A Personal Note From Orion

We all have moments when we need to transform our pain into power. This episode with ultra-endurance champion Leah Goldstein will show you exactly how to do that!

I was deeply moved by Leah’s incredible journey from a bullied child with physical challenges to becoming a world champion kickboxer at 17 and later winning the world’s toughest race at age 50. Her story of resilience isn’t just inspiring—it’s a masterclass in developing unshakeable mental fortitude.

After doctors told her parents she’d never be an athlete due to her uneven legs and other physical issues, Leah not only proved them wrong but excelled beyond imagination. She became a taekwondo champion, served in the Israeli military, trained commandos, and ultimately conquered Race Across America—a grueling 3,000-mile nonstop cycling race that pushes human endurance to its absolute limits.

What struck me most was how Leah approached devastating setbacks. After a catastrophic crash that left her with facial reconstruction, broken bones throughout her body, and doctors saying she’d never walk properly again, she came back stronger within a year. Her mental approach to recovery reveals practical strategies we can all apply to our own challenges.

Whether facing professional challenges or personal setbacks or simply wanting to strengthen your mental resilience, Leah’s wisdom will give you actionable strategies to build your champion mindset.

Listen now and discover why the most important muscle you need to train isn’t in your body—it’s in your mind. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the show!

In This Episode

• [02:33] – Leah Goldstein shares her background, including being bullied as a child in Canada and her journey into martial arts, which helped her overcome her bullies.
• [11:22] – Leah describes her experiences in the IDF, including training commandos and special units due to her martial arts skills.
• [13:28] – Leah discusses how to embody a champion mindset, including the mental and physical challenges of ultra-endurance racing and the importance of resilience and perseverance.
• [19:10] – Leah recounts her devastating crash in 2005, which left her with severe injuries and doctors predicting she would never walk again.
• [25:22] – Leah highlights the importance of maintaining a positive mindset and not letting negativity hinder progress.
• [43:17] – Leah emphasizes the need for parents to guide their children while allowing them to develop independence and problem-solving skills.
• [46:11] – Leah shares her top tips for living a stellar life.
• [52:41] – Leah shares her own experiences of overcoming challenges and the importance of staying grounded and focused on personal goals.

Jump to Links and Resources

About Today’s Show

Hi, Leah. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much for being here. 

Thanks so much for having me. 

Yeah, I can’t wait for this conversation. We had a little chat just before we began, and I’m like, “Oh, let’s stop. This is too good.” So, maybe you can introduce yourself a little bit. Tell us your story. 

Oh, my goodness. Well, I have a big story. I was made in Israel. I was born in Canada. I was bullied as a kid in school, just being different. I had a lisp, and my legs were uneven. My left leg was growing at a faster rate than my right leg. I had a lot of issues. Doctors told my parents that I’d never be an athlete. So when you’re different in school, you get bullied. That was a big part of the reason why I joined martial arts. I joined taekwondo. I fell in love with the sport. 

I became a national champion by 12 years old. A kickboxing coach discovered me. I was a world champion at 17 years old. Then, I left Canada to join the IDF in Israel when I was 17-18, and then from there, I worked in the police force, and then I discovered cycling in Israel. I did a duathlon. I was a national champion in Israel and then wanted to pursue that. It was kind of like my calling. 

And then, I left the Middle East to pursue a cycling career when I was 30, and I rode for the national team for 10 years. I won many national championships, but I’m most well known for my ultra-endurance transition. I was the first woman in 30 years to win the hardest race in the world, called Race Across America, a 3000-mile nonstop race. But the interesting thing is, I did it when I was 50. 

You look pretty young. That’s amazing.

Thank you. It’s a big story.

Let’s take you back to getting bullied at school. What was the psychology? How did you get yourself to become so strong? 

I know bullying is really tough, and it started for me at a really young age. I had pigtails and braces and a limp and a lisp. My best friend was Matthew, who had red string hair and freckles. Every lunch hour, we get chased by a group of eight boys. I called them the Jason gang, who would just chase us, and we ran every lunch hour. I hated school. I just didn’t like it. And so, back in my time, teachers often said, “You got to figure things out for yourself. You don’t want a tattletale.” 

My father really implemented to my sister and me that when you’re in trouble, you can’t always run to other people, because if you get used to that, one day, you’re going to run, and there’s no one to run to, so you got to figure things out for yourself. So after school, one day, I got one hour of TV. I was flipping through the channels, and I saw this young Asian man fighting 5, 10, 15 people, and I got excited. 

When you’re in trouble, you can’t always run to other people because if you get used to that, you will run one day, and there’s no one to run to.

I go, “My God, I have to learn whatever this guy is doing.” It was Bruce Lee, and he was doing kung fu. I begged my mom for lessons, but we couldn’t find a kung fu studio. We found a Taekwondo studio, a Korean form of self-defense, and then I fell in love with the sport. The bullying stopped at school. I was a national champion at 12 years old. How did the bullying stop? The thing is, with martial arts, I was already physically strong. I ran every lunch hour. 

There was mental strength—much more powerful than physical strength. Confident people stand differently. They act differently, and they react differently to things. There’s a presence about them that’s powerful. That was enough for me to stand up. For one lunch hour, I said to Matthew—I think I was already a blue belt or something, “You know what? We’re not running today.” 

I was done. I was sick of it, so I stood up to Jason and said, “If you want to fight me, today is the day, and I’m going to beat you up.” That’s all that was enough for him just to walk away. Because I think people who bully others are looking for the submissive one, like the dog with its tail between its legs. But once you stand up to them, it changes the dynamics. I was terrified, but I was done running, and I promised myself that day that I would never be in that situation again; as a child, as a teenager, and as an adult, I would never be bullied again. 

