Whether you’re a queen, a king, a jack, or a joker, you’ve got to play the hand you’re dealt—at least until you have time to rearrange it so that you get all the hearts and can shoot the moon. That’s what it’s all about. Go long, swing for the fence, take a shot at the moon. Your heart’s big enough to make it.

You either are a beach person, or you’re not. You either like sand on your feet, or you don’t. You either gaze at the stars, listen to the ocean, and watch the moon, or you don’t. You either understand beach people, or you don’t. You either understand leisure, or you don’t. Pick a side. And pick mine.

A year is a long time. Any love that makes it through a year should earn a stripe, like a tree. Any love that makes it through a year should be given a cake and a candle, like a birthday. There should be a song, “Happy Anniversary to You!” and at the end of the song, instead of blowing all of the candles out, we should light one more.

The first time I showed any of my Hearts and All drawings to the public was through a Kickstarter project, which kicked off on August 31, 2012. So it’s been a year now that the little stick figures have been wandering out and about in public.

It’s been a great year. I remember the very first backer on Kickstarter was a US soldier named Matt, who was deployed in Afghanistan. He got two framed prints (Star Light Heart and Homeward Heart) for his girlfriend, Heather, and she cried when they arrived in the mail.

So before I had told a soul that it had launched on Kickstarter, a stranger found it and backed it. Then his girlfriend cried. I think that’s why I’m still doing this.

For almost every other job I’ve ever had, they could have found someone else to do it. But with my Hearts and All project, if I don’t draw my next drawing, no one else will. So it seems like a good use of my time. I feel that I am giving something that I am meant to give. Also, if someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Okay, you’re a bazillionaire now, you can stop drawing”, I wouldn’t stop, because there are still more drawings that I want to draw. So that seems like a good sign. And if I ever am a bazillionaire, I’ll probably be just like all the other bazillionaires and continue to work. Maybe because there are still drawings to be drawn.

Thank you for being part of this and keeping me going. I am not a bazillionaire. I am barely a thousandaire through Hearts and All. But Sharpies are cheap, and I am persistent. And the mission is not to make bazillions. The mission of Hearts and All is to spread heart.

Here’s the caption for this card:

There’s a fire inside you that flickers in the wind. There’s a fire inside you that can be seen for miles. There’s a fire inside you that was almost blown out. There’s a fire inside you that will never be blown out. There’s a fire inside you that’s a little bit wild. And it could spread. So keep it burning.

You dreamed, you hoped, you waited. You worked and worked and worked. You took a break. And then you worked again. You didn’t give up. And then, one day, without the world noticing, you got there. And then the world noticed. And smiled. You made it. You made it! Enjoy the view. Our hats are off to you.

Some roads are long. Some are all uphill. Some are slippery. You need friends, luck, and a sandwich. I hope you get all three. In the meantime, let’s start with one. Good luck.