Even if you are dealing with traumatic experiences and life-threatening challenges, you can continue living inspired and love yourself with all your heart. Darrin Tulley welcomes John O’Leary, his 50th podcast guest, who shares how he refused to give up even though he was expected to succumb to his third-degree burns. He shares his incredible story of survival and how he uses his second chance to live as an inspirational speaker, best-selling author, and podcaster. John talks about the importance of living with childlike wonder, the power of embracing vulnerability, and how a community lifted him up to move forward no matter what, including sportscaster legend Jack Buck. He also discusses the upcoming film “Soul on Fire,” a dramatic retelling of his real-life childhood experience of surviving severe fire burns.
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The Power Of Living Inspired With John O’Leary
Our guest was once expected to die with less than a 1% chance of living. He overcame the odds to not only live your possible out loud, he’s now teaching others how to live inspired. What an honor to be here with you, John O’Leary. Welcome to the Live Your Possible Podcast. How are you doing?
Darrin, I’m better now. Thank you for that wonderful intro. People don’t hear the conversations we have on shows before we hit record. What they should know about this one is I feel like I’m already on with a friend. I know you feel the same. This is going to be an awesome conversation.
Let’s have some fun. You’re a friend for life. You’re welcome in my home anytime.
I appreciate that.
The first time I heard about you, I was on a mutual friend’s podcast, Lisa Nichols, called Something Extra. She’s like, “Darrin, you have to go read this book called In Awe by John O’Leary. It’s about igniting our childlike ways again because it goes away from us.” As soon as I heard about that, and I started to read your book. I’m like, “This guy had me at his first word.”
Visiting A Burn Camp
I’m living your words out loud, which is part of your goals for us to take some of your inspiration and ideas and put them to life and to work, because it does light up our world that lights our souls. It gets us all moving in a different direction moving forward. I want you to know I’m a fan. I’m a believer. I’m following your practices, and I’m seeing a brighter world because of it. Thank you again. Before we get into any deep detail, I’m curious about what’s on your mind. What’s got your attention?
That’s a loaded question. There’s so much going on. Work-wise, we’ll talk about this, I’m sure. There’s a film coming up called Soul on Fire. It’s the story of my life and the story of the community that supported me during a profound struggle and eventually loved a little boy who got burned, so much so that not only when he was in the hospital did he have a chance at life, but after he got out and struggled with addictions, mistakenness, and brokenness, he had an opportunity to maybe one day live again.
It is a beautiful story. That’s in my mind. How do we elevate this in the marketplace that is longing for it? What’s on my mind additionally is I’m a father of four, and I’m married to one. I’m always thinking about how I can make the world and their world a little bit better place. My father passed away. I’m serving my mom. I’m still taking care of some pieces that are broken after that. We’re figuring our way through that. This is the first thing that came to my mind when you asked the question, “What’s on your mind?” I spoke at a burn camp.
When I was nine, I was in a fire. When I was eleven, I went to my first burn camp. It’s when you leave your home and your friends and you go to this camp. You’re scared out of your freaking mind. You get off the bus or out of the van, and you walk out. Everywhere around you are the little kids who’ve been burned in one way or another. It’s terrifying and liberating at the same time. I did that a couple of times as a child. To go back as a man, no one is burned worse than I am. I’m a 100% burnt victim, 87% third degree.
There is no way out of this thing. I’m able to walk in now as a man, tell the story of what happened, talk through the story of recovery, talk through the story of some struggles that I face as a young person, and then talk through the story of “Today, I’m married.” She’s gorgeous. Here’s a picture of her. She pops up, and then a picture of these kids and their dog, the joys we have together, and hanging out in the pool, it is this wonderful life. From all this struggle, stress, tragedy, scarred, and brokenness comes the story that’s coming to the big screens. I get to send all of you guys and your families. At the very end of it, they come up and they hug me. They share their story and their scars. All that is on my mind, the story of tragedy, redemptiveness, and brokenness in life.
That’s a lot. You’re opening people’s minds to look forward. I read an article that maybe you posted. There was a little girl who might have said something to you.
Yes, it was the last one. There are 64 campers and about 45 volunteers, so a little more than 100 people in this room. It’s outside. It’s in northern Arkansas, southern Missouri. It’s hot. It’s horrible. We’re out there partying, 100 of us or so. Afterwards, the vast majority come up, share a little something, hugs, and handshakes. The last person was this little girl. She said, “I’m not scared anymore.” Here’s this little girl. She’s probably 6 or 7 with scars on her face and scars on her right arm.
One of her little fingers was missing. She hugged me, and then she ran off. The point of that post was that I wasn’t even sure specifically what she was scared of before or liberated from now. There’s a blessing in those words for all of us. This idea of the fear we have, this trepidation, this anxiety, and stress, almost all of us carry into a day. She found something in that message that liberated her from that. That’s what we all want, to let this weight go and to be free. That’s part of what you and I are going to be talking about. How do you get free from the weight, whether you’ve been burned, you’ve been through a bankruptcy, or you’re struggling in a marriage? Whatever it is, how do you get free?
You let her run off, not knowing, and you set her free. Now, she could see the world more openly, maybe with open arms, and not doubt herself. You did that! You’re vulnerable, and you shared that story with her. It was one story, meaning you, one person, making an impact for her lifetime. That’s got to make you feel so full, maybe even emotional.
All day long! What she doesn’t recognize, most of us don’t when we’re the ones thinking we are receiving the inspiration, but we say thank you for it. In doing so, you give that person a gift. I floated home and it was a two and a half hour drive. I was sweaty and a little tired from waking up super early to get down there on time for a 7:30 breakfast meeting. It’s almost three hours from my house. I floated home on her encouragement, on her hug, and the little joy in her eyes. I posted that.
