Picture this: Your favorite professional athlete is about to compete in a pivotal game. He “centers” himself, physically and psychologically, by stretching and mentally rehearsing his upcoming performance. How can he appear so calm and confident, you wonder. To a large degree, the superior athlete masters a sport by acting on is “impulse” to excel. “Impulse.” Now there’s an odd word. Impulse usually signifies an action performed without thought, without control. Yet in the case of the superior athlete and his impulse to excel, you can bet that he becomes a professional “only” by thinking about that impulse. And then by controlling it. And then by channeling that impulse into the kind of excellence that lifts a professional above the mere amateurs.