Jake Olson

Historic College Football Player, Blind Golf Champion & Entrepreneur

Jake Olson is a top inspirational keynote speaker and the first completely blind player to take a snap in college football history. As an eight-time cancer survivor, author, entrepreneur, media personality, and adaptive golf champion, Jake inspires audiences to “find the setup in the setback,” offering practical mindsets and tools that audiences can use to grow through adversity and achieve the best version of themselves. As a sought-after motivational speaker, Jake has spoken at hundreds of events and organizations, including AIG, Bank of America, Google, Microsoft, and SpaceX.

Jake Olson Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type
Please Inquire

Jake Olson Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type
Please Inquire

Why Jake?

First Blind Football Player to take a snap in US College History

Adaptive Gold Champion

Great Sense of Humor.

Audiences Laugh An Average Of 18 Times During A 50-Minute Talk

Keynote Speaker Topics

Christian Keynote Speakers
Football Speakers
Inspirational Keynote Speakers
Motivational Speakers
Sports & Adventure Keynote Speakers

Suggested Keynote Speaker Programs

Finding The Setup In The Setback

What do you do when you face adversity? Do you give up —or do you do something about it? When Jack Olson went completely blind at the age of 12, he had a choice. He could be bitter and give up on his dreams, or he could compete. In his moving ...

What do you do when you face adversity? Do you give up —or do you do something about it? When Jack Olson went completely blind at the age of 12, he had a choice. He could be bitter and give up on his dreams, or he could compete. In his moving and funny talk, Jake shares his incredible life journey of battling cancer eight times as a child, going blind at the age of 12, making history in college football, and winning the USGA Adaptive Open golf tournament.

Using a mix of personal stories (including encounters with Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods), a lot of humor, and some unique life philosophies, Jake helps audience members change how they perceive adversity. Audiences come away realizing that often, what feels like a significant setback can be a setup for something much greater in life. This talk is a great fit for any event planner trying to help their audience develop more grit, level up their productivity, or improve their perspective and accountability.

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Finding A Way: How Inclusive Cultures Make Teams Better

Success isn’t achieved alone. Success comes through the mix of teamwork and inclusive communities. So, how can you build a more inclusive culture so your teams can find success? In this insightful and funny talk by cancer survivor and blind ...

Success isn’t achieved alone. Success comes through the mix of teamwork and inclusive communities. So, how can you build a more inclusive culture so your teams can find success? In this insightful and funny talk by cancer survivor and blind golf champion Jake Olson, he discusses how the will to succeed was his, but because of his blindness, he needed to find a different way to achieve his goals. That way was leaning on other incredible people around him who were willing to adapt and meet him where he was.

Whether it was a math teacher learning braille to better teach him math or coaches devising a new scheme for long snapping so he could play football, Jake understands how you can achieve great things when cultures are inclusive. Audiences will come away understanding how inclusion makes teams better and how amazing things happen when coworkers recognize the will of their teammates so they can find a way to achieve together.

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About Keynote Speaker Jake Olson

Jake Olson is an inspiration to many across the world for his story of overcoming adversity from a young age. Born with retinoblastoma in both eyes, he lost his first eye as an infant and went completely blind by age 12. However, he didn’t let blindness stop him from participating in life or sports, including football.

Jake is perhaps best known as the first completely blind player in college football history. He famously long-snapped a successful point after try for the University of Southern California (USC) against Western Michigan on September 2nd, 2017. His story received viral national attention from all the major television networks (ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, Fox Sports, Hallmark, TBN, The Golf Channel) and print media (The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, etc.).

Jake is also an adaptive golf champion. He won the USBGA Nationals in 2019, the U.S. Adaptive Open in 2022, the U.S. Blind Open in 2024, and the Chicago Adaptive Open in 2024.

After graduating from USC in 2019, Jake became a full-time motivational speaker. Since giving his first speech at the age of 12 at a Wells Fargo board meeting, Jake has shared his story at hundreds of events and organizations, including AIG, Ball Corporation, Bank of America, JLL, Google, Invesco, Microsoft, Mondolez, Nationwide, and SpaceX.

As a sought-after keynote speaker, Jake blends a great sense of humor (audiences laugh an average of 18 times during a 50-minute talk) with powerful insights. He inspires audiences to reframe how they respond to adversity, develop a more positive mindset, and break through self-imposed limitations so they can achieve their full potential in their personal and professional lives. Jake customizes his talk for each client, aligning his message with the event theme and impacting the audience in the way event planners intended.

Jake earned his BA in Business Administration and Management from the USC Marshall School of Business. In 2017, he founded his first company: the talent booking company, Engage, which helps organizations book keynote speakers and athletes for events.

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Jake is also the author of the book Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life.

However, the accomplishment of which he is most proud is his family. Jake and his wife, Audrey, welcomed their first child in January 2025.

Testimonials

Excellent! Jake was an amazing and dynamic speaker. He was undoubtedly a draw for our event. He spent the entire day with us – speaking, golfing, interacting with our guests – truly generous with his time. Such a wonderful person!

John Argue

VerityPoint

Jake, you are a rockstar! You are hilarious, humble, open, optimistic, and motivational. I can speak on behalf of all our attendees today- they took so much away from your speech and are motivated to help create a culture of inclusion. As you said, start with humility, compassion, sympathy, and, most importantly, love one another!

AbbVie

Jake’s presentation was a HUGE success. He is so humble, has a great sense of humor, and truly a light for those with disabilities. Some of the comments in the chat were: “is there anything you can’t do Jake?” and “I wish he could speak with us every month!” and many more about what an inspiration he is. Compassion to help anyone who is suffering is a message that should be echoed, especially now.

Cambridge Associates

“We have received nothing but great reviews from our virtual attendees. Jake’s story and message was inspiring, thought-provoking, challenging, and engaging. I can’t imagine a better fit for this event. His message was also very timely and relevant in regards to the many challenges we are all facing during the COVID pandemic. Thank you!”

Lisa Wilterink

I’ve worked with many external speakers for large corporate conferences and meetings for many years and highly recommend Jake Olson as a motivational speaker. He has a fresh and inspiring story and is authentic in his mission to help others, both through his speaking engagements and in his not-for-profit work. He is articulate, has a great sense of humor, and will customize his remarks to fit your audience. He received the highest rating of any of our speakers at a recent conference and, as a result, is receiving requests for more speaking engagements from the attendees.

Cindy Wietes

AIG

Jake was a huge success, and everyone loved his message, from the CEO to the newest sales professional in the room. Patterson Dental is an organization that has been going through a transformation of people and systems for the last 5 years and this year’s meeting was about coming together, embracing the change in our market (customers and others,) and getting back to growth through an offensive position. Jake’s message supported all of this perfectly. You won’t be disappointed.

Josh Killian

Patterson Dental