Gu and Gatorade and PowerBars have long been quick energy fixes for endurance athletes.  For a couple bucks a pop, you can energize yourself with some maltodextrin in it's various forms for a good 45 minutes until the calories are burned and you pop another gel or sip some more drink or take another chewy bite of a vanilla crisp energy bar.  All of those energy sources are great products for endurance sports, but they hold little water  to a much more cost-effective source of energy: WORDS. 

Words are free and when used in the right way, can energize someone much better than maltodextrin.  You don't even have to re-say them every 45 minutes to an hour. 

When you are at the Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon in Wilmington this weekend, or the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, remember to not just cheer for those athletes during the race, but speak words of encouragement before their difficult endeavor and speak words of recognition after the amazing feat of athleticism they have just accomplished. 

Or even more basic, when you notice a friend or co-worker with flagging enthusiasm or dragging energy, energize them with a few positive words.  The effect is much deeper and far more lasting than a gel.