The single biggest secret to excellence and happiness. Read on for stories and insights from the greats.

The most valuable piece of real estate in the entire universe is in between your ears – your mind. Mastering your mind is a prerequisite for success and happiness.

The secret is “being in the moment”. Unleash magic by taming your mind.

Martina Navratilova – needs no introduction, was asked in an interview;

When does a sportsperson decide to retire?

It happened to me in Wimbledon, I was about to serve and could hear the plane pass by, I stopped and tossed the ball again, but I still could hear the plane pass by. That is the day I decided to retire.

In my life, I have never heard a plane passing by whilst playing tennis.

The human mind has the ability to focus on only one thing. If something is disturbing your current moment, it is an area of concern and you have to stop and evaluate it.

Virendra Sehwag – it does not matter if you are not familiar with cricket, read on anyway and it will all make sense.

You did not expect “happy-go-lucky” Virendra Sehwag to be a “Guru”, did you?

Never judge a book by its cover, one cannot reach the pinnacle of any sport unless they have mastered their mind.

According to Sehwag

"The batsman gets out long before the ball is bowled, to be specific the batsman gets out in the time between one ball and the next.

If you play and miss, that will play tricks with your mindset unless you master your mind.

I discussed this with Rahul Dravid, he practiced deep breathing and meditation in between the deliveries

Meditation is too complicated for me so I started singing Bollywood songs to distract negative thoughts. It annoyed the opposition and my batting partners but it worked for me.

Sometimes I used to signal the dressing room, not for drinks, bat, or gloves but to request lyrics for a particular song."

It all makes sense, right? Thousands of years ago, Seneca and Buddha preached the same thing.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, focus the mind on the present moment- Buddha.

We suffer more in imagination than in reality – Senaca.

So, next time you have a career-defining moment, do not let your mind play tricks. Find your own way to tame your mind.

Take it easy until next time.

Navratilova & Sehwag interviewed by Vikram Sathaye

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