I always struggled with productivity in my career. I got things done, rose fairly high to the executive ranks, but task and time management was a constant challenge. When I left the traditional work world to become an independent consultant, these shortcomings were amplified and it became clear that I had reached an inflection point. If I couldn’t…
Archives for 2015
Ride the Rockies 2015
Prologue: Ride the Rockies is a high endurance bicycle tour that pushes most riders to their limits, exposing them to extremes in distance, temperature, and mountain climbs. In the end, riders are filled with a profound sense of accomplishment and are left with an experience they will never forget, Sponsored by the Denver Post Foundation,…
Be the change you want to see in yourself
Gandhi taught us to “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I would like to suggest if there are areas where you could improve, to “Be the change you want to see in yourself.” Often we have things about ourselves that we don’t like and sometimes devise a host of defense mechanisms…
Remembering my mom – five years later
Five years ago today, my mom passed away from lung cancer. It was a traumatic experience but I consider myself lucky to have been surrounded by absolutely saintly people. A few months before she passed away, Christina tasked me with writing a thank you note for a quilt she made for Christopher (he was 10 months old…
So what do you get your mom for Mothers’ Day when she has weeks to live?
Five years ago on May 9, 2010, we visited my mom at Potomac Hospital who was suffering from the final stages of lung cancer. Patrick, Eileen, and I wanted to do something meaningful and special – but getting her something was not really an option as she only had weeks or months to live. As…
Ride the Rockies 2015 Route Outline
The photos and video in this make me even more excited to do the ride. However, all the extracurricular activities is silly – when you get back after a hard day of riding, all you really care about is eating and getting sleep!
What It’s Like Riding At 45 MPH Down a Mountain Road
In training for Ride the Rockies, I try to make it out to Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park every week. It is essentially 21 miles straight up, and then 21 miles back down. To give it a visual, here is a 3D profile of the route I often take: Anyway, on April 11,…
How Getting My Inbox to Zero Changed My Life
Since the dawn of e-mail, my inbox has largely ruled my work days, often displacing the important for the seemingly urgent. And since the advent of mobile devices, e-mail went beyond ruling my work days to largely ruling my life. As a result, I was in permanent and perpetual reaction mode. I jumped from the hottest fire…
Please support me as I ride for World Bicycle Relief
Fundraising page: http://fundraise.worldbicyclerelief.org/michael-obrien On June 13-20, I will be doing my sixth Ride the Rockies. This year is unquestionably the most difficult – it is just under 500 miles and has 40,000 feet of climbing, requiring training nearly every day until the ride starts. However this year, I wanted to make the ride more meaningful so…
Words of Wisdom
A few weeks ago I came across a web page with great piece of advice and planned to post them on my blog. To augment these suggestions, I started writing down some of the gems I have learned from my family, friends, and colleagues and quickly realized that these alone make a complete blog post. As…