Dr. Katie Eastman, Jason, and the Lasting Power of Keeping Your Word
- Matthew Cossolotto
- May 28
- 5 min read
By Matthew Cossolotto
“The Purpose of Life is to Make a Difference.” – Oprah Winfrey
My new book -- Harness Your PromisePower – is about the power of promises to change people’s lives and, ultimately, to transform the world, one person and one promise at a time. In my book and speaking programs, I urge people to turn important goals into heartfelt promises. Why? Because a promise comes from the heart and is backed by strong emotional commitment. You can change a goal. You can abandon a New Year’s Resolution. But you can only break a promise, and most people are reluctant to break their promises.
Harness Your PromisePower – with a foreword by Jack Canfield – contains many promise stories from or about famous people like Oprah Winfrey, Doris Kearns Goodwin, former President Barack Obama, Tony Robbins, John Assaraf, Brendon Burchard, Lisa Nichols, basketball legend LeBron James, and many others. My book also includes dozens of uplifting promise stories from or about people who are not-so-famous, but whose uplifting stories also deserve to be spotlighted.
To inspire others to make what I call “personal empowerment promises,” I’ve created Make a Promise Day (May 4th), the only “holiday” dedicated to personal empowerment, goal achievement, and integrity enhancement. A few weeks ago, on Make a Promise Day 2026, I joined with the authors of The Peace Guidebook (Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino and Dr. Katie Eastman) in making a PeacePromise.
I discovered while recording the “Best Ever You Show” – hosted by Elizabeth and Dr. Katie – that Dr. Katie has a powerful promise story to share with the world. I’m always on the lookout for inspiring promise stories, because I might want to include them in future books about the power of promises. It turns out, Dr. Katie describes her promise story in detail in her book: Uplifting: Inspiring Stories of Loss, Change, and Growth.
For this short article, I’ll only cover the key elements of the promise Dr. Katie made to Jason DeBusk, a young man who taught her many profound life lessons during his four-year battle with cancer, a battle that tragically ended when Jason was only 19 years old.
The best place to begin Dr. Katie’s promise story is with these words: “Jason, the purpose of life is to make a difference, and you already have.” Those words were spoken by Oprah Winfrey in a phone conversation she had with Jason shortly before his passing. In response to Oprah, Jason said: “Thank you. That means a lot to me because that’s what I wanted to do.”
Making a difference meant a great deal to Jason. That’s why he had already asked Dr. Katie to promise to tell his story after his passing. He explained: “You seem to know me and what I think and what’s important to me. I want to inspire others. I have lived longer than anyone thought, and I think it’s because of how I think. Tell others, teach them like I taught you. OK?”
“I promise to try,” Dr. Katie replied.
Dr. Katie writes in her book about the many lessons Jason taught her, lessons that still resonate with her more than thirty years after Jason’s untimely death:
Never give up.
Keep a positive attitude.
Communicate honestly.
Don’t be afraid to cry.
Trust God.
Don’t worry.
Be a fiend to all.
Embrace life.
Make a difference.
Dr. Katie was present during the conversation between Oprah and Jason. As Dr. Katie describes it, Oprah’s keen observation about making a difference had a major impact on Dr. Katie’s life, helping to define her highest purpose. Indeed, just before Jason took his last breath, Katie made him a final promise: “Jason, I will not only tell your story. I will dedicate my life’s work to you.”
Dr. Katie has done just that. She founded The Jason Program. For ten years, the program provided medical care, emotional and spiritual comfort, and help meeting the daily basics of critically ill children and their families. It was Maine’s only comprehensive end-of-life care program for children. Its unique integration of services made it an inspirational model for similar programs nationally and around the world.
Dr. Katie continues to teach, coach and consult others around the world about Jason’s life lessons. “He is still guiding my work every day,” she says. “Jason continues to make a difference. And it was that solemn promise I made more than 30 years ago that started it all.”
The lasting impact of Jason’s life and Dr. Katie’s promise can be seen in this poignant story about Austin, an eight-year-old cancer patient who participated in The Jason Program. Three days before he passed away, Austin told his mother:
“Mom, I have something to tell you, and I hope you tell everyone in the world because it is important… The purpose of life is to make a difference.”
His mother replied: “Austin, how did you know that and I didn’t?”
Austin explained: “You knew it, Mom, when you were little, but you forgot it when you grew up.”
A profound insight from an eight-year-old child, but one who had been exposed to the vital life lessons espoused by Jason and shared widely by the power of Dr. Katie’s promise. This testifies to the power of making a promise. Best-selling author, John Assaraf, said it well: “There is something uniquely powerful about making a promise that goes beyond traditional goal setting.” In the interview he did with me for Harness Your PromisePower, Assaraf made a keen observation: “We are neurologically wired to keep our promises.”
I hope this brief account of Dr. Katie’s promise to Jason inspires others to make and keep heartfelt promises. Dr. Katie’s promise shaped the course of her life in profound ways, and it has made a meaningful difference in the lives of countless others. I urge others to read more about Dr. Katie’s promise and her work on behalf of critically ill children -- like Jason and Austin -- in her book: Uplifting -- Inspiring Stories of Loss, Change, and Growth .
I would welcome stories about promises you’ve made that have changed your life and helped to make a positive difference in the world. Please reach out to me via my website or send me an email (MatthewPromisePower@gmail.com) briefly summarizing your life-changing promise so I can consider publishing your story and possibly including it in any future edition of Harness Your PromisePower.
About the Author
Matthew Cossolotto's personal empowerment trilogy includes the award-winning The Joy of Public Speaking; Harness Your PromisePower; and the upcoming Harness Your HabitForce, which highlights the seven habits of FAILURE and the equal-but-opposite habits of SUCCESS. Matthew’s speechwriting career spans the corridors of power and influence on both sides of the Atlantic. He has worked as a speechwriter for top officials at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Chancellor of UCLA, senior executives of several Fortune 100 corporations, and as a legislative aide to former Congressman Leon Panetta. For more information, please visit www.MatthewCossolotto.com.
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