I met John O’Leary when I stopped by to visit comedian Kathy Buckley in Los Angeles.
Just like Kathy, John had a wonderfully vibrant energy. It took a few minutes for me to realize that he was missing a couple of fingers on his hands.
At the age of nine, John went into the garage to look for a can of gasoline. He wanted to try a trick that he saw some teens do: pour a strip of gas on the ground and light it on fire.
Being a young kid, he didn’t quite understand the process. When John lit the match, he created a fireball instead.
Burned on 100% of his body, John wasn’t expected to live.
But he did.
And today, he travels the world sharing his wisdom and helping people to live “on fire.”
After meeting John, I ordered his book, “On Fire, The Seven Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life.” Every page is gripping–John weaves life lessons throughout his own story. Even my kids have read his book (and they haven’t read all of MY books!)
I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with John and in our interview he shares how we can create our own “Ignition Statement” to ignite our own passion and purpose:
In the interview, John shares:
- Why he still becomes nervous before taking the stage to talk to people and how he harnesses that energy in the right direction.
- Why he would go through being burned all over again.
- How his mother taught him resiliency when he came home from the hospital.
- What passion means and how to harness it.
As John says, ” You can’t always choose the path you walk in life, but you can always choose the manner in which you walk.”
Learn more about John O’Leary and receive a spark of inspiration here: John O’Leary Inspires.
Karen Putz is known as “The Passion Mentor.” She helps people unwrap their passion at ANY age and turn an ordinary life into an extraordinary one. Karen is the author of multiple books, including, Unwrapping Your Passion, Creating the Life You Truly Want.