I stood by it because it doesn’t just stop at kids. It happens in pre-teens and teens, even as an adult or an older person. I think that was such a significant part of my life that it just stays with me, and I remember how I felt prior to getting this empowerment of, “No way, no one’s going to treat me like that again.” I never got into a fight in my life. I never had to use my skills. It didn’t have to because what I used up here prevented me from getting into these crazy situations.

Yeah, that’s amazing. I got into an abusive relationship, and I ended up in hospital. I promised myself that nobody’s ever gonna touch me like that again. I studied, not for a long time, maybe for three years, MMA and Aikido, and a little bit of Jiu Jitsu. That made a significant part in my recovery because I was a shadow of myself back then, and I just wanted to gain that power and strength through the body, through discipline, and through releasing all the anger. 

I promised myself that day that I would never be in that situation again; as a child, as a teenager, and as an adult, I would never be bullied again.

Even if you get focus pads and punching gloves and just hit it, it’s a release. It’s just like these endorphins are released. It’s a feel-good. There’s something about knowing how to defend yourself that gives you that confidence. Self-defense is a really good way to start. But like I said, nowadays, there’s a lot more support for people who are getting bullied. It’s not tolerated anymore, and it shouldn’t be. But sometimes, you take things into your own hands, right? 

I think it’s night and day once you’ve gotten to that point where you’re saying, “Enough is enough.” Enough in a good way, not for self-harm, but to empower yourself and go, “This is not gonna let that happen. There’s no way.” I think a lot of times it’s up to you or the parent to help the child or the adult or whatever. But it’s not okay, and be verbal too. People who bully are not praised anymore because it’s a sign of weakness. People who are bullying other people is a sign of weakness and cowardness. It’s not something praised.

You won all those championships, and then you decided to leave in the comfort of your home and come to Israel.

I knew I would do that when I was five or seven. I never told anyone, “Oh, my family is in Israel.” We immigrated when I was in the oven. My sister was two. My parents were very young. My dad was a sailor, so he docked in Vancouver. He thought it would be easier to come back to Canada, and eventually, they would go back, but that didn’t happen. We would go every summer to Israel, and I knew my family members were involved in something secretive, which was intriguing to me. 

I didn’t know what it was, but it was something that I felt like I was meant to do, and I realized, “You know, you’re fantasizing about James Bond or whatever, and you think that feeling diminishes as you get older.” But for me, it only intensified. I wanted to go even more. So, after I won the world championship in kickboxing, I was a world champion.

That’s amazing. 

I left Canada, and I had a lot of opportunities after that. They wanted to make believe it or not. Have you heard of The Karate Kid movie? They wanted to make a female version of the Karate Kid. There were producers, and they were eyeing me. This was kind of in the talks. I have the letter from Paramount, and I said, “No, that wasn’t my calling.” I wasn’t an actress. I didn’t want to do something like that. I was very shy, and I had a mission. So, I left Canada and joined the Israel Defense Force. 

Wow, you have a very strong set of values. I love that. I actually studied acting in New York City, wanting to get that part you didn’t want.

Well, I did. It was funny. I did films because my coach was from China. His goal was just to use that as a title. He didn’t want me to be a kickboxer. He wanted me to use that as a title and make films in China. I did one commercial, and it was just ridiculous. They would dub my voice. I said, “This is not for me. This is not what I was meant or born to do.” 

Let’s go to the IDF time. What did you learn about what being in the service did to you? Because I know it changed me. I came in as a careless, selfish teenager and left differently. What was it like for you? 

It takes a child, and it turns them into a strong adult. I remember going on the bus, and the girls were crying, and I was so excited. As soon as they closed the doors, all were disciplined. But it’s good to put you through those tough times. I think every country should have a military. I think our kids are too bored. That’s where they get into trouble. 

The military is so good because it teaches you self-confidence, skills that everybody should learn, and they also focus on what you’re good at. If you want to be a doctor or dentist or whatever, you can still do it, but you can do your service as a dentist or doctor in this service, and then when you’re released, you have a skill. I wanted to do more secretive stuff because I wasn’t born in Israel. Mind you, I had to vote. I volunteered for the service. 

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It was a little bit different. I ended up being in Mona Buchanan, which is behind Wingate. I was in Madashi, and I was an instructor for the COVID division. The commander there saw me, so I actually trained Commandos in special units because of my skill as a kickboxer. I had not only kickboxing skills, I had taekwondo. My dad was a professional boxer, so he taught me boxing skills. The instructor there taught me some Jiu-Jitsu. We combined lots of different forms of self-defense. That’s how Krav Maga was created. We trained many other soldiers in different scenarios, and it was a great experience.

What do you think it takes to have that champion mindset? No matter how old you are, you just keep winning. How do you do that? What’s the mindset? How can I get some of that?

Well, we focus too much on the winning. My mother instilled in me that even when I’ve done a lot of things, even when I didn’t succeed or didn’t win, let’s say I came in second or last, the only time you fail is when you quit, even if you aim to do something and it’s not the outcome that you want, like say you’re planning for a race. Then you end up coming in second to last. The point is you made it to that finish line. My parents were equally proud of me. 

Whatever you do, the point is getting to that finish line because during that experience, you learn about the things you did wrong, and then you’ll come back and always be better. You can perfect it. Failure is part of learning, and it’s part of winning. The focus is what the result is. It should be more of a journey to get there because you are going to have fallbacks. That’s really important. 