You bumped into it. It’s got thousands of comments, likes, and reposts. Not only did that little one love on me, which if it ended there, it’s enough. Then I shared that little whisper of encouragement. It went out from there. Love never returns void. Even if the relationship falls apart, it never returns void. Our job, ultimately, is not to figure out how to grow bigger businesses or sell more widgets. It’s how to love people more effectively. In doing so, we may one day grow a bigger business or sell more widgets, but that’s not the pursuit. That’s the result.
Suffering And Surviving Third-Degree Burns
I’m sitting here beaming. I love it. I love the stories that you’re sharing. I feel it. I feel the impact you’re making with all of us and that little girl. She’s a representation. You say you’re an ordinary person, yet you’re an icon for what is possible. I love that. I’d love it if you don’t mind sharing a little bit more about your story back in 1987. Expand on that a little bit and help my audience understand what you went through.
I’ll start with the first part of your statement, which was, “You’re an icon.” That’s very hard to even hear. Anything that I’ve accomplished in my life is on the heels of other people’s efforts. We’ll go through things. Whether you want to talk about podcasts, books, speaking, or a film, all of it is the result of other people doing their part. Maybe nothing signifies that more brilliantly than the fire. That’s what happened back in 1987. I witnessed kids in my neighborhood playing with fire and gasoline when I was nine, and assumed that if these kids could get away with it, I knew I could.
With my mom out with a couple of sisters and my dad at work, I walked over to a can of gasoline, lit a piece of cardboard, bent down next to this metal container, and tried to pour. You know the story. Before the liquid came out, the fumes grabbed the flame, created this massive explosion, split the metal in two, and picked up the nine-year-old boy. It launched me 20 feet against the far side of the garage. It set my world on fire, literally and figuratively. I was covered in gasoline and burning. Everything around me in the garage was aflame.
A normal human reaction, I panicked, and I ran. Eventually, my brother Jim saved my life, carried me outside, and threw me on the ground, but not before he got burned. I was even burned more terribly. It all leads to that stat you shared earlier. Into the emergency room with burns on 100% of my body, 87% were third degree. In 2025, that is a death sentence. Years ago, there was no chance. The fact that we’re having this conversation is not evidence of how great I am, but in my mind, how big God is and how he used ordinary people, from brothers, sisters, paramedics, firefighters, and first responders in the hospital. Everybody came around this little boy to begin breathing life back into him.
Talking about gratitude for every single one of them and beyond. Talking about having a greater purpose. You’ve gone through this pain, this trauma, and how you’ve come through this. Wow! The question I have is, how did you get through this?
It was not through my power. I’m going to keep going back to that. Eventually, you will fall asleep. I’m sure your readers will, if they haven’t already. “John, you’re packed with grit, brother.” Some, no doubt. When I got into the hospital, the first person who came back was my dad. I thought he was going to be irate because I burned down his house, and I blew myself up. The first thing Dad said was, “I love you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
It was the beginning of guiding this little fellow forward with grace, mercy, and love. It’s not like that makes time in the hospital easy or bandage changes. It doesn’t, but it makes the next right step possible. Right behind my dad came my mom. She looked at me and said, “Baby, I love you so much. I love you so much.” I said, “Mom, knock it off. Am I going to die?” I assumed she was going to tell me everything was going to be all right. To me, that’s what a good parent would do.
Instead, she says, “Baby, do you want to die? Your choice, not mine.” I remember thinking about it for a second and saying, “No, Mom. I don’t want to die. I want to live.” She responds, “Good. Look at me. You take the hand of God. You walk the journey with Him, and you fight like you never fought before. Your father and I are with you. You’re not alone, but do your part and fight.” You asked, “John, how did you do it?”
Take the hand of God and walk the journey with Him. Do this and you will fight like you never fought before. Share on XPart of it was the love received. Part of it was this faith that we were enveloped by. Part of it was this commitment in spite of all the crud that we’d never heard of before. Amputations and skin grafts, I hadn’t heard of any of that stuff, but I knew what it looked like to fight. I knew that was something all of us have the agency to do. I took the hand of God, walked the journey with Him, and I fought. It took a lot of time and a lot of people, but it worked.
I have this tingling sensation. I’m sure a lot of folks are sitting there in chills and in amazement at how you got through this, and the fight to want to be here to live. I remember reading in the book, In Awe, pieces of that. I couldn’t believe your mom was saying that about giving you the choice. It was an open door for you to step through to say, “I have the will to live. I want to be here.” What a gift.
When I think of gritty, graceful, and powerful people, my mom is at the very top of that list, with the way she raised kids. She was a teacher at school. Don’t hang up on me when I say what I’m about to say, but here it comes. She hated animals. You’re like, “What an evil and horrible woman.” We had three dogs growing up. We brought a cat in. That cat had kittens. We caught a turtle. She let us raise it. We caught a rabbit once. She let us raise it and then set it free. Here’s a woman. The very thing she did not like, she realized her kids did, so she let them explore. That’s a baby example of my mom’s love.
What she recognized the day I was burned is that she cannot make me do something. At the end of the day, a person must decide how they’re going to lead their life. As long as we wait for someone else to lead it for us, we will find ourselves profoundly unsatisfied with the life we live. As long as we wait for the government to fix us, our parents to change and make it better, or our spouse to love us differently, as long as we’re always waiting for the other person to make us whole, like Jerry Maguire, “You complete me,” and as long as we’re waiting for Renee Zellweger to complete us, we will find ourselves hollowed out.
