Live Inspired Podcast With John O'leary

What would you do if you knew today was your last? As a nine-year-old, this wasn’t just a hypothetical question to consider, but a reality I faced daily.   Because of my weakened condition, the additional stress of surgery and blood loss presented the very real prospect that the next surgery could be my last. With this in mind, my parents would make the evening before surgeries extremely special. They’d bring me a gift, my siblings would visit, we’d eat pizza, down milkshakes, and stay up late. We’d do our very best to ignore the painful reality before us. The focus was on me.   That’s how I spent my nights when I thought they might be my last.   How would you want to spend yours?   Learn more about today's episode at JohnOLearyInspires.com/podcast.

To celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month, I’m honored to welcome Kevin Eubanks, one of the most accomplished jazz musicians of his or any generation.   As a prolific guitarist and composer, Kevin is frequently recognized for his role as former Music Director of The Tonight Show band, appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for 18 years.   Yet it’s what led up to this iconic role that is most intriguing.   Today, Kevin shares about growing up with a strong musical influence, what it was like to hitchhike to gigs around Philadelphia at 13 years old and how he was able to overcome his shyness.   And I can’t forget to mention…Kevin shares a fantastic impersonation of Jay Leno that you don’t want to miss.   Learn more about this episode at JohnOLearyInspires.com/podcast.

For three decades, Parkinson’s disease has robbed my dad of his ability to work, type, write, drive, walk and speak... and yet every day he chooses gratitude.   Today, on World Parkinson’s Awareness Day and in honor of my dad and the millions of others impacted by Parkinson’s, I challenge you to make the choice to fill your heart with gratitude.   Learn more about the Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary at JohnOLearyInspires.com.

David Sipress is an iconic cartoonist for The New Yorker. Since 1998, he’s published nearly 700 cartoons largely based on perceptions of shared human experience, rooted in his life-long love of history.   With humor, creativity and vulnerability, David shares stories about his complicated family, the day he decided to pursue cartooning professionally and the 25 years of rejection that followed.   Don’t miss today’s intimate and engaging conversation with an artist who understands that personal thoughts and feelings often lead to remarkable ideas.   Learn more about this episode and more at JohnOLearyInspires.com.

Join me as I share the most powerful five-word lessons I've learned after more than 400 episodes of the Live Inspired Podcast.   To get links to each episode I mention, visit JohnOLearyInspires.com.

Six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee is regarded by many as the greatest female athlete of all time. After retiring, Jackie chose to return to her impoverished hometown with a greater purpose: empower youth in her community to dream, and have the drive and determination to succeed.   Today, hear Jackie share the pivotal moments in her life when she chose to never give up, why she refuses to let her environment define who she is and what that means for you.

How do you respond when tragedy strikes?   As we face storms in life, we have a choice. We can choose anger, yell about it, and remain negative about what happened and all we’ve lost.   Or we can choose to accept it, make the best of it, grow from it and realize that in spite of those unwanted changes that the best of life remains in front of us.   Learn more at JohnOLearyInspires.com.

There are about 7,000 languages in the world, all with different vocabularies, sounds, and alphabets—but how do these structural differences influence how we interpret the world?   Lera Boroditsky is a cognitive scientist recognized for studying how the languages we speak shape the way we think.   After emigrating to America from Belarus, Lera learned English and began to recognize how differences in languages can shape an argument and exaggerate the differences between others.   Today, Lera shares how people view the world differently based on their linguistic backgrounds and how her research has provided influential insight in the fields of psychology, philosophy, and linguistics.   To learn more about today's episode, visit JohnOLearyInspires.com/podcast.

To celebrate World Down Syndrome Day today I wanted to share a story of a family who received a diagnosis they didn’t desire…and ultimately a gift far greater than they could have imagined.   Learn more about today's episode at JohnOLearyInspires.com.

Michelle Hord is no stranger to tragedy. She started her professional career as a producer on America's Most Wanted, where she came face to face with the unthinkable on a daily basis.   But when her own beloved 7-year-old daughter Gabrielle Eileen was murdered by her ex-husband, Michelle’s entire life crashed down around her.   Today, with compassion + insight, Michelle joins us for a raw and powerful conversation about resilience, hope, and defiant faith and how it can lead to powerful transformation even in the midst of our darkest hours.   You’ll leave this conversation with a compassionate blueprint on how to harness your inner strength and the tools you need to reclaim your story.   Plus, Michelle reads a short excerpt from her book The Other Side of Yet, released earlier this week, that is profoundly special.   Learn more about this episode at JohnOLearyInspires.com.

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." -William James   As we race through this day, and read about tragedies overseas, challenges in our nation, difficulties in our region, and feel discouragement that there is little we can do to influence positive change, be reminded that your one life is a sacred gift.   While big numbers might grab headlines, the most important number recognizes that what you do matters, that the words you speak influence, that the dreams you cast impact the path you take, and that while your road forward may be difficult, your best is yet to come.   Let’s act as if what we do makes a difference. Let’s remember that indeed it does. And today, let’s choose to not just read about it, but to act like it.   Subscribe to the #LiveInspired Podcast + learn more at JohnOLearyInspires.com.