We put so much pressure on ourselves, especially doing something for the first time, that we have to be super great at whatever we’re doing. I always say the first time you do something is a learning experience. The second time, it’s a racing experience, for a unique experience. So I think the pressure is always too much that we put on ourselves, and also we look for validation too much from outside our kind of aura, like from your friends, family, or spouse, and then if they don’t encourage you, it’s almost like, “Ah, maybe I shouldn’t do it.” 

I don’t care what it takes when I go into a race or speak. I’m gonna get there, and I’m gonna put a lot of things on the shelf.

You start to doubt yourself. It’s self-doubt. The strength that comes within is you don’t need validation from anyone else. You have to start with first being your biggest support system, and that’s you and not expecting it from other people. How do you support yourself? Well, how badly do you want it? If you wanted something that bad, are you willing to sacrifice your luxuries on the way there? It’s a matter of how much you want. 

When I go into a race or speak, I don’t care what it takes. I’m gonna get there, and I’m gonna put a lot of things on the shelf. For example, when I was training for the hardest race in the world, Race Across America, there were no phones, friends, family, or whatever, and my personal life was put on a shelf. I narrowed in on that one thing. But those sacrifices are worth the payoff at the end, and that’s really important. It’s harder as you’re younger, too. 

For example, when I was a child aiming to be the world champion in kickboxing, I didn’t have friends, parties, or good times. I trained thrice a day and had to be home because I had no time. I trained three times a day, seven days a week. My coach didn’t give me any time off. So that’s my sacrifice from 13 years old till 17. That was my life. I was so structured, but I ended up being an undefeated champion. 

I was a provincial champion, a North American champion, and a two-time Canadian champion, and at 17 years old, I was an undefeated champion of the world. But that’s what it took; it was lasering in. I also knew as a teenager that good friends, family, and parties will always be around, but unique and special opportunities won’t. I understood that as a child, it was my passion. This is what I wanted to do. 

You have to have tunnel vision till you get there, and then you can have celebrate and fun. But whatever you do, you have to really put it on paper and look, “This is what it’s going to take for me to get there.” And also put on paper. What happens if things start to go south? How are you going to correct it? I think you have to be a realist, and whatever you choose to do despite the sacrifices, it will be a roller coaster ride. You’re not always going to go this way; it’s going to go this way, and then it’ll go up, right? So be prepared for that.

Well, I think it’s funny because I never thought I’d want to speak in a million years. I never felt comfortable in front of large groups. I have a really good friend who was holding an event, and she begged me to do it, and I only did it because I really liked her. I said, “Okay, because you’re my good friend.” It was a big presentation. It was a place called Grand Prairie up north, -100 there in the winter. 

You have to be a realist; whatever you choose to do despite the sacrifices, it will be a roller coaster ride.

It was for women. I did my presentation. I told them more about the struggles of young women and teenagers and then more about my demographic. The feedback I was getting was insane. I had people weeks later coming up. There’s something you said that I just needed to hear. Being responsible for helping others get through a difficult time, bringing clarity, or helping them achieve a goal was something I had never felt before doing anything else. 

How do you think this translates into your business life as a speaker and everything you do today? 

So never say never and never be afraid to try new things, especially the stuff that makes you feel the most uncomfortable, because you never know where it will lead you. Because of that, I said, “It’s worth the nerves, and I still get nervous. I hate it.” For me, I get more doing that than anything else. But I think sometimes you just need to hear somebody else’s struggle to help your own. I wasn’t gifted as a cyclist. It took me 10 years to finally reach where I wanted. 

I started at 30, and the federation told me, “You’re way past your prom; you’re 30 years old. You’re an old lady for the sport.” They say it’ll never happen. It didn’t happen till I was humiliated at 36, and a director commented that I was wasting my time and couldn’t climb. That triggered something in me, saying, “I’m gonna prove to them what I can do.” I came back the following season at 37-38, being one of the best riders in the world. 

I was untouchable, and it was a matter of what happened upstairs. You can look at my profile. That’s what it was. I had the best years on the bike, and after a deadly crash in 2005, I had the mother of all crashes. I landed on my face at 85 kilometers an hour, and I ripped all my teeth. My lips were ripped off. I had facial surgery. I was in a wheelchair. I broke every single bone in my body. It was in VELO news. 

It was considered one of the worst crashes in the sport’s history. I was at the top of my career. Finally, after eight years and bang, I lost it in 30 seconds. It was a crash in Bend, Oregon. I’m bed-bound, and the doctor said that I would never come out of it. That was my fate, that I’d never walk again that well. If I walked, it would be with a walker or a cane. When I’m talking about this, your soul came here to make some huge corrections. 

I came out of that crash in less than a year, becoming stronger and winning even more races. I had the best years on the bike at the ages of 39, 40, 41 and 42, despite what I was told 10 years earlier. I was too big, I was too small, I was way too old, I was softer, and I was a grandmother. 

That’s amazing. How did you recover? 

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I had worked eight years to get to this point, and all of a sudden, it was taken away from me. I had one person, one doctor, telling me it was done. There was no way I had unfinished business in the sport. I made a promise to myself that I don’t care how long it takes, the kind of pain I’m going to get there, I’m going to get back on the bike, I’m going to race again, and I’m going to come back even stronger than I did before this all happened. 

As soon as I made that declaration to myself, I started my recovery right there and then, and the only thing I could do at that point was contract my abs. I was bedbound. I couldn’t do anything else, but every day, I did something today that I couldn’t do the day before. And believe me, being in that positive mode, I could feel my body starting to bind. I know this sounds hokey pokey, but I think the mind is a really powerful thing. 

