IN AWE Free Chapter

3 days ago

“You missed it, Daddy.”It was early on a Saturday morning when my five-year-old son, Jack, whispered those sad words into my ear.I’d returned late the night before from a weeklong whirlwind speaking tour and was still exhausted from the travel. Over the previous seven days I’d been in eight states and delivered more than a dozen presentations. That morning I was jet-lagged, wiped out, and in desperate need of more sleep.Next to me, my wife was beginning to stir as Jack’s whisper grew in volume. “Daddy, wake up! You missed it!”I had no idea what he was talking about. Was it a baseball game? Had I inadvertently missed his birthday?Nope. It was something much simpler, but no less important.Over 19 years of marriage, Beth and I have moved three times. With each home, we’vebeen blessed to have a grand magnolia tree tower over our front yard.As a guy who travels a lot, I’ve been to Washington, DC, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. I’ve stared straight up in awe at the redwoods north of San Francisco. I’ve hiked through the Costa Rican rainforest, basked under Hawaiian palm trees, and heard the whispering magic of aspens in the mountains of Colorado. Yet my favorite tree remains the magnolia. And my favorite experience is playing with my family below one as it blossoms.The official harbinger, in our household, that spring is arriving is when the glorious white, pink, and purple blooms unspool overhead, the magnolia aroma rains down, and the great tree comes to life.The morning Jack woke me I was in my bed, lying next to my wife for the first time in a week.The kids were a bit bigger. Beth was a little more tired.And the magnolia tree in our front yard, which had been dormant all winter, had awakened, sprung to life, fully blossomed, and dropped its petals.It’s an event I get my kids fired up about every spring. It’s a display that symbolizes perfectly the promise of new life. It’s an awesome spectacle.And I missed the entire show.My work requires a good bit of travel. There will occasionally be things that I miss. Many of you can probably relate.But sometimes do you feel like you’re missing it…and you haven’t even gone anywhere? Times when you are physically present, but emotionally absent? That life is happening all around, but you aren’t really present? For any of it?From family dinners to corner diners, from airport terminals to team meetings, there exists a vast chasm between our physical presence somewhere and wholehearted engagement once there.We were not made to be in a thousand places at once.We were made to be here, in this moment, right now.To truly live In Awe, we must embrace the miracle replete within each moment in life. Experiences like sunshine in the park, brainstorming meetings in the conference room, and the commute at the end of the day can become significant only when we give it our full attention.So set down the phone. Put away the newspaper. Let go of the mistakes from yesterday and the worry for tomorrow.It’s time to wake up. It’s important not to miss it.Your life is a gift and if you’re too busy racing through it, you may miss the grandeur of the gifts right in front of you.Today is your day. Live Inspired. ... See MoreSee Less

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John O'Leary - Live Inspired

7 days ago

"If he were a horse, I'd shoot him."I’ll never forget the sting of hearing those words spoken about me by a physician who didn't see the hope and possibility in a 10-year-old boy hoping to regain the use of his hands.Weeks later, I found a very different, kind-hearted, visionary physician: Dr. Carlos Pappalardo. One who looked into my heart when he spoke with me, treated me as a person, and masterfully blessed me with the ability to again use my hands.Earlier this week I learned that Dr. Carlos Pappalardo passed away at the age of 93. Today, I want to share four specific encounters with this man, how they each had a profound impact on my life and how we all can learn to live a meaningful, significant, servant-oriented, faithful and generous life.Listen to Live Inspired Podcast ep. 550 now:My website: johnolearyinspires.com/podcast/archive/pappalardoYour favorite podcast app: link.chtbl.com/tOmM9ExS ... See MoreSee Less

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John O'Leary - Live Inspired

1 week ago

We quickly judge others on the answers they provide.We vote for politicians because of the answers they give during debates, the zingers they fire at their opponents and the pithy posts they make on social media. We follow thought leaders because of the brilliant answers they provide to the questions we have. And organizationally, we assign the title of leader to those who have all the answers.And yet, a more nuanced and beneficial approach shouldn’t be simply in judging the answers they give, but instead the questions they ask. People often reveal themselves in the humility of the questions they ask or the unwillingness to ask them in the first place. An encounter with a young man reminded me of this truth.My favorite aspect of speaking with audiences is always the opportunity to visit individually afterwards. A community event provided such a chance with more than 800 gathered and many of them sticking around at the conclusion to have books signed and personal stories shared. Throughout the book signing, though, I noticed a young man waiting off to the side.As the room emptied, he eventually approached and asked if we could talk for a moment.We walked from the atrium where others still lingered to a quiet area and sat down in the theater.He told me how moved he was during the presentation. He shared that he was new to the area and struggling in school. High school was hard and making friends wasn’t easy. His eyes watered as he spoke.Then he asked a telling question: “John, were there ever days when you regretted living through the fire; or days after when you wondered if you’d be better off dead?”I told him honestly that there were many difficult days that I struggled mightily. Five long months in the hospital, losing my fingers to amputation, lots of difficulties in school, challenges in dating and struggles professionally. Even today, as good as life is, many days are hard.I shared that although I wouldn’t have chosen any of the challenges, looking back on them it’s so clear to me now that through them my character was forged, my faith was tested and a drive to live fully was stoked.I asked him about what he’s going through.We discussed his family, his struggles, his school and his life. It was an honest, painful and beautifully open conversation. We exchanged information to stay connected and at the end, as we got ready to step back into crowds and life, I asked what he was thinking now.He took a deep breath, looked up at the ceiling, then back at me, before responding, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I want to live.”The young man then committed to talking to his school counselor, being honest with his family and even gave me permission to share the conversation with his principal.The fight, in other words, was no longer just his. The despair of today was no longer greater than the hope for tomorrow. And the darkness no longer more powerful than the light.My friend, we all go through dark times. The good news is that your life matters, the foundation remains firm, better days are ahead and you are not alone. These aren’t platitudes, but transformational truth.You see, light is awesome. It shows us the way. It provides clarity.And yet, it is in enduring the darkness that permits us to actually see the stars and more fully appreciate the light.This is your day. Live Inspired. ... See MoreSee Less

