Jim Davidson

Jim Davidson is a native of Gould, Arkansas. His career as a public speaker, author, and motivational consultant has spanned more than 45 years. Some of his achievements include Arkansas Salesman of the Year, chairman of the Diamond Club, Justice of the Peace in Pulaski County, and chairman of the Speakers Bureau of the Pulaski County United Way. In 1980, Davidson began writing and producing the daily radio program “How to Plan Your Life.” The show has been broadcast by over 300 radio stations coast to coast. In 1995, he started a weekly newspaper column for his hometown paper, the Log Cabin Democrat, in Conway, Arkansas. With over 375 newspapers in 35 states running his column since its inception, it has become one of the most successful self-syndicated columns in America. A staunch member of the Conway Noon Lions Club for over 20 years, the author has won the highest award in Lionism.

From the Arkansas Democrat Gazette:

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jun/16/bookcase-project-founder-publishes-6th-book/

Bookcase-project founder publishes 6th book

CONWAY — Jim Davidson of Conway, an author, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and former nationally syndicated radio commentator, re-read a book he published in 1991 and decided it was the best work he’d ever done.

So, it’s hot off the press with a new title.

The Best of Jim Davidson contains 60 of his most-requested selections from listeners of his radio series, which started in 1980. Over the life of the program, it was carried by 300 stations. Although he doesn’t write and record the radio series anymore, five stations still rerun his recordings. The original book was called You Can Be the Best.

“Here I am, 81 years old, and I realized that’s the best work I’ve ever done. My mind was sharper,” he said.

The stories in his recent book run the gamut from humorous to serious. He said his favorite story in the book is titled “And Then Some ….”

“We hear a great deal these days about ‘the secrets of success,’” he writes. “In reality, this is simply a marketing gimmick to sell many of the success programs produced today.”

Instead, it’s energy, enthusiasm and hard work that breed success, Davidson said.

The author, who spoke to 500 school faculties during the 1970s, wrote a booklet for high school students called How to Plan Your Life and presented six-hour seminars at high schools.

He met a student named Danny, who sent Davidson a three-page letter after Davidson spoke to the class.

In it, Danny told Davidson he asked a successful man how he achieved success, and the man said “And then some.” When a teacher or employer asked the man to do something, he did his job “and then some.”

Davidson, who has won many community and professional awards, said that when it comes to achieving success, the biggest mistake people make is wanting the rewards before they render the service.

“This can be compared to a man standing in front of a cold stove saying, ‘Give me some heat, and then I will put in the wood,’” Davidson said.

If someone wants results, he or she should give more than is expected, Davidson said.

He also touts writing a specific goal down on paper and thinking about it and visualizing it coming true while working toward it.

In another essay, Davidson warns against choosing the wrong “friends.” Davidson relates a story that he said happened many years ago a few miles from where he lived. A young man in college made friends with someone selling drugs, and the student began using drugs, too. One day when they were working on a drug deal, the college student was shot by his “friend” and left in the woods to die. He lived, but he was blind.

“When you get involved with drugs, you never know who your friends are,” Davidson wrote.

Other chapters in the book include titles such as, “You Can Say It Without Putting Other People Down,” “How to Tell a Winner From a Loser,” “But the Bumble Bees Can’t Fly” and “The Lincoln-Kennedy Amazing Coincidences.”

Davidson said he has high hopes for the book.

“It’s not often when we have as an individual the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of a great number of people — except maybe a teacher or a school superintendent — reaching, 100,000, 200,000 or maybe a million people. We need mentors in America today more than we’ve ever had them,” he said.

Bill Tsutsui, president of Hendrix College in Conway, gave the book a review on Amazon.

“As a longtime journalist and writer, Jim knows how to communicate; as a true civic leader and as the founder of the visionary Bookcase for Every Child program, he has valuable insights and advice that we all should take to heart,” Tsutsui said.

Even in his 80s, Davidson said, he is striving to be an inspiration to others — and then some.