All I did was visualize myself getting back on the bike. Doctors were floored at how fast I was recovering, and that’s all I did. I didn’t let the negativity eat at me because you know how stress will cause cancer, and negativity will stop you from doing anything. I didn’t let anything enter these years that I didn’t want to hear, and I think that was a big part of my recovery. How did your family and friends react? They were horrified. 

I remember the look on my mom’s face. This is all sewn back on. My teeth were all cracked, broken, or gone. I had major facial surgery. If you go to my website, you can see the pictures of the crash and my presentations. I show my both arms were broken. All my fingers were cracked. My ribs were cracked, and both my legs were broken. It was like taking a pretzel and stepping on it, that’s the intensity. I wasn’t really a spring chicken. I was in my 30s. 

I wasn’t gifted as a cyclist. It took me 10 years to finally reach where I wanted.

I’ve always been really healthy. I’ve always been very fit. I always cared about my diet. I never smoked as a kid, never drank, and never did drugs. I’m not saying that’s the sole reason, but it was a big part of how quickly I recovered. The hardest part for somebody like you was to see the reflection from your loved ones, the way they look at you, pity you, and worry about you.

How do you handle that? 

My parents have always been a huge support system. The look on my mother’s face was enough for me to understand that it wasn’t good. They wouldn’t put a mirror in front of my face because it was that horrific. I remember my sister wheeling me out one day because I just wanted to get some fresh air. We went into an elevator, and a little kid came in and started to cry, couldn’t look at me, and I went, “Okay, I must not look there.” That’s how bad it was. 

I was a bit self-conscious. I asked my sister, “Could you just put a hoodie on me?” People were staring. They were trying not to make it obvious, but they were staring. That’s how bad it was. Your loved ones are worried about you. They don’t know what to do. But my mom was always supportive and said, “You know what, I have no doubt you’ll get back on the bike.” Even though later on, she thought, “There was no way you’re getting back on the bike.” 

But she didn’t tell me that. Even in the cycling community, I went to Richmond, where many cyclists ride. It’s just a flat piece of road, and I would have my mother drop me off there when I was in my wheelchair. I would wheel down this stretch of road where many cyclists would see me and wave to me, and they thought that was my fate, that I’d come out of the wheelchair eventually, but I wouldn’t get back on the bike. 

That’s incredible. When you get those responses from people who heard you speak, how do you think you changed their lives? Or how did they tell you they changed their lives?

Well, your possibilities are endless once you put your mind to it and don’t accept negativity. I wouldn’t accept it. When somebody says you don’t have a talent for something, I proved that you don’t need a gift to excel in anything you choose to do because there’s a gift we all have, and it’s called ‘The Gift of Work.’ To succeed in anything, you don’t have to be gifted. I just knew how to work hard that way. 

It was the biggest gift that we all have, not just me. It’s that gift that we don’t utilize enough. That’s really important. No matter your situation, if you’re determined to get to wherever you’re getting to, it is possible, and it’s a matter of you and only you to get there.

Well, if somebody’s listening to you right now and they’re like, “Well, that sounds really nice, Leah, but you’re special, you’re a world champion. This is something that you have. You can accomplish those goals. I don’t think I can.” What would you tell them?

I’m not special in anything I choose to do as a cyclist. I had a talent for martial arts. I excelled, really good. But when I went into cycling, I went from winning races and even in Israel, I was great. I was one of the best soldiers, breaking records and whatnot. I go into the sport I am passionate about, and this pattern of success will transition into cycling. I went into this sport, would go into these races, and would come in last. 

I wouldn’t even know where the finish line was. I’d see a car, an empty parking lot going, “Okay, this must be it because that car was mine,” and it wasn’t just one or two years. I was a laughingstock in the sport. Even my teammates were saying, “Maybe you should reconsider and just race—because I was trying to race in the pro level—H category, and at least to be able to race,” because I would get dropped if the race would start, and I’d be so far behind, I wouldn’t even know where to go. 

I made a promise to myself that I don’t care how long it takes, I’m going to get back on the bike, I’m going to race again, and I’m going to come back even stronger than I did before this all happened.

That’s how bad it was. It was a really hard time because I had left something I was so good at in the Middle East for something that I was so terrible at, but I loved it so much, and that’s what I’m saying. It took me eight years to get to that point where I dominated the sport, and the transition happened when I was publicly humiliated. It was such a hard criticism that it made me feel this big when I said, “Ah, I remembered the bullying in elementary school. There’s a gift of work. I will show them exactly who I am and what I can do.” 

It was transitioning and saying that you won’t work twice as hard as your competitor. If this is what you want, you’re working three times as hard as your competitors. That’s exactly what I did. I came back the following season; I dropped about 12 pounds because weight is a big factor in climbing. I hired a climbing coach. I moved to a more hilly part of Canada called Vernon, where I’m in the Rockies. 

I married the mountain to the ski resort, and I climbed that freaking thing every day, twice, three times a day, and I came back the following season, not only winning hilly races but setting new records. That was one year prior to my crash. I know I wasn’t gifted. I thought I was gifted because I was a big fish in a small pond in Israel when I was racing. There weren’t a lot of competitors. I’m a shrimp in an ocean when I come to North America. 

But it took work, and it took me seven years to get there. It was a hard seven years, but that’s what it takes when you want something that bad. What are you willing to do to get there? But what about personal life? What about time with friends? It’s funny because with what I do, especially with ultra-endurance racing, you’re surrounded by people like you. So there’s not a lot of us. I didn’t have a big social life. I didn’t have time because I was always training. 

