Intense Focus: the stuff of the Champions !! We have generally mistaken practice to be occassions for mastering skills required for championship. But that is only half the game. Real winners use practice sessions to not only build the skill & stamina but to build their tenacity, mental make and more critically 'focus' ... mind has a tendency to waver and therefore - developing unwavering focus is critical during practice. Rod Laver the Australian Tennis Champion had serious belief in acute focus to be developed during practice sessions (see doodle). "In our days, the trainers would throw the balls so hard at you that if you were not alert and focussing, the ball would badly hurt off the side of your head". Corporate careers are built on such practice too. Practice ??? Yes, moments when you are not actually in charge but yet you act and behave with responsibility and deliver running the extra-mile like a leader, these are your practice moments on your path to actual leadership !!!