Kathleen Shields shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Kathleen, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day for me starts early. I wake, drink coffee and scroll social media for about an hour. I juggle 5-6 different platforms each day in hopes of finding something relevant to say, share, comment on, or promote. I then feed the dogs, water the plants, straighten the house and head to work. Fortunately, my commute is literally 80 feet across the house to a home office!
Once I am in my office, I check voicemails while my emails are downloading, return calls, do my scheduling, delete the junk mail while talking to clients. I then do banking, all of the secretarial duties and then start my projects.
As a website creator, graphic designer and book publisher, projects can consist of quick website updates, a logo creation, promotional graphics, communications with illustrators, book formatting, blurb write-ups, publishing, and so much more. I work off of my emails like a to-do list and when the emails are finished, and the inbox is empty – THEN – do I set aside time for my writing!
If time allows, I have multiple stories I am working on, graphics to create for marketing, promotional aspects to look into, research to do, shows to schedule… it literally never ends.
I work until 5, have happy hour outside with the dogs, feed the tortoises, scrub the turtle pond, catch-up with miscellaneous housework, and then start dinner. Then we watch TV and head to bed fairly early.
THAT is a normal work day – my weekends usually find me at a farmers market, craft show, church bazaar, library festival or the such setup and selling my books. I will rest when I die. lol
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am three in one. No, I’m not the trinity, but I am a designer, publisher and author. Everything I do is connected in one way or another. My tagline for Kathleen’s Graphics is “Let’s make things beautiful.” My motto for my writing is “The Only Limitation is Your Own Imagination” and my goal with Erin Go Bragh Publishing is “Educational and Inspirational books to get our youth reading.” Everything for me is about beauty, inspiration and continual growth.
I am a workaholic and won’t release a project until I am satisfied with the results.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
To be honest – I always thought I was alone. I was a latchkey kid, meaning my parents were divorced and my mom worked out of the home. I was in charge of getting myself ready for school, the chores in the house, including making dinner for my mom when she got home, and getting myself to bed. I spent most of my time alone.
There is part of me that believes that by being a work from home business owner I have continued walking the path of loneliness as I DO find myself alone most of the day. I don’t see people in the office, chit chat around the water cooler or get invited out after work for drinks. But to be perfectly honest, though sometimes I feel that loneliness creep in, I also realize that I LOVE what I do and if I spent more time socializing during the day, I wouldn’t accomplish as much as I do, AND if I went out after work for drinks, I wouldn’t have as much time to write, which is all I truly ever want to do.
It’s hard to be so conflicted inside, but one thing that I didn’t know as a child that I do now – is that God is with me. He has always been with me, and suddenly I don’t feel so alone any more.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
There have been so many wounds – so many moments. My mind has literally blocked my first eight years. I have very short blips of memories and when I do, I am thankful I don’t remember them more. Trust issues with friendships have defined me, primarily because so often I was unfairly judged and was not allowed to prove them wrong. From childhood drama to my own mother lying about me to my family. What was I going to do or say to change swayed minds? When someone won’t even talk to you, how can you show them the other person was wrong? I’ll tell you how – by being silent. By letting go and letting God. Eventually the truth comes out and those who so easily dropped you will eventually come back with their hat in their hands… unfortunately, the situations made me stronger and wiser.
It’s a difficult lesson to learn and painfully impossible to just accept, but with time, patience and a refusal to lower yourself to their standards, you will rise higher and brighter than you ever thought you could.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
My public persona is a positive one – as most people’s is. I don’t share photos of my food, or vacation pictures (because I don’t normally have time for vacation). I don’t share family photos because I don’t have any family (shy my husband and pets). I am always posting writing projects, new books, dog and turtle pictures and shows, but rarely comment much on social media. Why? Because I either have nothing to add, or what I wanted to say was already said by hundreds of people already.
I am a normal person focused on work and struggling to figure out the algorithm. I don’t want to be an influencer, I just want to write my books and have people read them. I do my work to pay the bills in hopes of one day getting to retire and when I do throw parties, I don’t share the pictures on social media so as to make sure I don’t upset others who were not invited.
I will say though, that seeing the happy family photos from others, a child’s first day of school, a baby shower, a vacation photo, a family dinner, a holiday gathering – they hurt my heart, as I am, as I mentioned, alone. The real me is a real person with really no ties. Those who know me, know, and yet, no one really knows the real me.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
With a lump scare and a distrust of medical science I have been there. That question was very real and I spent many years accepting my truth. If I KNEW my time was coming to an end I would walk away from everything but my writing. I spend way too much time working for others and not following my own dreams. I started a seven book cozy fantasy series and have never had the entire plan outlined this easily. The story needs to be written, and I don’t want to leave this earth before it is.
On top of that I am working on the full-length novel of “The First Unicorn” and I want to finish that one as well. In fact, I want to do that, promote the heck out of it, get it to a movie producer and see the full-length animated movie before I die. I believe I can do it – if only the time allowed – and if I quit working and focus only on my own dreams, I am certain I can make them happen. I may have to take out some large personal loans to do it, but… if I knew without a doubt when the end is, I would do it. Unfortunately, no one can know the time of their death, so I guess I’ll continue working.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kathleenjshields.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenjshields/
- Linkedin: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenjshields/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kathleenjshield
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.kathleenjshields/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KathleenJShields
- Other: https://www.kathleens-graphics.com
https://www.eringobraghpublishing.com
