These mantras don’t come from imagination. These mantras were born from a life full of obstacles. Arzon used them as fuel to achieve greatness, rather than stop her.
For example, many people know that Arzon worked as a corporate lawyer for seven years before she decided to change her life and go into the fitness industry. Many people don’t know that she didn’t consider herself to be an athlete growing up.
Arzon was just 20 years old, and was attending college in New York City. She went to a East Village wine bar with her friends for a night. The bar was then held hostage at gunpoint. The gunman, armed with three pistols, a 30-inch blade, and water guns, sprayed the patrons of the bar in kerosene. Arzon was grabbed by her hair and the gunman held onto her head a lighter as he tried to use her as a communication link with police.
This kind of trauma would define anyone. But howit has defined Arzon is what makes her such an inspiration to so many.
In an intimate episode of “Person to Person”, Arzon tells CBS News’ Norah Ol’Donnell that every day, when we wake up from something that has happened to our lives, we have a choice. We can either be victims or triumphant. I chose to be the former. “I chose to be the hero of my own story.”
“You know, we can access our agency and power by developing our skills sets. She says that it was with running shoes that I began to feel the pain. “Ultimately, pain is power.”
O’Donnell replies, “Talk about it.” “How did running help to you win?”
Arzon says, “I was able go from feeling powerless to powerful.” “And slowly, these ‘nibbles in hustle’ that I call them, I was capable of stringing together enough moments confidence building through discomfort, through pain. I came to the realization that I had survived my worst days 100 percent and that I am still here. Try me. Now, I have a mantra that I use often: “Why me?” becomes “try me.” It’s like I’m going to keep moving forward because I’ve seen worse.
She was also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which shook her entire world.
Arzon states, “It’s like there’s a before. Then there’s an afterwards.” “When my doctor told me that your pancreas didn’t produce insulin it didn’t calculate. I was running ultramarathons and marathons. I ate a healthy diet. I was the most healthy person I knew. Yet, here we are.
“I live as-if–with–type one diabetes. Insulin is not produced by my pancreas and I am insulin dependent. My first question to my endocrinologist, “How will I run the race that I have in three weeks?” It didn’t stop me from living my life fully.
“And did that ultramarathon you ran?” O’Donnell asks.
She replies, “I sure did,” “I sure did, Norah. Yeah.”
This is what makes Peloton’s vice president of fitness program and head instructor, Peloton, so inspirational. She didn’t have an easy life. But she faced many obstacles and became stronger for it.
Arzon tells CBS News that it all comes back to betting on our own success. “You have to ask yourself why not me?” Then you start to prepare. It requires insulin, both for me as an athlete, a human, a woman, an entrepreneur, and a mother. It doesn’t mean that I will stop striving for real and figurative finish lines.
Arzon’s journey from IVF to motherhood was not an easy one. She has been open about her IVF experience and how she froze her embryos. She recently published “Strong Mama”, a New York Times bestseller about exercising while pregnant. This topic has been long shrouded by stigma and fear. She has been a role model for countless women.
Drew, her husband, gave birth to Athena in 2021.
The CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell asked Arzon about the name and how it was chosen.
She replied, “Yes it was.” “I love Greek mythology, and I was always attracted to Athena. She is a goddess of energy, which I love. Wisdom and war? We can all be many things. Both of us can be at peace or on fire.
