Episode 69: John Boyle, "Amount to Nothing" to Harvard Business School (PTSD)

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John Boyle’s young life was filled with abuse and hardship, though he was raised in idyllic West Virginia, heart of Appalachia country. Living this double life that was a secret to his tight knit community caused John to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD. School became difficult and more than one teacher said he would amount to nothing.
According to John, "This is all I'd ever heard. My grades were deplorable. I was living a battle in my own head in school. I came from a home where violence was the norm. So that norm didn't shut off in my head. It became an echo chamber. My brain began to spiral these thoughts.

And when you're living in a home like that, you're not going to get mental help. You're not going to the doctor. You're not getting care. It was just pure survival. It was just another day. It was not out of line of what I was told at home or told by other teachers."

And later, John turned to alcohol to mask PTSD symptoms.
In his mid 30s, the doctor told John he was dying from the inside out with full-blown alcoholism. Even that couldn’t stop him from drinking. John was finally to the end of himself, where Jesus tends to do his best work. A desperate prayer was answered and John got clean. Just a month later, he enrolled in Harvard Business School. The rest, as they say, is history.

John is now a CEO of an engineering firm, author of the book, "The Appalachian Kid," national speaker, and White House guest.
Today's Sendoff features Mo Thompson reading, "I Met the Master."
Helpful links:
John's book, The Appalachian Kid: How Hope Changed Everything
What's that music? The Hunts, find them here.
What is PTSD?
Get help for PTSD
Alcoholics Anonymous
Teen Challenge treatment for alcoholism
Harvard Business School
John Boyle on LinkedIn
Chestnut Ridge Church, Morgantown, WV

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Chapter

1. Episode 69: John Boyle, "Amount to Nothing" to Harvard Business School (PTSD) (00:00:00)

2. Appalachia (00:03:35)

3. Childhood trauma (00:04:15)

4. Flashbacks and PTSD (00:07:54)

5. Amount to nothing (00:08:39)

6. Alcohol, bad medicine (00:11:34)

7. God glimpses (00:13:40)

8. Taking over the family business (00:16:57)

9. Totally dependent on alcohol (00:18:33)

10. Rock Bottom, church invitation (00:19:26)

11. Found Jesus, completely lost the urge to drink. (00:22:38)

12. Becoming a new person in Christ (00:25:30)

13. Being a better leader at work (00:29:15)

14. Dealing with PTSD (00:32:12)

15. Last question (00:36:10)

16. Sendoff, "I Met the Master" poem (00:38:40)