The Road to Health

How one distribution leader’s investment in his own health carried over into his family and professional life.

By Pete Mercer

At the start of every new year, millions of people make the resolution to take their health seriously and get in better shape. Whether most of those people follow through on their resolutions or not, setting those health goals is critical to helping you take care of yourself and achieve professional success. Your health and your success are two sides of the same coin: you cannot have one without the other.

Noah Lam learned this firsthand when he realized that he needed to make a change for his family and the success of his business. Lam is the president of Connetquot West, a national home healthcare product supplier that specializes in health and wellness products based in Edgewood, New York.

“It’s so easy for business leaders to get so entrenched in the day-today stuff that they begin to neglect their personal health,” Lam said. “But what we fail to realize is that our health and our personal success are two very intertwined concepts. Without your health, you will lose your ability to make money.”

In 2007, Lam was sitting on the couch eating a pint of HäagenDazs ice cream and watching Forrest Gump run across the country when he thought, “I could do that.” He decided then and there that he wanted to run in the 2008 New York City Marathon. After that, he and his wife trained for and eventually ran in the 2009 New York City Marathon. Since that moment on the couch in 2007, Lam has been on an incredible health journey full of ups and downs that has allowed him to take back his own health and reinvest it into Connetquot West, while also investing in the lives of young athletes through a nonprofit he launched in 2017.

A healthy lifestyle

Following the marathon races in 2008 and 2009, Lam continued to run and keep in shape. While training for the 2012 New York City Marathon, he herniated his back so badly that he needed surgery. He opted for treatment through acupuncture instead of surgery, and he was ready to run again in the spring of 2013, but he hit another roadblock. While putting on his running shoes one day, Lam suffered a seizure. He woke up in the hospital, disoriented and confused about what happened.

Recovery from the seizure took some time, but he was eventually able to get back to a place where he could run again. After he recovered, he had the opportunity to see a friend compete in an Ironman triathlon –an intimidating race that combines running, biking and swimming. This encouraged him to train and prepare for triathlons himself, something he had never considered doing before.

Unsurprisingly, it was not an easy journey to get ready for triathlon races. Lam said that there were plenty of times where he would ask himself questions like “What am I doing? What am I doing here?” He would be on the bike trainer for four or five hours, completely losing himself in the process.

“You do kind of disappear for a little bit. I am lucky I had the family support and teamwork to pull me through. Without that, it just does not balance out,” Lam said. Once he added the training elements for the swimming and biking components to his process, he still needed to balance his need for sleep, family time, and work responsibilities.

Even with all of the plates balancing at once, Lam has been able to find that happy medium of training, family, work and sleep. It does not happen without sacrificing something along the way, but Lam has deftly stuck that balance with everything going on in his life.

Lam said, “I had been running for five years and never thought that I would do something that would require swimming. The biggest thing for me with triathlons was being stuck in the middle of the water without a life preserver. You have to sink or swim.”

Starting Lightning Warriors

With his new love for triathlon races, he invited his son to participate in an upcoming race. At one of his son’s first races, Lam saw that his son enjoyed the triathlon and would strive to win more races in the future. “I wanted to support my son, and I knew he needed to train with others. I created a triathlon team because the closest team was in Massachusetts.”

Lightning Warriors is a nonprofit organization based in Long Island, New York, that focuses on making triathlons an accessible sport to young athletes. They work with each of these athletes to unlock their potential as athletes and leaders. Membership through Lightning

Warriors covers any fees associated with coaching, usage of facilities, and USA Triathlon members. Instead of a fee, the organization simply asks that each athlete volunteer and participate in fundraising opportunities, own the proper equipment required for competing, and be kind and courteous to everyone competing and coaching at events.

At the time of his first triathlon, Lam says that his son was a little unsure of himself and still trying to figure out who he was and what he was interested in. On the day of his first triathlon, Lam’s son was nervous and completely zoned out. But after finishing the race in 10th place, there was a total change in his disposition – an evident pride that he had completed something.

“I think the real transformation for him was that he got to do it. He achieved something that he probably thought he could never do. And once he tasted that, he excelled at it. He knew that he would be good at it. He finished a race, and I really believe he did his best.”

His son continued to improve, and even got to a point where he finished in 3rd place at the national level before breaking his leg. During his recovery, Lam knew that his son would need other kids to train with. In addition to there being no local teams for his son to participate with, Lam knew that he needed to start something because he wanted “to see other kids participating in triathlons with his son.”

Triathlons require an immense amount of training and preparation on the part of the athletes, which makes something like Lightning Warriors an incredible opportunity for young athletes. Not only are the athletes getting the training and coaching they need, but it is also creating more accessible opportunities for kids who are passionate about the sport.

Lam said, “I wanted to make whatever I built more diverse and more accessible to more kids. I wanted to reduce any barriers for any kids that wanted to do a triathlon.”

Lightning Warriors now has over 100 kids on the team, giving them a place to get in shape and participate in a sport they love.

Reinvesting in CMI Medical

By investing in his physical and mental health, Lam had a new opportunity to reinvest in the future and success of his company. This experience translated perfectly to helping him follow through and better achieve goals in his work.

“I think it really comes down to being more focused in any business, regardless of whether it’s healthcare or making screws and things like that,” he said. “You value what time you have, and you make the most of what you can do. For me, the health hurdle was more of a byproduct of the mental hurdles that you have to go through.”

With the challenges of the last few years, Lam has been able to leverage this approach to help his customers. CWI Medical, like everyone else, had to navigate the especially challenging early days of the pandemic with supply chain disruptions.

Yet it is precisely those challenges that require Lam’s approach to focus on the important aspects of the business and push through the challenging days. He said, “It’s more of a mental exercise than a health exercise to get what you want.”

For Lam, it is all about being prepared for whatever might happen. Just like the triathlon training with Lightning Warriors prepares athletes for each component of the triathlon race, preparing your organization for the foreseen and unforeseen challenges will better pave the road for success for your company.

At the end of the day, Lam is grateful for his new lease on life. Competing in marathons and triathlons has given Lam a second chance to transform his personal health, the health of his family, and the health of his company. “If I didn’t take a step back and take care of myself, I wouldn’t be here now.”