Wandering Into Wisdom

This blog chronicles the knowledge, insight and wisdom I encounter every day as a leadership consultant, executive coach, educator, father, friend and citizen. This site is dedicated to my father, Louis (Jack) Laughlin, who passed on to me an appreciation for wisdom. A special thanks to my friend Isaac Cheifetz, a businessman and journalist, who helped me understand the value of blogs and encouraged me to write one.

Maximum Effort*

The body has two modes of generating energy, aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen). Endurance athletes train to increase their body’s ability to deliver oxygen to their muscles. They also train to develop a sense of how far they can push themselves. If they exceed their body’s ability to deliver oxygen their metabolism turns anaerobic and the buildup of lactic acid significantly decreases their performance. The key is to exert the maximum amount of effort without exceeding the body’s capacity to deliver oxygen. This would seem to apply to many other aspects of life.