Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary

Today I welcome back Gregg Easterbrook, New York Times bestselling author + guest on one of the most popular Live Inspired Podcast episodes of all time. When Gregg joined us in January 2019, the market, health + longevity were at all-time highs, unemployment at all-time lows and really no reason for fear... Yet we were drowning in fear. My friends, as we are inundated with fear-driven headlines + media coverage about the coronavirus, Gregg once again reminds us that the world is better than it looks. Today's conversation is packed with reassuring fact-based optimism that will inspire a positive perspective during today's pandemic... and whatever challenges tomorrow may bring. SHOW NOTES: Pollution, discrimination, rate of heart disease + cancer are trending down. Life expectancy, education, living standards, middle-class income, human freedom are trending up. "Being an optimistic is not being a Pollyanna. A Pollyanna believes there are no problems. An optimist believes that problems can be solved." "I'm optimistic that we can fix the coronavirus and whatever problem comes after it." As Gregg is doing his part to defeat the coronavirus, he remains optimistic by looking at the recent history of similar problems and their outcomes. The further you look back in history, the more optimistic you become that the current strategies will work. Gregg recalls 1968's devastating Hong Kong Flu and notes that none of the public health steps that are being taken today were taken then. "The stock market is going to take care of itself. Every past big decline in the stock market including in 1929 has corrected itself and became a gain within 1-2 years." Listen to my January 2019 conversation with Gregg Easterbrook on Live Inspired Podcast ep. 121 here. Get Gregg Easterbrook's book It's Better Than It Looks: Reasons for Optimism in an Age of Fear. To help combat fear, isolation and other uncertainty around coronavirus, I created a 21-day challenge to inspire our community to focus on what they can control and to remain ferociously optimistic that their best remains ahead. Sign up for the IN AWE 21-Day Challenge here. *** Pre-order your copy of IN AWE today to receive access to fun, interactive bonus features emailed to you in the lead-up to the book's release! Visit ReadInAwe.com. *** Did you enjoy today's episode? Share it with your friends! Then subscribe, rate + review on Apple Podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.

Join me every Monday for a quick burst of inspiration on our "Monday Moment" segment. What week, out of any that I can remember, could we need a bit more meaning, inspiration and joy? Watch residents in Italy have shown their gratitude to health personnel on the coronavirus frontline by applauding from their windows here. Residents in Spain + Portugal did something similar and these events were coordinated in the locked-down countries through social media. To help combat fear, isolation and other uncertainty around coronavirus, I created a 21-day challenge to inspire our community to focus on what they can control and to remain ferociously optimistic that their best remains ahead. Sign up for the IN AWE 21-Day Challenge here. *** Pre-order your copy of IN AWE today to receive access to fun, interactive bonus features emailed to you in the lead-up to the book's release! Visit ReadInAwe.com. *** Did you enjoy today's episode? Share it with your friends! Then subscribe, rate + review on Apple Podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.