It’s when you decide. How do you want to live your life forward? What matters to you? What is true north? What do you want to step toward today? How do you want to treat others? How do you want to feel about the reflection in the mirror? What’s worthy of fighting for and letting go of as we get clear on these things? That’s when our life goes from being intolerable to being joyful, even in the midst of pain. My mother was challenging me to decide how I want this thing to go, and loving me enough. Regardless of what I might say back to her, she was going to support it, which is a crazy thing to imagine for a parent of a nine-year-old. “No matter what you say, I’ve got you.”
The Power Of Silence And Presence
I have two kids. I couldn’t imagine having that question come up. I couldn’t imagine it. God bless your mom and your dad. Sorry about the passing of your dad recently. I did hear you on a podcast talking about your dad and some time you’ve had with him. It’s something that struck me from that podcast. If you recall, you said something about the power of silence. I was curious. What were you noticing when you said that? Was there something for my audience to understand what you meant there?
The backstory of my dad is that he was a veteran. He was a great leader professionally. He was a father who got us all out of bed in the morning, helped get us dressed, helped make us breakfast, drove us up to school, did his thing well professionally, never missed a dinner, and never lashed out at his wife or six kids. It’s constant chaos in life, but then you start adding kids into it, and plenty of kids. All of them are always having some struggles. Everybody has something sometimes. He was a steadfast, faithful, and joyful presence always.
He got Parkinson’s disease years ago. He slowly started losing all these gifts that he once had, like the ability to get up early and stay up later than everybody else, and the ability to march, run, and athletically move forward. He lost all of that. He could no longer drive, lost the ability to work and earn, eventually speak, and then at the very end, swallow. Before it was all said and done, my dad lost everything. Here’s the cool thing. He remains the most joyful guy I’ve ever met.
Even when he took his last breath, he had a smile on his face. What a thing. You’re 80, you’ve been in misery for three decades, you’re broke, you haven’t spoken in a couple of years, and you’re smiling. It’s not drug-induced. That man mainlined life. I don’t remember the specific podcast or the specific thing I said about it, but here’s what I’ll say about it. At his funeral, there were almost 1,000 people gathered. You mentioned Lisa. Lisa is a connected business owner with lots of friends and networks. It’s hard to imagine Lisa, John O’Leary, Darrin, or anybody else would have 1,000 people gathered at their funeral, in particular when they’re 80, and a lot of their friends and all of their siblings have already passed away.
Why did these people come? He wasn’t writing them checks. He had no money. There’s nothing he could give any of these folks, in other words. What he gave, better than anyone else I know, was not only joy, but presence. When my dad was with you, he was all in. He wasn’t looking at his phone because he could not operate it with his hands twitching. He was not looking around the room at who else he might be able to network with more effectively and significantly than you, Darrin. When you were talking about your two kids, you were talking to my dad, and my dad alone.
The reaction he gave, oftentimes with his eyes, but head nods and little words that he would whisper, was packed with wisdom. This dude was beloved until the very end. You hear crying at funerals sometimes, in particular when it’s a younger person. There were so many tears at my dad’s funeral. Part of it was people saying goodbye to their friend. More than that, it was people recognizing how rare it is to be loved so well. The key piece to your audience and to you and me is that it requires no wealth, no status, and no words, just presence.
That is so powerful. What a nice tribute to your dad. It’s beautiful. Hearing about your parents, no wonder you are who you are, this ordinary and amazing human being sitting in front of me. Thanks for sharing that. It is impactful. You’re right about our presence, our availability, and our ability to receive, be present, give it back, speak into what’s available, and love people to what’s available. We struggle in today’s world to receive what love means, let alone give it and accept it.
I don’t think you can give it until you’ve received it. You can’t give what you don’t have. My father received an awful lot of love throughout his life, but he gave all of it back. He left. He didn’t rust out. He was emptied by the end of it. The cool thing is that a man who served learned to finally receive. He required help in the restroom. He wore a diaper for years. This is a guy’s guy who learned to let go of ego. I’m not talking to you all right now about “Wait for the day when it comes to your world.” The ask right now is, regardless of how successful you are, why not let go of it now? You’ll be so free to be more effective, more authentic, more insightful, more loved, and loving if it’s not at all driven by you and your needs, but by the one in front of you.
Thinking Of The Possibilities Despite The Pain
Just embrace the joy that is in front of us and the fact that that smile at the end says it all. It reminds me back to your story about you talking about having a damaged body and lost fingers from the fire, and yet the possibility was in front of you. How did you get there? I know there are many steps. There are so many stories. I’m curious. At a high level, how did you start to think about possibilities that are in front of you?
There are a million ways to answer that. In the hospital, it was having visionaries casting a potential for the future bigger than what I saw that day. You’re wrapped from head to toe with bandages. They’re taking things from you like your fingers. You’re in constant chronic pain. It gets worse as you heal from third-degree burns. It’s a weird deal where the better you get, the more pain intensifies because your nerve endings are coming back, finally. It’s an unusual healing process. I had people with me every step along the way, talking about what tomorrow could look like and how they would walk with me toward it, whether they were janitors, nurses, radio announcers, parents, siblings, or friends.
There was this vision cast. That was important for surviving the day. There were 1.4 million Americans who attempted suicide in 2024. A million things are pointing toward, “Why is that?” One of them is if you lose hope for tomorrow, and the agency you have to move toward it, then it makes today intolerable. You can’t fathom enduring one more heartache when there’s no real future for you or the people that you care for. That’s one of the pieces that I did not stumble and struggle with because I was constantly being loved and constantly having a vision cast. That’s big. When I came home from the hospital, and you talked about the possibility, I had none.
