Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary

"You must be present to win. To win in your relationships at work and at home - you must be present." Bestselling author of Nice Bike , phenomenal leadership guru and longtime speaker, Mark Scharenbroich is going to school us on how to connect more effectively with people AND: remind us the importance of doing it. SHOW NOTES: My shop teacher, Leroy, had a big influence on me. One day he asked how...

"How you respond to adversity determines the story you write." Life came at Ben hard and fast. When he was 6 months old, his divorcee mom was diagnosed with a rare disease and given only a few years to live. The above quote is one Ben gleaned from his mother's journal*, which he received 10 years after she passed. The time capsule of her positive attitude preserved in the journal swept Ben away. T...

"Today we're going to talk about the power of one. One individual. One action. One impact." The truth that one person can absolutely change the word is one I learned from my burn team when I was in the hospital. Today I am going to share one example of this truth. After being burned on 100% of my body, I wasn't expected to survive much less walk. But, Roy taught me to do exactly that; walk and SO...

"There's always good that can come from the bad." Cohost of the nationally syndicated Bobby Bones Show and host of Love What Matters Podcast: Amy Brown is a ray of sunshine as she shares vulnerably with us about her life. From her father walking out on her family to her mother dying of cancer: Amy is a shining example of finding blessings in all of life's experiences. SHOW NOTES: Her dad leaving w...

"If you're patient, you'll move past obstacles." Today I am honored to share with you a man who has profoundly inspired me. Koran Bolden is a speaker, author + voice in urban education and arts. He committed to breaking the cycle of growing up in a fatherless home. He overcame the grief of losing his brother to gun violence. His smile can be felt in every word he speaks... and he is about to give...

"Busy isn't productive. Your 'to do list' isn't most important. The list of commitments you actually honor is." Today I get to introduce you to the business coach who I began working with 10 years ago when I transitioned from real estate + construction into speaking + writing. Edie Varley has an undeniable energy that will absolutely captivate you.  Get ready to recalibrate what is truly important...

"The most important thing you'll do for your relationships is what you do for yourself." Our guest today is a co-creator of eHarmony, psychologist, professor, author, husband and father, Les Parrott. When I shared a stage with Les at the Dave Ramsey SMART Conference, I was blown away by his wisdom.  He's shared his expertise with Oprah, Barbara Walters and Tom Brokaw... and today he will share it...

You can control and resist life or you can dive in. Let's take the wise words from season 3 guest Christine Hassler and: DIVE IN together. It's our day to LIVE INSPIRED! The guests on our show are ordinary people doing extraordinary things  on purpose.  On this episode, we'll celebrate the best insights from each Season 3 guest AND how it will impact the inspired life you're living.  After just 3 ...

"What more can I do?" This epic question is the one I learned from the example of Hall of Fame Announcer Jack Buck. When our paths crossed, we were strangers. I had just been burned on 100% of my body and the doctors had given me less than 1% chance to survive.  On today's episode, I  share what has become my most requested story to share when I'm speaking at events. It's the story of an unlikely...

"We found ourselves in parachutes floating down over enemy territory." Charlie Plumb spent his impoverished yet idyllic childhood in Kansas "kicking cans and playing in the light of the moon." When it was time for college, he won a scholarship and hopped on a Greyhound bus to the military academy in Annapolis. After graduating from the Naval Academy, he immediately married his high school sweet he...

"I grew up in New York, in a small place..." Lolly Daskal grew up in Brooklyn, NY. One of the biggest most metropolitan cities in the world, and yet to Lolly "it felt like a very small place." Her life existed within a few city blocks and her community only spoke Yiddish, German and Hungarian. Her family was very religious and she was expected to be married and begin having children by 16. Lolly g...

"We need to stop judging each other and thinking we know , because you would never know my story unless I told you." Laila Ali is a fitness & wellness guru, podcaster, author, undefeated 4-time boxing champion, has appeared on Dancing with the Stars and Chopped and is the daughter of Muhammad Ali. Today she shares vulnerably the path to all that she has accomplished in her 39 years - and WOW is it...

