John Register - Article

Motivational speaker John Register has a unique mantra that he follows and inspires others with, “Go Forth and Inspire Your World.”

“The reason I have that is because ‘go’ is a command, ‘forth’ is your direction, ‘inspire’ is your vocation, ‘your’ is personal and ‘world’ because it’s your sphere of influence.”

This mantra has been a driving force throughout John’s life and especially in a particular moment that would alter the course of his life and those around him. It was one of those moments in life where everything changed in a blink of a second. One of those moments where uncertainty, fear and doubts can creep in. One of those moments that would eventually inspire others.

As an outstanding athlete and world-class hurdler, John was doing what was natural to him on May 17, 1994, as he was preparing to make his way to the 1996 Olympics. However, something went wrong that day. According to his website, “a faulty landing hyper-extended John’s left knee, resulting in a severed popliteal artery.” John recalled his initial thoughts. “When I hit the ground, there’s a moment in between the pain and the reality. It seems like an eternity, but it’s only a fraction of a second. There were lots of thoughts. ‘Can I get up? Am I okay? How bad was the fall? Can I roll over and get right back up from it?’ I looked at my leg and saw it was dislocated. I knew I wasn’t running, but didn’t I know the extent of the injury. I knew I wouldn’t go to the Olympic trials.” While he can’t remember the exact timeline of things that happened in the moments following his accident, through his own recollections and those of witnesses, three important things stood out for him.

“I said ‘hallelujah,’ that was the faith. I called for my wife, Alice. Alice has always been a partner with me. And, I said, ‘Don’t give me any water.’ That was from my military training because drinking water could induce shock.”

John eventually had to get his right leg amputated. While many would’ve faltered or plain given up, John didn’t see his situation as something to overcome, but instead as an opportunity to overcome the fear and doubts that followed.

“I discovered what I overcame was not what I overcame. Had I overcome the amputation of my leg, I would’ve had my leg back. What I overcame was my negative fears. ‘What’s my identity now? How do other people see me? How do they fit me back into their box? How does society see me?’”

Through self-reflection, John found the answers to these questions. In turn, he was able to help other people in situations that might otherwise seem unattainable by helping them focus on the

fear that they have to overcome. “You have to evaluate who you’re hanging with, and the people who might be trying to pull you back. It’s that re-defining moment that people most come to grips with, and it’s a very personal decision that an individual must go through because you have to make the release to the other side.”

John explained the importance of that “other side.”

that leap and jump. I know there’s something greater, and that’s why I chose to amputate my leg because I would be free on the other side. It’s faith manifested. The language changes when you see people through to the other side.”

John’s story of grit, motivation and perseverance began to catch people’s attention, and they started requesting him to speak about his story. This led him to creating his business, Inspired Communications, in 1997 that facilitates organizational leadership with meaningful metaphors from his own life. “Hurdle Adversity - Amputate the Fear, Embrace a New Normal mindset to win the medals in you life.”

Through the calls to hear his story, John’s professional speaking career was born where the first group he spoke to was the Total Army Involvement in Recruiting (TAIR). He would speak to high school students and show up and tell short, funny stories and quips, where he kept things informal and casual. The kids would often want to see his leg, so it would turn into a sort of show and tell. Realizing his growing popularity, principals would invite him back to speak.

One day, John was asked how much he charged for a speech, and he replied that he would get back to them because he didn’t even realize one could be paid to speak.

“I didn’t even know you got paid to show up and run your mouth,” he said laughing.

This is when John realized that this could be a career for him.

“There’s value to helping people overcome what they need to overcome, usually not what they think they have to overcome. It’s not the divorce, it’s not the loss of a loved one, those are the symptoms. It’s our mindsets we have to change.” John regularly speaks to financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, pharmaceutical companies, HR professionals and the government, including the State Department. In fact, John was “appointed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as one of an eight-member council to advise the secretary on foreign policy issues regarding disability,” according to his

As a professional speaker, John goes for a conversational, casual style where his strength is in his ability to be a master storyteller. Though he likes a more laid-back approach, John isn’t one to shy away from crucial conversations and touch on the tough topics to get the conversation going and keep it flowing.

