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Well good morning, my friends!
Welcome to Live Inspired with John O'Leary.
Oscar Wilde wrote that loving yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
Woo!
Sounds steamy.
Loving yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
I have the honor of speaking to organizations all around the country and around the world,
and on occasion, sneaking my way into grade schools or middle schools or high schools.
After speaking to a high school several weeks back, a beautiful young girl came up to me
afterwards, gave me a hug, said hello, introduced herself, and then said,
"Mr. O'Leary, you live a fairytale life."
And she went on to share and unpack all the things that have -in her mind- gone right
for me.
She talked about, "You know, you found love.
You got the girl.
You have your babies.
You have a family today.
You have this fairytale life."
And she said, "I have none of it."
She talked about never dating.
She's a sophomore in high school.
She's never dated.
Nobody sees the beauty within her even though she was clearly a beautiful young lady.
What she is suffering and struggling with is something that I think many of us suffer
and struggle with:
Looking for love from those around us.
In the embrace of a boy, or a compliment, or a like on social media, or a pay raise,
or a new opportunity in life, or the achievement of a new goal that proves we made it.
We've got there.
And yet, the lifelong romance does not begin in her arms or his arms.
Does not begin with a like or a success story.
It begins by quietly, calmly, peacefully learning first to fully embrace the miracle, the gift,
the life, for the good and the bad, the scars and the beauty, that we have today.
Whether you're a sophomore or you're a bit more experienced.
To love who you are today, and in that, it starts to attract other pretty remarkable
things and people into your lives.
It doesn't make it perfect, but it starts by having a lifelong romance first with yourself.
Start there first!
Lizzie Velasquez is someone that I look up to as being Exhibit A on the profound beauty
of being first able to love yourself.
Lizzie was born with several significant health issues.
It has caused her to be so challenged physically, in the ways she shows up in the morning, in
the way she goes through life, in the stares that she gets, the comments that she hears,
But rather than being weighed down by all the negativity, this is a woman who chooses
to first love herself,
then to share that love and expands that light, that brightness, that hope for those around
us who are wondering what it might look like in our own lives.
I was wondering, so I invited Lizzie onto my Live Inspired podcast and
we've been doing this now for over a year and a half, and Lizzie's podcast was SO terrific.
So full of hope and possibility and love.
And love.
If you are seeking any of this in your own life, I encourage you to check it out.
It's at Live Inspired with John O'Leary, anywhere you pull down your podcast.
That's where you can grab this one.
Or you can go to my website, www.johnolearyinspires.com
My friends, you're gonna love her and you are gonna be reminded as you hear Lizzie's
story that the romantic life we seek, that this beautiful fairytale lifestyle that we
long for,
begins not out there, not over here, not in someone's embrace, not with a like online,
but by loving yourself.
By being fully okay with how you show up today.
It's enough.
It doesn't make it easy, but it's enough.
It's a first step forward in the journey.
I want to thank you for being part of our community and remind you that the best is
yet to come.
So for this time, and until next time,
this is John O'Leary.
And today is your day.
Live Inspired.