J.R. Martinez to bring his optimistic message to North Texas

J.R. Martinez has heard all of the J.R./Dallas jokes.

We want to point this out before the Iraq War veteran-turned-bestselling author and Dancing With the Stars champion arrives in North Texas next week.

We’re not trying to discourage you. We’re just suggesting, if you’re tempted to dish out a one-liner in his presence, make it a good one.

“I lived in Arlington for a short period of time in 2006,” says Martinez, who has inspired many wounded warriors and burn survivors with his story of recovery from a 2003 roadside bombing in Karbala. “The minute I got to Texas, everybody would say things like, ‘So, J.R., who shot you?’

“At first, I was very confused. I was like, ‘What are you guys talking about? It was a bomb.’ I didn’t know anything about J.R. Ewing and the Dallas TV show. But I’m well aware of it now.”

Martinez will be back in North Texas on June 11 for “Reimagine You.” The event, at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas, is sponsored by AARP’s Life Reimagined Institute.

He and other speakers, including Huffington Post editor-in-chief and bestselling author Arianna Huffington, will share insights on how to deal with challenges and discover new opportunities in life.

Reinventing oneself is something that Martinez, 32, knows a great deal about.

In April 2003, a month after being deployed to Iraq, he was driving a Humvee that hit a roadside bomb. Three other soldiers were ejected from the vehicle, but Martinez was trapped inside. He suffered smoke inhalation and severe burns to 34 percent of his body, but fought to recover.

In the years since, he became an in-demand motivational speaker, joined the cast of TV’s All My Children (2008-2011), won the 2011 Dancing With the Stars Mirror Ball trophy (with partner Karina Smirnoff) and wrote a New York Times bestseller, 2012’s Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength and Spirit (Hachette, $26).

“Whenever I get a moment to slow down, I think about everything I have done over the last 13 years and it truly does blow my mind,” Martinez says. “I’ve worked really hard, I’ve had some good people around me and I’ve been blessed with some great opportunities.

“Most recently, I decided to go to school. I’ve just completed my freshman year in college. For me, it’s all about constantly improving, constantly growing, constantly learning, constantly challenging myself. I’m excited to find out what the next 13 years are going to hold.”

Martinez didn’t have to share his optimistic story of survival and comeback with other wounded soldiers and burn survivors. He didn’t have to become an advocate for veterans. No one would think less of him if he had chosen instead to disappear into a private, anonymous life.

But Martinez is convinced that this is what he’s supposed to be doing.

“I was blessed to have a second chance at life,” he says. “I almost died. I almost lost my life. Not everybody gets a second chance. So my passion and my drive is to help people get it right the first time.

“If I can share my story, talk about what I’ve learned, motivate people, fuel some passion inside of them, help them find purpose, that’s what I’m going to do. I don’t want my second chance to go to waste.

“Also, we’re coming up on Memorial Day. As much as we talk about Memorial Day being about a day off work and barbecues and swimming pools and fireworks and parades, it’s also about honoring those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country.

“Me being one of those individuals fortunate enough to survive, part of my drive is to be a voice and to be a representative for those who made the ultimate sacrifice and who are still making it to this day.

“That’s why I do the things that I do.”

People don’t have to be dealing with anything as traumatic as what Martinez went through to benefit from his talk, though.

“We’re all human beings and we’re all very fragile and we all have been knocked on our butts from time to time,” he says. “We have all faced adversity, there are many challenges, there are many fears. That’s something that we all have in common.

“The key is how to stay connected with the world, to realize that you’re not alone in what you’re going through and to become a survivor and not be stuck in the mentality of becoming a victim.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 1:09 PM with the headline "J.R. Martinez to bring his optimistic message to North Texas."