How can I have optimism, happiness and social connectivity during the coronavirus pandemic? Acclaimed happiness expert Shawn Achor reminds us that it's in the darkest times that we need optimism, gratitude and social connection the most. After spending 12 years at Harvard earning dozens of distinguished teaching awards, Shawn went on to become a New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage and Big Potential, deliver a TEDx with over 19 million views and work with 30+ Fortune 100 companies. Today, Shawn joins me to talk about coronavirus and what you can do to be happy and feel connected during this season of unprecedented adversity. You'll leave today's conversation with research-based reasoning to be optimistic and 3 practical tips to increase during any season of uncertainty. SHOW NOTES: During high school, Shawn recalls the Branch Davidians + how the Waco siege gave him insight and compassion for people trying to understand conflicts. Shawn is fascinated by how some people can rise out of a challenge and use it to propel them forward while it can paralyze others. As a volunteer firefighter, Shawn unexpectedly was accepted to Harvard and granted a military scholarship. His admission essay focused on his hunger to expand his small world and how he'd want to remind his peers how privileged they were. Expectations affect gratitude: Quickly, Shawn recognized that many of his peers' expectations were met in attending Harvard and didn't experience the same level of gratitude because his acceptance was not expected. Rather than embracing the gift of the moment, we often are too focused on looking forward. While doing research on Harvard, Shawn saw that success wasn't yielding happiness because your brain adjusts to what the goal is. Does success = happiness? If people become happier, raise their gratitude for the present, deepen social networks or raise their levels of optimism, then success rates rise dramatically. "Happiness during good times is more of a luxury item. When things get difficult, happiness has an even more beneficial effect." "In the darkest times is when we need optimism, gratitude and social connection the most." "Happiness is not irrational optimism." "Optimism allows your brain to be the most adaptive possible when the negative occurs." Rational optimism: starts with a realistic assessment of the present but maintains the belief that eventually my behavior will matter if linked to the right people. While teaching and researching happiness, Shawn courageously shared he was battling depression. While battling depression, Shawn learned that the majority of our happiness is interconnected with each other. In his book Big Potential, Shawn shares groundbreaking University of Virginia research on how our very perception of reality is transformed by the presence of others. If someone who is genetically predisposed to pessimism can make small tweaks to their day, they can experience impactful change. Three practical tips to increase optimism, happiness and social connectivity: Each day, practice scanning for 3 new things that happened in the last 24 hours that you're grateful for. When anything positive happens, jot it down on a piece of paper, throw them in a bowl and read back through them at a later date. Take a few minutes to send a positive message, email or text to someone which will create a ripple effect and a reciprocal loop. "Happiness is not the belief that we don't need to change; it is the realization that we can." Get Shawn Achor's New York Times bestselling books Big Potential, The Happiness Advantage and Before Happiness. To combat all this negativity and fear around coronavirus and the other uncertainty we face, I created a 21-day challenge to inspire our community to focus on what they can control and to remain ferociously optimistic that their best remains ahead. Sign up for the IN AWE 21-Day Challenge here. SHAWN ACHOR'S LIVE INSPIRED 7 1. What is the best book you've ever read? The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. 2. What is a characteristic or trait that you possessed as a child that you wish you still exhibited today? Confidence. 3. Your house is on fire, all living things and people are out. You have the opportunity to run in and grab one item. What would it be? A broken guitar that I love. 4. You are sitting on a bench overlooking a gorgeous beach. You have the opportunity to have a long conversation with anyone living or dead. Who would it be? C.S. Lewis. He's been the biggest influence in my life and who I've modeled my career after. 5. What is the best advice you've ever received? My mentor Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar said, "You're never as great as you think you are and you're never as bad as you think you are." 6. What advice would you give your 20-year-old self? Make friends. If you want friends, you have to be a friend. Don't let loneliness and insecurities stop you from feeling socially connected. 7. It's been said that all great people can have their lives summed up in one sentence. How do you want yours to read? He made other people feel understood and that happiness was actually possible. *** Pre-order your copy of IN AWE today to receive access to fun, interactive bonus features emailed to you in the lead-up to the book's release! Visit ReadInAwe.com. *** Did you enjoy today's episode? Share it with your friends! Then subscribe, rate + review on Apple Podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.

Join me every Monday for a quick burst of inspiration on our "Monday Moment" segment. We are living in a divisive era and it's never been easier to build walls that divide us. As a member of the Live Inspired community, I urge you to be a bridge builder and find ways to connect with others. But how? Today, I share three simple strategies to help elevate our conversations and build relationships regardless of our differences: Own the conversation from the start (Don't wait!) Actively listen as if they are the only person (They are!) Be passionately curious as if their opinion actually matters (It does!) My friends, the future belongs to the bridge builders. [Tweet this.] History teaches that unity is strength and the way forward requires coming together to overcome differences in the quest for common goals. So, love others from the start, put distractions down, and curiously ask questions. *** Did you enjoy this episode? Subscribe, rate & review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.

