meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The School of Greatness

The Mindset That Turned Losing Both Legs Into a Paralympic Medal | Amy Purdy

The School of Greatness

Lewis Howes

Inspiration, Education, Greatness, Celebrity, Money, Relationships, Mindset, Health, Business, Self-improvement, Self Care, Health & Fitness, Fitness, Entrepreneurship, Mental Health, Success, Celebrity Interview

4.822K Ratings

🗓️ 22 April 2026

⏱️ 67 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

At 19, Amy Purdy lost both legs, a kidney, her spleen, and the hearing in her left ear overnight, and she made a choice in that operating room that changed everything. This conversation will show you how to stop seeing your hardest moments as detours and start using them as the path to a life you never could have planned.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

It's amazing what you can do when you choose to not be a victim.

0:03.7

When you choose to focus on the possibilities instead of the problem, I lost my legs, my kidneys, my spleen, the hearing and my left ear overnight.

0:12.8

My world was completely different.

0:14.5

But what helped me not be a victim is I made the choice to not be a victim.

0:19.7

You take one little step at a time and you see where it leads.

0:23.6

Three-time Paralympic medalist, a world-class snowboarder, and one of the leading voices on resilience

0:28.3

and human potential, the inspirational Amy Purdy in the house. Our challenges can teach us so much,

0:35.6

and that's what going through what I went through. It was a seven-year

0:38.4

journey of getting back on my feet to walk again. If you allow yourself to be in the moment and

0:43.7

lean into what you're going through instead of trying to resist it, you can learn so much.

0:49.3

And those moments become some of your most, I think, grounded special moments. The quote you say is the

0:56.1

quality of your life comes down to the stories you choose to believe. What is the current story

1:00.2

you're choosing to believe right now at this new season of possibilities, but also potentially

1:05.0

uncertainty of what's to come? Oh, gosh. I mean, I think...

1:17.4

And based on what you've talked about in your new book, Bounce Forward, it's almost like the thing that almost broke you was the launching pad to create more than you could ever

1:24.6

imagine in your life.

1:26.2

And I'm curious.

1:27.8

I mean, you were on Dancing with the Stars, Paralympic, medalists.

1:30.7

You've done so many different things.

1:32.0

There's billboards of you around the world.

1:33.7

Like, you've done so many inspiring things.

1:36.8

But what was the thing that allowed you to get out of the first kind of the victim mindset

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Lewis Howes, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Lewis Howes and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.