Paddy Upton

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Fishing For A Great Life

Fishing for a Great Life

I recently went on a fishing trip that had some mates think I was mad. The explanation reveals the sanity behind the insanity, which I’m moved to share here… First, the trip. We set off one Friday afternoon on a two hour drive up the East Coast from Cape Town. Our destination was a remote

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Hope Lives

Hope Lives

Last night I found myself wondering the streets and dark corners of Hout Bay, the suburb where I live, in defiance of South Africa’s 10pm curfew, and with an elevated heart rate pumping both fear and pride through my veins.

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thrive

Thriving through uncertainty

When we find ourselves in difficult situations, such as the current one we’re all experiencing, our vision tends to narrow onto the problem and we lose the bigger picture perspective on our lives. This happens to an athlete who for example sustains a sudden career-limiting injury at the peak of their career. They can only

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Slow and steady wins the race

Beginning in the early 1980’s, Australia hosted an 875km endurance running race from Sydney to Melbourne, which at the time was the world’s longest and toughest ultra-marathon. Only the best-trained athletes participated, most of whom were around 30 years old, professionally equipped and had back-up support for the race that usually took seven days to complete.

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Towards resolving mental illness in sport

Virat Kohli recently revealed that in England in 2014 he felt like it was the end of the world, admitting the he “just didn’t know what to do, what to say to anyone, how to speak, how to communicate”. It was only after Glen Maxwell and other cricketers had the courage to admit their mental ‘struggles’ that Kohli admitted his, saying that he didn’t do so earlier because of how this might have been interpreted.

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Failure – learning from the best

There is a lot written about what we can learn from how the best in the business go about being so successful. But what about learning from what they get wrong? I recently spent two weeks in Taiwan, watching four World Champions being crowned in a sport that is not much known in India, but

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New dawn of SA surfers are making waves across the world

Jinzung Harbour – The Springboks recently took the rugby world by storm, dominating the best of the best to emerge as world champions. On an entirely different sporting canvas, the same nation’s athletes are taking their sporting world by storm, in what the experts are calling “the South African cyclone”. For the past five years

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Nurturing a Positive Team Culture: Key to Success

Team culture is the shared set of values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that define how a group of individuals interact and work together. A strong team culture can significantly impact productivity, morale, and overall success. In this article, we will explore the importance of team culture, its elements, and how to cultivate a positive one

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Cultivating Psychological Safety: The Key to Healthy Work Environments

Psychological safety is a critical component of a healthy work environment. It refers to the belief that one can express their thoughts, ideas, and concerns without fear of negative consequences, ridicule, or punishment. In this article, we will delve into the concept of psychological safety, why it matters, and how organizations can foster it for

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Achieving Personal Mastery: Unleash Your Full Potential

Personal mastery is the process of continuously improving and developing oneself to achieve personal and professional goals. It’s about gaining full control over your life, mastering your emotions, and realizing your true potential. In this article, we’ll explore the concept of personal mastery, its significance, and how you can embark on a journey of self-improvement.

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South Africa, cry beloved country

South Africa is a country of rich and poor, beauty and litter, generosity and greed, enlightenment and ignorance, Mandela and Zuma, education and illiteracy… and lots in between. Whilst born in that country, I’m fortunate that the work I do across continents allows me the choice to live pretty much anywhere in the world. I’m

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The real ‘mental game’ issue

When it comes to the highest level of most sports, there is a popular assumption that success lies 80 percent in the mind, in the six inches between the ears. Although nobody seems to be able to trace the origin of this 80 percent urban myth, almost every expert I’ve spoken to in cricket agrees

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Sport, a moral dilemma

Sport is so much about winning, especially at the higher levels of the game where results are so consequential. For example, the top team in this year’s IPL received a Rs 20 crore winning bonus, while the four teams that did not qualify all responded by firing their head coach. I am one of them.

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