Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotes by John Bradshaw (American Educator)

John Elliot Bradshaw (1933–2016) was an American educator, counselor, motivational speaker, and author. One of the most influential American self-help advocates during the ’80s and ’90s, he hosted several PBS television programs on addiction, recovery, codependency, and spirituality.

Born in Houston, Texas, Bradshaw entered a Roman Catholic seminary run by the Latin-rite Basilian Fathers and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the order’s University of St. Michael’s College (part of the University of Toronto.) Still, he left the order shortly before he was to have been ordained and returned to Texas. In 1965, Bradshaw entered an alcohol treatment program; he had developed problems with alcohol while growing up.

Bradshaw later worked with the drug-abuse program of an Episcopal church in Houston and expanded to giving lectures on family psychology. Bradshaw’s popularity as a speaker led to a gig as host of a local T.V. talk show, Spotlight. In 1981, a local television producer hired him to head a series based on the work of psychoanalyst Erik Erikson; The Eight Stages of Man was broadcast on dozens of PBS stations. Bradshaw then created his own 10-part PBS series, Bradshaw On: The Family (1986,) and both that series and the book of the same title that accompanied it became smash hits and propelled him to national fame.

Bradshaw was active in the self-help movement and was credited with popularizing such ideas as the “wounded inner child” and the dysfunctional family. In promotional materials, interviews, and reviews of his work, he was often referred to as a theologian, and his workshops resembled religious revival meetings.

Bradshaw’s other bestsellers include Healing the Shame That Binds You (1988) and Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child (1990.)

More: Wikipedia READ: Works by John Bradshaw

It is a mark of soulfulness to be present in the here and now. When we are present, we are not fabricating inner movies. We are seeing what is before us.
John Bradshaw
Topics: The Present, Present

Children are curious and are risk takers. They have lots of courage. They venture out into a world that is immense and dangerous. A child initially trusts life and the processes of life.
John Bradshaw
Topics: Courage, Children, Curiosity

It’s essential to tell the truth at all times. This will reduce life’s pain. Lying distorts reality. All forms of distorted thinking must be corrected.
John Bradshaw
Topics: Truth

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