On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life by John O’Leary

Nonfiction. 288 Pages. 5 Stars.

Synopsis:

In the bestselling tradition of Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly and Nick Vujicic’s Life Without Limits comes a rousing 7-step plan for living a life on fire, filled with hope and possibility—from an inspirational speaker who survived a near-fatal fire at the age of nine and now runs a successful business inspiring people all around the world.

When John O’Leary was nine years old, he was almost killed in a devastating house fire. With burns on one hundred percent of his body, O’Leary mustered an almost unimaginable amount of inner strength just to survive the ordeal. The insights he gained through this experience and the heroes who stepped into his life to help him through the journey—his family, the medical staff, and total strangers—changed his life. Now he is committed to living life to the fullest and inspiring others to do the same.

An incredible and emotionally honest account of triumph over tragedy, On Fire contains O’Leary’s reflections on being that little boy, the life-giving choices made then, and the resulting lessons he learned. O’Leary very clearly shares that without the right people providing the right guidance, at the right time, he never would have made it through those five months in the hospital, let alone the years that followed as he struggled to regain mobility, embrace his story, and ignite clarity of his life’s purpose.

On Fire encourages us to seize the power to choose our path and transform our lives from mundane to extraordinary. Once we stop thinking solely on the big moments in our lives, we can begin to focus on those smaller opportunities that tend to pass us by. These are the events—the inflection points in our lives—that can determine how we feel about life now, where we are headed in the future, and how many lives we can impact along the way. We can’t always choose the path we walk, but we can choose how we walk it. Empowering, inspiring, remarkably honest, and heartfelt, O’Leary’s strength and incredible spirit shine through on every page.

My Review:

This book has lived unread on my shelves for far too long. This year I finally picked it up and I’m so glad I did!

This book explains the theme of my life so fantastically: live on purpose for a purpose. John’s story is beautiful and inspiring. It’s motivating and invigorating! I teared up several times, and not just at the beauty of how God has moved in John’s life, the poignant lessons he’s learned and shared, but also because of the deeply resonant reminder that our God is good and he has plans for us. This book reminds me of what is noble and good and true and challenges me to live life ignited passionately for the One who made me and calls me to His great works.

I was fully invested in hearing John’s story. I enjoyed how snippets of his story were interspersed with the lessons he’s drawn from his incredible life. His points were well organized and beautifully illustrated. He challenges readers to do more with their lives than succumb to mediocrity. (Man, Ima get fired up just talking about it! This is literally my life motto!) Each chapter starts with another breathtaking segment of John’s incredible story and ends with a personal challenge to choose a radically inspired life.

The book is a beautiful blend of inspiration and memoir, a plethora of wisdom and practical life lessons. An emotional, funny, inspiring read that I’d highly recommend to anyone who needs motivation and inspiration to pursue the life God has called them to.