I’m in a wheelchair. I’m broken. I’m fingerless. I’m never going back to school. I’m never going to get a job. I’m never going to find love. That’s what that little boy knew. As you know, I had a mom who felt differently. She did a lot of things for me, but one of the things she put in front of me was a piano teacher. Here I am, this little boy in bandages looking like the marshmallow man from Ghostbusters, no fingers on either hand, in a wheelchair, and on a morphine drip.
This piano teacher comes into my life. “Mom, why is she here?” I was a little snippy kid. “Why is she here, Mom?” My mother quietly rolls me away from the table, down a hallway, into a living room. My great-grandmother’s piano is there. She locks the brakes. My mother walks out. The teacher walks in. You talk about casting possibilities. Listen to this statement. She says, “John, this is going to be hard. Welcome to life.” She then goes, “We can do it together.”
With that, she puts a pen on top of my hand. She wraps it with three rubber bands, so it doesn’t fall off. A little boy with a pen protruding from his bandages is playing the piano. I hated it. It’s not like I enjoyed this lesson. I thought it was a joke. I thought I was a joke. The following day, that teacher came back. She did the same process. She spoke the same words of truth. “This will be hard. We can do it together.” That lady came into my life every day for five years.
In doing so, eventually, we learned how to play Amazing Grace, Chariots of Fire, and, in time, songs from U2 and Meat Loaf, because I’m a redneck man. I wanted to learn all these cool ’70s rock songs. More than the piano, that woman was teaching me possibilities. You asked the question, “How did you do it?” I didn’t. I just received it. I had these people coming into my life again and again who loved being there, so eventually, I might begin to love myself.
Believe again. I have this vision of you playing a piano in front of thousands of people at some event. That happened, right?
All the time. You asked about what’s on your mind. The little girl, 6 or 7 years old, is on my mind. One of the things I did was we got ready to wrap that session. It was outside in this camp. They have an old upright piano. I never heard a piano more out of tune than that one. We sat down and jammed on this thing. Music is healing. Music turns people on for life. That’s cool. When you’ve got a dude with no fingers who’s been where you are, now rocking, and I think the song I played for them was that we wrapped with Coldplay, then Imagine Dragons, and the final song was With or Without You by U2. Playing with both hands, it sounds like it. It gives people hope that they can do the hard things in their lives, too.
Look at how you got to that point. You would have thought, “No way that’s possible. No way could I imagine that ever happening.” Here you are now. You’re playing these songs that are uplifting people. I’m with you. Music lights us up. It’s one of those avenues when we’re allowed to be free, sing out loud, and dance out loud, whatever that might be. You created that avenue. They’re also like, “Wait a minute. I could do this, too.”
They can. For most, it may not be pianos in front of thousands. For all, it’s finding love or being loved. It’s serving someone. It’s finding a job where you can put your talent to work. It’s recognizing that the mistakes from your past don’t have to define you today. It’s recognizing that the future you long for is almost impossible to achieve, in particular, if you don’t move toward it. The way you ultimately arrive there is a step today and again and again. As you walk people through these “inspirational stories,” then you pull the onion back, and you start unpacking. What was going on with their kids?
The day before, it was a hospital organization. What’s going on with their health care professionals? The day before that was a bunch of inmates. What’s going on there? What’s going on with their men who get treated too often like dogs, and then we’re surprised when they act like them? I try to remind people of the dignity in their lives. This is important. If that’s true, and I believe it is, there’s also dignity in the lives of those who look, act, vote, and worship completely differently from you. This isn’t a burn cry. It’s a life cry to recognize the beauty in your world and the beauty in the worlds of those around you.
There is dignity in your lives, but there is also dignity in the lives of those who look, act, vote, and worship differently than you. Share on XReturning To A Childlike Wonder
You’ve mentioned it in different places that we’ve got to wake up to it. We’ve got to be able to see it, slow it down, take it in, and live with wonder at all these amazing things that we lost. You talk about in your book about these senses that we’ve lost over time. It’s pretty wild.
As we age, we lose them a little bit. As we busy ourselves up a little bit, we lose it a little bit. As we grow and are told what is right and wrong, it’s natural to become more cynical and more reserved. You mentioned the book In Awe. I wrote that because, as a leader, I’m supposed to be teaching leadership. I was witnessing in my reflection and my examples with those around me at our level, that most people at that level aren’t joyful. They might be temporarily happy, but they’re missing something. They might occasionally ask questions, but they already know the answers.
They’re asking questions to be affirmed, usually at a leadership level, frequently. They have a nice, thick network, but they don’t necessarily need to expand that network at all. The things that got us here ultimately won’t get us to where we want to go next. What would? It’s to return, not become. Return to that childlike wonder. I witnessed that in my children. You mentioned you’ve got two. I’ve got four. I watched as my kids showed me how to live life better. I wanted to write a book for them, so that when they forgot what they were teaching Dad, they could return to it and become who they already are.
Receiving The Right Amount Of Encouragement
It’s amazing. I’m sitting here blowing up in a loving, enlightened way. I have a book called Live Your Possible, which this show is based on. I felt the same way with my kids when writing the book. I want to make sure they have something to live by, to know what I’ve gone through. It’s always there. It’s always going to be there for them. Everything you’re doing is there for millions and millions of people. I have a good friend, my best friend, who works with somebody you know. He works on Monday Night Football, and he knows Joe Buck.
When your trailer came out for your movie, I said, “Steve, you’ve got to send this to Joe because I know he adores and loves John.” Your story about his father, Jack, is one of those stories that is unbelievable. It’s incredible. Do you mind sharing a little bit about his inspiration and how he’s lit up your life and helped you move through the moments in the hospital? There are a lot of different steps, but share whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
You mentioned Joe Buck. Joe Buck is an Emmy-nominated recipient and a profoundly successful broadcaster. I think he’s called twenty World Series and twenty Super Bowls. This guy has done it all. He’s humble. I like Joe a lot. He’s a friend and a guy that I look up to. Great family. His dad was a fellow named Jack Buck. Some of the more seasoned readers might remember that name vaguely. Jack Buck was a World Series broadcaster.