But that’s what made me feel alive. I wasn’t a big party person. I wasn’t great around a lot of people. I’m a person who has one or two really good friends, and then that’s how I am. Also, the people surrounding me are not these high-maintenance friends who expect me to call them daily. I have had great friends all over the United States for years. I talk to them once a year, but when we talk, we talk like we’ve spoken every single day. 

It wasn’t super important the whole social aspect of it. I think it was being surrounded by people with the things that I do, and that’s kind of how I am, is people that do the things that I love, but those are the people that I hang in with, that I like to be around with, and my family. My best friend is my mother. She will be and always will be. I speak with her daily, being around my father, sister, and two dogs. So, that’s enough fulfillment. 

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That’s great. What’s your routine every day now? What’s the next goal? What do you do to go there? You probably have another new goal because you’re not satisfied if you don’t accomplish it.

Well, I am on the speaking circuit. When I came out of retirement and turned 50, I had a film crew follow me through Race Across America, coming back, what it takes, and whatnot. JRB, a big production company in Los Angeles, picked up the film. Hopefully, they’re pitching the film to sell it, which they have a tentative deal. So we’re focusing on that. And then last year, I did my first unsupported race of 7000 kilometers because I’ve always done races where I have a crew of nine people. 

I actually won the race. I still won it. But I was unhappy with my time, so I will try to do that race again. It’s called Trans Am, and it starts in Astoria, Oregon, and ends in Yorktown, Virginia. So, smarter than I told you. The first time was a learning experience, and the second time was a racing experience. My focus is to really try, maybe, hopefully, set a record. 

How long does it take to do a race like that? 

The record is 18 days for the women and 17 for the men. I did it in 20 days. I’m hoping to knock out two days. I had a lot of mechanical issues because I couldn’t have any help. I can’t call anybody I know for food, navigation, or booking motels. I have to do everything on my own. So, imagine that you’re on a bike. You’re carrying an extra 35 pounds and can’t be too heavy because you want to ride fast. And if something goes south, like any mechanical issues, you have to fix it: food, gas station, etc. You have to do everything on your own. It’s quite challenging going across the country. I’m riding through the night many times, and it’s not always safe, especially as a woman. 

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. That sounds so scary. 

I know, but actually, on the bike, I don’t look like a woman. I’m hooded. I look like a mad boy or man. I’m not in my pigtails, flying out if you have short hair. There’s a risk to everything. So far, I’ve had no issues, but that’s the goal. It’s to do TransAmerica again this year.

How much do you sleep during the race, and how much do you eat? 

The first night, I tried to ride straight for about 45 hours without sleep, and then I tried about three hours every 24 hours because it’s a long way at 7000 kilometers.

How is that humanly possible? 

Are you an alien? No, I can’t tell racers to race when I do races. It is 90 minutes of sleep and then little power naps of eight minutes because there are sleep cycles you don’t want to hit. The REM cycle of the super deep sleep. So, you don’t get delusional when people don’t sleep so much. 

Do you get hallucinations in the middle of the race? 

Yes. Especially in Race Across America, I have a crew of nine people, so they can navigate me a little bit better. In this race, I know when I’m hallucinating when I see things or objects or whatever. 

What kind of hallucinations did you have? It’s insane. 

Ultra-endurance racing is 20% physical and 80% mental—your body follows where your mindset leads. Share on X

The most scary ones were in Race Across America. I was on 90 minutes of sleep, and it was eight days in, and I was riding, I think it was two o’clock in the morning, and I saw a big black leopard jump at me, and I veered over to the other side of the road. And then all of a sudden, I saw King Kong floating in the air. You start to learn how to navigate your hallucinations better by not looking around too much because everything you see is something that’s not there. 

I would just look on the road, see small characters, and not look anywhere. That’s funny. Once you start looking too much, everything becomes a hallucination. Big rocks turn into monsters. You see things that are just not there. I got better at learning how to navigate them. Then, in TransAmerica, the race that I’m on my own, you have to be careful, because I have to be coherent enough to learn because I have to navigate. 

I have to understand that if I get to the point where my brain is no longer functional, I have to stalk and rest, so that might need sleeping in a ditch for 30 minutes, 15 minutes, or 10 minutes. There’s a science to it. You have to be responsible enough to realize that it can be very dangerous. When I talk about danger, last year, I did another ultra race called the Hoodoo 500. I was very ill prior to racing. 

I got a cold, and I didn’t sleep for three days prior. Going through the night, I was starting to doze off, and I actually fell asleep on the bike. I veered over to the other side of the road, hit the barrier, and flipped in the air. That’s how it can be very dangerous. That was a wake-up call for me. Anytime I get to that point, I rest for 10 minutes. Your brain thinks when you wake up out of a 10-minute nap, your brain thinks, “Well, I just had a nice eight-hour sleep.” It’s night and day. 

How much sleep do you get every day on racing or nonracing? 

On nonracing days, I get about from five to seven. 

Oh, like an average.

But when I’m training, though, I do a lot of sleep deprivation training. I’ll go through the night or sleep 90 minutes because I want my body to know how to respond to that kind of stress, and I also want to know what I go through and how to navigate it. It’s important to train under the extreme conditions you will face. During races, I replicate what I’m training and what I’m going to go through when I race, so it’s not so foreign, and I know how to handle it. 

In ultra-endurance racing, the playing field with men is very even because it’s not a physical; it’s a mental game. That’s why in many ultra-endurance races, not only in cycling but in running, women are winning overall. I won two or three overall because it’s a matter of how strong you are upstairs and how you can navigate that. In Race Across America, when you’re so sleep deprived and so tired, you’re gonna experience every element of pain you can think of, back, neck, knee, constipation, diarrhea, swelling, and you’re just gonna be happy, you’re gonna be sad, you’re gonna be excited, you’re gonna be mad, you’re gonna go through your brain. It’s like you have bipolar disorder. You have to learn how to navigate that, and your crew must also learn how to navigate you during those episodes. That’s why I say it’s 20% physical and 80% mental in ultra-endurance racing. 

