In just seven years, Ray Zahab went from being a sedentary, pack-a-day smoker to running 7500km across the Sahara Desert, and has since travelled close to 20,000km on foot through some of the largest deserts and coldest regions on Earth. But he’d be the first to tell you that he is not a gifted athlete. He’s just an ordinary person who discovered within themselves the ability to be extraordinary. Today, as a top motivational speaker, Ray helps others do the same.

Recognized as one of Canada’s top explorers by Canadian Geographic, Ray is an Explorer-in-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and the founder of the non-profit, impossible2Possible, an organization that aims to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning. Drawing on his incredible experiences — which includes setting a Guinness World Record — he inspires audiences worldwide to break free from their perceived limits and unleash their true potential.  

Ray recently joined us “Inside Our Boardroom” where he shared his compelling philosophy on resilience, transformation, and how ordinary people can achieve truly extraordinary things.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

From Smoker to Ultra Marathoner

Speakers Spotlight: How did you go from being a pack-a-day smoker to running 7500km across the Sahara?

Ray Zahab: This is a question I get asked a lot and to be perfectly honest with you, it comes down to a very simple thing — making a decision. I decided that I was no longer satisfied with where my life was going and the lack of passion and drive that I had. I just really couldn’t define who I was and what I was doing, so something had to change.

I was also fortunate to have a younger brother who was this great adventurer and extreme explorer — a real-life superhero doing extraordinary things and who himself had gone through a life transformation. And I thought to myself, wow, if I could feel just a little bit of how he feels, I think my life would be different.

So, it sounds simple, but it started with a first step. It started with making and committing to a decision that I was no longer going to live my life the way I was and that I wanted something different.

Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary

SpSp: As an extreme adventure and endurance athlete, how do your experiences and messages relate to a general audience?

RZ: I never saw myself as a marathon runner of any kind. But I read a magazine article about the Yukon Arctic Ultra marathon, and I was stunned to see photos of the people doing this extraordinary thing — running 160 kilometers through the Arctic Tundra, mostly self-sufficient.

These people doing something extraordinary were absolutely ordinary in every other way and I saw myself as one of them. This taught me an important lesson that each and every one of us, we’re all the same. We’re dissimilar, but we’re similar in many, many ways. So, relating my stories to audiences that are in completely different industries, there are so many synergies because I’ve never forgotten that first magazine article where I thought to myself, I am no different than anyone else.

Performance isn’t necessarily about what you do, it’s about what’s in your head. It’s 90% mental, the other 10% is all in your head. The whole thing is a complete mental game. And true performance comes down to pushing limits and redefining risk.

I think what I do gives a real visual aid to what risk is to an audience, but going back to what I said earlier, I’m no different than anybody else and the challenges we all face day to day. Everything is the same, except for my job.

Building Resilience: From Challenge to Opportunity

SpSp: You’ve faced quite a bit of adversity throughout your life and career. What advice do you share to help people push through challenge?

RZ: The collective experiences I’ve had doing expeditions have taught me resilience. Resilience is something we can all learn — we get tougher and become more adaptable through our experiences.

I’ve done forty-some-odd expeditions, and I had some pretty tough ones with some really close calls. But a couple of years ago, I started feeling tired all the time, exhausted. After a few visits to the doctor, a series of blood tests, I find out I have a rare form of blood cancer.

In that moment, I thought to myself, is this my new definition? Is this who I am now? Knowing that I had six months of chemotherapy and monoclonal therapy ahead of me, I had a choice to make. I could sit on the couch and eat a bag of chips every day and binge-watch Netflix, I’ve earned that right — I’ve done enough over these last 20 years. Or I could take this in a completely different way.

We all have negative days. I spent the first 30 years of my life waking up in the morning, seeing clouds and thinking, damn, it’s probably going to rain. Now, in this second half of my life, I wake up, see those clouds and go, wow, maybe I don’t need a hat for my run today.

It’s all about perspective. And when I went head on to attack that cancer, I made a decision. I had 25 days in between my treatments, and in those 25 days, I would get in the best shape of my life, as sick as I was. I’d go somewhere in the world, do something epic, just to keep my mind and body as fit as possible so I could attack the next round of chemo.

And I never stopped. This experience taught me that inside every one of us is that resilience. We just have to find it. And our collective experiences over the years gets us better at pulling it out. This is not something uniquely me, it’s something that’s uniquely human.

A Changing World

SpSp: What have you seen through your journeys that changed your perspective on the planet?

RZ: I’ve been to the hottest places on Earth at the hottest time of year and the coldest places on Earth at the coldest time of year. I can say with certainty that our planet is changing. I can also say with certainty that the way we live and the way we are interconnected has changed completely even in the last 10 years.

I’ve also seen a lot of adaptation. I’ve had meals in the Sahara Desert made by agricultural geniuses — the best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten in my life grew from sand. I’ve seen glaciers receding in the Arctic kilometers from where they started and completely out of sight.

What has not changed over the years is that humans across the world have more in common than we are different. We all laugh at the same jokes. We all want better lives for our families and for ourselves.

Motivation that Lasts

SpSp: As you get older, how do you stay motivated to keep pushing yourself? What’s your advice to help others do the same?

RZ: As life passes us by and the longer we’ve been in the game, I think we learn that there’s a constant struggle between light and dark, between wanting to be happy and being unhappy.

I’ve found that being negative or approaching things with sort of a gray tinge is like a warm sleeping bag in the Arctic. You get in that -40 down bag and it is very hard to get out of it.

But happiness and being positive — looking to the future with a mind that I want to try new things and take those risks — that’s like getting out of the warm sleeping bag. You’ve got to put the cup of coffee on, but once you drink that coffee, get warmed up, you can get going. And once you get going, it’s hard to stop.

That’s the mindset that one needs to take on as we age. You can get in that rocking chair if you want to, but I choose to put on my running shoes instead. And it’s never too late. I get people messaging me all the time, “hey, I’ve never run a 5K. I’m 65 years old and I’ve been sedentary my entire life. How do I get started?” Put your shoes on, walk to the end of your block, walk back home, and take the shoes off. That’s day one.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. You’re not going to run a marathon on the first day. But getting out there and putting the first foot forward is how you get there, no matter what.

Inspire Your Team to Achieve the Extraordinary

Transform your next event with a keynote that will challenge your audience to re-think what is possible. Ray Zahab‘s remarkable journey and powerful storytelling skills have captivated audiences worldwide — from TED and the IOC World Conference to top corporations and non-profits across industries.

A compelling storyteller with stunning visuals, Ray translates lessons learned from extreme adventure into practical strategies for personal and professional growth. His message resonates whether you’re looking to inspire transformation, build resilience in the face of challenges, or help your team unleash their true potential.

Contact us to learn more about Ray and how to book him for your next event.