“We always have a choice. We can decide to live with the things that are bringing us down or we can choose a different way. It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you handle it.” –Bonnie St. John

Bonnie St. John’s life did not start out on a joyful path. She was born with a birth defect in her leg, her father left before she was born, and her stepfather abused her.

But Bonnie refused to let these incidents define her, and that’s why she is one of the most sought after motivational speakers in the country.

“I grew up in San Diego. We didn’t have a lot of money, but my mother never let us believe that anything was impossible. She put a strong emphasis on education and was always reading books on positive thinking and taking us to hear motivational speakers.”

It was this positive thinking that allowed a ten year old led Bonnie, whose leg had been amputated at the age of five, to believe she could become a skier.

“My mother had brought home a brochure on skiing for me. I mean, here I was a black girl living in San Diego who only had one leg. I wasn’t exactly a star candidate to become a skier.”

But become a star skier is exactly what she did, eventually winning three medals in the Paralympics. 

“One of the best lessons my mother ever taught me was to allow no excuses; not for being black, not for being a woman and not for being handicapped. That really helped me overcome any obstacles.”

Along with her Olympic medals, Bonnie is also a graduate of Harvard and Oxford Universities, is a Rhodes Scholar and a former White House Official.

Her desire to share her wisdom and experience with others led her to launch her website, Live Your Joy, which is chock full of resources to help people live a more joyful life. “If you want to do the work to improve your performance and be more joyful and productive, the resources on this site will help you do that.”

Bonnie is also an author whose first book How Strong Women Pray focused on 27 notable women who share how they use prayer to strengthen and guide them through life. In the book, Bonnie also chronicles her own struggles and her need to find healing and peace with the past.

Her current book How Strong Women Lead is being co-authored by her daughter, Darcy Deane. The mother daughter team traveled the world to interview female leaders from politicians to Hollywood movers and shakers. It will be published next year by Hachette Book Group.

“Everyone has the God-given capacity to live joyfully-it doesn’t depend on your circumstances. But it does require that you identify your joys in life and take action to reach them.”

To find out more about Bonnie and Live Your Joy go to bonniestjohn.com