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

Presented below are letters Jim has received from readers of "My Heartfelt Passion: Saving Our Nation One Child at a Time" -

Hello Jim,

I have so enjoyed reading your book. I read much of it out loud to Dwight and he was amazed to hear so much more about your growing up years and your early career days. We can certainly trace God’s magnificent Hand. So glad you held His Hand through those difficult days and accepted Him to guide you. I appreciate how you point to your faith, love, and dependence on God. I love how you just don’t give up. I especially loved how to dedicated yourself to listening to words that can remind you. So practical!

Your attitude proved to be a magnet. So many people were attracted to your positive and uplifting spirit that sometimes defied the conspicuous. Your success did not happen overnight, it came with applying truth and much hard work. How refreshing to hear that so much of what you did is just what most of the rest of us can also do; not give up, but be diligent to persevere. I am personally challenged as well as excited to follow your example.

You certainly are an inspiration to me and my family.

Thank you for sharing your story. Thanks, too for your sharing your strategy and caring enough to reach back with such a generous heart toward pre-school age children. Your words LIVE! They bring life and hope for those brave enough to believe them! (I do!)

Caryn

(Conway Bookcase Project Committee member, Caryn Southerland)

Hi Jim,

I finished your book last night! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your life and how the Bookcase for Every Child project began and how it has flourished. It is so amazing to see what can be accomplished when a community works together for a common goal… especially one that is so important! It is immensely inspiring and one can’t help but come away from your book with a different perspective on the difference one single person can make in this world. So often we are overwhelmed by the problems in society and feel like they are too big to tackle but you are proof that our actions and the ripple effect they create can do wonders.

Thank you so much for sharing your book with me and for all the good you do in this world!

Kim

(Kim Siegel, SBPRA)

ILLITERACY IS SILENTLY KILLING AMERICA!

By Jim Davidson – Nationally Syndicated Columnist

In our modern American society, the child who grows up without learning to read does not have a prayer when it comes to achieving true success in life. Unfortunately this is the case for several million of our nation’s children. According to a 2017 study by the Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults can’t read. A large part of the reason for this statistic is that 61 percent of low-income families have no books in the home for their pre-school children to read, a crucial time when reading development takes place.

According to the Department of Justice, “The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence and crime is welded to reading failure. The stats back up this claim: 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate and over 70 percent of inmates in America’s prisons cannot read above a fourth-grade level, according to BeginToRead.com. The inability to read is silently killing America, ruining lives, costing billions of dollars and pulling down the ability of the United States to compete with the rest of the world.”

Now, here is the real tragedy. The vast majority of the American people have not heard this, and even if they have, feel powerless to do anything about it. When I share this information with others I hear this comment all the time, “I knew we had a literacy problem in our country but I had no idea how bad it is.” Well, my friend, it is bad, and unless we take action now and do something about illiteracy, the consequences will be even greater than what I have already shared. For the sake of future generations, we just cannot afford to let this happen.

In 2005, here in my community of Conway, Arkansas, we started a literacy project that we call The Conway Bookcase Project. The objective of our project is to provide a personalized bookcase and a starter set of books to pre-school children being reared in low-income families. We are “All-Volunteer – Giving Back” and no one personally earns a penny for their good work. To date, we have given over 700 bookcases locally, and now have projects in five other states. The total nationwide is over 2,000 bookcases and books. And the feedback has been tremendous as our project is making a real difference in the lives of these children. One of the reasons is that these children and their parents know that someone cares.

As the Founder of this project, and now almost 80 years of age, I know that my days are numbered and I have written a book titled “My Heartfelt Passion: Saving Our Nation One Child at a Time.” This book is available from Amazon.com and gives a complete chronology of our copyrighted project where any motivated literate person can begin a literacy project just like ours. When we have 10 to 12 copies in the hands of leaders in communities all across our nation who will begin bookcase projects, we will make a difference – a big difference. People who have read this book tell me they couldn’t put it down.

