I came across a quote the other day that stopped me in my tracks:
“Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever;
and take care of your soul as if you were dying tomorrow.” – St. Augustin
As a man who once stood proudly on the podium as a taekwondo medalist, who pushed limits in endurance races, and who spent nearly a decade in the food industry… I had to admit something.
Not to my friends.
Not to my family.
But to myself.
I wasn’t treating my body, my mind, or my soul with the respect they deserved.
I fueled my body with the wrong foods.
I used “family time” as an excuse to stop exercising altogether.
I stretched out reading a book across one or two years.
And I surrounded myself with people who pulled me down instead of lifting me up.
What I had forgotten was something so simple, it’s almost embarrassing:
“INPUT + PROCESS = OUTPUT”
If the input is poor, the process will suffer, and so will the output.
And when we add one more factor—QUALITY—the picture becomes crystal clear.
High quantity with low quality is still a broken equation.
You can’t expect extraordinary outcomes when the fuel, the habits, or the environment are weak.
Another line from my coach, Rich Litvin, drives the point home
“The only purpose of strategy is to get us into action.”
Insights and formulas mean nothing if they don’t move us forward.
So, what shifted for me?
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I eat 90% vegan. (Yes, sometimes I give in to a seafood plate or my favorite omelette.)
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I start every morning with a 50–80 minute walk.
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I exercise at least 30 minutes every single day.
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I read daily—even if it’s just a few pages.
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I fiercely protect white space in my calendar for silence, reflection, and noise-free time.
And here’s the surprising part:
This isn’t just about health.
It’s about leadership.
Because when I work with leaders, this is exactly where the magic often happens.
Not in the boardroom.
Not in the strategy deck.
But in the simple, forgotten gold—inputs, routines, and choices—that quietly shape their ability to lead at the highest level.
So let me leave you with this:
- Where in your leadership do you feel the quality or quantity of output is suffering?
- And what is one input you could shift today that would immediately transform your output?
Love,
Laszlo
