confident. Tell me about your vision. Thanks Harry. My vision is to inspire and uplift others by
sharing Christian's legacy and the message behind what's good about today. I want to help people
find meaning and purpose even in the face of adversity. So through my book, Speaking Engagements
and the Foundation, my goal is to show that no matter what challenges we face, there's always
something good to hold on to. And ultimately, I hope to create a ripple effect of kindness,
gratitude, and resilience that reaches individuals, families, and communities around the world.
That's amazing. I think I know where the vision came from, from the notes I read. But I want you
to say it either way. Where Christian stories, I think it's, I think it'll resonate with the
audience a lot. Where, so how did this all come together for you? In terms of the vision or just
in general? In terms of the vision, yes. Yeah, I mean, the vision obviously was born from the fact
that I lost my son to terminal cancer three years ago. He was 22 years of age. He was diagnosed as
he just graduated college August 26 of 2020. He was an incredible kid on all kinds of levels,
even when he was a little boy, to being a young adult. But it's really the face, even when Christian
was diagnosed with a terminal diagnosis, he didn't change his life. He, as a matter of fact, became
more full of joy and love. Many times people who receive these kinds of diagnosis or
have these things happen to him where life takes a turn on a dime, Christian flourished the other
way. So when Christian got this diagnosis and we were with him as parents, we said how sorry we were.
Christian would tell us, it's okay, this is my burden. I wouldn't want this burden on anyone else.
And instead of taking the approach of why me, why this happened to me, Christian never complained
one time, not from the moment that he received his diagnosis to the moment he took his last breath
with his family around him. Did he ever complain one time? As a matter of fact, the one thing he
kept telling us was what's good about today. And for us, and his message was to remind us the daily
reminder of the beauty in the wonder and all the good can come from a day, even in the worst of
moments. And so that's what I have focused on. That's what Christians, you know, everything I
do is inspired by Christian. So what I do is give that hope to everyone to realize that, yeah,
you can have bad days, you can have days that are some, sometimes there's mild challenges we
have in our life, but you can still use that. But there's times when things hit us so hard,
whether it's a death or a sickness of any kind, that you can still find beauty in that day,
regardless. And so I focus purely on the day as the way my son did. And that's the message I try
to get out to as many people as I can. Thank you for sharing that, Chris. So many of us have,
we have a tendency to focus on the negative rather than the positive. And gratitude is not a
thing of practice that a lot of people are going for. And it has its downs for our life.
What would you say is, I understand this story of Christian, I understand the lessons that you
learned from it. Then what is your why of what you do? Well, the why is so that I can make an
impact on the world. You know, when I get the opportunity to speak to others, I fundamentally
talk about three points. Certainly, gratitude is very important. But gratitude is simply a word.
Unless you put it into practice, unless you live in the present, gratitude can escape all of us,
right? Because it's a busy, busy life that we all have. But I think for me, I try to focus
the whys on, you know, asking this question, what's good about today, no matter what your face,
you know, in your daily routine. I also focus a lot, you know, we hear the words be kind,
but I also take it a little bit further. I say be kind always. And there's, it doesn't cost you
anything to do it always. And it can make a whole difference in the world. And it's, it's not just,
you know, it's not just a random act. It's a deliberate choice, right? We have choices.
And when you choose kindness, you create space for connections, healing, and hope. And ultimately,
the last thing I always talk about is living a life of purpose, right? Don't wait for life to
happen to you. You know, you step into the moment with intention, and whether it's, you know,
your interactions, whether it's your friendships, your challenges, I step into your challenges,
approach everything with a sense of purpose, and ask yourself how you can make it a truly today,
a meaningful difference. And that's how my son lived his life. And it's how we can make our time
here and beyond truly count. So those are the whys for me.
I would love to get to know more about how applying that to your life
has helped you. Well, for me, it's helped me to become present. It's allowed me to focus on
today. I don't, I try not to think too much of the past because I can't change the past.
Much of us in this life, we think so much in the future, right? What's gonna happen tomorrow?
What's gonna happen the next day? To me, I'm a, the way this has affected me, obviously losing
my firstborn child, he was our best friend, my best friend, my family's best friend,
is I focus on what I can do today. One of the great things that Christian had in his life was
he didn't have to-do list, he had to-love list. And so I wake up every morning and I fulfill
right out what my to-love list is. And instead of trying to always fulfill these to-dos,
it's how I figure out how much love can I put into my life. And I think that's the way
I put out into the world today. And I think that's in many ways how many of us, if we live that life,
it can change and transform how we go about our daily life and how we interact with others
to be better people and to be better connected to the world around us. So I think it's a simple
message, see? What's good about today is a simple question. And it's a question you can ask yourself
in the morning, the afternoon, and the night. And it can change how, to your point, which is how you
approach everything within your day. So how long ago was it when you started applying these principles
in your life? Well, as soon as Christian started saying them, so, you know, 2020 when Christian was
diagnosed and through the course of his cancer and how he approached things was really how I sort of
embraced the same things he was teaching us. And I would tell you, I didn't have that beforehand,
right? There's sort of a two sides to myself. There's the pre-cancer Chris and the after-cancer
Chris. And for me, it was how I looked at the world and how I looked at every single moment.
