John O'Leary survived burns covering 100% of his body and five months of hospitalization. After years of hiding behind drinking and humor, a church sermon shifted him: "Your life is a precious gift... your one job is to say yes to being used for good." That moment redirected his entire life toward service.
Questions this video answers
100% of his body.
Five months in hospital.
Chapters
What is your story, John? Like, why is this movie being made about you? What have you endured and weren't supposed to live through that you did and went on to make his huge impact in the world in some regards.
I think the less interesting story is being burned. Pretty significant when you get burned on 100% of your body, spend five months in hospital, dozens of surgeries and rounds of amputations, and yet I don't think that gets this film made or has people showing up and waiting in line to watch it. I think the far more intriguing story is and then you come home and then you spend a lifetime burying the miracle of your life. I think think when life happens, we wish away the struggles and we bury them. I did my very best after coming home from hospital not to celebrate the miracle of my life. I did my very best to wear long sleeves and put my hands in my pockets and put on a smile as if everything was okay and act through humor like I was okay. But knowing that I was broken and then reaching an age where I try to fit in through abundantly drinking, man, Just constantly trying to be the life of the party. And not because I was soaking it up, but because I was sipping it down, man, I was just trying to bury it all. And I did that so well for so long. But what ultimately got me, and this isn't as clear in the film, but this is the truth. I was in the back row of a church service, hungover. The pastor was talking about a gift of talents. And he said, for those of you who feel like you've got none, listen to me. Your life is a precious gift. With that gift, you've got one job. It is to say yes to being used for good. I had no business at that moment. It was just about saying yes. And so sometimes in life when you're not sure where to go next, it's not necessarily about dream boarding or vision casting. Sometimes it's shutting your eyes and stepping forward and having a little bit of faith. The early days of our business, we're just simply trying to be of service to others. That's a very good place to start.