It's hard to believe it's been four years since my first national bestselling book On Fire hit bookshelves. Since then, it's sold more 200,000 copies, been translated into more than a dozen languages and touched, impacted + elevated lives across the world... but it's individual stories of impact that ignite me the most. To celebrate, I want to share two stories On Fire has blessed me with in the last four years. The first being one of the countless experiences that dramatically touched me and the second being a question I am frequently asked about the many stories featured in the book. I hope that today's episode will remind you of the gift and liberating freedom of unconditional love. SHOW NOTES: Like my mom, I share how one dad chose love, crediting On Fire. After his daughter read On Fire, she's convinced and convicted in choosing life. "I didn't write On Fire to be on airport bookshelves. I wrote On Fire to remind one person at a time that they have the ability to change the world." "It's not called On Fire because I got burned. It's called On Fire because of every single thing that happened after the explosion. It's a reminder of grace." Get a copy of On Fire here. *** Pre-order your copy of IN AWE today to receive access to fun, interactive bonus features emailed to you in the lead-up to the book's release! Visit ReadInAwe.com. *** Did you enjoy today's episode? Share it with your friends! Then subscribe, rate + review on Apple Podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.

Join me every Monday for a quick burst of inspiration on our "Monday Moment" segment. Recently, I had numerous Live Inspired community members, friends and family share the heartwarming story of loving note of encouragement a daughter carved out of snow for her mom. This story touched me greatly because it reminded me of my brother Jim and how he carved a note of encouragement during my recovery. You're going to love this story! *** Did you enjoy this episode? Subscribe, rate & review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.

Is this good enough for me to stay the same? This is the life-saving question Laura McKowen, author of We Are the Luckiest + one of the foremost voices in the modern recovery movement, asked herself. From a horrific DWI to the painful incident that left her 4-year-old daughter in danger, Laura shares her personal journey in choosing sobriety with the utmost vulnerability + candor. But this is more than just one person's journey of using addiction as an invitation to living more intentionally. Today's powerful and thought-provoking conversation will inspire you to practice self-forgiveness and free yourself of shame and guilt. SHOW NOTES: Writing a letter to "2012 Laura": Laura started blogging about her journey to sobriety, not for others but to heal herself. During her college going-away party, Laura recalls freely drink around her family and how the buzz finally allowed her to cope with the struggles she was facing. Laura would chase opportunities and social situations to drink and even gravitated towards a career in the booze-laden advertising industry. While not always problematic, drinking allowed Laura be free and get the love + attention she wanted. The wake-up call: It wasn't after a horrific DWI, but when Laura left her 4-year-old daughter alone in a hotel room overnight that Laura knew she had to make a change. The natural question with alcohol addiction is "Is this bad enough that I have to change?" but Laura feels the question should be "Is this good enough for me to stay the same?", followed by "Are you free?" "My worst nightmares happened and I created them." Laura shares how she's been able to move past shame + guilt towards mercy. Our pain, obstacles, and struggles are invitations to a bigger life. If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you. - Gospel of Thomas Be honest: Laura encourages those struggling with addiction to share their struggle with another person. Get Laura McKowen's We Are the Luckiest here. If you found today's episode inspiring, you'll enjoy my conversation with Fr. Tom Hoar. On Live Inspired Podcast ep. 134, Fr. Tom shares his own stories of redemption + healing - including his own - through the poignant question "have you had enough?" LAURA MCKOWEN'S LIVE INSPIRED 7 1. What is the best book you've ever read? The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. 2. What is a characteristic or trait that you possessed as a child that you wish you still exhibited today? Playfulness. 3. Your house is on fire, all living things and people are out. You have the opportunity to run in and grab one item. What would it be? A painting from my late-grandma. 4. You are sitting on a bench overlooking a gorgeous beach. You have the opportunity to have a long conversation with anyone living or dead. Who would it be? Poet Mary Oliver. She was the master of paying attention and exquisite way of turning the very mundane into the profound. Her poems have saved my life. 5. What is the best advice you've ever received? It's okay to practice. You're not performing all the time. 6. What advice would you give your 20-year-old self? My instinct is to say, "you don't need to drink" but I'm so grateful I went down the path I did. I'd tell her "you're going to be loved." 7. It's been said that all great people can have their lives summed up in one sentence. How do you want yours to read? Less me. More God. *** Pre-order your copy of IN AWE today to receive access to fun, interactive bonus features emailed to you in the lead-up to the book's release! Visit ReadInAwe.com. *** Did you enjoy today's episode? Share it with your friends! Then subscribe, rate + review on Apple Podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.

