John O'Leary - Author/Speaker
Sports Spectrum Podcast
Sports Spectrum
4.9 • 685 Ratings
🗓️ 27 June 2020
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
BONUS EPISODE
John O'Leary is a walking miracle. In 1987, John O’Leary was a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan. He was also a curious nine-year-old boy. Playing with fire and gasoline, John created a massive explosion in his home and was burned on 100% of his body.
He was given a 1% chance to live.
And live he did.
With the help of a St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame broadcaster, and his love for baseball, John was able to survive and even more than that thrive in life.
John is now a motivational speaker and author, sharing his incredible story. His new book, “ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life” was an instant #1 National Bestseller selling 30,000 copies in the first 3 weeks. In May of 2020, John released his second book "In Awe: Rediscovering Your Childlike Wonder to Unleash Inspiration, Meaning and Joy."
On today's podcast, we talk to John about his new book, why that childlike wonder is something we all should look to rediscover, his love for baseball and how he's found joy amidst the global pandemic.
Follow John on Instagram: @JohnOLeary.Inspires
Follow Sports Spectrum on Instagram: @Sports_Spectrum
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Sports Spectrum, the Sports and Faith podcast that brings Jesus back into the conversation. |
| 0:17.5 | Here's your host, Jason Romano. |
| 0:20.0 | Hey, everyone. |
| 0:20.7 | Welcome to the show. I am Jason Romano. So glad |
| 0:23.0 | you're tuning into our sports spectrum broadcast today. And we are presented by IJM, the International |
| 0:29.0 | Justice Mission. Check them out at IJM.org slash TF to become a freedom partner and join the fight |
| 0:36.0 | to end slavery in our lifetime today. |
| 0:39.3 | Our guest on the show, I'm really pumped for you guys to hear the story of John O'Leary. |
| 0:44.0 | He is an author and a motivational speaker. |
| 0:47.0 | His new book is called In Aw, Rediscover Your Childlike Wonder to Unleash Inspiration, Meaning, and Joy. |
| 0:54.4 | And it released May 5th. |
| 0:56.3 | And John's got a great story. |
| 0:59.1 | He truly is an inspiration to me. |
| 1:01.5 | Him and I met probably four years ago. |
| 1:05.3 | He actually came up to Bristol, Connecticut, where I am. |
| 1:08.9 | And I was working at ESPN at the time. |
| 1:11.7 | And we sat in the cafeteria at ESPN after a show and probably spent an hour and a half, two hours together. |
| 1:18.8 | And I just sat and listened to his story. And then he asked me about my story. And we shared |
| 1:23.6 | and exchanged stories. And then he signed one of his books for me. His first book actually |
| 1:29.1 | called On Fire, which depicts his story and his journey, which is just a crazy one. At the age of |
| 1:35.1 | nine, a fire exploded and burned John's 100% of John's body. And he was given a 1% chance to live |
| 1:43.0 | and he's fought these extraordinary odds and now he's |
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