Seven Leadership Lessons From John O’Leary’s ‘Soul On Fire’ (Coming To A Theater Near You)

This month (October 2025), moviegoers will get to experience one of the most inspiring and motivating stories of human resilience ever told when Soul on Fire comes to theaters. In the movie, Joel Courtney plays John O’Leary, John Corbett plays O’Leary’s father, and William H. Macy plays Jack Buck, the Hall of Fame sportscaster who helped save O’Leary’s life by giving him a reason to live.

A Short Summary of the Movie (and More)

This is as much a summary of O’Leary’s life as it is the movie. At nine years old, O’Leary was playing in his garage when a gas can exploded and almost ended his life. He suffered burns over his entire body, and doctors gave him less than a 1% chance of survival.

O’Leary was an avid St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, and one of his heroes was the team’s announcer, Jack Buck. Buck began visiting O’Leary, and his encouraging words gave O’Leary the spark (no pun intended) to fight for his life. And there were other heroes who helped in that effort, such as Dr. Ayvazian, his medical team and the hospital staff, including Lavelle, the janitor—more about him later.

There’s so much more to O’Leary’s incredible life story, but let’s cut to today, where O’Leary is one of the most sought-after motivational speakers on the planet, sharing his story and translating it into topics such as gratitude, faith, resilience and leadership. This story is so good, so motivating and so inspiring that Sony Pictures turned it into a movie.

I met O’Leary nearly 25 years ago at a restaurant when a mutual friend introduced us. Our common thread was professional keynote speaking, and we instantly bonded and became friends. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing O’Leary speak many times and am truly inspired by his book. When I heard about the movie, I had to pick up the phone to congratulate him.

While O’Leary’s story is deeply personal, the movie inspires and motivates, closely following the book that inspired it, On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life. As you learn about these seven life lessons, they also provide leadership lessons for leaders at every level. His journey from victim to victor provides a master class in resilience, purpose-driven leadership and human connection.

Disclaimer

I’ve taken creative license to interpret O’Leary’s life lessons and turn them into leadership lessons. I’ve modified the titles from chapters in his book and movie script and created a brief summary of what I believe his experiences mean to us as leaders. So, here are my interpretations of O’Leary’s life lessons, turned into leadership lessons, that may change the way you think:

1. Ownership Over Entitlement

At age nine, O’Leary could have taken the path of entitlement and adopted a “woe is me” attitude. But instead, he chose to accept and own what happened to him. Rather than say, “It’s not my fault,” he chose to say, “It’s my life.” This has been O’Leary’s attitude his entire life. He chose to fight for his life and find meaning and purpose. The Lesson: Great leaders take ownership of all outcomes, good and bad. And when it’s bad, instead of asking, “Who can I blame?,” they ask, “What can I learn, and what can I do about it?”

2. Self-Acceptance Over Denial

O’Leary spent years trying to hide his physical scars. His breakthrough came when he embraced his situation and accepted “dimples, pimples, scars and all.” The Lesson: Vulnerability isn’t a weakness. On the contrary, it can show strength and create deeper connections with the team when a leader models that strength and acceptance of all things, especially bad things.

3. Purpose Over Indifference

This is one of my favorite stories from the book and movie. On his morning rounds visiting patients, Dr. Ayvazian included Lavelle, a hospital janitor. The doctor explained that by keeping the hospital room clean, Lavelle was literally saving O’Leary’s life by preventing life-threatening infections. The Lesson: Great leaders help everyone understand their contribution to their organization, making them feel that they have purpose and their work matters. The result is employee pride and engagement.

4. Victor Over Victim
O’Leary had every reason to feel like a victim but chose to become a victor instead. He could have asked, “Why me?” and been defeated by his circumstances. Instead, he asked, “Why me?” and recognized that he was in a place that allowed him and others to grow from his positivity. The Lesson: Leaders will experience setbacks and failures, and how they handle these experiences will impact their team’s morale, confidence, pride in their organization and more. Leaders who model a positive response to “Why me?” will inspire others to do the same.

5. Growth Over Stagnation

O’Leary’s philosophy, “comfort is popular but courage changes lives,” is an incredible leadership lesson that, when practiced, serves as a model for continuous growth and improvement. The Lesson: The best leaders continue to grow. They step outside of their comfort zones, take calculated risks and encourage others to do the same. Growth cannot happen if you always do what you’ve always done.

6. Significance Over Success

In O’Leary’s book, he opens this chapter with a quote from Winston Churchill, who said, “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” The Lesson: A leader can be both significant and successful, but they must know the difference. Success is about achievements, and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s expected. However, significance is about the impact leaders have on others. It builds long-lasting legacies with positive impact.

7. Love Over Fear

True love toward another can be unconditional. Think about the love you have for your spouse or partner or the love you have for your kids. “I love you, and there is nothing you can do about it.” This became O’Leary’s mantra, recognizing the positive power that comes from this sentence. And not just for his family, but for everyone. The Lesson: The “L word” is not easily used in the corporate world, so imagine walking up to an employee and saying, “I love you, and there is nothing you can do about it.” A good employee makes a mistake. Do you make them feel terrible, or do you appreciate their honest effort, their sincere apology and then work to build their self-esteem back up? Love can be demonstrated in many ways, and if you embrace O’Leary’s mantra, the positivity that a leader can bring to the culture is infectious. When people feel loved and valued, they naturally extend that same care to others.

Final Words

Today, people—employees—often fear a world that is filled with rapid change and uncertainty. O’Leary’s message in Soul on Fire reminds us to show up as leaders who instill confidence and, pun intended, fire up our people. We must embrace challenges and see problems as opportunities. We always have a choice, even when we think we don’t. O’Leary’s story proves that our greatest setbacks can become our most powerful opportunities for success and significance.