Join me every Monday for a quick burst of inspiration on our "Monday Moment" segment. Last week I challenged you to do a random act of kindness, then take it a step further and share it with me. I was in awe of the responses and want to share one that particularly moved me. Hear how Live Inspired community member Jenn is healing her heart by helping others. *** Did you enjoy this episode? Subscribe, rate & review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.

Ever had the feeling that you're not enough or get beat down by monotony, adversity, loneliness or pace of every day? Melanie Shankle has a beautiful way of speaking to these expected bouts with humor, authenticity and insight. In addition to being a devoted wife, mom and dear friend, Melanie is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, speaker and podcast host. Today's down-to-earth and relatable conversation will remind you to step away from comparison and towards finding joy in life's ordinary moments. SHOW NOTES: Her parent's divorce exacerbated her people-pleasing nature, until her pivotal time at Texas A&M where she found faith, family, friends + football. Broken beyond repair: At a low point in college, Melanie attended Breakaway Bible Study which helped her find grace, love and redemption. Melanie's down-to-earth and humorous personality shines brightly in her writing. If there is any good there, it's worth fighting for. In The Antelope in the Living Room, Melanie shares how her marriage to Perry is her greatest blessing + greatest challenge. "The most important thing we do is pour into our kids." A friend advised Melanie to show up, listen and let your young child be heard if you want open communication when they're older. Melanie's latest book On the Bright Side is a reminder to look for joy in ordinary days and step away from comparison + competition. Sharing her fears aloud helps Melanie avoid spiraling and hearing how absurd they sound. "One of the greatest tricks the enemy can play on us is to convince us nothing is worth the fight." Connect Melanie on her website, Instagram and Twitter. Get Melanie Shankle's book On the Bright Side here. Melanie shares how she turned opportunities down in order to be a mom to her daughter Caroline. On Live Inspired Podcast ep. 216, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, daughter of Steve Jobs, shared how she'd trade some of his iconic inventions for extra time with him. Listen to our conversation here. MELANIE SHANKLE'S LIVE INSPIRED 7 1. What is the best book you've ever read? Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. 2. What is a characteristic or trait that you possessed as a child that you wish you still exhibited today? Total freedom. 3. Your house is on fire, all living things and people are out. You have the opportunity to run in and grab one item. What would it be? Photo albums. 4. You are sitting on a bench overlooking a gorgeous beach. You have the opportunity to have a long conversation with anyone living or dead. Who would it be? Mother Teresa because her mission and the way she was able to live her life is amazing, or Alexander Hamilton because I'm reading a book + intrigued about his story. 5. What is the best advice you've ever received? Sometimes the best part of staying married is being glad later that you did. 6. What advice would you give your 20-year-old self? Hang on, it gets better. 7. It's been said that all great people can have their lives summed up in one sentence. How do you want yours to read? She was full of joy and showed it to everyone around her. *** Pre-order your copy of IN AWE today to receive access to fun, interactive bonus features emailed to you in the lead-up to the book's release! Visit ReadInAwe.com. *** Did you enjoy today's episode? Share it with your friends! Then subscribe, rate + review on Apple Podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.

Join me every Monday for a quick burst of inspiration on our "Monday Moment" segment. "There are men and women who make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They have the gift of kindness or courage or loyalty or integrity. It really matters very little whether they are behind the wheel of a truck or running a business or bringing up a family. They teach the truth by living it." - James A. Garfield, 20th US President What random act of kindness can you do for someone else today? If you need some inspiration, visit Random Acts of Kindness Foundation's website for ideas! On Live Inspired Podcast ep. 136, I welcomed Leon Logothetis of The Kindness Diaries, streaming on Netflix, to share his journey of traveling the world relying solely on the kindness of strangers. His message is powerful, and it's going to change the world. Listen to ep. 136 here. *** Did you enjoy this episode? Subscribe, rate & review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Live Inspired with John daily on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram + get his Monday Motivation email.