At 19 years old, Amy Purdy went to work feeling a little run down. Within 24 hours, she was fighting for her life in the hospital. She beat the odds, and survived a life-threatening infection - but she would ultimately lose both legs below the knee as a result. What followed wasn’t a comeback story built on motivation posters. It was a masterclass in agency.

In this conversation, Amy walks Jay through the moment she asked a life-altering question from her hospital bed: If your life were a book, how would you want the story to go? That question became her anchor. From there, she visualized a future that didn’t yet exist and worked backward, one problem at a time.

Amy shares how she became a pioneer in adaptive snowboarding, literally building the prosthetics she needed to ride again. Along the way, she discovered that challenges don’t block the path. They create it. The same tools that helped her survive her darkest days became the tools that carried her to Paralympic medals, entrepreneurship, and the stage.

This episode is about clarity, purpose, obsession in the right direction, and learning to “bounce forward” when life removes the familiar path.

Challenge of the Week:

Set aside quiet time to visualize your best self. Don’t negotiate with reality yet. See it. Feel it. Then ask, what would have to be true for this to happen? Start there.

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To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods.

We talk about:

[00:00] This Is a Story About Agency, Not Limitation
[02:30] They Gave Me a 2% Survival Chance. She Beat the Odds.
[11:45] The Idea That Led to Agency
[15:04] Find The Power to Solving Your Own Problems
[17:16] Turning Failure Into a Design Problem
[21:21] Amy’s First Successful Run
[24:45] Everyone Feels incomplete
[28:03] The Power of Visualization
[33:26] Turning Pain into Purpose
[40:16] From Success to Survival
[44:06] Visualizing Your Best Self

Links & Tools from This Episode:

Pre-order Bounce Forward by Amy Purdy
Read On My Own Two Feet by Amy Purdy
Adaptive Action Sports (organization founded by Amy Purdy)
Follow Amy Purdy on Instagram: @amypurdygurl
Free Resources
Want to be a guest or share feedback? Email podcast@the1thing.com

Produced by NOVA

Amy Purdy, Paralympic Medalist: How to Turn Your Greatest Setback into Your Greatest Strength