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Home | | Spark Landing Page | Rising Above with John O’Leary

Rising Above with John O’Leary

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John O'Leary @JOLearyInspires·

ICYMI: Rob Angel turned a simple idea and an outrageous dream into a cultural phenomenon. Learn how he created Pictionary on Live Inspired Podcast ep. 544. https://johnolearyinspires.com/podcast/archive/rob-angel/

John O'Leary @JOLearyInspires·

How did a 20-something year old create the remarkably successful Pictionary? Rob Angel shares how he beat industry giants at their own game and led Pictionary to selling a staggering 38 million games.

Listen to Live Inspired Podcast ep. 554 now: https://johnolearyinspires.com/podcast/archive/rob-angel/

John O'Leary @JOLearyInspires·

Today's Live Inspired Podcast is a roadmap to finding success on your own terms, the power of taking the first small step and embracing the challenges that lie ahead. Hear from Pictionary creator Rob Angel.

https://johnolearyinspires.com/podcast/archive/rob-angel/

John O'Leary @JOLearyInspires·

Rob Angel turned a simple idea and an outrageous dream into a cultural phenomenon. Learn how he created Pictionary on Live Inspired Podcast ep. 544. https://johnolearyinspires.com/podcast/archive/rob-angel/

John O'Leary @JOLearyInspires·

My goal as a kid was to play baseball with the @Cardinals. What was your wild dream as a kid? #MondayMotivation https://johnolearyinspires.com/2023/03/believe-again-2/

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johnoleary.inspires

Live + virtual speaker. 2x bestselling author. Live Inspired Podcast Host. Best last: Husband. Dad. linktr.ee/johnoleary.inspires

@therobangel turned a simple idea and an outrageou

@therobangel turned a simple idea and an outrageous dream into a cultural phenomenon.
As a twenty-something year old waiting tables, Rob began his adventure in creating the remarkably successful and beloved board game #Pictionary. Beating industry giants Milton Bradley and Mattel at their own game, Rob led Pictionary to selling a staggering 38 million (!!!) games in more than 60 countries.
Today, Rob shares how his intuition, passion and persistence led to creating the legendary game and how unconventional tactics led to unexpected success.
Yet, my friends, this conversation is about so much more than Pictionary being one of the bestselling board games of all time. It’s a roadmap to finding success on your own terms, the power of taking the first small step and embracing the challenges that lie ahead.
Listen to Live Inspired Podcast ep. 554 now. Now available anywhere you get podcasts. Links in bios.

Growing up, my dream was clear. With absolute conf

Growing up, my dream was clear. With absolute confidence, I not only knew that I’d play professional baseball, but that I’d play for my hometown St. Louis Cardinals. It was a certainty.
Until.
Until that dream, and the inevitability of obtaining it, was extinguished upon my waking up from one of more than a dozen surgeries after being burned at age nine. With great sadness, my dad shared that during the surgery the doctors were forced to amputate my fingers in order to save my life.
A new certainty crept into my mind: My life was over.
I was furious with my dad and began to cry. I wept knowing that no girl would ever want to hold my hand. I was angry because I’d never be able to write, which meant never graduating from school, which meant never getting a job. And I wept knowing that I’d never achieve my dream of playing baseball.
The journey from that burn center into recovery was filled with incredible adversity; yet overflowing with unexpected grace.
With the support of countless friends and a little personal grit, I learned to write, went back to school, graduated, and even found meaningful work. I also met and fell deeply in love with an amazing girl named Beth. A few years later she fell in love with me (that’s a different story!). We’ve been blessed with 19 years of marriage and four healthy kids.
We enjoy a wonderful life and have accomplished some remarkable achievements. Along the way I even surrendered the childhood dream of playing baseball with the Cardinals.
Until.
Until a few years ago, our office received a call from the St. Louis Cardinals organization. They shared that they were aware that I’d been dramatically impacted by their team back in 1987 when recovering from my burns. They were also aware that I had the opportunity to speak to the team during Spring Training that year…
And they were curious if I had any desire to join them for a home game to throw out the first pitch.
My friends, I have no fingers on my hands. I have no movement in my wrists, limited mobility in my elbows, and difficulty using my shoulders. Unfortunately, there was no possible way for me to throw out the first pitch.
Continued in comments...

Growing up on the east side of Detroit next to a d

Growing up on the east side of Detroit next to a drug house, Martinus Evans (@300poundsandrunning) had to fight his entire life. In his early 20s when he was faced with the choice “lose weight or die”, Martinus vowed to run a marathon (without realizing a marathon is over 26 miles!).
Since then, Martinus has run eight marathons and hundreds of other races in his 300-something pound body, been featured in Men’s Health and Runner’s World and created his own devoted community (@runslowaf) for those who feel intimidated about running.
Today’s conversation is more than taking the next right step in believing in yourself. Join us on a journey of courage, determination, endurance and what it means to love ourselves unconditionally.
And my friends, as we celebrate Martinus’ accomplishments, you’ll gain encouragement for what you can do in your own life.
Listen to Live Inspired Podcast ep. 552 now. Available anywhere you get podcasts. Links in bio.