And so for me, it was when Christian started to say it to us that it took on a whole different
meaning and how I approached every single moment of the day. So if you were to, in a way, summarize,
pre-Christian you and now you from what you used to do and who you used to be and now who you are
and who you are and what you do, what's the positive impacts that that teaching has brought you
that you can tangibly measure and see the difference? Well, the pre-christ was, as many
know the term, keep up with the Joneses, right? It was all about how much money I can make,
the bigger house, the bigger car. Certainly my family was very, we were very tight, but
my mindset was very geared to that element of life. I think the after-cancer Chris is I
have a deeper connection with my fellow man and woman that when I'm with someone and I'm having
a conversation like I am with you, Harry, then I'm all in on that conversation. I'm not thinking
about what I have to do next or who I got to reach out to. It's not about that. I shut everything
down. I become focused on you. And I think in many ways that's how I live my life now going forward,
which is just I'm in the present and stick to that. Because I think that allows me a much deeper,
meaningful conversation with anyone. I'm sure many people know when you're getting to talk to someone
and it's almost like they're looking past you or they're looking at their phone or their watch
or whatever. But for me, it's staying in tune with what someone's telling me. And so I think for me,
that's a difference. And that's something that I wouldn't have done pre-cancer.
The sort of now is in losing my son. I realize the importance of focusing on every single
element of the moment then which I'm in.
Let me take this a little deeper, Chris. And what has being present in the moment helped you with?
It's helped me to be a better person. I mean, it's as simple as that. It's helped me to be a full
person to try to lead a purposely driven life. I think every individual who's here on this earth
is trying to lead that purposely driven life one way. They can ask themselves that question,
what's the purpose of it all? And I think that's the way I think about it. And I think that's
that question, what's the purpose of it all? Why does this happen? How could this happen?
And so for me, it's less about the whys anymore. It's about the doing. And I think there are two
things that happen when you go through the experiences which I have and my family has gone
through. One is to let go of the control. We're not in control of our circumstances. We think
we're in control. You may think you're always in control, but the truth is you're not. There's a
higher being that's in control of these things. And the other thing is gratitude. Gratitude and
being humble. Humble is a really key component of leading that purposely driven life. So a lot more
humbleness and realizing you're not in control allow for some of those things. Thank you for
sharing that. We a lot of times on the show when I ask questions, people do like, hey, what is your
why? And people give me answers and answers and answers. And very few times people go along this
lines. The better question to ask is who? And then what's your why? So I think your ideas resonate
with that quite a bit. So thank you for sharing that. Of course. If you focus on the who, the why
is already there with us. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Why is, I mean, it's a question we ask, but I think
the more we put into practice, you know, like I'm always a big believer, the more love we put out,
you know, again, you will see all those whys get solved, you know. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that.
I have one more question for you. Sure. And that will be our today's end of today's segment.
Where I want to make it a good one for you. OK. All these years. I have a lot of them,
but I think right here. I'm reading your mind, actually, I think. Yeah, you are. What
is success to you now, Chris? Success to me is when.
I think I think right now, my goal has always been to inspire others by sharing Christian's legacy
and helping people find purpose in the most challenging of times. So I think that I'm proud
of the work that I'm doing through the Christian Cochran Legacy Fund, and I've had a chance to
speak to young adults. I've spoken to older adults, which is really, really important to me,
because Christian's story continues to reach more people than I ever thought was imaginable.
And I and I truly can feel this ripple effect of kindness and positivity taking shape.
And so that the success is when I hear from people and I hear from them every day. Right.
I get emails every day. I get testimonials every day. I get things sent to me every day.
Who have either read the book, who have seen me speak, who have told I told Christian's story.
So for me, that is that is success. And, you know, through the foundation, we do a lot of
work with young adults who have cancer and they have nothing. You would be shocked that we give
money towards another foundation for adults who who are struggling, who do not have family around
them, who do not have the support mechanisms. And when they can come up to me and they can say it's
made a world of difference in their life, then for me, that's everything. That's what I'm here to do.
I have a singular focus that is to change the mindsets, to change people's hope, the change
the change them to have more resilience and you really focus on how beautiful life really is for
every single one of us. Instead of looking at people as people, I do look at people as souls.
I genuinely do. I look at every single person when I speak with them or see them or watch them
as souls. And so for me, seeing the impact of the foundation, the word have them come up to me that
it's changed how they approach the world. It's changed them fundamentally. Maybe they were
extremely negative. They thought poorly of everything to see that complete change. Man,
that's to me, that's everything I don't there is nothing else I need. That's that's my works for
the rest of my life while I'm here now. That was never what it was before. But that's what it is
today. Wow, that is very impactful. I love that you found the purpose of your life and you can
focus outwards and not inwards. Yeah, I have found my purpose. 100%.
Thank you for being here today. I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. I'm looking
forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes continue to move forward. This is going to get
more and more fun. We'll have more and more engagement as well. We'll invite people to
participate in the show. And thank you for giving us your time and attention. Have an excellent time
building out your vision and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.