Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christian Frazier. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Christian thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

Purpose Doesn’t Pause for Pain

A few months ago, I lost vision in my left eye for almost two months. At first, I thought it was temporary, that I could rest and recover. But when the days turned into weeks, I realized something much deeper: my purpose doesn’t pause for pain and neither does hope.

In the last year alone, I went through four surgeries in four months. I lost my home to a hurricane and spent five months living in a hotel. But in the middle of all that, I finished writing the second edition of my book, Happiness Triggers, produced “Happiness Triggers – The Album” under the Mindful Soul genre to drive home the messages in the book with songs like “Mental Prison” a mindful reggae song. Through it all, I kept encouraging others through, volunteering to work on initiatives to help improve access to healthcare for millions of Tampa Bay residents. sermons. If I wasn’t teaching Mental Health First Aid, I was conducting workshops, delivering inspirational messages and daily content meant to inspire.

People often said, “You kept showing up. You kept encouraging everyone else.” But what they didn’t see were the quiet moments the stillness between the storms when I had to remind myself that faith, gratitude, and resilience aren’t feelings; they’re choices.

I couldn’t change what was happening to me, but I could reframe it. I chose to let my challenges become a springboard instead of an anchor. I could get bitter, or I could get better. And every time I felt myself slipping into frustration, I reminded myself to “think from the finish line.”

There’s a metaphor I share in that became real for me: the archer’s pull. When I thought I was ready to soar, life pulled me back hard. But I realized the further you’re pulled back, the further you can fly. Pain wasn’t punishment. It was preparation.

Losing my sight taught me to see with my heart. It reminded me that happiness isn’t an accident, it’s a practice. You don’t wait for life to be perfect to feel whole; you find gratitude even in the chaos. You anchor yourself in mindfulness and purpose until peace becomes your new default.

Every moment of loss taught me something about love. Every obstacle taught me something about peace. And every scar taught me something about grace.

Sometimes, we don’t get to choose the storm, but we can always choose who we become because of it.

Christian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

About Me, My Mission, and the Work That Chose Me

I often tell people that I didn’t find my calling; it found me through life’s defining moments.
Before I became known for my work in mental health and mindfulness, I spent years in the entertainment industry. I appeared on shows such as Law & Order: SVU, Blue Bloods, and Gotham. I was featured in national commercials for brands like Ford and had the honor of serving as the voice of the United States Navy. Those experiences taught me the power of storytelling, emotion, and presence. They shaped how I now teach, speak, and connect with others on a deeper level.

Behind the camera, I faced anxiety, loss, and a long journey of reinvention. I learned that success means nothing if your mind and spirit are not aligned. That realization led me to mindfulness, not only as a practice but as a way of life.

Today, I am a certified Life, Health, and Nutrition Coach, a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, and the founder of Elevated Minds Coaching. My mission is to help individuals and organizations transform stress, burnout, and emotional barriers into clarity, confidence, and purpose. I provide corporate wellness training, emotional intelligence workshops, and mindfulness programs to companies, schools, and public agencies across the country.

I served as a board member of NAMI Hillsborough and chair the BIPOC Subcommittee for the Zero Suicide Alliance. I work with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, which has trained more than four million people in Mental Health First Aid. My public health efforts also include housing advocacy, veteran services, and the creation of trauma-informed support systems for at-risk youth.

What I am most proud of is not the titles or television credits, but the lives changed. From helping veterans rediscover their purpose to guiding corporate teams through burnout recovery, I have learned that healing is contagious. When one person grows, the people around them grow as well.

Through my books Happiness Triggers and Unleashing Potential: A Guide for Life Mastery, and my “Happiness Triggers – The Album.” I have created a holistic ecosystem for emotional wellness. My goal is to make mindfulness practical, relatable, and accessible by blending science, storytelling, and soul.

What sets me apart is authenticity. I do not just teach resilience; I have lived it. After losing my home in a hurricane, enduring four surgeries in four months, and temporarily losing vision in one eye, I still completed my book, released an album, and continued to inspire others. I learned that ‘purpose does not pause for pain’ and that message is at the heart of everything I do.

My hope is that anyone who encounters my work, whether through a book, a song, a class, or a keynote speech, walks away believing in the possibility of joy again. Happiness is not luck or circumstance. It is a choice we can learn to activate, and that is the mission that continues to drive me every single day.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Other than training or knowledge, the most important ingredient for success in my field is compassion. You can have all the credentials in the world, but if you lack compassion, you’ll never truly connect, heal, or lead.

Compassion is what allows me to sit with someone’s pain without judgment. It’s what bridges the gap between what people feel and what they need. Whether I am teaching a mindfulness workshop, guiding a veteran through recovery, or training a corporate team in emotional intelligence, compassion is always the foundation. It softens resistance and creates trust.

In this work, I often remind people that compassion is not weakness. It is strength under control. It is the ability to see yourself in others and to respond with understanding instead of reaction. It means meeting people where they are, not where we think they should be.

My own journey has taught me that compassion begins inward. I had to learn to be gentle with myself during the storms when I lost my home, when I went through surgeries, and when I temporarily lost my sight. That self-compassion became the light that helped me guide others through their darkness.

When compassion is your compass, your work becomes more than a profession. It becomes a calling. Compassion transforms information into transformation. It turns coaching into connection, and that connection is what changes lives.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Unlearning the Need to Be Strong All the Time

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was the belief that strength means never breaking. For most of my life, I thought I had to be the one who always held it together, the encourager, the helper, the one who stayed calm no matter what. But life has a way of teaching you through experience, not theory.

When I lost my home to a hurricane, went through four surgeries, and temporarily lost sight in one eye, I kept trying to push through as if nothing could touch me. I told myself, “Keep going, stay strong, don’t let anyone see the cracks.” But what I learned in that season and what I write about in Happiness Triggers is that real strength isn’t about pretending to be invincible. It’s about learning to be vulnerable enough to heal.

I had to unlearn the habit of suppressing my emotions and instead allow myself to feel them fully. I had to stop seeing rest as weakness and start viewing it as recovery. Happiness Triggers taught me that joy isn’t found in perfection; it’s found in presence.

The backstory behind that lesson is simple: pain broke me open in the best way possible. It taught me that peace doesn’t come from control; it comes from surrender. Once I let go of the need to be unshakable, I discovered something even more powerful how to be whole.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christianfrazier.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianfrazierelevate
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christianrfrazier.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@christianfrazierelevate

Image Credits

Christian Frazier