Choosing to Live Life in the Front Row, with Jon Vroman

Today I've got an awesome guest for you. I am excited to bring back my friend Jon Vroman because he was with us – get this – back in episode 34! Jon is a social entrepreneur and award-winning speaker. He's also a committed husband and father of two. And just for fun, why not? He's an ultra-marathon runner as well. He has an amazing non-profit, called the Front Row Foundation. They create these incredible, unforgettable moments for individuals who are braving life-threatening illnesses. It might be a NASCAR race, a professional sporting event, a concert, Broadway play. They've done it all. They create a video for the person, their family and friends as well. It's just such a gift. It's so beautiful. Jon has been busy since last we spoke. He's written a best-selling book called the Front Row Factor: Transform Your Life with the Art of Moment Making. Plus, he's launched not one, but two podcasts. The first one called, Front Row Factor podcast. The second one called the Front Row Dads podcast. Listen To The Podcast: RESOURCES: Front Row Factor Book: https://amzn.to/2nqN1cS Front Row Factor Podcast: http://bit.ly/2M9wcRP Front Row Dads Podcast: https://apple.co/2ARDV2p INTERVIEW: Jon, welcome back to DREAM THINK DO, buddy. Mitch, this is fun, man. I was looking forward to this all week, and I just came off a pretty stellar three days, and this is going to be a great time. I appreciate who you are. I love it. I mentioned the Front Row Foundation. Tell people a little bit why the Front Row is so important, this concept, why do you live and breathe to get people into the Front Row? What I love about your question is you asked why. We can tell people what we do, and they'll get it in 20 seconds. And I learned from my buddy Clay Iberra that when people ask me what I do, I often say I help people live life in the Front Row. And they say that's cool, what does that mean? Exactly, tell me more. Well, I'll tell you a story. It’s the story of Sophie. I got introduced to Sophie about a decade ago, and this is very early on in our work with the charity. Sophie was battling a life-threatening condition, she had a brain tumor, and she was in the midst of heavy treatments. In and out of the hospital, daily, weekly, fighting migraines, multiple surgeries. She's fighting for her life. Our charity goes to work to try to help her see her favorite performer who in this case is Kelly Clarkson, from the front row. So we start working with the family, and we put together an incredible day. We pick her up at the house in a limousine, little Sophie's wearing a purple dress, we pour her sparkling cider, we treat her like a princess. She is just having an awesome time leading up to this event. She knows that she will eventually see Kelly Clarkson live that night. And by the way, I should mention she is a true fan. The way her mom describes it when she gets in the car with Sophie if she didn't turn on Kelly Clarkson, her daughter would just cry. When the Clarkson comes on, Sophie’s smile always gets big. Every night before they went to bed, they had a dance party on the bed and danced to Kelly Clarkson. So on this night, she went to dinner at the Rainforest Café, and then off to the show. They had an incredible concert with Kelly, and the surprise came at the end when Sophie has fallen asleep, this is pretty late night for her, especially based on all the treatments that she was going through. But we snuck her backstage, and we were waiting in a room for a private meet and greet with Kelly. When Kelly walked into the room saying, "Hey, everybody," little Sophie awoke from this nap, looked up and got this beautiful smile, and Kelly and Sophie locked eyes. We have a picture of that moment. I will tell you, that picture is so important for us, and that's why we do what we do. Because eight weeks after that event, Sophie took her final breaths,