Guest speaker inspires West Meadow Elementary School students

Chris Koch may have been born with no arms or legs, but that has not stopped him from achieving amazing things from climbing the Calgary Tower to bungee jumping off the end of a bridge.

The motivational speaker was at West Meadow Elementary School on Thursday, April 12, and Stavely Elementary School on April 13, where he shared his story and his philosophy of life.

“Life for mr growing up was normal,” he said.

He grew up on a farm near Nanton where he helped out, and he played baseball, hockey, soccer and more.

Koch is often asked how he copes with his situation.

One way is with a good sense of humour, especially when getting more and more frustrated.

“Try and find the funny in the situation,” he said.

As an example, he cited a joke told when he was born: “Bruce (his father) never finished anything he started.”

He also said his brother refers to him as his half brother.

Another way Koch handles the situation is that he has known no other way. He has never had arms and legs, so he does not know what that feels like.

“This has been my normal my whole life,” he said.

You just figure things out, he added.

He actually wore artificial legs until five or six years ago, until he discovered a long board while in Florida and never looked back.

“I can do anything way better than with any prosthetics,” Koch said.

He talked about his life as a farmer, something he does when he is not speaking.

“It’s not a job people expect a guy with no arms or legs to be doing,” he said.

Yet, he operates all the equipment on the farm as is.

Koch has also drawn a lot of lessons out of life.

Every day may not be great, but there is something great in every day.

Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, he said, focus on what you have.

“You make the most of life and that is a choice,” he said.

Take control of your circumstances instead of passively waiting for them to decide your fate.

“Everyone in this room is capable of doing some awesome things,” Koch said.

If you’re worried about how you look, you’re cheating yourself out of opportunity.

Koch is going sky diving next month, and it does not matter what it looks like to others.

“Be proud of who you are,” he said. “Different is not a bad thing.”

The core of the human spirit comes from new experiences.

Koch urged everyone to try as much as they can.

“Be more afraid of regret than failure,” he said.

He encouraged everyone to keep trying because they will get better.

“I’m not trying to be the best,” he said, of the marathon and tower climbs he’s done.

“I’m always looking for new challenges and new adventures,” he said.

You get out of life what you put into it.

That is why Koch often partners with charities. For instance, part of his appearance at West Meadow was for students and staff to make donations to the food bank.

He said he likes to keep karma moving in a positive direction.

Koch also said if someone puts out positive, they get positive back. They put out negative, they get that back too.

He concluded by saying each and every day is a gift, so make the most of it.