Is this type of extreme training good or bad for your brain?

I have an off-season where I don’t do it. I enjoy not riding for about three or four months out of the year. I like to run and hike. I live in Canada, so it’s bloody cold here. It’s minus 16 outside right now, so I think, like, taking a break from it and just realizing that it is something you don’t do all the time, but when you do it, as you know, I think just doing one or two races a year is not going to hurt you. It’ll make you stronger. 

When you do something like that, you realize what the human body can do. It gives you this empowerment to go, “Wow, look what I just did.” For me, it’s a physical thing. It’s also something that I really love to do, which is really push myself beyond my limits. So, if I can still do it, I will do it.

You’re probably going to do it well into your 90s, maybe the oldest person. That’s amazing. That’s very inspiring. Somebody who doesn’t do all those ultra races, like me, what are some tips on getting into the mindset, getting your body in shape, getting into that discipline? You said, like for you, it’s a nonnegotiable. It’s how badly you want it. But what if I don’t want to? I want it that badly, and I want to enjoy my life, but I want to get fitter and stronger. How can I change my mindset, train more, be more disciplined, and eat better? 

I think people can’t relate to what I do, but I think they can relate to the journey of getting there and how you get started. For me, running your 5k and just finishing is equivalent to winning Race Across America. That feeling of, “Yes, I did it. I did the work and got there, so it doesn’t matter.” That’s where you start. I think it’s baby steps. We’re always afraid to come out of our comfort zone. We’re so afraid that something will happen or whatever. 

Sometimes, you have to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

But sometimes, you have to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I think that’s a good start. I think once you do it, just say, “I’ll do it this time, and I’ll never do it again.” That’s what I say whenever I’m racing Race Across America. Then, two weeks later, “It was so much fun. I want to do it again.”

I really like that tiger and gorilla that showed up in my way.

Yeah. But I’m just saying, even with other people who want to do small things, not necessarily in athletic fields, in anything you choose to do, if you’re going to start a small business or whatever. I think the thing is, stop talking about it and start doing it. I think we often say things that do not make any sense. We’re not saying anything. We’re just making noise—all bark and no bite. I think the action part is more important than the verbal part. That’s a start. What do you have to lose? 

Do you really want to have regrets when you’re 80, 90, or 100? Or sitting in your death bed saying the words, “I wish,” or “What if?” That was a big thing with me and my grandmother; she got cancer at 60, and she so badly didn’t want to die. I remember the last time I saw her, she was like a big Babu star, Russian, 200 pounds to 90 pounds. She was like shaking her finger. 

I’m saying you never, ever want to be sitting on your deathbed saying the words, “I wish, or what if.” It’s a one-time deal. Those are powerful words you don’t want to be. I’m getting older myself. I’m in my mid-50s now. I don’t want to have any regrets. I don’t want to say, “I should have done that.” Just do it, because you will have regrets. Remember, you only regret the things you haven’t done, not the things that you do.

I love that. So, I guess taking action is what builds confidence. What other things do you think build confidence? 

Just doing small things, like doing little tasks, is really important. And question why you think you can’t do it. If you look at really successful people, you always hear the end game but don’t hear about their journey to get there. Some of them were homeless. They had nothing. They’ve been their cars. It’s crazy. My story is nothing compared to other people, but you only see them on the pedestal because that’s why we’re so attracted to return to where they started. 

Stop looking at the end game and start looking at where it starts. That’s one way of starting your journey.

That’s what inspires and motivates people to do things on their own. Some people got there, and they don’t have special talents or gifts or whatever. They just wanted it that badly. That’s where you have to start: stop looking at the end game and start looking at where it starts. That’s one way of starting your own journey.

I’m looking at the younger generation, teenagers, young kids, my son, everything is instant. Amazon is pretty instant. You get the delivery the next day. It depends on where you are. I’m getting the delivery three weeks later, but it is still quite fast. I can think about it, and it appears on my doorstep. Everything is so quick. Everybody’s so successful, everybody’s so beautiful, everything’s so instant. How do you educate young people or kids to have this view of taking action, being patient, and all that good stuff?

That’s a tough one because of technology. How many times do you go to a bus station or anywhere, and there are people on their phones or gaming or whatever? It takes out the quality of what it takes to succeed and the hard work of getting somewhere that $1 doesn’t fall from a tree. You have to work hard at things. You must start young. When you work hard, this is what you get. This is the end game. We coddle our kids too much. We don’t teach them to be strong. We want to jump on anything that goes south. 

You want to protect them too much. That’s a recipe for disaster. Let them fail. Let them figure things out for themselves, and let them realize too that things don’t fall off trees. So you have to work hard to get to anywhere you want to get to. It’s harder in this generation, but it starts when you’re at a younger age. If I had young kids, I wouldn’t let them sit on their phones for three hours. No way. You’ll do something creative with your mind and body and then get the phone. 

It starts when you know you’re really young, and it’s hard to change that when you’re so used to something. That’s a really hard one, but that’s where things have gone south—the creativity. I remember when I was a kid, my mom would make me play outside till it was dark, and I came back inside the bike and be creative with things and activities. We didn’t have technology like today, so it’s tough. But I think just turning off the phone, turning off the computer, and really grounding yourself back in nature is a good start. Teaching your kids what it takes to be the best at anything you choose to do. Succeeding starts with hard work and many sacrifices. Things don’t come quickly. That’s not reality. That’s fantasy.