“It’s like with George Floyd. George Floyd could’ve been me. Breonna Taylor could’ve been you. Or, it could’ve been somebody from 400 years ago. The list goes on and on. It’s not a simple fix at all. A lot of people want to run before they walk, but it’s important that we talk about it.”

To be successful on stage, there are certain qualities that define a great speaker from a good speaker, and John differentiated between the two.

“One is you have to be true to one itself, authenticity. You have to begin to find your voice. It has to be a person that’s done the homework and made themselves an expert in their niche.” To be uniquely yourself on the stage, John says it first starts with being comfortable with who you are.

“That’s why when you hear my mission, you think only he could probably do that mission. It’s that hurdling adversity. That’s my branding.”

From his relatively humble beginnings as a speaker to now an elite Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), which is only earned by only the very top percentage of speakers, John can speak on his evolution.

“It is evolving. The deeper I go into my story, the more I discover about the story. For example, my wife was interviewed about what she went through. She said that she was let go from her job because she was at the hospital with me. I never knew that. It adds to the story line and accelerates it. It makes Alice the heroine. I’ve learned my story is my story, but I can make other people be the heroes and heroine.”

John explained why even though it’s his story, it’s not all about him.

“If I did, I would be bragging; I’m not trying to be a superhero. It’s not about the story elevating me above others but instead being on your platform.”

Setting the Tone Before Showtime As any great speaker knows, preparation is key to making the most impact on stage, and John starts with the visual and doesn’t necessarily start writing a speech down. He likes to connect the dots on what’s going to be the most engaging and impactful for the audience.

“You have to get them on your side quickly. People are sizing you up, and it’s hard to get them back once you lose them. What I try to do now is I start with the previous speaker or the CEO or leadership and make the links, so now they know I’m engaged.”

Before he goes on stage, he says a quick prayer. He also gets into the mindset that the speech he delivers is bigger than himself.

“This isn’t about me. You have to get rid of the ego. While speakers love the applause and accolades, they can miss stuff from the audience. It’s about the person who is really hurting, where you can really dig in. It’s something deeper. I used to want that applause - that was validation. Sometimes the most impactful is when you get those one or two people you have a profound impact on. I remember a person who came up to me and said they were going to commit suicide before they heard my speech. It’s for those people.”

While every speaker wants to believe that every speech he or she delivers is a slam dunk, John understands that’s not always the case. It’s

“It’s somebody who is able to put the message in a framework that causes people to shift. Speakers tell me that you can’t get an audience to shift in an hour, but it just happens.”

John also measures his speeches’ effectiveness by what he calls echoes.

“The echoes that come back, that’s an emotional response. It’s having a chemical reaction. It’s connecting with the story. It’s when you share it with friends, co-workers and it ripples out and the echo comes back.”

John gave a prime example of this happening. He recalled the story when he was traveling to deliver a speech to a group of his kids, so he had his headphones on and was getting himself in the right mindset. A friend of his was speaking to a woman next to her who he began to tell John’s story. John’s friend nudged him and told him the woman was telling his story.

“That’s an echo. The story went out and impacted others, and in that moment, it was coming back to us.” John decided to take his uplifting message off the stage and into the book he wrote called, “10 Power Stories to Impact Any Leader” when he realized that “a lot of leaders have not given themselves time to come up with their own stories.”

“They bring somebody in, somebody like me to tell my story. I help them to start with 10 stories from their life and journal them.”

Looking back at his time on and off the stage, John reflects on not only his influence on others but also how others have inspired him, along with a higher power.

“I measure a good speech by the echoes, the way people get caught up in the moment by the speech. I honor that. It’s over time, if somebody has made a shift, made a change, you’ve changed me and my direction. It could be ego, but I give all glory to God. Those are the moments that I live for.”