The Road to Success (And Happiness)

[The Muse](  CAREER STORY February 08, 2017   [Hero]( [AROUND THE WORLD]( Meet Davis. We fell in love with his career story almost immediately—and we think you will, too. Davis was born in Egypt, which he fondly calls "The Land of the Pharaohs." He lived there until he was 13 years old when his family moved to Paris in search of a brighter future. Spending his teenage years and early adulthood working various jobs to help out financially, Davis never went to school and recalls, "It was very difficult to find regular work, so I went from one thing to another. I did everything from cleaning chimneys and garages to shining shoes. Just to make enough money for bread and cheese. Just to survive." In 1965, Davis met an American woman who was visiting Paris. They spent what seemed like countless days exploring The City of Light together and quickly fell in love. "I asked her to marry me, and it must have been my lucky day because she actually said yes," he told us, smiling. After their engagement, the two traveled to Brooklyn to visit her family and, while there, Davis took his fiancé to a jewelry store to get her ring sized. He remembers being fascinated by the craftsmanship of the jewelers; right then and there, he knew he'd found his calling. The next day, he returned to the same store, rented the place, and started his own business—with just $300 he had in his pocket. It was worth every penny though because he spent 25 successful (and happy!) years as a business owner and jeweler in Manhattan. After sharing his story, Davis bestowed us with some very wise career advice: "There is always work to be done. Waiting for a miracle won't get you anywhere, you have to work hard and take risks to get to where you want to be. It's all about patience and hard work." ([Share This Wisdom]( Oh, and while Davis is now retired, his story is still being written: He continues to practice his hobby part-time at Saks Fifth Avenue. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Linkedin]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Trending now --------------------------------------------------------------- [Finally! A Simple Formula for Finding Your Passion]( [Finally! A Simple Formula for Finding Your Passion]( Finding your passion feels so hard because there are endless answers. Luckily, this formula makes it a lot easier to find a career you'll love.  [Read More]( [The Job Search Strategy That'll Make You 15 Times More Likely to Be Hired]( [The Job Search Strategy That'll Make You 15 Times More Likely to Be Hired]( If you’ve been applying to a lot of jobs and not getting any interviews, it could be because candidates with referrals are snagging the roles first.  [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- COMPANIES THAT ARE HIRING NOW --------------------------------------------------------------- [iCIMS]( [iCIMS]( iCIMS empowers organizations to streamline the talent acquisition process and simplify applicant tracking with one easy-to-use applicant tracking system. [VISIT COMPANY]( [G5]( [G5]( G5 delivers digital marketing expertise to companies in the property management sector—providing best-in-class experiences and the tools to optimize results across search and social media. [VISIT COMPANY]( [CEB]( [CEB]( CEB is a best practice insight and technology company—advising organizations around the world on how best to drive business performance. [VISIT COMPANY]( [Word of the Day] OSCILLATE verb What it Means: Waver between extremes of opinion, action, or quality. Use it Without Sounding Like You Just Learned it Today "My daily lunch cravings oscillate between a cobb salad and penne a la vodka...with a chocolate chip cookie for later." [Tweet This]( [Coach Connect]( Connect with The Muse [VIEW IN BROWSER](       [TERMS](       [UNSUBSCRIBE]( DAILY MUSE INC.   1375 BROADWAY   NEW YORK, NY 10018