Oh, my goodness, I’m struggling with that. I want to protect my little one from the world. 

But what about when they’re 15? What about when they’re 20? Then, they won’t have the tools to protect themselves. You want to guide them. Don’t just let them do whatever. You want to guide them, but let them do it themselves. I know it’s really hard, but that’s what you like. That’s how my dad did it with my sister and I. When we were bullied, Iris, my sister, got beat up in high school, and he just said, “Figure it out, figure it out. You can’t come running to me every time something goes south. You can do it. I’m here to support you, but you do the core work of it, and I’ll guide you, but you do it, not me.” 

That’s really important with anything you choose to do with your kids. Passing that on is really hard because I know you want to protect your kid but think about it. Are you protecting your child? Are you giving them the skills they need to be strong, independent individuals, boy or girl, it doesn’t matter, right? You have to think that way. You’re always going to be the loving parent, but you also have to be the smart and realistic parent. I want my kids to be strong and independent and never be in a situation where they won’t know what to do.

I agree. One of the most challenging things I’ve done was the Tough Mudder. Do you know that race? It’s a mud race. I did it with a team, and it was wonderful. I remember finishing the race. I had bruises all over, and I felt so good about myself. I wish I was in that shape today. I want to go back. I need you in my life. Do you remember the feeling you had when you finished? 

It was a feeling of euphoria. 

I remember freezing because it was 30 degrees outside. Our first obstacle was the Chernobyl jacuzzi, like a bath of ice water. You have to go inside, run in this call, and get wet in the cold. There is this photo of the finish line with my team and all those very tough people. They all smile as much as possible because everything sticks to you. I couldn’t even take my shirt off. It was wet and cold and sticky. They’re trying to smile. It’s a funny photo. Yeah, yeah. 

I know. It’s great. 

Whenever you do something out of your comfort zone, some magic happens. I remember training for it and running in Central Park in New York. It was really cool.

Keep that photo, and it’ll give you flashbacks and memories. That photo itself could give you motivation. 

They give you this orange headband. I was so proud of that. I still have the shirt today. What are your three top tips for living a stellar life?

Oh, my goodness. Well, for one, I think it is loving yourself, and when you wake up in the morning, it is asking yourself, “Am I happy?” That’s important. Then, surround yourself with good people who are positive, who love you, and will support you.

What if you wake up and think, “I’m not happy.”

Then you have to fix it. Ask yourself, “Why aren’t you happy? Why don’t you love life?” When you wake up in the morning, it’s got to be a good day. It doesn’t have to be the best day ever. This has to be a pretty good day. And if you ask, “Are you happy?” Then you need to change it. My grandmother’s words are too tough. “Life is short. Live every day like it’s our last.” I think that’s really important, especially as you get older. It’s the people you surround yourself with. If you’re with somebody who brings you down, you feel bad. You don’t want to be around them. You have to remove yourself from that because it will never get better. It’ll just get worse.

The thing with this question is when I’m thinking, “Why am I not happy?” People like you have more of a champion mindset and will go to owning their stuff. I’m unhappy because I’m not doing this, this and this. Which includes me, or I used to be, but not that anymore. It’s like I trained myself. It’s easy to go to, especially when you are unhappy and have low vibration, “It’s the world’s fault. It’s the government. It’s this guy who got elected. The neighbor did that.” 

There is a separation between people who take ownership of their misery and try to lift themselves and those who are like, “Oh, this question is perfect.” It’s just to find out why I’m depressed that I had nothing to do with it. How do you do that switch in mindset? 

You can’t blame others because you’re responsible for your destiny.

I think it’s an excuse. I know I speak to a high-risk youth group that they have come from terrible backgrounds—abuse, neglect, and whatnot. But your past does not dictate your future, and that’s up to you. I think it’s just a form of laziness, of when you’re making excuses for why your life isn’t good, and you just want pity from other people, which will never happen. People don’t like to pity other people. 

They may pat you on the back, but you’re not looked upon, and you’ll lose those friends or that support system. You can’t blame others because you’re responsible for your destiny. As I said, whatever happened in the past does not dictate your future, and you can use that as strength for any negativity that happened to you in your past. You can use that as power to help others and get yourself through it. Never repeat it. When you’re in that situation and blaming the world and whatnot, you’re lazy and just looking for an excuse for why you’re in that position. That’s great to use.

It’s also conditioning. I think it’s also with the younger generation, with all the social media, all the keyboard warriors. There’s a lot of bullying that’s happening there. I think this is the word commiserating around the quarantine. I am for whatever the quarantine is, and I will put the flag or whatever the quarantine is. I’m a part of that tribe, and we’re all victims of our reality, so we support the current thing. Sometimes, it’s not about laziness; it’s about gaining love, respect, and connection by being a victim of something. 

We’re like sheep. We like to follow. The angle that you’re getting to is negativity when you’re in certain groups that you don’t understand. You get support from them. But really, it’s negative support. You’re getting angry, and you’re getting whatever to fill, avoiding yourself that you’re getting from someone else rather than yourself. 

I think many people protest or whatever, but they don’t even know what they’re protesting or following a group of people they don’t even know. All they are doing is getting attention. Like I said, we’re sheep. We like to follow it’s a big group. And if that’s what it takes, you’ll get nowhere. You’ll end up getting right back down to where you started from. If that’s what you’re looking for, that’s not the way to go. 

You have to surround yourself with people who serve positivity.

