Simple Truths: Simple Secrets

an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

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Copyright © 2013 by Kathy Davis Designs, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.kathydavis.com Cover and internal design © 2013 Kathy Davis Designs, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.kathydavis.com Cover images © 2013 Kathy Davis Designs, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.kathydavis.com Sourcebooks, the colophon, and Simple Truths are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc. Editing by: Alice Patenaude Published by Simple Truths, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410 (630) 961-3900 Fax: (630) 961-2168 www.sourcebooks.com Printed and bound in the United States of America WOZ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Introduction - Seeds of Possibility............................................. 10 Secret #1 Believe in Yourself...................................................... 30 Secret #2 Work Hard.................................................................. 42 Secret #3 Take Risks.................................................................... 54 Secret #4 Keep an Open Mind.................................................. 64 Secret #5 Accept Your Limitations............................................. 74 Secret #6 Treat Others with Respect and Kindness..................84 Secret #7 Never Stop Dreaming................................................ 94 Conclusion................................................................................... 104 Scatter Joy Brand Promise......................................................... 106 About the Author........................................................................ 110

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My path, like that of so many others, has been a winding one, filled with discovery and lessons at every turn. In my personal quest for a more joy-filled and creative life, I have reinvented myself numerous times. I think we all do…whether we choose different careers, a new place to live or sometimes a different partner to share our lives.

Change is a part of our world. You have to learn to roll with it, to paint in bold strokes…to create a life you love. I had never considered the greeting card industry as a career early on, but now, through Kathy Davis Studios, we’re able to scatter joy to more than 100 million consumers annually through our cards and other licensed products.

I’m a late bloomer; I started my business at the age of 38. I was at a crossroads, and I knew I needed to take a different direction, but I wasn’t sure what that was. I think we all feel that uncertainty when facing new challenges. One thing I knew for sure was that I wanted a career that would give me joy.

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During an interview I was once asked, “What’s the secret to your success in such a competitive field?” The answer I gave is that there really is no secret at all. But, as I reflect upon my life, I believe there are seven principles which have helped guide my journey. And I believe they can help anyone, whether you are a stay-at-home mom, a nuclear physicist…or a designer and writer like me. Before I share those principles, I’d like to share a little of my personal story with you. I hope that Simple Secrets: 7 Principles to Inspire Success will encourage you to pursue your own path with passion.

To a joy-filled life,

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As far back as I can remember, I loved making things and playing with crayons, paint, paste—basically, anything that would make a mess! Whether I was truly blessed with an artistic gene or simply responding to the joy I felt while immersed in creative chaos is anyone’s guess.

To my child’s mind, creating and play were one and the same, and I played my days away making Valentines and Christmas ornaments, hand painting Easter eggs, and creating little chicks out of yarn.

When not wrapped up in the “holiday rush,” I kept equally busy writing and illustrating my own stories and crafting paper dolls.

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The highlight of elementary school was art class. I remember the art teacher traveling room to room, pushing a cart filled with paints, brushes, papers and fun projects for us to work on. The squeak of that cart’s wheels was music to my ears!

When I got to high school, I chose a basic studies course over the college-prep curriculum, just so I could fit in an art class. That decision hinted at my passion, yet my full-blown commitment to art was still many years away.

In my high school art classes, I found myself surrounded by students with varying degrees of talent. Being insecure about my own abilities, I always felt somewhat intimidated and hardly confident enough to think about pursuing art. It’s funny how confidence comes so easily to kids—and how quickly it can slip away when the insecurities of adolescence creep in.

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When I was in college, the art courses I took captured most of my interest and energy. Thinking about those years, I realize my passion may have been less about art and more about being creative.

I settled on teaching not because of a strong vocational calling, but because I could imagine myself being a teacher more easily than I could picture myself being a nurse, or a secretary, or‌an artist.

Teaching is a noble profession, and the best teachers find endless ways to bring creativity to the classroom.

But would teaching feed my adventurous, entrepreneurial streak? I wasn’t sure, but I was excited about using my creative skills in the classroom to inspire children to learn. I taught elementary school for six years and have no regrets. But after teaching sixth-grade English and science, I decided that if I was going to stick with teaching, I should teach something I really loved. And I knew in my heart just what that was: art.

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I had married one of my fellow teachers and gone back to school for certification to teach art and earn a master’s degree in art education.

After graduate school, I was fortunate to find a job teaching art in— of all places—my former high school! I taught art at the high school level for two years, and during that time my passion for art deepened. It was truly rewarding to help these young people develop their talents, but I discovered a growing desire to develop my own skills and creative ideas. I began wishing I was one of the students instead of their teacher.

At that point, my husband and I decided to start a family, and as I planned for the birth of my son, I knew I wanted to spend some time at home, focused on being a mom. I promised myself that if, someday, I returned to work full time, I would find a path to explore my creativity in my own way—though I had no clue as to what direction that would take.

