Arthur Lynch Williams was born on April 26, 1942 in Cairo, Georgia. He received a B. S. from Mississippi State University and a Master's in education from Auburn University. He was a high school teacher and football as well as an insurance salesman. In 1977, he began A. L. Williams and Associates, which sold term life insurance to middle class people. Twelve years later, he sold the company for nearly $100 million. Williams wrote All You Can Do Is All You Can Do But All You Can Do Is Enough, which shared the optimistic secrets of his success and was a New York Times bestseller for 14 weeks.