"Coaching is a vocation to reach men who need to be reached." His Dad left when he was 4. His Mom's 4th husband shot at him when he was 17. Bill Courtney didn't have male role models at home, but he found them on the field and in the classroom. Today, Bill is a business owner, husband and father who believes:  Giving back isn't something nice to do. It is a responsibility.  Bill chose to coach foo...

"Sometimes we hold onto the life we think we're supposed to have. But in letting go, we get new possibilities." Janine Shepherd grew up an athlete in rural Australia. At 24, she was training for her first Olympics. On a 5-hour training ride, she was hit by a truck.  Janine was left with a broken neck and back, massive internal bleeding and blood pressure at 40 over nothing. Janine Shepherd was not...

"Enough was never enough." Christine Hassler was an over achiever. Each time she'd reach a milestone - she'd hurry off to the next big goal... never taking time to pause, recoup or celebrate. Early in her career, she was a high level producer in Hollywood... and completely unhappy. Today, she realizes that she was keeping busy and "achieving" in order to not have to truly feel her feelings. To get...

Don't miss my big, time-sensitive announcement in this episode!  "Time allows you to seek wisdom and understand what you've gone through so you can help other people with what you've learned." From homeless to bestselling author. From small-town Alabama to on-stage in front of thousands. From hating 6th grade football to working with the last nine college football national championship teams: My g...

"I don't want you to be a been brother: a would-a-been, could-a-been or should-a-been. Focus, be well-rounded and give your effort at all times." Chris Hogan received this advice from his Mom. He was bless to grow up with seven or eight parental figures - from uncles and grandparents to teachers and coaches - in a small town in Kentucky. These role models helped him to dream big and never rest on...

Today's guest is going to give you 90s nostalgia in the best way. He sold 2 million records. Played the David Letterman and Tonight Show. Friends, today's guest is Brian Vander Ark, lead singer of the band Verve Pipe, who produced 90s hits  Freshmen and Photograph . Brian is still playing today with the band and as a solo artist. From small town Michigan to opening for KISS in sold-out arenas: Bri...

Your journey is limitless and your life is profound. The guests on our show are ordinary people doing extraordinary things on purpose. On this episode, we'll celebrate the best insights from each guest AND how it has impacted the inspired lives we're living.  After just two seasons, we've got 250,000 downloads. Which means more lives are  being touched and more people are living inspired with us....

"Most of us don't know how to have real honest conversation. Culturally today there's a lot of yelling and finger pointing. Radical candor creates a bridge to connect the two sides." Kim Scott, who literally wrote the book on radical candor (released this week!), will ROCK the way you communicate with colleagues, loved ones, neighbors and everyone in between. Whether working at her own start up or...

What does improvisation bring to business and life? The idea that we are not competing. We are in agreement, working together, have each others' back and building a relationship.  Travis Thomas is an author, speaker, coach, improviser and expert at applying the cornerstone of improv - "YES AND!" - to succeed in life and business. Today, you'll learn how improvisation has shaped Travis's life and h...

"Just because you work through your stuff and you own it doesn't mean the evidence of it disappears." - William Paul Young William Paul Young's childhood broke him. As a husband and father, he hit rock bottom and began a journey to reconstruct the life he was meant to lead. Young shared this process in his book The Shack , written as a gift for his children to better understand his experience. He...

If you don't have motors in your life and you do have anchors, the anchors are going to pull you down and drown you. Be around positive people that pull you up and plant positivity, not fear. Jill Blashack Strahan shared this when reflecting on how she found significance and success as Founder & CEO of Tastefully Simple , despite experiencing tragic loss when her spouse and two brothers died much...

When bad things happen, Dale Partridge no longer questions them.  Instead, he thinks: "What will I learn from this moment?" After numerous pivots, failures and unmanageable businesses growth early in his career, Dale began "to hold less tight to things. I'm more open-handed because of these moments."   At one point his business was so successful, he couldn't grow fast enough to sustain it. On the...

Love of country was one of the most important tenants in Sergeant Rocky Sickmann's house the he was growing up. His father and brother were both in the army and Rocky joined the Marines. In October of 1979, Rocky was a guard at the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran. A few weeks later, he was taken hostage. He was held for the next 444 days. Rocky recounts the day he was taken hostage, gives unbelievable,...