“You missed it, Daddy.” It was early on a Sat

“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’ve
been 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... Continued in comments...

"If he were a horse, I'd shoot him." I’ll never

"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 available anywhere you get podcasts. Links in bio.

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John O'Leary - Live Inspired

3 days ago

Rob Angel turned a simple idea and an outrageous dream into a cultural phenomenon.As a twenty-something year old waiting tables, Rob began his adventure in creating the remarkably successful and beloved board game Pictionary. Beating industry giants Milton Bradley and Mattel at their own game, Rob led Pictionary to selling a staggering 38 million (!!!) games in more than 60 countries.Today, Rob shares how his intuition, passion and persistence led to creating the legendary game and how unconventional tactics led to unexpected success.Yet, my friends, this conversation is about so much more than Pictionary being one of the bestselling board games of all time. It’s a roadmap to finding success on your own terms, the power of taking the first small step and embracing the challenges that lie ahead.Listen to Live Inspired Podcast ep. 554 now:My website: johnolearyinspires.com/podcast/archive/rob-angel/Your favorite podcast app: link.chtbl.com/tOmM9ExS ... See MoreSee Less

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John O'Leary - Live Inspired

6 days ago

Growing up, my dream was clear. With absolute confidence, I not only knew that I’d play professional baseball, but that I’d play for my hometown St. Louis Cardinals. It was a certainty.Until.Until that dream, and the inevitability of obtaining it, was extinguished upon my waking up from one of more than a dozen surgeries after being burned at age nine. With great sadness, my dad shared that during the surgery the doctors were forced to amputate my fingers in order to save my life.A new certainty crept into my mind: My life was over.I was furious with my dad and began to cry. I wept knowing that no girl would ever want to hold my hand. I was angry because I’d never be able to write, which meant never graduating from school, which meant never getting a job. And I wept knowing that I’d never achieve my dream of playing baseball.The journey from that burn center into recovery was filled with incredible adversity; yet overflowing with unexpected grace.With the support of countless friends and a little personal grit, I learned to write, went back to school, graduated, and even found meaningful work. I also met and fell deeply in love with an amazing girl named Beth. A few years later she fell in love with me (that’s a different story!). We’ve been blessed with 19 years of marriage and four healthy kids.We enjoy a wonderful life and have accomplished some remarkable achievements. Along the way I even surrendered the childhood dream of playing baseball with the Cardinals.Until.Until a few years ago, our office received a call from the St. Louis Cardinals organization. They shared that they were aware that I’d been dramatically impacted by their team back in 1987 when recovering from my burns. They were also aware that I had the opportunity to speak to the team during Spring Training that year…And they were curious if I had any desire to join them for a home game to throw out the first pitch.My friends, I have no fingers on my hands. I have no movement in my wrists, limited mobility in my elbows, and difficulty using my shoulders. Unfortunately, there was no possible way for me to throw out the first pitch.So, it was with some anxiety that I responded: Absolutely!It required a little creativity on how to balance the ball on my hand, a couple weeks of ‘training’ in the backyard with my sons and an extremely generous strike zone from the umpire, but six years ago a childhood dream became a reality. A kid, donning a St. Louis Cardinals jersey, made his way to the mound, waved at his parents, blew a kiss to his wife and kids and threw a first pitch bullet!My friends, 36 years ago a little boy was expected to die.But in 2017, a packed Busch Stadium with over 46,000 Cardinals’ fans saw a 40-year-old guy prove unequivocally that he had no chance at ever becoming a major league ball player. But more importantly: They saw a guy in awe of the life he gets to live reminding them that anything is possible in their lives, too.As we journey professionally and personally, we will never understand the miracle of life fully.Until.Until we allow the unexpected to happen.Don’t just be happy when it happens in someone else’s life, though. Expect it in yours, too.This is your day. Play ball and Live Inspired. ... See MoreSee Less

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John O'Leary - Live Inspired

1 week ago

Growing up on the east side of Detroit next to a drug house, Martinus Evans had to fight his entire life. In his early 20s when he was faced with the choice “lose weight or die”, Martinus vowed to run a marathon (without realizing a marathon is over 26 miles!).Since then, Martinus has run eight marathons and hundreds of other races in his 300-something pound body, been featured in Men's Health and Runner's World and created his own devoted community for those who feel intimidated about running, Slow AF Run Club.Today’s conversation is more than taking the next right step in believing in yourself. Join us on a journey of courage, determination, endurance and what it means to love ourselves unconditionally.And my friends, as we celebrate Martinus’ accomplishments, you’ll gain encouragement for what you can do in your own life.Listen to Live Inspired Podcast ep. 552 now:My website: johnolearyinspires.com/podcast/archive/martinus-evans/Your favorite podcast app: link.chtbl.com/tOmM9ExS ... See MoreSee Less

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John O'Leary - Live Inspired

2 weeks 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

2 weeks 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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