Your Purpose Isn’t a Job Title—It’s How You Show Up at 3AM

I was up at 3AM today. Not because I had to be. Because I couldn’t sleep. And instead of lying there, I got up. Gym bag. Sneakers. Ready to go by 7.

Why?

Because I still have it in me.

And every time I get up when it’s hard, I remember: this is my purpose.

Let’s be clear—purpose isn’t a straight line. It’s more like a wild, messy, beautiful web. And when I look back, I see the thread that ties it all together: inspiring others through connection.

That thread goes way back. I became a certified personal trainer when I was still in college. Helping others use movement to heal and grow—it lit me up. Even when I stepped away to pursue a more stable corporate career, that part of me never left. Years later, as I led an MS support group, people kept asking about my fitness routine. I knew I couldn’t just guess—so I put my money where my mouth was and got recertified through NASM. Because if I was going to speak on it, I was going to know my stuff.

But that’s not the only way I connected.

After my corporate chapter ended, I found myself pulled into something completely different: jazz music. I started singing with backing tracks in nursing homes and senior centers. I had taken voice lessons after sharing music with my grandmother during her final days with cancer. Singing became sacred. It became healing. And when I saw how music brought smiles, tears, memories—it lit another fire in me.

So I kept going. Got better. Eventually built a seven-piece jazz band. We toured the tri-state area. It was joy. It was purpose. Until MS changed the game and forced me to step back. That chapter ended—but the mission stayed the same:

Inspire. Connect. Lift others up.

And that’s what I do now—through fitness, through art, through words, through every “Get up and go” moment when my body says no but my soul says yes.

I create coloring books and journals to help others find calm, strength, and purpose—especially those living with chronic illness. I design mugs with affirmations that remind people who they are. And every time I step into the gym, I know I’m walking proof that you can keep going.

People come up to me. “You inspire me,” they say. And I smile, because I get it. We’re all fighting something. But the fire to keep showing up? That’s a gift. That’s free.

Just like the man I saw on the news—the former token booth clerk from the 86th Street station in New York. When tokens went away, he didn’t retreat. He stepped out of the booth and started greeting everyone with kindness. “Have a good day,” he’d say to each person walking by.

When asked why, he replied:

“You just give it away. It’s free.”

That line hit me like a brick.

Gratitude is free.

Kindness is free.

Inspiration? Totally free.

That’s why I get up early. That’s why I create. That’s why I move. That’s why I keep showing up.

I’ve done the deep work—meditations by flashlight, gratitude journals, vision work, all of it. And it’s in those quiet, dark moments that I found the truth:

Your purpose doesn’t live out there.

It lives in the way you choose to rise every day.

So if you’re searching for your purpose, stop waiting.

Start looking at the pieces of your story.

What connected you to others?

What lit you up?

What kept calling you back?

That’s where you’ll find it.

And once you do—give it away.

Someone out there needs it.