3.5 Ideas from Michael O’Brian — The Last Bad Day

Joe Ciccarone
3 min readJan 15, 2025

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Michael O’Brian — The Last Bad Day

“Everything is neutral until you label it. You’re labeling yourself as a victim and no one’s going to disagree with you. You have some space to see this thing in a completely different way.” — Michael O’Brian

Michael O’Brian is an executive coach, speaker, and meditation teacher who transformed a near-fatal cycling accident into a catalyst for personal growth and mindfulness advocacy.

After being hit head-on by an SUV traveling 40 mph in 2001, he developed the “Pause, Breathe, Reflect” methodology that he teaches worldwide.

Twenty-one years after his accident, Michael rode his bike across America in 41 days on a total knee replacement, demonstrating that life is about how you respond to challenges, not what happens to you.

3.5 Ideas from Michael O’Brian:

1) The Value of Forgiveness and Growth

  • “I didn’t fully forgive the driver until 2012 when we went to Auschwitz and we got a private tour. She [Eva Kaur] is well known for forgiving the Nazis for what they did.
  • “I was like, ‘If she can forgive them, why can’t I forgive the driver?”

2) Making Mindfulness Accessible in Everyday Life

  • “If you don’t have 10 minutes in the morning, I bet you have five times throughout the day where you have two minutes, so give me 10 minutes in short, little micro mindfulness moments.”
  • “I think in our current day, we all need to slow it down a bit, not stop. There’s a lot to do.”

3) The Balance of Work and Recovery

  • “This whole notion that we’re just going to rise and grind our way through this to success is a lie. It’s not true.”
  • “We need to work hard and then, then we need to slow it down, like work hard, recover harder. That’s how you get better.”
  • “You got to go through some pain and discomfort to come out the other side and grow from situations. If everything is cozy, then you’re probably not getting a lot of growth.”

3.5) What’s ONE LESSON Everyone Should Take Away?

  • “Take a minute each day to connect with your breath, pause, breathe, reflect.”
  • “I believe if I can get eight billion people on this planet to spend one minute a day PBRing, we’d have a much more peaceful world.”

Michael O’Brian is an executive coach, speaker, and meditation teacher who transformed a near-fatal cycling accident into a catalyst for personal growth and mindfulness advocacy.

After being hit head-on by an SUV traveling 40 mph in 2001, he developed the “Pause, Breathe, Reflect” methodology that he teaches worldwide.

Twenty-one years after his accident, Michael rode his bike across America in 41 days on a total knee replacement, demonstrating that life is about how you respond to challenges, not what happens to you.

Connect with Michael O’Brian:

“Life is Built, Not Born.”

Joe Ciccarone

#Episode156

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Joe Ciccarone
Joe Ciccarone

Written by Joe Ciccarone

Host of the Built Not Born Podcast, Blogger, & BJJ Black Belt. www.SalesVibe.Blog

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