You need to educate yourself first, who you’re getting around with, and anything involving negativity, lying, or hatred that makes you feel good. How is that right? That doesn’t make you feel good? You’re just becoming one of them. You’re becoming somebody who hates, and if that’s what fills your void, then you have some issues. You gotta surround yourself with people who serve something positive. 

They don’t chant hatred or whatever in negativity, and that’s the difference. But we like to follow. Like I said, anything negative, you get a big following. You take out one of those individuals and put them by themselves. They don’t even know what the hell they’re doing exactly. It’s just that camaraderie of, “Oh my god, people screaming and yelling and they’re patting you on the back.” They’re only patting on the back. 

They’re using you because you’re just adding numbers to something stupid; it’s negative. As I said, we like to follow too much but take yourself out of whatever group, and you know, when you’re doing something good and when something’s bad, ask yourself, “What’s the purpose of this?” And if this is who you really are. 

I think for most people, the point is getting that influence from that negativity, that, “Oh, my God, it just fills a void that I can’t fill myself, and I’m getting praise from these coward people,” or whoever it is, and it’s making me feel good for no reason. It’s just another direction to hitting rock bottom again, and that’s exactly what you’ll end up with. You’ll hit rock bottom.

Wow, that’s a great point. It just takes a moment of awareness to ask, “Why am I even doing this? Are these really my thoughts? Are there specific, collective thoughts? Am I doing this for love and connection? Does it enhance my life? Does it fill my heart with joy and happiness? Will I get something out of it at the end of the day? Am I gonna get my goals met? I’m gonna make my life better?” That’s amazing. You just need that split moment of self-reflection to release yourself from that hallucination. It’s a hallucinator. 

It’s just being influenced by the wrong people, crowd, message, or whatever. Ask yourself, “What am I contributing to the cause? How is this helping the situation? Why do these people really want me to be here? What’s the purpose? How am I contributing productively to this situation? Am I just here to make noise, make loudness, and go crazy?” And I think again, it depends on who you surround yourself with. 

Ask yourself who these people are, what their motivation is, and what the big picture is. What do they see? Is this something that you want to be part of? I think we’re such young people; we’re so influenced. Look at all the demonstrations that are happening. Have two people who don’t know what they’re demonstrating. No idea. But we’re like the crowd, the yelling, like hatred. 

It gives us adrenaline when we’re chanting and getting mad and spewing stuff from our mouths and we don’t even know what we’re doing, and that’s an issue, and that’s a problem, and that starts with somebody who has zero confidence that are really at the bottom of the barrel. They don’t care about themselves; they don’t care about how they look, and this hatred just influences them. That’s a hard one because good people don’t do that, and it’s hard to transition that right; it’s like cults and stuff. It’s going off-topic here, but the cult is the same. You’re so brainwashed into believing something that’s so not true and so bad that you’ve completely lost control of your own identity.

Yeah, people do that because it fulfills the Maslow Hierarchy of needs. People are looking for variety. There’s a lot of variety. People look for certainty. There’s a lot of certainty in that. People are looking for contribution, love, and connection. There is a false sense of that in those gatherings, demonstrations, whatever, absolutely because they are meeting their needs in a very shallow way that takes them away from their actual goals and dreams.

Yeah, exactly. It deters you from doing anything productive. You’re just wasting minutes, hours, and seconds doing nothing.

Life is pressure, and then you know that very well, and so much in your life, and you overcome so much. So, thank you for that. Thank you for your story, love and light, for all the good you’re doing in the world, and for being this inspiration for all of us. Thank you so much. 

Thank you. I appreciate it. It was a great hour. 

And, oh, where can people find you? 

On my website, leahgoldstein.com. You can follow me and what I’m doing on Facebook or Instagram.

Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you, listeners. Remember to follow your heart, love yourself, surround yourself with good people, follow your dreams, and have a stellar life. This is Orion till next time.

Your Checklist of Actions to Take

{✓ } Stand up to bullies with confidence. Even if you’re afraid, project confidence through your posture and attitude.

{✓ } Become your own biggest support system first. Don’t look externally for validation. You have to start by believing in yourself.

{✓ } Focus on the journey rather than just the win. Whether you win or lose, focus on reaching the finish line and learning from the experience.

{✓ } Learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Step outside your comfort zone regularly. This helps build mental fortitude and reveals capabilities you didn’t know you had.

{✓ } Sacrifice luxuries when pursuing ambitious goals. Ask yourself, “How badly do I want it?” and be willing to put aside less important things. 

{✓ } Train under extreme conditions to prepare for challenges. Practice the difficult scenarios you might face. 

{✓ } Take responsibility for your destiny. Avoid blaming external factors for your situation. Remember, your past does not dictate your future.

{✓ } Practice daily self-reflection. Ask yourself each morning, “Am I happy?” If not, identify why and take action to change it rather than accepting unhappiness as normal.

{✓ } Surround yourself with positive, supportive people who share your values. Remove yourself from relationships with people who bring you down, as these situations rarely improve over time.

{✓ } Connect with Leah Goldstein through her website at leahgoldstein.com or follow her on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about her ultra-endurance racing, speaking engagements, and inspiring story of overcoming incredible obstacles.

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About Leah Goldstein

Leah Goldstein is an international speaker and ultra-endurance athlete who volunteers time to encourage women and youth. Her Self-defense training equips them with the necessary skills to defend themselves and even save their lives. Leah supports At Risk Youth Boys and Girls Clubs. She shares her story of perseverance and commitment to accomplish your dreams and goals, even in the face of hardship and danger.

Leah’s personal memoir, “No Limits,” sweeps its readers into the mind of a champion – battling bullies, sexism, terrorism and the fear of a merely ordinary existence.