Michael O'Brien

Michael O'Brien is an executive coach, speaker and meditation teacher who helps leaders and teams build resilience, wellbeing and peak performance. He has more than 30 years in corporate and entrepreneurial work, and before his current path he was a marketing executive leading a $700M brand.

On July 11, 2001, while cycling, he was hit head-on by an SUV. His trauma team told his wife they had no idea how he survived, and told him he would be limited for life. A mentor told him, "Everything is neutral until we label it," and he came to call that day My Last Bad Day. A few weeks later he began a mindfulness practice with the first Pause Breathe Reflect session. That practice became the foundation of his work in resilience, wellbeing and leadership.

Michael is a qualified mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) teacher, according to his Insight Timer teacher page. Pause Breathe Reflect is his method of microdose meditations woven through the day. He also draws on the G.R.A.C.E. framework he created during his recovery: Gratitude, Reframe (mindset), Action, Community and Energy. He names Joseph Goldstein and Jon Kabat-Zinn among his meditation teachers.

His coaching and speaking draw on the idea of a "peloton," the people who move with you and share the load, an image that came from the care team he met in hospital. He writes a weekly newsletter, The Ripple Effect, and hosts The Whole Again Podcast, which includes the series A Perfectly Imperfect Union. He says he is committed to creating brave spaces where everyone feels they belong.