Jack was in seven Hall of Fames. This isn’t just a fly-by-night traveling salesperson. This guy was deeply successful in the work that he did. He heard the night I was burned that a little guy in our community, St. Louis, Missouri, was burned and was going to die. That’s what Jack hears. He leaves the party where he’s gathered. He’s the emcee. He leaves early, and he goes to a burn center to visit a stranger. That blows my mind.
He comes to the hospital and sits down next to me. He didn’t know at that time, but the reality of my world was that I was not only going to die, supposedly. At that point, I could not see. My eyes are swollen shut. I got a trach in, so I can’t talk, but I could listen. I heard the voice of my radio announcer growing up, a guy named Jack Buck, say to me, “Kid, wake up. You’re going to live. Keep fighting. John O’Leary Day at the ballpark will make it all worthwhile. Keep fighting.” He walks out. He’s told by the staff that the little boy is going to die.
Instead of saying, “I did my part. I left a party for this thing,” the following day, he comes back. Same encouragement. “Keep fighting. John O’Leary Day at the ballpark.” He comes back again and again for five and a half months. When he went out of town for spring training, he would send injured Cardinal players in his stead, like Ozzie Smith and Andy Van Slyke. He sent the Football Cardinals. We had a team in St. Louis called the Football Cardinals for a while. They would come to visit.
A hockey team named the St. Louis Blues, a kid named Gino Cavallini, who became a dear friend of mine in the hospital, all these folks started coming around this little boy, encouraging him and guiding him forward because one guy decided I could make a difference. That person was Jack Buck. We go downtown. We have John O’Leary Day at the ballpark after I come home from the hospital. It’s this incredible celebration of community, faithfulness, service, and love. It was like icing on the cake. If that’s where the story ends, it’s like, “What a story.” As you know, and you can ask if you want, but in so many regards, that’s where the story starts. As much as he did and as profound as the impact that he had on me was already, it’s the foundational point. He builds from there.
I wish I could have seen you at John O’Leary Day. It sounds incredible. You wanted to be a St. Louis Cardinal. I understand you wanted to play baseball, and you have this voice in front of you. I could only imagine. You couldn’t see. You couldn’t talk. You could barely breathe. I could only imagine what you were feeling. You must’ve been tingling inside.
It was agony, lonesomeness, and despair at first. People don’t recognize that when you’re in a hospital that you hear everything. You even hear nurses talking about their weekends, their boyfriends, and the patient’s going to die. You hear everything. I heard the door open. I heard footsteps, which were rare because everybody wore booties. You were supposed to gown up. Jack was the greatest generation type of guy, a Depression Era kid, a Purple Heart recipient, and a tough guy.
He masked up and put on the gloves, but I don’t think he put on the booties. He walks in with these leather shoes, I hear against the floor. I hear the chair come over to the bedside, with that first word, “Kid.” I don’t know who you would have grown up listening to, what your favorite sport was, and who that voice was, but imagine that person in your left ear, blowing encouragement your way. It blew my mind. There was tingling. There was inspiration. There was hope.
There was this unmistakable certainty that one day I’m going to hold them to that promise of John O’Leary Day at the ballpark. There are a lot of people there for us during that time. Many of them were influential in this little boy’s recovery forward into life. Had Jack Buck not come in twelve hours after I got burned with that promise of tomorrow, then the following tomorrow, I’m not sure anybody else’s efforts might have worked.
My eyes are so glossy right now. It’s so beautiful, this whole story. I know you’ve thought a lot about Jack Buck. As you said, that point was the beginning. Talk about living inspired. You’re living out his legacy as well, not only your own, and not only everybody else that’s influenced you. All your heroes, your wife, your kids, your parents, and people who have helped you, you’re living out their legacy as well. You’re not doing this alone, to your point. That’s beautiful. If Jack Buck were here today, what would you say to him?
The first thing I would say is, “I’m sorry,” because I wasn’t the friend to him that he was to me. If you don’t know what I’m talking about there, let me strongly encourage you to go to a film called Soul on Fire, on October 10th at all reputable theaters around the country and around the world. It’s a beautiful film celebrating this love story. That’s one of the stories told in the film. I was nowhere near the friend to him that he was to me, because if you don’t feel worth the gifts you’ve received, you’re not ever going to be able to be worthy of giving them back to others.
I wasn’t worthy in my mind of receiving everything he did. You’ve only heard a little bit of it. He did so much more than that. I never felt worthy, so I could never pay back. I’m working on that now. That’s part of why I went to the burn camp. I wasn’t certain when I took the opportunity that I would meet you, Darrin, and we’d go through these questions. I serve in the community because of Jack Buck. I would let him know that. Before I could even tell him that, I would tell him, “Thank you.” I would tell him I love him.
I would tell him, “Thanks for pouring into people. I know where you live. I was up in your area.” Someone came up to me and told me, “I met Jack Buck once.” I’m like, “You’re dead, man. We’re in St. Louis.” He goes, “No, it was up here, up east.” I was at LaGuardia. He was a guy in line behind me to buy the pizza. He said, “I’ll buy his.” This voice is randomly coming over this guy’s shoulder, saying, “I’ll buy his.” It was Jack Buck.