If you believe in what we are doing and are willing to help, here is what I would like to ask you to do. Go to Amazon.com and order a copy of my book, and read it. Then write a book review that Amazon can post on their website that will be included with several others. If you are on Facebook, post this column and ask your friends to share it, and keep sharing all across America. If you are on Facebook, you know the power of social media and what we can accomplish, working together, over the coming months and years. To God be the glory. You may contact: Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034

Illiteracy is Silently Killing America

In our modern American society, the child who grows up without learning to read does not have a prayer when it comes to achieving true success in life. Unfortunately, this is the case for several million of our nation’s children. According to a 2017 study by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults can’t read. A large part of the reason for this statistic is that 61% of low-income families have no books in the home for their pre-school children to read, a crucial time when reading development takes place.

The Department of Justice states, “The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence and crime is welded to reading failure. The stats back up this claim: 85% of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate and over 70% of inmates in America’s prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level, according to BeginToRead.com. The inability to read is silently killing America, ruining lives, costing billions of dollars and pulling down the ability of the United States to compete with the rest of the world.”

The massive problem of illiteracy should not be laid solely on the steps of our nation’s schools. Just as a doctor can only treat patients who come with a problem of illness or injury, teachers can only take children from the home environment and attempt to move them forward in the educational process. It is now, and always will be, the province of the home where the foundation for education must take place. While schools and teachers have a responsibility to educate, if a child comes to school with no foundation for education, and has poor character values, our schools should not solely be blamed for less than a stellar performance.

Now here is the real tragedy. When presented with this information most people will say, “I knew we had a literacy problem but I had no idea how bad it is.” Well, it is bad, and unless we take action now and do something about illiteracy, the consequences will be even greater than the alarming statistics that you have just read. For the sake of future generations, we just cannot afford to let this happen. Fortunately the community of Conway, Arkansas has taken positive steps to address this problem. In 2005, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist Jim Davidson, with help from a cadre of fellow citizens, founded a unique literacy project called, “A Bookcase for Every Child.” The purpose is to provide pre-school children from low-income homes with a personalized, hand-crafted bookcase and a starter set of books. As previously

stated, without good literacy skills these children have little hope for achieving personal success. In fact, many will wind up on drugs and in a life of crime.

What makes this copyrighted project truly unique is that no tax money or grants of any kind are used. It is community wide with over 5,000 local citizens being involved in the project in one way or another, since the inception. It is all about “giving back,” and no person involved in the project earns a single penny for their help and contribution. This is not a school project but rather individuals, parents, schools, leaders and workers from every sector, all pulling together to make their community a better place to live.

One of the strongest supporters of the project is Dr. Greg Murry, Superintendent of the Conway Public Schools, who wrote the foreword for the founder’s new book, “My Heartfelt Passion: Saving Our Nation One Child at a Time.” Dr. Murry says, “I have personally been involved with the project, along with a number of our district personnel, so I know first-hand the value of the work they are doing. Over time, this unique project can definitely help to build a solid foundation for improved literacy; every community in America needs a Bookcase for Every Child.”

The money to build the bookcases is raised at an annual Bookcase Literacy Banquet held in the cafeteria at one of the Conway schools. To date, the project has presented over 700 bookcases in Conway and in five other states with the nationwide total being over 2,000 bookcases. Each year, once built, the committee presents 50 personalized bookcases, and a starter set of books, at an Annual Awards Ceremony held at their spacious public library. All the details for the banquet and awards ceremony can be found in the founder’s new book, as it gives a complete chronology of the project and covers the past 13 years, so it can be replicated in every community in the nation. If you are a responsible citizen who loves America just think about the value of having a bookcase project taking place in hundreds, even thousands of communities all across our nation.

Granted, this is a big challenge, and we can do it. The place to begin is for every literate, patriotic citizen to go to Amazon.com, or BarnesAndNoble.com and order the book, read it, and then think creatively about ways your community can get involved. Here is a bonus, when your community gets the project organized, and the name is the same as the community as in “Bridgeport Bookcase Project”, and a committee is formed, with a treasurer and bank account, we will provide you with a set of bookcase plans free, drawn by Architect Ken Ingram. E-mail jimdavidson@conwaycorp.net