209. Rush is the Pace of Fear with Pia Mailhot-Leichter

Growing up in a household where freedom was paramount, Pia (Myo Lischter) Mailhot-Leichter was raised by rebellious, artistic parents. From her mother’s escape from small-town Quebec at 19 on the back of a motorcycle bound for Morocco and New York, to her artist father who lived outside society’s lines, Pia inherited both a fierce independence and a romanticized view of constant movement as the solution to life's problems. Education was another cornerstone value, instilled early on as the key to independence, especially for women. The foundational beliefs of freedom, strength, and visionary self-expression became the undercurrents that shaped Pia’s journey. By seventeen, Pia had already left home, continuing her mother’s legacy of carving her own path through life. After years of living what appeared to be a successful creative life in London and Copenhagen, Pia found herself caught in a destructive pattern of using movement and busyness to avoid dealing with deeper issues. Following a messy divorce, an unhealthy rebound relationship, and throwing herself completely into building a creative studio, she was maintaining the facade that everything was "fine" while internally falling apart. The wake-up call came when she was fired from her partnership role, leaving her metaphorically thrown through the windshield of the fast-moving car that was her life, staring at the shards of what she thought was working. Instead of immediately jumping into job hunting mode, Pia listened to her intuition and made a radical choice to embark on a solo four-week journey across China, Mongolia, and Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railway. A therapist invited her to learn how to stay instead of running, which became a catalyst for her inner transformation. Pia learned that staying busy and on the move was a form of distraction, a way to avoid sitting with pain and uncertainty. Through stillness, she gradually rewired her nervous system and uncovered the importance of discernment. She built resilience to sit with discomfort, understanding that pain minus the mental story is simply pain, not suffering. Throughout this conversation, Pia reminds us that uncertainty is actually fertile ground for creativity and growth. By running “experiments” in life, leaning into discomfort, and treating every chapter as an adventure rather than a test to win or fail, she embraces messy, beautiful humanity.  Her story is an invitation to break free from inherited scripts, anchor into self-compassion, and write entirely new lines—proving that sometimes, the bravest act is simply to stay. Resources:  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pia.leichter/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pialeichter LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/pialeichter/ Website https://kollektiv.studio/ Pia's Hype Song:  Messy by Lola Young Invitation from Lori:This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. Smart leaders know trust is the backbone of a thriving workplace, and in today’s hybrid whirlwind, it doesn’t grow from quarterly updates or the occasional Slack ping. It grows from steady, human communication. Plenty of companies think they’re doing great because they host all-staff meetings, keep “open door” policies, and throw the occasional team-building event. Meanwhile, leaders who truly care about culture are choosing better tools. That’s where I come in. Forward-thinking organizations bring me in to create internal podcasts that connect people through real stories, honest conversations, and genuine community—your old printed newsletter reinvented for the way people actually work now. If you run, work for, or know a company ready to upgrade communication and strengthen culture, reach out at Lori@ZenRabbit dot com. Because when people feel heard, they engage. When they engage, they perform. And when they perform, the business succeeds beyond projections.