September 1, 2026
Your Pursuit Is Your Purpose | Episode 247: Miss USA Olivia Jordan
with Olivia Jordan, Actress, model, former Miss USA, speaker, and acting coach
32 min
Your Pursuit Is Your Purpose | Episode 247: Miss USA Olivia Jordan
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In this episode
In this episode I sit down with Olivia Jordan — actress, model, former Miss USA, speaker, and mom — for a conversation that gets right to the question so many of us carry: what if I've been pursuing something for years and it still hasn't "arrived"? Olivia gave herself five years in the entertainment industry. It's been fifteen. And what she's learned along the way is the heart of her upcoming TEDx Talk: your pursuit is your purpose.
We talk about how she checks in with her own inner voice instead of the outside noise, why every year of the pursuit has grown her into a more confident and assertive version of herself, and how coaching actors in Tulsa at Cody Mayo Studios opened a whole new avenue she never planned for. There's a wonderfully small-world moment where Olivia found her way back to Cody through an article she read at the dentist's office. I love that.
We also get into raising her daughter Lola with room for big feelings, the free tools any of us can use — meditation, deep breathing, affirmations — and giving ourselves (and every mom) grace. Olivia is raw and honest about the disempowering side of waiting to be chosen, and how she's taking her power back by creating her own work. If you've been wondering whether you're on the right path, I think you'll walk away encouraged to keep going.
Key takeaways
- Your pursuit is your purpose — the journey of learning and growing is worthwhile in itself, even before you reach the mountaintop goal.
- Come back to your own inner voice. Ask yourself whether you're chasing outside validation or genuinely contributing what you're meant to contribute — and let that answer guide you.
- Measure progress by personal growth, not just external milestones. Olivia points to becoming more confident, assertive, and capable year over year as proof she's on the right path.
- Don't let outside voices set your timeline. You get to decide how long your pursuit takes; others' opinions don't define whether you're succeeding.
- Purpose can evolve. Lessons learned pursuing one dream can prepare you for the next season — and multiple streams of income are part of a creative life.
- Emotional regulation is a gift you can give your kids for free — meditation, deep breathing, and affirmations create tools they carry for life. And give yourself grace; access to the information doesn't make it easy.
- Take your power back by creating what only you can control. Writing your own projects or sharing online with the simple mission of making people feel good shifts energy from waiting-to-be-chosen to agency.
“The journey is more important than the destination. When you are taking steps forward, you are learning, you are growing — that is worthwhile in itself.”
“You are actually doing what you're supposed to be doing just by getting out of bed every morning and making some progress.”
“Just because I wasn't chosen doesn't mean I wasn't good enough. It just means I probably wasn't right for that project.”
“I've made it my mission to just make people feel good. If I only hit ten people, but I could actually make them feel better, then that was worth it.”
Resources mentioned
About Olivia
Actress, model, former Miss USA, speaker, and acting coach
Olivia Jordan is an actress, model, former Miss USA, speaker, and mother based in Oklahoma. She coaches actors at Cody Mayo Studios in Tulsa, was honored with a star on the Circle Cinema Walk of Fame, and is preparing a TEDx Talk titled 'Your Pursuit Is Your Purpose.'
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