I have an oil painting in my office. It’s a beautiful painting. The guy’s name is Russell Irwin. He was a house painter. He painted Jack Buck’s house. Jack Buck brought him off the ladder and into the house and said, “What do you want to do when you get older, kid?” He said, “I want to paint.” Jack goes, “Good, you’re doing it.” He goes, “No, I want to paint art.” Jack gave him his first opportunity to paint art. He had him do five Hall of Fame players for the St. Louis Cardinals and auctioned those off. That is what gave Russell Irwin, a pretty well-known artist these days, the first chance at success and notoriety. He got that because he was painting someone’s house. The guy whose house he was painting was Jack Buck. He said, “Come on down. Let’s talk life.”
I spoke two hours south of St. Louis at a retirement home for veterans. This is years ago now. After I was done speaking, a little veteran rolled over to me and said, “You know what? That’s the second time I’ve heard that story.” I said, “It is. When was the first?” He said, “Jack Buck used to come down here and tell us stories. That was one of the stories he told us.” Here’s this dude who spends a lifetime serving. The radio broadcast is about two and a half to three and a half hours a night, but his real job was loving in the community.
I think he grew up with truly nothing. He was a Depression Era kid. He lost friends overseas. He picked up a wound that he wore for the rest of his life from a bullet. He never, ever forgot where he came from. He never forgot that in any room, he’s the luckiest one. Because of that, it animated him forward to be generous. The final thing, if you don’t see yourself somewhere in that story as being a recipient of love and mercy, it’s only because you’re not paying attention to your life.
Why You Should Watch “Soul On Fire”
Jack is a servant leader. You talk about an icon in so many ways. I appreciate you sharing all those stories. The mention of the movie, I’d love to shift there a little bit. John, I’m so curious. You see your story unfolding. You had a preview at a premier event. What came up for you? What did you notice as you’re going through this? I could only imagine.
I always assumed Hollywood was fake. I think Hollywood is fake. The number one movie in the nation is Superman. As handsome as he is, and as much as I love men in blue tights, red underpants, and capes, he’s fake. He’s completely fake. If you look at the top 100 grossing films of all time, I think 96 of them are fake. They are fiction. Star Wars, that’s good. Indiana Jones, that’s good. They’re little guys who look like squirrels, but they can talk and they fly around space. It’s all good, but it’s all fake. You show up in a movie like Soul on Fire. Every single character in that film is real.
Everything they said and did in that film is real. They shot the film, from the hospitals to the place where little John was burned. We filmed that at my mom and dad’s house. The church where John eventually marries his college sweetheart, Beth, is the church where we got married. The pretty girl wearing it, the actor, her name is Masey McLain. She’s wearing my wife’s actual dress. When you see them on the altar and there’s a reverse shot of the crowd, everyone is gathered in that church. They were at the church when Beth and I were married 21 years earlier. That’s our friendship group.
That’s our family in the background. You see the actors in the first row, like John Corbett and William H. Macy. In row two, that’s my actual mom and dad. When you see this film and you look into row two, you’ll see this beautiful grandmotherly-looking person who stands. That’s my mom. To her side is a man who had not stood in years and years. When the director said, “Rise,” this awesome warrior of a man pulled himself up from the pew and stood for the final time. It’s captured now.
There’s so much about this movie that’s beautiful from our family’s perspective. Ultimately, it’s a celebration of love, togetherness, hope, and possibility in life. The final thing I’ll say about the movie is that the poster is not a picture of John O’Leary speaking or doing the work. It’s a picture of his back, darkened. If you look closely at the poster, it’s made up of mosaic tiles. The whole idea is in this one person’s success, the ability to fight through a death sentence as a child, eventually figure out the call, marry the cute girl, and all the other things, all that good stuff, it’s all because of all these people stepping forward.
If you’re looking for a hero story, a love story, or a life story, and you’re hoping that it doesn’t end with Superman’s kryptonite or the squirrel having the laser beam to hit him back, this is a real story. It’s sad. It’s redemptive. It’s awesome. I hope people check it out. Hollywood is a democracy. They follow the money. My hope is they will follow the story because we are telling them we want more stories like this. We want to leave theaters after laughing, crying, and applauding, recognizing that our life is good and better days are to come.
I’ll be there, John. I’m going to bring as many people as possible, promote it, and invite people. You’re right. Let’s go in and experience this together, so we can experience life even greater and even brighter, and expand our possibilities. As we think about our lives, it’s so important that we think about them in a different manner because we’re so busy. We’ve got to slow down.
Let’s go stop and watch this amazing film, slow down and see what can be, and see what’s in front of us, what that love is, and how we give love and do all those things. Related to the movie, if you don’t mind sharing, is there a favorite scene or part of the movie that surprised you or you couldn’t believe it? Maybe you’re in awe, perhaps, because I imagine you must feel some awe as you’re going through this whole experience.
I can’t tell you. There are a couple of surprise scenes. If I tell you, it will ruin the movie for you. I’m not going to tell you my favorite or my second favorite. There’s a scene in the hospital where John recognizes, for the first time, as his mom and dad are crying over him, that something bad has happened. He’s not sure what it is. It turns out the mom starts to explain, but she can’t get it out. Eventually, Dad says, “John, buddy, they amputated your fingers.” This little boy looks at his wrapped hands, which look exactly like they did before the surgery. He doesn’t understand.
He says, “Will they grow back? Hair grows back and fingernails. Will my fingers?” It breaks the parents, and they get emotional. They start crying. They’re like, “No, they’re not going to go back, buddy.” This connection was a true story that happened in the hospital. That was such a painful and tragic moment for me because I knew I would play baseball for the Cardinals. I knew after that moment, I never would. That becomes this inflection point that leads eventually to a guy, not only to come out of the hospital because now he’s a little healthier, but eventually take the hand of a girl who takes his broken hand back. They dance, and they move forward into life. They start raising kids. John starts speaking around the country and the world.
