Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Padgett.
Jim, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was able to reveal my creativity as an artist when I was in my fifties. I had accomplished an ISBN publication of my first novel and to complement the story, I painted the front and back covers of the book’s paperback format. The book cover paintings were among the first digital pieces I produced on a computer. Since that time, I have created over 800 individual digital paintings, each including its own name. I officially trademarked my paintingsbyJim logo over two years ago. My most well-liked piece is a sunset landscape of which I have sold over thirty copies. My website www.paintingsbyjim.gallery has over 600 categorized displays of art pieces for sale. I also create custom pieces for customers who have specific designs, colors, and/or scenes they envision from which I paint their ideas as precise as they can possibly be.
My creativity was released when I realized I had matured enough in life that I was able to obtain whatever I desired. Through God and support of my wife, Lou, I retired to the greatest career of life any person could ever ask for. I achieved a pinnacle from the knowledge of a BBA degree, completed in 1980, and an accumulated total of, working twenty-one jobs throughout and up to a period of time that ended over nineteen years ago. For me, the greatest career of life began at that time when I became a “house husband” and I have since then exceedingly rejoiced.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The greatest challenge for myself, my family, or anyone for that matter is the idea/fear of outliving one’s money or wealth. When a person is retired, their primary source of income most likely is money taken from accounts through working and saving money over time in years, usually by one’s own investing or by companies investing portions of one’s own wages/salaries for them, or perhaps money that is matched by the company one has worked for. Sometimes, obstacles become too numerous to keep up with. Every person in life has tribulations. I heard it once said, “A setback is a setup for a comeback.” I heard that over five years ago. I hope to long remember it as well.
Someone hits a lottery. Someone wins with a windfall of money by winning in competition usually in a game or perhaps by receiving an inheritance. Stories of other people’s overnight fortunes make accepting our own challenges of trudging along through life slightly more difficult seemingly while asking ourselves, “Why couldn’t that be me?”
The greatest setback, challenge, obstacle to overcome was the death of both of my parents in less than eleven months. The grief following from both on hospice several years before, to reach a “peaceful” passing in sleep, tolled my emotional and physical state for about three years, including depression and a fifty-pound weight gain. Praise God! “… for every season there is a change under heaven…” – Holy Bible.
Paintingsbyjim™ – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
As previously stated, I am a digital artist, published author, and a US Trademark owner. In addition, I am currently in the works for completing the entire music score and lyrics for my first song to copyright. I am also writing the second chapter of my second book. This book will be non-fiction.
I suppose what may set me apart from others to a great extent is my diversification of areas of entrepreneurial skills as a business person. Again, my creativity, or “A bountiful fruition of my Spirit” occurred after my daily routine of life prior to my retirement was over. Again, I thank my Lord and the help of my wife, Lou in getting me to this point of my life with my business.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my business was obtaining my business trademark from the U. S. Patent Trademark Office. Somehow, an accomplished feeling that I had reached a new milestone in my life occurred at that time. It was in November 2017. I knew at that point, I had arrived and my business was a true entity.
I have a saying I have used for twenty-five years that has helped me with my own definition of success. I had to understand and honestly answer this question for myself before I could talk about it with others. It is, “How much is enough?” (That is in terms of dollars.) Followed with, “Most people answer this question with, “Just a little bit more.” I cannot count the times over the years I have been asked, “How (do you do it)?” To me, being able to answer that question without having to answer it with, “a little bit more,” is a true definition of success. It, of course, pertains to anything in life, not only for money. “For I know whatever state I am in, wherewith to be content.” – Holy Bible. One other saying I have used for years is, “There is no need for greed.” For me, this needs no further explanation. I feel it is morally and ethically wrong to misuse our “Free Enterprise” method of Capitalism within our society. For anyone who may understand a term, “the Tulip Factor” from the book A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel may understand this “quip” applicable (for life, in general).
Last, I will mention that as a marker I continue to monitor, at least once every week or two is the “Dow Industrial Average” of stocks which I have studied since 1978. Over that forty-year period, I have acquired a wealth of knowledge of our country, the other countries of the world, and how we all evolve with the most basic flow of economics; that “land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurial skills must equal wages, rents, interest, and profits.” I leave this area of my life’s interests with the last pearl of my own, “Take a little icing off the cake.” These are some of my defining moments within my own interpretation of success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.paintingsbyjim.gallery
- Email: Jim@paintingsbyjim.gallery
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