Our minds are all different and I believe cultivating a keen introspective sensitivity is absolutely essential in discovering our potential.

Just about every error has a technical and psychological component: get good at discovering those connections

Initially I was very drawn to the Tao Te Ching, the Taoist philosophy. It was helping me deal with the balance of these external and internal issues with my chess life. Tai chi is the martial embodiment of Taoist philosophy. Initially, I had no intention of competing in the martial arts; it was just the meditation.

It is rarely a mysterious technique that drives us to the top, but rather a profound mastery of what may well be a basic skill set.

A man wants to walk across the land, but the earth is covered with thorns. He has two options - one is to pave his road, to tame all of nature into compliance. The other is to make sandals. Making sandals is the internal solution...it does not base success on a submissive world or overpowering force, but on intelligent preparation and cultivated resilience.

Of course the sad truth is that if we are not present to the moment, our true love could come and go and we wouldn't even notice.

One thing about the business and investing world that I connect to very intimately is that there is little room to deny the harsh realities of your mistakes. A bad call can lose you many millions.