Pedals, Paddles and Potholes: How One Man Lost His Health, Heart and Hope, and the Inspirational Story of His Miraculous Recovery

As a 26-year police veteran, Paul O’Brien faced armed gunmen, rubbed shoulders with terrorists and Hells Angels, purchased illicit drugs, arrested murderers, armed robbers, drug dealers and rapists, engaged in high speed pursuits and led up to 300 operational police.

In his private life, Paul abseiled out of a helicopter, rock climbed, parachuted solo, scuba dived, fished for piranha, hunted boa constrictors, trekked through Nepal and South America, ran a marathon and played just about every competitive sport imaginable. His was a full and rewarding life and no challenge was insurmountable.

Nothing, however, could prepare him for the personal tsunami that was to befall him in late 2010. That is when, after finding an innocuous lump in his groin, Paul was diagnosed with cancer.

This was just the start of a tumultuous 4-year period where he resigned from the police, started a leadership consultancy, separated from his new business partner, became estranged from his life partner and her children, battled significant physical injuries, experienced financial hardship, and was diagnosed with acute depression and anxiety.

Facing an uncertain future and in a dense fog of despair, Paul also lost the will to live. He found himself by the side of a remote road wondering what, if anything, life offered him.

Paul’s overwhelming situation was successfully overcome with typical stubbornness and determination and the assistance of a small team who believed in him.

With little choice but to go on living, Paul responded by developing a successful 7 Elements life plan to achieve his life goals. Over the next 4 years, Paul regained full physical and mental health, coached elite Olympic and world class athletes, became a successful endurance cyclist and kayaked across Bass Strait.

He also met his new partner, reinvigorated the leadership business and improved his financial situation to a point where he had the choice to continue working or retire comfortably.

This is a remarkable story, told in a frank and fearless manner, about a truly ordinary individual who refused to allow a calamitous personal situation to beat him. The road back was full of potholes, but Paul negotiated and conquered them all - one by one. You will identify with his challenges and the strength required to beat them. This is the book all females should gift to the men in their lives.