Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jon Davis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Being successful begins with desire. What matters to you, what sets you in motion and what do you feel in your heart?

Perhaps you often see something you know can be improved. Maybe you have a skill that compels you to give it more of your time. Some people also might find joy in helping others solve their challenges. In my experience, succeeding at anything really does start here – from the “why.”

Desire alone won’t be enough, however: It must have focus and a plan. Otherwise, it will be a Roman candle that flames up, looks good and then burns out. Desire requires structure and habits that can organize, channel and execute its ambition.

As one example, I can refer to the books I have written (now six). Each book begins with the excitement for new ideas and how they might reach and move an audience. That is the desire.

Sitting down and writing them into something with voice, style, substance and movement is something else entirely. Depending on one’s available time and life schedule, for the average person, writing a finished book may call for months to years of effort. Some days will be more productive; others will be less blessed by motivation.

The first draft is never ready to go. It will need to be revised, typically more than once, which means sweeping through the manuscript you’ve been writing for [insert your long time here] and potentially writing much of it again. Then, after that, you’ll likely revise it yet again.

The gratification of seeing the finished product is intensely delayed. Writing a book also is much different from, say, performing live music for people. Live music creates a palpable energy between performers and the audience: The creators can see the reaction the creation is forming in real time.

With a book, the author is not there to see or know the impact the creation is having on the recipient, who also is usually in a solitary setting as opposed to a communal one. However, the effect of the writing may prove to be deep as well as lasting. In some cases, it can even change or color the way someone thinks about things or sees the world.

This example suggests that with structure, discipline and certainly patience, a person can complete a desire. That could be writing a book, starting a business, running for a local office or acquiring a patent for an invention.

My book example can further prove valuable in that the process may have lateral applications. Once the dopamine shot of enthusiasm settles for any idea or desire, how do we manage the hard part of achieving our goal? Our success resides in the answer.

Jon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a writer. I was active in class exercises as well as district contests that involved writing stories and music.

In college, I majored in English and minored in journalism. After college, I wrote as a moonlighter for regional newspapers (including the Chicago Tribune) while working full-time in the banking industry. I was also writing fiction during this time.

I landed my first opportunity to write full-time when I was hired by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (Chicago), where I eventually became the in-house senior marketing writer.

After my time with the Foundation, I served as the lead marketing writer at the National Marine Manufacturers Association (Chicago) and as the marketing director for a Chicago industrial and commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Several people I’d worked with along the way had moved on to their own new opportunities and locations, including in different parts of the U.S. In their new roles, they sent me writing/marketing assignments to complete as a supporting resource. In time, I realized that the work was coming in consistently from enough different sources that I could make the leap to venture out on my own.

I started The Eloquent Arrow in June 2003. As of today, I am a week away from celebrating my twenty-first year as an independent marketing writer and consultant.

In my professional role, I support clients in shooting pointed messages that capture target markets, which have certainly evolved during the last 20 years. Where I once worked a great deal on print collateral such as brochures, letters and direct-mail, I now write almost exclusively for the web, including websites, email campaigns and search engine optimization.

I also am often involved in high-level company branding and identity. During these campaigns, I am usually working closely with a brand designer/strategist in developing a distinctive business image and voice for the client.

My leading professional assets include my in-house corporate marketing experience and my 20 years working independently with nationwide clients in diverse industries such as landscaping, casinos, HVAC, law firms, funeral service, restaurants, dentists, behavioral therapy and mechanical engineering.

In addition, I am the administrator and main content contributor for a grammar website with a global audience (on a related note, I was the only student in my college grammar course to score perfectly on the final exam). I am a fiction author and an active musician as well. These additional disciplines inform and reinforce the ability to approach written and conceptual work for clients with a fresh feel for originality and an eye for technical precision.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

With a sense of great gratitude to my circumstances, I believe I have supported my cause by identifying the inside reality of what I do and then creating an outside perception that aligns with it.

Over time, I have strived to build a consistent personal brand on consistency of client treatment and expectations. They know what my typical responses will be, and they rely on them. I also strive to follow through on my word – if I say something, I mean it. If I don’t mean it, I won’t say it.

I also have done my best to make my peers feel good about referring others to me. Even if a client or a referral proves to be challenging or not an optimal fit, I will give my best effort to handling it with appreciation and grace.

In addition, I work hard to maintain cross-pollination between my professional work and my personal interests. Being a fiction author and a songwriter/musician does provide an osmosis in which one sphere informs and strengthens the other.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Time is an irreplaceable commodity. We can restore lost funds in a depleted account, but we cannot retrieve time that has passed.

Art and creativity are the means by which we perceive and express our movement through time. They are the record of us as we observe, interpret and report on life as it unfolds for each of us.

Through our expressions, we offer the singular self with the potential to reach the not-self (i.e. other people). In doing so, we communicate, share and inspire our common humanity and our ability to extend the meaning of our lives by creating impressions that will outlive us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eloquentarrow.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ17I-scEMqUMOl6gFcR8DA
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/themidnightsunmusic
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jonathan-P.-Davis/author/B0CW79WTKM?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1716928734&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

  https://www.themidnightsunmusic.com/
  

Image Credits

Book image (taken by self – no need to credit)

Image of playing guitar in hallway – credit Emily Fuchsen, Dark Trix Photography LLC, Elmhurst, IL

All other images (including logo), credit Marek Hosek, Mhdezign, Westminster, CO