By Paddy Upton When Sachin Tendulkar walked out to bat in his very first Test match – at just 16 years old – he was clueless. His words, not mine. “I had no idea what was going on. I was getting beaten by the pace. This is the wrong place for you,” he told himself. […]
You’re Not the Finished Product Yet—And That’s Okay Read More »
By Paddy Upton I’ve been working across all four — and lately, scaleups have taken centre stage Over the past six months, my business focus has pivoted in a way that’s been both interesting and energising. Scaleups have gone from a small slice of my leadership work to the clear majority. (*By scaleups, I mean
What do elite sport, startups, scaleups, and corporates have to learn from each other? Read More »
If hard work is not enough, then what is? By now we know that hard work is not enough to achieve success. But it doesn’t mean, like many misinterpret, that you therefore don’t need to work hard. Rather, we need to know when to work hard, how to work smart and when to drop the
If hard work is not enough, then what is? Read More »
By Paddy Upton If you want to win at anything worthwhile, you’ll need to learn how to lose. And not just in a “dust yourself off and try again” kind of way, but in a deeper, more accepting, and ultimately liberating way. Because here’s the reality—whether in sport, business, or life, if you play big
The Art of Losing: Why Embracing Failure is the Key to Winning Read More »
By Paddy Upton Why do some people succeed more often than others? We know it’s seldom about sheer talent alone. In my time working with elite performers across sports and business, there are some common factors that keep coming up. These four stand out. Successful people prepare excellently. They don’t skim through the syllabus; they study
The Art of Staying Cool Under Pressure Read More »
A few decades ago, the biggest challenge for most people was lack of access to information. Today, the challenge is almost the opposite—there’s too much information. Just like our shift from a world where food scarcity was a major issue to one where obesity is a dominant health concern, our mental diets have followed a
The Mental Diet: Choosing What Feeds Your Mind Read More »
Confidence and arrogance often get mistaken for each other. From the outside, they can look remarkably similar—strong-willed, unwavering, even bold. But spend enough time around high performers, and the distinction becomes glaringly obvious. One fuels growth and elite performance; the other stifles it. Confidence is Earned, Arrogance is Assumed When Virat Kohli walks onto the
What Truly Sets the Best Apart Read More »
Over my years coaching elite athletes, I’d confidently say that the three most common mental obstacles to success are i) an inability to move on from past mistakes, ii) pressure to succeed and iii) fear of something going wrong at some point in the future. Fear of failure. Fear of injury. Fear of judgment. Fear
The Hidden Cost of Fear in High Performance Read More »
As we step out of 2024 and prepare for 2025, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and set the tone for the year ahead. Here’s some key pointers for leaders to approach the new year with purpose and ease, setting up a strong start for themselves and their teams. Reflect on 2024: Celebrate and
Setting the Stage for Success: How Leaders Can Approach 2025 with Ease and Flow Read More »