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John O'Leary - Live Inspired

2 weeks ago

After a chaotic childhood, Tara Schuster hustled to appear glamorous, successful and well-adjusted on paper by earning an Ivy League education and securing the role of Vice President at Comedy Central. In her first bestselling book Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies, Tara recounts her years-long journey of re-parenting herself through simple daily rituals.When Tara lost her job, the one on which she had staked her entire adult identity, she found her harshest childhood traumas resurfacing as she battled severe depression amidst the isolating pandemic.Today, Tara shares her journey to reclaiming her agency by healing her deepest wounds and how you too can shine even in bleak circumstances.With actionable advice for taking charge of your emotional health, this conversation with help you find true resilience.Listen to Tara Schuster on Live Inspired Podcast ep. 548 now:➡️ My website: johnolearyinspires.com/podcast/archive/tara-schuster/➡️ Your favorite podcast app: link.chtbl.com/tOmM9ExS ... See MoreSee Less

John O'Leary - Live Inspired

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Husband. Father. Son. Friend. Live event + virtual speaker. Coach. Two-time bestselling author. Live Inspired Podcast host.
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John O'Leary - Live Inspired

2 weeks ago

After an uncompromisingly courageous 18-year-long battle against ALS, one of the most resilient, impactful and joyful individuals I’ve ever met died last week. The lessons he taught before dying, though, should be learned and applied by the rest of us as we determine to start more fully living.Augie Nieto and I met in 2015 at a leadership event hosted by the University of Southern California.At that point Augie had lived with the brutal realities of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) for over ten years. Having his physical health slowly fleeced from him, knowing the trajectory of the disease, and recognizing the certainty of losing everything, Augie tried to take his own life shortly after receiving the diagnosis at age forty-seven.Surviving that experience ignited within him a deep desire to not only refuse to surrender to the disease, but to become a masterful example of abundant life in spite of it.We connected after my talk and spoke for almost an hour. I asked what the most difficult aspect of this brutal disease was.He responded, “I . . .”Augie sat motionless in a motorized wheelchair. He was unable to move any muscle other than the big toe on his right foot. Using technology he helped design, he was able to use his toe to type letters and communicate with friends.“Don’t . . .”Augie was a pioneer and leader in the fitness industry before his ALS diagnosis. He founded, grew, and eventually sold the hugely successful brand Life Fitness. For Augie, fitness wasn’t just work, it was life. He epitomized health and was a world-class athlete.“Want . . .”This one sentence had already taken him more than a minute to type. It was laborious, requiring all his mental effort and physical strength. The seemingly simple task of moving his big toe to type these words was grueling.“To . . .”Occasionally his eyes glanced over at me to make sure I was paying attention— and to let me know he was enjoying being heard.“Be . . .”At this moment someone approached thanking me for speaking. I asked him if he’d ever met Augie. He hadn’t. The gentleman then stuck out his hand to shake Augie’s. Augie stared back. After an awkward silence, the gentleman pointed at Augie, told him he looked great, turned, and walked away. As I watched the man exit the room, Augie finished his sentence.“Ignored.”While he could not undo his diagnosis nor change his reality, he did wish one thing from those around him: “I don’t want to be ignored.”What terrified Augie was not the painful progression of ALS, or even the inevitable loss of life. It was that in almost every room he was in, people looked past him, ignored him, or felt sorry for him.Augie Nieto built a wonderful business, a lavish lifestyle, traveled the world and enjoyed the kind of life most can only imagine.And yet, he reserved his finest work and greatest impact for the final 18 years of his life.Although the disease slowly robbed Augie of his life, he refused to become a victim to it. A man who once attempted to take his life because of the disease, fought for every moment of it after surviving. He loved more fully, lived more passionately, and gave more generously. Augie raised 190 million dollars for ALS research.So while he died last week, he taught those he encountered what real courage, real success and real life looked like in action.Augie, my friend, you were impossible to ignore because you were bigger than some disease.We love you and thank you for teaching us the gift of our lives.This is your day. Live Inspired.******This article includes portions of a story I included in the book IN AWE. If you would like to be inspired and make a difference, 100% of all proceeds from the sale of IN AWE during the month of March will go to Augie’s Quest. Because his quest to positively impact others continues. Visit ReadInAwe.com to learn more. ... See MoreSee Less

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