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“Don’t Look Back.” Those three words carried Dion Leonard from a turbulent childhood; leaving home at 13 with nothing; to surviving the streets and later battling obesity, alcohol dependence and a pack-a-day habit.
As he climbed the corporate ladder, leading major FMCG and Wine & Spirits brands over a 20-year career, he realised success wasn’t enough. Running became his reset button, and the tougher the challenge, the more he discovered what he was truly capable of.
Guided by his mantra and an iron will, Dion transformed himself into one of the world’s top ultrarunners, competing in the planet’s most extreme races, from scorching deserts to high-altitude mountains and unforgiving jungles. Each finish line rebuilt his limits, reshaped his mindset, and pushed him closer to a deeper purpose.
That purpose found him in the middle of the Gobi Desert. During a 155-mile race, a small stray dog began running beside him. Dion named her Gobi, and their bond sparked a global story of resilience, hope, and the lengths we go to for those we love. When Gobi went missing in China, Dion’s search captivated the world and ultimately inspired Finding Gobi—a New York Times, Sunday Times, and international bestseller, now translated into 21 languages and in development as a major motion picture. Dion has since expanded the story with a young readers edition, a picture book, a board book, and his novel Lara the Runaway Cat.
Dion’s incredible story has been featured globally on BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, This Morning, CNN, Good Morning America, ESPN, BBC, Fox, CBS, ABC, NPR, and in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and USA Today. Dion has inspired at corporate events with companies such as Oracle, Idexx, Bodycote, Megger, Britvic & many others along with charity events and presenting Duke of Edinburgh Awards with Prince Edward.
Dion’s story is a testament to grit, compassion, and the power of never looking back. His journey inspires audiences to push past limiting beliefs, embrace adversity and discover how they too can achieve the seemingly impossible.
Success stems from persistence, determination, commitment and passion. ‘Don’t Look Back’ is learning how to turn past experiences into the first steps toward ‘Achieving The Unachievable’.
The hardest battle you will ever fight is who you are now & who you want to be. Recognise those self limiting beliefs that hold you hostage and develop powerful daily habits to push forward to become the person YOU want to be.
Mental strength comes down to willingness & optimism that we all have the ability to choose. Choosing a positive mindset & attitude and amplifying it can transform your life leading to achieving happiness, life satisfaction, and wellbeing.
How do you keep achieving success? Whether it’s in business, life or sport, success is only limited to your last result. Don’t settle; ‘Find Your Why’ and keep building growth and raising momentum.
Inspire, empower, and better equip yourself with intent, purpose and perseverance to achieve success through yourself and leading others by harnessing the power of teamwork.
Pushing through the discomfort, accept it & thrive. Don’t look back, keep moving forward. Endure, don’t be frightened of change & look for the light at the end of the tunnel.
Dion’s ability to share his knowledge of controlling the uncontrollable, adapting under pressure, changing mindset and attitude was a great help for our team to use in not just our business but our personal lives.
We laughed and cried with you, and flew back home with lots of inspiration – all of us had a lesson to take away and reflect upon from your life story.
