Meet Kale Sudhoff

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kale Sudhoff. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kale below.

Kale, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Throughout my life, I have always loved drawing animals in my free time. I have always wanted to do something with art as a career, but if I were told just a few years ago that I would be a published author, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. Growing up with a pretty noticeable stutter, one thing that I never really felt good at in school was reading and writing and it was probably one of my least favorite subject areas. When the idea to write a book first came to me just a few years ago, I really didn’t believe that I could write a story, so I didn’t start writing right away. However, as I went about my daily life, in three different places, and in three different conversations, I heard the words children’s author. I had not yet told anyone that I had thought about writing a book, and that wasn’t something that anyone around me ever really talked about. The first time I heard it, I just dismissed it like it was nothing, but the second time it was like an alarm went off in my head and I wondered to myself if this was a sign that I was meant to be an author, and by the third time I knew that this was what God was calling me to do. Without hesitation, I got out my phone, downloaded Google Docs, and began to write. I was amazed at how easily the words were just flowing out of me almost as if there was a side to me that I had been avoiding all along. I knew in my heart at that moment, that this was what I was supposed to do.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

It is very important to me to write for kids with exceptionalities, or kids who face big challenges in life that others may not fully understand. I believe that the messages in my books can inspire and empower others to embrace God’s plan for their life and also encourage kids to lift others up rather than tearing them down. While on this mission, I met a wonderful person named Allie Gray who is Miss Ohio’s Teen and also shares my passion for helping others. We came together to start a non-profit organization called Silent Opportunities to give greater opportunities to those facing big challenges in life. We have been able to raise money through fundraising and have donated to the Ohio School for the Deaf, The Aktion Club which is a club for people with disabilities, and we recently awarded scholarships to two deserving high school students who experienced challenges of their own. This has been a super fulfilling experience, and I love seeing others feel empowered.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three most impactful areas of my journey through life have been faith, patience, and perseverance. First of all, without my faith in God, I don’t believe that any of these great things would have happened to me. I would have never had the courage to start writing, and I would probably still be wondering to myself what my purpose in life might be. My second most important quality has been patience. As I have learned through many years, success doesn’t happen overnight, it takes lots of hard work and dedication that takes time. My third most important quality that has impacted my journey is perseverance. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today if I stopped when things got hard. If you want to succeed in life, whatever that may look like for you, you have to decide to never give up on your dreams no matter how hard it may be.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

The most impactful thing that my parents did for me was believe in me even when we didn’t have all of the details figured out yet. When I first told them that I wanted to be an author and illustrator, they could have told me the facts that it is very hard to be successful in a witting career, or that we didn’t know how to publish a book once it was done, or that we didn’t know how to make sure people saw my work in order to be able to potentially buy it. In the face of uncertainty, my parents unwaveringly said they believed that I was capable of doing this, and that I could accomplish great things. This belief has meant more to me than any other form of recognition from my career, and I owe a lot to them.

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