I recently came across a new term called purposepreneur, I am pretty sure I was just late in discovering it and perhaps you have already heard of it.
The few things that make me truly happy are travelling and writing, 2020 was going to be my big leap into what I have always wanted and that is to be a digital nomad.
Not being able to continue with my travels and find work in South Africa during the Coronavirus has demotivated me to write.
I have tried some new hobbies like learning guitar, and cooking, but that did not last very long.
I have all these desires to write about the incredible life-changing experiences and people I have met over the past year through my travels, but I am unable to find a grain of inspiration.
I know some people can relate to me, whilst others feel quite the opposite and have been thriving and pushing through this difficult time.
I reached out to an amazing woman I met just once and became Facebook friends with. I felt inspired by how she is using her time during the virus and lockdown to help others who are struggling to cope and process the impact of Covid-19. She helped me realize that there is an actual grieving process for the loss of our freedom, plans and goals for this year.
I had no idea she was also a life coach and the idea of seeing a life coach never crossed my mind before. I enrolled for one of her free webinars and became more curious about the work she does and accepted that I needed help. Fast forward to today, she has stretched out her hand to help me navigate through this time and get back on that path toward purposeful living.
So back to the purposepreneur term, the definition of a purposepreneur is: “A person who creates a business from a purposeful awakening through their life experiences or passions. Often that awakening comes through pain to wake you up.”
I am energized and inspired from being around these types of individuals, I have been fortunate to meet so many of them.
I met Tammy a “small town” girl last year through a close friend, and she has inspired me to write about this topic.
The first time Tammy picked up a camera, she was just 10 years old, her mum had bought her a camera as she loved being in front of the camera and taking photos of other people in family gatherings.
She describes that first camera as a Mik n Druk camera (point and shoot, a very basic camera), I had no clue what that meant as my Afrikaans is very basic.
“I never felt bad because I did not study, or felt out of place when I entered a room with people being highly educated, I wouldn’t feel intimidated by that, because to me I already felt powerful”
At 16 her mum gifted her with her first digital camera, and after high school Tammy felt that going to university meant having to please her family by studying something academic and not creative, so she chose to complete a few basic short courses.
From my conversation with Tammy I discovered that at a very young age she loved working hard and making money.
She tried almost everything and was successful at it, from working at a golf pro shop at a luxury resort to selling Tupperware.
It was when having to work on Christmas at the resort that she realised she had to start her own business and build her dreams to have a life of freedom and be able to spend every Christmas with her own family one day.
“Google was my friend, youtube was my friend and God was my friend.”
So she took a very basic 3 day course on photography with an established photographer and learnt everything on her own by taking lots of photos,learning online,and offering many free family shoots.
“I told myself I would buy my car by the age of 25 and have multiple businesses”
Tammy is extremely driven and passionate, she started her business at 22, and before she celebrated her 25th birthday had reached her goal of buying her first car. A few years later and she has her hands in a little bit of everything. One of her big dreams was to start an online boutique which she has recently launched.
“Everything in my life, everything beautiful, purposeful, everything that prospers in my life is because of God’s grace.”
She affirms that all of her success is attributed to God and her faith. She has also contributed to helping other young woman to begin their own journey in business and loves motivating them to get into business and believe that they can do whatever they want to do.
“Sometimes I feel like I do not know what I am doing, but I just keep going and it turns out beautiful”
Often we feel if we lived somewhere different, born to different circumstances, our lives would be better. Tammy lives in a small town I have never heard of, was raised by a single-parent mother and maternal grandparents, did not attend university, and yet created a life of purpose by following her passion and being a young woman of incredible faith. She is the ultimate definition of purposeprenuer!