhat quickly by just diving in and figuring it out as I went along. You can take all the pretty pictures you want, but that is only one side of the coin.
In recent years, the idea of following your passion has fallen to the wayside in favor or more pragmatic decision making when it comes to careers. This is proof that it doesn’t have to be that way. Perhaps the real message here is that finding your passion and purpose in life is possible—with time, persistence, and determination.
If you’re seeking inspiration, visit our Instagram and check out more stories, personalities, and adventures.