[2][full citation needed] In 1986, Purpose walked across the United States with The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament and then a year later in the former Soviet Union.
In 1996, he became a "full-time national touring singer-songwriter" who "hit the folk scene...with an unusually eclectic resume that provided him with a wealth of compelling stories to tell.
Eight years, six CDs and a thousand-plus shows later, he was headlining venues like the Freight and Salvage, Club Passim, McCabe's, The Bluebird Cafe, The Kennedy Center, and the Kerrville Folk Festival Main Stage.
In 2009, he was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame, one of 17 members, including Ed Thorp, the man who wrote that book that his mother put into his Christmas stocking at 16.
He says that he also “got healthy, in multiple ways.” 2012 saw Purpose record his first CD of original material in 10 years – Next Time Around, produced by Billy Crockett for the Blue Rock Artists label.