About Bonnie St. John Author of Live Your Joy
Bonnie St. John is an author, inspirational speaker, executive coach, TV personality, mother, and seeker of wisdom. Bonnie has suffered through many of the difficulties most discussed today: abuse, divorce, disability, and struggles related to gender or race. Despite these challenges, she has relentlessly sought ways to stay positive and live joyfully no matter what life dishes out. Her deep sense of peace and joy in life has inspired millions of people to want to know what she has learned about finding joy in a crazy world.
Her message of falling down and getting up—in life, at an Olympic ski race, or in business—has been sought after by CEOs, recognized in the White House, celebrated on a Starbucks Cup and honored with a doctoral degree for her lifetime commitment to motivating people. More than hope, Bonnie provides practical tips, step-by-step directions, and presents the very latest in social research in an easy-to-use way. "Everyone has the God-given capacity to live joyfully—it doesn't depend on your circumstances. But it does require that you make the choice to identify your joys in life and take action to reach them."
Simply meeting Bonnie has been a life transforming experience for many people. "If a one-legged, African-American girl from San Diego with no money and no snow can go to the Olympics as a ski racer..." people think to themselves, "surely I can follow my dream and find the joy in my life."
When you meet Bonnie, you find that she is very down to earth and easy to talk to. She connects with and inspires all kinds of people: runaway teens, homeless people, moms, dads, sales people, managers, business leaders, academics, and politicians. She knows what it is like to be down, to struggle financially, to have big emotional challenges, and to grow spiritually in order to overcome them. She also knows what it is like to be on top of the world: Bonnie was the first African-American to win Olympic medals in ski racing, winning a silver and two bronze medals in the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria; she graduated with honors from Harvard University and won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford; she was appointed to the White House National Economic Council; she has been featured on The Today Show, Montel Williams, CNN, Good Morning America, as well as People magazine, the New York Times, Essence and many others; she has been critically acclaimed as an author; and she is one of the most highly sought after keynote speakers in the country.
Although the story of Bonnie's achievements has been told on TV and in print many times, her recent book, How Strong Women Pray, shared her life story in a more raw and personal way. Writing the book also took her to meet 27 extraordinary women who opened their hearts, shared their toughest times, and revealed their ultimate redemption through prayer. Today, after years spent learning to pray, Bonnie is experiencing something rich and new that she is eager to share with audiences and readers: JOY. Bonnie has discovered that she must be intentional in order to live true joy on a daily basis. Her latest book, Live Your Joy, shares stories from Bonnie’s life and from others who have taught her how to live with joy. She guides readers through a process of steadily increasing their joy, by learning and practicing new habits and behaviors that lead to increased joy every day.
Bonnie's experience of bouncing back from adversity has taught her that there is no "magic bullet" that solves all problems with the snap of a finger. No one diet works for all body types. No one type of emotional support or healing works for all personality types. Bonnie has discovered that the secret to her resilience and personal growth is building a patchwork quilt of solutions just for her: various exercise programs, support of friends, spending time in nature, seeking expert knowledge, reading books, and of course, always relying on prayer for guidance. What goes into your own patchwork quilt won't be the same as what worked for Bonnie. Sometimes it takes trial and error to find the path that is just right for you. But her goal is to always present a myriad of choices to help make the decisions easier and the ultimate path to joy clearer for a variety of people.
Bonnie is committed to helping you with the never-ending journey of finding new ways to clear out old cobwebs and live more and more joy in your life. God gives us our lives like he gives us a garden—we still have to weed it, learn about its plants, and put love into it every day. Faith gives us the strength to take action, become a better gardener, and watch our lives blossom as they were meant to do.
January 2009
Return to Bonnie in the News
