Joanna Gaines’ True Passion Is Not Real Estate or Design
Joanna Gaines is best known for her work with Chip Gaines on the popular show Fixer Upper, but real estate and home design aren’t the HGTV star’s true passions. Here’s which job Gaines really loves and what she has said about turning passion projects into purpose and profession.
Joanna Gaines opened up about confidence and her purpose in life
Fixer Upper star Joanna Gaines is a skilled home designer, but that’s not what the HGTV star says is her true purpose. She has spoken about hiding in a bathroom stall at school to avoid rejection, and revealed that the experience helped her figure out what she was meant to do with her life.
“I discovered that my purpose was to help people who are insecure because I didn’t like the way it made me feel, in that stall; that’s not who I am. That’s not who I was made to be,” Gaines told Darling Magazine in February 2018. “… I really felt like God was telling me that I would be able to help women who weren’t confident, who were looking for guidance or who were lonely. And so I knew that from that place of pain there was going to be a place to reach others, because I had actually lived in that place; I had felt that pain myself.”
She also opened up about confidence and how it related to finding one’s life purpose. “I think confidence can be confusing,” Gaines said. “You think beauty is confidence, you think what you have is confidence … when really confidence is a mindset of, ‘I am created to do what I do, to be the best at what I can.’ It doesn’t come from your giftings and talents, it comes from knowing who you are and that there’s a purpose for your life.”
Joanna Gaines’ greatest passion isn’t design or real estate
The HGTV star’s comments about confidence and purpose reflect what she has said about her greatest passion. Although she is a skilled home designer and real estate mogul, Joanna Gaines is most excited about baking.
“I’ve dreamed about having a bakery since I opened the Little Shop on Bosque Boulevard in 2003,” Gaines told Today in October 2016. “After our move to the Silos (our market and shops), the little building on the front of the property was the perfect spot to finally open one.” She added that owning a bakery felt “surreal” and “like it was meant to be.”
Gaines said that she tried to achieve a “classic European look” when designing her bakery, and that using inspiration from her travels to create her own shop was “a dream come true.”
She said her favorite treat from the bakery is the Cup o’ Jo, a rich chocolate cupcake with chocolate espresso icing. She also likes the Prize Pig pastry, a cheddar, bacon, and chives biscuit. Gaines is so passionate about the bake shop that she would go there “every single day” if she could.
The ‘Fixer Upper’ star has encouraged others to build businesses focusing on their passions
Joanna Gaines turned her passion for baking into a business, and she encourages others to build their professions around their dreams.
She and her husband, Chip Gaines, once led a session at the Sunbelt Builders Show in Texas. The famous couple spoke about the lessons they learned while building their empire and the importance of focusing on their passions.
After sharing an anecdote about filming the audition tape for their HGTV show, Chip said (per MultiBriefs), “For the first time in our lives, it just sort of dawned on us, that if we can get to work, if we can get to our true passions, then we’re going to make this happen.” He continued, “The more we faked, the more I stood there awkwardly dodging the boom mic, the more difficult it was for us to really get in the rhythm. But when we finally started focusing on doing something that actually meant something to us, it all just kind of fell into place.”
And Joanna added, “We’re just a couple from Waco, who really are passionate about the projects we work on, and the clients we work with. So for us, we always have to go back to, ‘What is our passion, our mission?’”