It ends at this very climactic point. It’s all a true story. To see this little kid acting this out, and to see John Corbett, who was from Sex and the City. He played Aiden for the guys who know that show, Northern Exposure, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. My mom in the movie is Stephanie Szostak from A Million Little Things and Iron Man. They are real actors doing such a brilliant job and bringing to life a tragic moment that was redeemed. My hope in all of that is that when you struggle, and who hasn’t?
When you struggle in the future, you will recognize that this isn’t the end of the story. It is undoubtedly the end of a chapter of a story, but your story continues forward. If we can keep a little bit of faith, keep leaning into those in front of us, keep casting a vision for tomorrow, and keep stepping forward boldly, we can look back on these moments of tragedy and recognize that they, too, shall be redeemed. They’re pouring the foundation for something so much bigger than we can fathom.
To hear how you leverage this pain for how it got you through this, you doubled down on your faith. You doubled down on belief. You thought of something greater. You wanted to show Jack Buck, “I’m going to have that John O’Leary Day.” It’s amazing, your mother and this piano teacher. I know you don’t want to hear what I’m going to say at the second. You’re a national bestseller. You’re the number one speaker in the country. All these things, you go coach, you go support, and you serve the world. You’re doing all these amazing things.
Living A Full Life With Faith
I’m curious. Related to all that, what is the thing that animates you the most when you’re out there doing these things? The podcast is unbelievable. Live Inspired Podcast, folks, go tune in. Every day, you’re going to get inspired. I’m bought in. Every day, if I need a lift up, hearing your voice, makes me smile. Go follow John, or go on LinkedIn if you want to get uplifted by his brief stories. It takes you five seconds to go through them and get the message, and then you can live out the rest of your day. Talk about living inspiringly. What animates you, John? Is it your speaking? Is it this movie? I know your family’s the top, but you tell me. Maybe that’s it, but what animates you the most?
It’s three things. There’s a book’s worth of answers to your beautiful question because it’s so complicated, but one is my faith. I believe we have received talents to be shared. I don’t think I’ve even begun to fully understand what the talent is I’ve received, but I know I need to do more with it. Part of it is this reckoning that we get one chance at this thing. Why would we waste it? Number one is faith. I’m grateful to God’s mercy. I rely upon that. That’s huge. I’m a Christian believer. That’s been huge.
Second thing, my mission. It is the reason why I joined you on this show. When I’m with you, I’m all in. I pour into you and your people. The reason I try to show fully and everything fully is because this is my mission. It is because God demands it. My family deserves it. The world is starved for it. Let’s roll. No excuses. It guides my steps. That has nothing to do with speaking, moviemaking, books, podcasts, or changing diapers. It’s about living fully because God demands that family deserves. The world is starved for it. Let’s roll. No excuses.
The final thing that motivates me is this wall behind me. Those are my kids. I got four. They’re all teenagers right now. I have a wife named Beth. We’ve been together for 21 years. My mom is grieving her husband, but she’s also living fully her life. I’ve got five siblings. All those guys are pictured up on that wall behind me. It’s why I work. It’s why I show up early, but it’s also why I leave. When you and I hang up, don’t tell my coworkers. I’m going to tell them, “I’ll be right back.” It’s a lie. I’m going home. I’m going to play with the kids. Summer is wrapping up. This, too, shall pass. I don’t want to miss it. We’ve been working hard lately. I’m going to sneak out of here a little bit early to go love on my little ones. That motivates me.
You’re such an inspiration. This is my favorite book ever. I am going to say that out loud. It is a picture of the kite, looking at the clouds. I’m a big fan of what we see in the clouds. This logo for Live Your Possible was a one-eyed smile that I spotted on the back of an Italian ice lid. I see these out in the clouds. I see this out in space. I see the food we eat. The story related to that, too, is how we live with wonder, having that curious one-eyed smile. I share that only because I know we’re running out of time. Again, I could speak with you all day. I wanted to talk through this book, but we’ve talked about pieces of it.
I encourage people to go pick it up. There are so many beautiful stories. I think about those five senses belonging to the coffee shop story, bringing your glove to the game, because why not? There are all those other questions you encourage us to think like a kid again, because it’s gone to the wayside as we got older, for responsibilities, for maybe the lack of wanting to be silly, or for whatever it might be.
Embracing The Willingness To Be Vulnerable
I want to ask you a couple more quick questions. From the book, there’s an element. I got to look for it here, where you said this quote. It’s a little different from maybe some other people have pulled out, but it’s something that we’ve talked about a little bit around owning. This is what you said. “Only my inadequacies had allowed the walls to come down and the connections to begin.” That hit me. I don’t know if there’s something that you noticed as you’re thinking about that comment. I know it’s one comment out of several pages. I don’t want to go back to the exact story, but I am curious how you got to that point where your life opened up and you’re willing to be vulnerable.
It’s a long answer for that. If you want to ask a follow-up, I’ll go there. What I’ll say is, as a speaker, what I noticed is that the more I was buttoned up, the more people were moved, but not transformed. One of my favorite clients is called Focus Marines. It’s all wounded veterans, profoundly massive struggles in their days today. They served our nation, but they came home with a weight around their neck. I get to serve them quarterly. In one of the sessions, I landed late.
I came out there with a short-sleeved shirt on, and I normally used to button up, long sleeves, a jacket, all of it. When I walked into the room, I was missing my fingers on both hands, but I’m also scarred from my neck to my toes. Usually, that’s covered up. On this occasion, you see my burned, scarred, and busted-up hands and arms. I noticed as I’m walking around in front of them, even before I said anything, the leaders in that room were already bought in. No matter where I was going to lead them, they were going to follow. There’s something about being audacious enough to celebrate your story authentically, without trying to sell anything.
