Meet Oliver James

We were lucky to catch up with Oliver James recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Oliver, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

Being functionally illiterate as an adult, I have assumed for most of my life that I was the only one like me in the room. Not being able to read is not something you can see when you look at a person. When I was younger, I did some dangerous things when I was the only one in the room like me: I’d lie, I’d manipulate, I’d be defensive and uncooperative. But then I realized that wasn’t getting me anywhere. That’s around the same time I decided to learn to read. Going through the journey of learning to read as an adult was challenging. Like anyone who has faced challenges, I learned about myself. I discovered who I was, at the core. And that’s how I learned how to be effective and successful when I was the only one in the room that looked like me: by being myself. You have to be true to yourself, your experiences, and the knowledge that only you possess.

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

Hi, I’m Oliver James. I am a TikTok sensation and motivational speaker. If you’ve seen my TikTok videos, you know I often introduce myself by saying “I’m a 35-year-old man who struggles with reading.” However, it wasn’t long ago that I would say “I can’t read.”

Online, I open up about many deep struggles I have gone through with learning to read as an adult, my challenges, triumphs and my mental health. My story has been featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, the Jennifer Hudson Show, NPR, and other major outlets. I was also recently featured in People magazine. Last October, I was awarded the 2023 National Literacy Honors Award by the Barbara Bush Foundation for the light my story has shed on being functionally illiterate. One of my most recent projects is that my story is going to be featured in an exhibit in Planet Word, an immersive language museum in Washington DC.

Currently I am working to travel to schools, conferences, and libraries to speak to students, educators, and administrators about how being illiterate shaped my life. I also talk about learning to read as an adult. I love sharing my story with others. I want to help students believe in themselves, even if they are struggling. And I want educators to understand that the work they are doing impacts their students for the rest of their lives, sometimes in ways you wouldn’t think. I would love to come speak to your school, conference or organization!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three qualities that were most impactful on my journey were being true to myself, resilience, and embracing my differences for the positive.

Being true to yourself allows you to make your journey your own. Sometimes your way might be at odds with the way things have always been done or the comfortable way, but ultimately being true to yourself means that the goal you accomplish is truly your own.

Resilience is a big word for me. But I’ve come to understand that it means not giving up. I have had many setbacks. But ultimately I have come back and kept going. It may not be right away, sometimes you need to have to take a step back or take a break, but eventually you get back up again.

And lastly, embracing my differences for the positive has been huge. I think we all go through a time that we think that our differences are bad or set us back. But that is just not true. For example, my ADHD is something that I always thought was bad. But I have realized that it is something that makes me stronger in my journey. I am always doing and going and while that may seem chaotic to others but finding something that you can put your energy toward when you have ADHD is like a superpower. It kept me learning how to read like it was addiction. Feed your differences and see how they can work for you.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

Since learning to read, I have been taking this skill and learning to apply it to an actual job: my motivational speaking career. Sharing my story comes natural to me and I have learned that there are many who relate to my story. But I’ve spent a lot of the past 12 months learning the everyday details of booking my speeches, traveling, and delivering my message. It has been a great learning experience and I have improved so much. I have learned a lot about myself and this feeds back into the story and message that I deliver to my audience. This growth has made my speeches even better!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.oliverjamesspeaks.com/
• Instagram: @oliverspeaks1
• Linkedin: Oliver James
• Twitter: @oliverspeaks1
• Youtube: @oliverspeaks1
• Other: TikTok: @oliverspeaks1

Image Credits

The picture of Oliver giving a speech is with an organization called BuildOn and the photo was provided by the organization.