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During my years as a new mom, my two young children Ben and Katie were the center of my life and a source of genuine joy. I had hoped to spend some free time painting, but the limited time I had was not conducive to doing large paintings. So instead—adjusting to the reality of my situation—I decided to take a calligraphy class at a local art center. These calligraphy workshops became a welcome creative alternative. I eventually began teaching adult classes in the evening. I started producing my own cards and projects with my calligraphy and painting, crafting a Christmas card each year.

Before long, I was doing freelance projects from my home, from hand-lettering programs for church to designing wedding invitations, restaurant menus, and logos. While I was uncertain about what I was doing, I found it exciting, and I enjoyed working as my own boss.

I also found in my artwork some escape from a painful situation in my personal life. My relationship with my husband had become more about being parents together than anything else, and we were not able to save our marriage. During this painful time, I learned a lot of important truths about myself, along with valuable lessons for life. For too long I had been making decisions based on what I felt

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others wanted or needed me to do. My ex-husband and I were both devoted to our two young children, and putting them through this life-altering experience was extremely difficult for us.

But during this tumultuous time when joy was sparse, I found strength in my faith and strength in myself that I didn’t know I had. I came to know myself better, and I began to recognize a passion that had been building inside me for years—a passion to free some of my creative and entrepreneurial urges.

When my husband and I separated, however, the financial reality hit: I needed to work full time again. Everyone naturally assumed I would return to teaching, but in my heart I knew I needed to explore a new direction if I was going to create a life I loved. It was time I followed my heart wherever it might lead. The problem—and the thrill, too— was not knowing exactly what that destination might be.

So rather than look for employment in public education, I decided to piece together a living by doing several different part-time jobs. My family thought I was a touch crazy, but I felt that trying my hand at a few different things might help me find a rewarding career, one that would bring me joy.

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I continued teaching my adult classes in the evening, and I took a part-time position at a printing company, where I began learning about graphic design. I also continued marketing my calligraphy skills on a freelance basis. My life was a real juggling act, especially when I was shuttling my kids to daycare and preschool, but I was learning more about myself each day.

I was determined to find an avenue that would both fulfill my needs for creative freedom and enable me to make a good living. Knowing that I enjoyed making my own greeting cards, my good friend, Ursula, urged me to look into the stationery industry. She and I went to my first trade show, the National Stationery Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

Walking the aisles of the show, I was completely overwhelmed. In row after row of booths, countless companies were displaying their products, all created by talented artists and writers. I was amazed and impressed by all the variety, the colors, the creativity. I started to panic. Why did I think I might be able to compete in this world?

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After I came home, however, a desire began building in me. While intimidated by what I saw, I was excited by it, too. What a fun way to make a living, I thought. Why should I let others have all the fun?

The realization hit me that if I was really going to create something rewarding and meaningful for myself, I needed to face my fears: I needed to put myself out there.

By the next day, I was ready. I quickly assembled a few designs.

Then, in an act of utter optimism, I made some business cards by hand, each one different, with hand lettering and collaged cutouts of brightly colored paper. I tucked my goods into an empty chocolate box, secured the lid with a rubber band and drove back to New York.

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I was a little unsure of myself, but pretty high on adrenaline. Despite feeling like an impostor, I somehow found the nerve to walk into this show and through its endless aisles. To my surprise, I met some very encouraging art directors who supplied me with their artists’ guidelines and invited me to send in my work. There were no guarantees, but I left with enough potential leads to have my head spinning!

Buoyed by the feedback I got at that show, I drove home more determined than ever to make something of this passion. I read every book on greeting cards I could get my hands on. I began creating cards in any time I could find. I sent my designs into several companies and, little by little, got word that they were going to test my work in the market. I was amazed by the positive results of these tests.

Working my part-time jobs and being a single mom, however, gave me little time to really focus on my new pursuit. The need to make ends meet was an ever-present and worrisome reality. One day I stopped at the store to buy milk and toilet paper. When I didn’t even have enough money in my wallet to pay for those essentials, I felt as if I’d hit rock bottom—and I promised myself then and there I would do everything I could to avoid this kind of hand-to-mouth existence.

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The most difficult realization was when I faced the inevitable decision to sell the house where I had raised my children. Mounting bills and the need for a new roof pushed me over the edge. To me, the house meant security and continuity and normalcy. But paying for it just wasn’t realistic anymore.

I made the difficult decision to downsize and buy a small townhouse for the three of us. This letting go enabled me to make ends meet and it gave us a fresh start. It was a relief to live in a new home that required no repairs or outdoor maintenance. I was freer to focus on my children and the new career I hoped to build.

One of the first things I did after we settled into our new home was set up a drawing table in the corner of my bedroom. Sitting at that small table, I started playing with paint and images, and later I moved on to words…and it was as if the dike had broken. I turned out image after image. I remember one day when my parents stopped by to visit. The floor was completely littered with small paintings. In amazement, and with a bit of apprehension, my dad asked, “Are you starting to run out of ideas?” Not even close! Somehow the more artwork I did, the more ideas I got. I guess this happens when you finally take the leap and start doing what you were meant to do all along!

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Weho pet ha ty o ue nj o y e d r e a di ngt hi sf r e eo nl i nepr e v i e w.

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