You’re being real about your divorce, your bankruptcy, the abuse, the diagnosis, and the burns, in my case. That allows people to recognize that their story, too, can be redeemed, that their scars might exist because their wounds have healed. That is such good news, whether it’s a physical hardship or an emotional and mental one, that the scars exist on all of us because the wounds have healed. The more we can be vulnerable and comfortable with who we are, the more others will be not only vulnerable and comfortable with us, but also with themselves.
How The Possible Begins With A Yes
That’s wonderful. Just recognizing that letting our layers be peeled away so we can be our authentic selves and letting people see who we truly are, that’s love right there. That is a lovely connection. One last question, John. I love asking folks who join me. The name of this show is Live Your Possible. What comes to mind? I’m asking the guy who is all about living inspired, so I find that ironic, but what’s your quick definition of Live Your Possible? What are your final comments to help us live inspired and live our possible?
In some regards, my life changed in the back row of a church service when a pastor was quoting the gift of talents. For those with five, live your possible, multiply. For those with two, multiply. For those with one, don’t bury it; multiply. It came to those of us with zero. Like me, I’m hungover in the back row of a church service with no fingers and no chance at life. That’s how I felt at that time, 28 or so years of age. He said, “For those of you who feel like life has already passed you by, listen to me. Your life is a precious, priceless gift. You have one job. Now, say yes to being used for good.”
Your life is a priceless gift. You have one job to use it for good. Share on XThat challenge, twenty-plus years ago, ignited within me this desire to be bold in that “Yes.” I have been saying yes. The first yes, speaking-wise, was to three Girl Scouts. It did not start big. That’s not a lot of possible, but the possible began with a yes. From that room, there was a dad who said, “John, would you speak at my Rotary Club?” Again, living into the possible requires a yes. It requires a whole lot of practice, work, and showing up on time. Make sure you shave, fine. Ultimately, can you say yes to it? We’ve been saying yes for 21 years. I want to be careful with this. It’s about growth.
If you ask the question somewhat differently, what does it look like at the end of the day to live your possible? It’s not to have an empire, in my case. At least, I don’t desire that. It’s not to have two movies, three podcasts, and four books. I did a podcast with a New York guy. As I left his studio, I looked up at this big, gorgeous cement building across the street. I’m like, “What is that?” He goes, “It’s a local temple.” I’m like, “What is that up there?” He’s like, “It’s Hebrew.”
I’m like, “What does that mean?” He goes, “It’s Old Testament.” I’m like, “Do you know what it says?” He said, “It’s a quote from Micah.” “What is it?” He said, “It means seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” I think that’s a pretty cool thing to put outside your temple in Manhattan. It’s a pretty cool way as you try to live your possible, to say yes to the thing in front of you while at the same time remaining tethered appropriately to seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. To me, that’s what it means. Be bold, say yes, cast a big vision, but at the end of the day, do it humbly with God’s hand in yours.
Get In Touch With John
That’s beautiful, John. Feel worthy about it. Feel worthy, so we can go at it all in and be your best self. I’m honored to be here with you, John. I look forward to meeting you in person one day. Hopefully, you’ll meet us. We’ll meet up in Connecticut or wherever you are in your travels. What a beautiful story and a beautiful human being. I love you, man. Best of luck with the movie. I’m here for you. If you need anything, just ask. I’m here. Thanks again for joining me.
Before we recorded, I said, “Next time I’m in your area, we’re grabbing a cup of coffee.” I meant it and mean it. If folks want to get engaged with the work we’re doing, my website is JohnOLearyInspires.com. On that site are links to social media and links to the books. You can get tickets to the film. They’re already available in most marketplaces. More than all that stuff are my number is on there, and my email is on there. The big sale at the end of this show is that you have a friend now. If you feel like you are at the bottom of a well and it is being filled with dirt or with water, you’re not alone. Our work is ultimately about one-to-one movement. I’m looking forward to making some new friends.
Thank you so much, John. Have a great day.
Thanks, Darrin. Well done.
Important Links
- John O’Leary’s Website
- Something Extra Podcast
- In Awe
- Soul on Fire
- Live Your Possible
- Live Inspired Podcast
- Focus Marines Foundation
- Soul on Fire – Official Trailer on YouTube
- MLB Network: Jack and The Kid on YouTube
- John’s Story – John O’Leary
- John O’Leary on LinkedIn
About John O’Leary
In 1987, John O’Leary was a curious nine-year-old boy. Playing with fire and gasoline, John created a massive explosion in his home and was burned on 100% of his body. He was given less than a 1% chance to live.
This epic story of survival was first showcased in Overwhelming Odds, the book his parents wrote in 2006. It was this book that first invited John to embrace his miraculous recovery and share it with the world.
Today, John inspires tens of thousands of people at more than 100 live and virtual events each year. He partners with companies and organizations across fields, such as: sales, healthcare, safety, marketing, finance, faith, education and insurance.
Consistently described as “the best speaker we’ve ever had,” John’s tireless schedule is a testament to the power of his message. His emotional storytelling, unexpected humor and authenticity make each presentation unforgettable.
John is a two-time bestselling author of On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life and In Awe: Rediscover Your Childlike Wonder to Unleash Inspiration, Meaning and Joy.
John’s award-winning Live Inspired Podcast has more than seven million downloads and enjoys world-class guests such as Brené Brown, Mitch Albom, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Bob Costas.
Amazingly, John’s story is taking on a new form: a full-length feature film starring Joel Courtney, John Corbett, and William H. Macy. SOUL ON FIRE will be release in theaters nationwide on October 10, 2025.
Regardless of his professional accomplishments, John considers his greatest success to be his marriage to his wife Beth, their four children and his relationships with friends and family.
