Mark R. McLaughlin, MD
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05/28/2026
Elite Performance Requires Both Left and Right Sides of the Brain
Summing up the lessons of my most recent West Point talk. Elite performance and leadership require the balance that comes from using the entire brain.
In this final article, I explain the different styles of thinking.
Elite Thinking - Using Both Left and RIght Brain Left-brain thinking prepares the performer to execute. Right-brain thinking allows the performer to remain inwardly free enough to do so. Together they create the conditions under which clear thinking, precise action, and steadiness under pressure become possible.
05/25/2026
Freedom is not now, nor has it ever been "free".
Many Facebook members won't see this. Today is Memorial Day and I suspect most of you are enjoying this day that marks the beginning of summer. I think that it's probably a very quiet day on Facebook.
We talk about the Memorial Day weekend as the "beginning of summer", or as "Indy Weekend", or the beginning of BBQ season, and it is all those things.
But most importantly I think, Memorial Day means something entirely different.
On we honor all those who have given their lives while serving in our Armed Forces. They paid the price for this freedom we enjoy today.
Enjoy today. Enjoy the BBQ. Enjoy the start of summer.
And remember the bill that has been paid on your behalf.
Another great event at TYWLC. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it.
05/20/2026
Honored to join Anthony M. Avellino, M.D., M.B.A. and Kim Downey in her most recent podcast at Stand Up For Doctors available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, and Apple.
Dr. Avellino is a pediatric neurosurgeon and the President and Chief Medical Officer at HonorHealth. He is also the author of
"Finding Purpose: A Neurosourgeon's Journey of Hope & Healing."
Kim has been a staunch advocate of physician well-being and helping other healthcare professionals avoid burnout. You can watch and listen here.
Courageous Hearts in Medicine | Leadership, Storytelling, and Becoming Unburnoutable In this episode of Stand Up (for) Doctors!, we’re joined by two remarkable neurosurgeons whose work reaches far beyond the operating room.Today’s conversatio...
It's commencement season in America and it seems that each year there is one voice that rises above the noise to share something important. This year Eric Church has us listening with his "Six strings" address at UNC.
I love his idea that ""The difference between a life that sounds like music and a life that sounds like noise is whether you stop and listen, whether you’re honest enough to hear which string has drifted out of tune and humble enough to make the adjustment instead of just turning up the volume and hoping nobody notices."
The philosophy major in me hears something incredibly important that he seems to saying to us. The Greeks understood harmony as evidence of order. Musicians understand tuning as an act of continual correction. Church brings both traditions together: a meaningful life depends less on intensity than on the humility to recognize dissonance and make adjustments before noise overtakes music.
Take the time to listen. It's worth it.
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