Mark Victor Hansen co-founded Chicken Soup for the Soul in hopes of sharing motivational stories with people all over the world. But it wasn’t always the successful publishing franchise we know today.   Despite originally being turned down 144 times by publishers, Mark persisted. To date, Chicken Soup for the Soul has now sold more than 500 million books and had 57 different titles on the New York Times bestseller list.     Today, Mark joins us to share the four principles to which he credits his success and to remind us that we all have a story to share.     Subscribe to the Live Inspired Podcast on your favorite streaming platform. Learn more at JohnOLearyInspires.com

In a world filled with many individuals concerned primarily with taking care of themselves, the courage of the Ukrainian people to fight for their home, their neighbors and their freedom has been humbling and inspiring to observe. To be reminded of the beauty of showing up for others- even when our commitment to doing so is tested beyond imagination- look no further than Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska.     Today, be reminded of the strength and resiliency borne from showing up for someone we love.     Doing so may not keep injustices from occurring, difficulties from happening or bombs from dropping, but it will remind us in the midst of conflict that we are not alone, there remains reason for hope and the best is yet to come.     Learn more at JohnOLearyInspires.com

Celeste Headlee is an award-winning journalist who has appeared on PBS, the BBC and NPR’s Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, and All Things Considered. With over 25 years of on-air radio experience, Celeste has a unique perspective on what makes for a good conversation.   Today, Celeste joins us to illuminate the path forward in having conversations (even difficult ones!) that actually matter.    In a time when there seems to be an abundance of talking at rather than talking with, today’s conversation is captivating, engaging and worthwhile, and emphasizes the importance of having real conversations with people on all sides of every equation.   Learn more about the Live Inspired Podcast at JohnOLearyInspires.com/podcast.

"I’ve discovered that a person begins aging only when they stop learning and stop loving." For nearly a century, Pat Hyndman showed us how we could live our lives with childlike awe. He knew that life was a gift, that every person matters, and that each day was packed with limitless possibilities. My friends, in the midst of the chaos in our journey forward, the foundation is firm, the headwind may be real but the best is yet to come. Learn more at JohnOLearyInspires.com.

Top career adviser Laurie Ruettimann has spent more than 20 years advocating for better employment experiences to increase retention rates and improve job satisfaction.   After a season as a young professional, Laurie was uninspired and blaming others for her unhappiness, until she decided to take hold of life—the good, the bad, and the downright ugly—in order to transform her future.   Today, Laurie shares the framework to approach work in a smart and healthy manner and the tactical advice to champion your interests and create a life you actually enjoy.   Visit JohnOLearyInspires.com/podcast for the entire show notes.

My sweet Mom passed out in the shower last Friday evening. After fainting, she fell backwards, landed hard on the floor, and broke her wrist. As it turns out, she collapsed as the result of anemia and low hemoglobin, which required a few days of observation in the hospital to elevate.    In a surreal coincidence, her room is on the exact same floor as --and stunningly just three doors away from-- the entrance to the Burn Center where I was treated 35 years earlier.    My friends, we often cheapen our ability to positively influence another human being because we don't have the right status, don’t feel we are enough or worry we lack the proper words.    Today I share a reminder that it’s not having the right words that elevate the life of a friend who is struggling. It’s having the courage to show up, the willingness to be present and the audacity to simply listen.

Did you know... Two-thirds of Americans report feeling lonely, and that's even before the pandemic. The average American hasn’t made a new friend in the last five years. Loneliness is as toxic as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Today, psychologist and friendship expert Dr. Marisa Franco shares her research in the science of friendship and the powerful benefits platonic friendships have on our overall wellbeing. In a season of social fragmentation and rampant loneliness, join us as we provide the tools needed to make, maintain and deepen friendships. SHOW NOTES: Struggling after a breakup in her 20s, Marisa built a support system that taught her romantic love was not the only love that mattered. “It’s a gift to give love just as much as it is to receive love.” For friendships to happen, sociologists have determined we need continuous unplanned interaction and shared vulnerably. Research finds that loneliness is as toxic as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Make new friends but keep the old: Assume others like you b

What can we gain in living from a place of unconditional love? On this Valentine’s Day, whether you are going on a hot date with your special someone, heading out with dear friends, or longingly waiting for the phone to ring, be reminded of the overwhelming demands true love requires and the profound blessing it delivers in return. Ultimately, the way we discover the love we seek is to let go of our needs, remain absolutely vulnerable in the face of fear, say yes to serving others, allow our hearts to be broken repeatedly and strive diligently to make our lives about something far bigger than ourselves.

Three-time Olympian Devon Harris has achieved his greatness. Starting as a barefoot boy trying to win a track race, Devon became a member of Jamaica’s first Olympic bobsled team. SHOW NOTES: As a young boy living in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica, Devon would stand near a light post to see the people living well-off in the distance and it motivated him to see a brighter future. Your biography is not your destiny. The whining, the complaining the justifying, until you stop that you remain powerless to improve your situation. Wi lickle, but wi tallawah! It means we are small, but we are powerful. This attitude allows us as Jamaicans to consistently punch above our weight class. We simply believe that we can do anything. The original Jamaican bobsled Olympic team in 1988 inspired the Disney film Cool Runnings. Devon competed in 3 Olympics: 1988 in Calgary, 1992 in France and 1998 in Japan. DEVON HARRIS' LIVE INSPIRED 7 Q. What is the best book you’ve ever read? A. The Art of Selfishness by David Seabury. Q.