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 World number one fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah said something fascinating at a conference where he and I recently spoke in Bangalore. He said his unique action, which is one of his superpowers, is the result of him being “lucky enough to not have a coach when I was younger”. As a result,
How to find your own personal Super-Coach! 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 »
The Winning Mindset Interestingly, my experience is that a so-called ‘winning mindset’ is not so much about knowing how to win—all top athletes do—but rather about how well they manage and bounce back from loss. A practical example comes from my experience working with Gukesh D in preparation for the World Chess Championship final. After
The Winning Mindset 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 »
For 25 years, one experience sat firmly on my bucket list: stepping into an Olympic Village to live among 15,000 of the world’s best athletes, coaches, and sports scientists In 2024, that dream became a reality. I walked into the Paris Olympics alongside the Indian men’s hockey team, knowing that what lay ahead would push
Lessons from the 2024 Olympics Read More »
This ‘kid’ had just suffered a crushing loss in the 12th (of 14) games of the World Chess Championship. With scores now tied and two games to play, his attitude towards the loss—and the upcoming games, arguably the most significant in chess history—convinced me to take that flight. On the plane, I played a movie
A phone call with an 18-year-old prompted my impulsive decision to fly to Singapore. 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 »
When High Performance Becomes Toxic High performance is sought after and celebrated in the corporate world, but there’s a hidden danger when productivity becomes an obsession. When the relentless pursuit of results pushes teams too far, the line between excellence and toxicity can blur. In a toxic productivity culture, the focus shifts from quality to
The Dark Side of Productivity Read More »
Nearly every pro sports team and business aspires to be a ‘high performance’ team, but most fall short. Here’s one perspective on what sets those rare elite groups apart. It’s well known that the world of sports and business is complex, ever-changing, exciting, and sometimes intimidating. Like sailing across the ocean, it’s far from the
What differentiates high performing teams from the rest? Read More »
Credit: https://businessnewsthisweek.com/author/admin/ Mind guru Paddy Upton shares his insights on putting the nation’s favourite pastimes – cricket and hockey – to greater use London, 28 August 2024 – Paddy Upton, the globally-revered mental guru who recently helped guide the Indian men’s hockey team to the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, believes there is no
Seven useful reminders. I never thought breakfast at the Taj, Fisherman’s Cove in Chennai would dish up such a smorgasbord – that had nothing to do with food. It started as just another hotel buffet – I’ve averaged about 180 of them per year for the last 17 years of my professional life. This one
Breakfast buffet of a different kind. Read More »
