Is Talent Overrated? Checkout this video

How do you handle pressure?

During the past few offseasons working with the NFL Carolina Panthers I have had the opportunity to do a little work with punter Jason Baker. His focus, preparation, and hard work are second to none and is evident yet again in an article in today's Charlotte Observer.

Jason's positive emotional engagement is just one of the many factors that attribute to his success on the field!

Enjoy!


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Punter Jason Baker says there's no pressure being the holder on kicks.

Jason Baker punts. That's obvious to Carolina Panthers fans, and he's one of the best in the NFL at his job. But he also holds. When John Kasay attempts a field goal or extra point, Baker is the guy taking the snap and putting the ball upright on the ground, readying it for Kasay's kick. We often talk about the pressure on kickers, particularly following Carolina's past two games, when Kasay first barely missed a field goal that would have beaten the Giants and then made one to salvage the win at New Orleans.

What if Baker had dropped the snap? Does he ever think about the pressure? “Do you think about brushing your teeth?” he replied Wednesday. “Well, I hold a lot more than I brush my teeth. It's just one of those things; do you think about starting your car? You just sit down and start your car.”

That doesn't mean that Baker is unaware that things can go wrong. But his attitude is probably the equivalent of a primer for dealing with pressure in sports.

“It's common knowledge that the thing you dwell your mind on is the thing you're willing not to happen,” he said. “If I say, ‘I'm going to drop this ball; I know I'm going to drop this ball,' chances are, I have a higher probability of dropping the ball.”

So he simply buries himself in the repetition of the act, letting it become almost automatic. “To be concerned about that thing that has a tenth of a percent of a chance of happening and not be more concerned about the thing that happens 99.9 percent of the time, it's really just kind of a foolish approach, psychologically.”

Often, though, people remember that tenth of a percent. As when Dallas quarterback Tony Romo fumbled a field goal snap, and with it a playoff game against Seattle two seasons ago.

Baker understands how that works, too. He bobbled a snap in the home game with Atlanta earlier this season that led to a blocked punt.
“There's no one here who's not going to have that happen,” he said. “That's what I told everybody (then). I can't tell you the last time I did that, and I can't tell you I won't do that on my next punt.

“But I'm sure as heck not going to go out there thinking that I might.”

'A Purpose Driven Life'

I recently came across this presention by Rick Warren and thought it would be a perfect exercise to analyze his talk axiologically!

Enjoy!

Taking a Break

There is so much information that I have written to post it is crazy!! However, I am in the final stages of getting ready to launch the new site and want to wait until there is better functionality for the viewers before I add any more posts.

Some of you have sent me some fantastic questions regarding intervention strategies with athletes and business staff! I will not make you wait too long I promise!

It will be worth the wait! Thanks for being patient as I go through this exciting growth stage!

New Website soon to come!

Many of you have contacted me about more information on the various targeted profiles offered. The current site www.innertactics.com primarily focuses on sports. However, the new site will be live within the next 10-14 days!

The new site will have specific information on each of the targeted profiles along with many other user friendly features that you will not want to miss!

Stay tuned!!

Anatomy of a Workout

I just got home from presenting at the Merritt Athletic Club in Baltimore, MD. There were over one hundred personal trainers in attendance and my talk was titled '3 Roadblocks to Personal Training Success'.

The following graphic displays the current approach to the workouts of many personal trainers in our industry:

Many trainers tend to focus on feelings first. In other words, it's either a 'feel the pain' focus where the intent is to solely see how long you can last, or, it's a 'how are you feeling' focus where the trainer wants to make sure the client is feeling good and doesn't want to push them hard.

The other focus is on a targeted muscle area. For example, the entire workout involves training the core (abdominals, hips, and low back).

While each of these areas are critical to a successful program, there is little focus on how to best get the result for what the client actually needs. Instead an approach should look like this:

Taking this approach, the two previously mentioned training strategies support the primary goal which is focusing on client results.

In a volatile economy, focusing on feelings and targeted areas will not be enough to retain current training clients and attract potential new clients. The best marketing strategy for Personal Trainers trying to survive the economy is to focus on getting results!

Can You Identify with Any of THESE 5 Case Studies?

Wow has this past week been amazing! There are lots of exciting things happening and I wanted to share with you just a few of the events from this past week. Specifically, pay attention to how the value profiles apply to so many different areas of business and life.

1. Spent time reviewing the profile of one of the top business consultants in the Unites States. This individual is extremely successful, in high demand of Fortune 500 companies, authored an excellent book available at Barnes and Nobles, and is trying to 'juggle a lot of balls in the air' right now. With the Life Profile, we were able to quickly identify how to more efficiently handle all of the 'irons in the fire' and not have them feel like a doormat!
   


2. Worked with a potential high draft pick in the upcoming MLB player draft. After having him take the Sports Profile, I worked with his current coach and revealed to him the best way to help this player improve parts of his swing. Now the coach knows how to get the most out of this player and best help him prepare for the Big Leagues!
   


3. Spent time with the owner of multiple high-end restaurants discussing staffing issues and job selection and hiring. He doesn't want to waste any more money on putting staff through training only to have to let them go. The Hospitality Profile can help him dramatically improve his employee selection process.


4. Reviewed a Golf Profile with one of the top LPGA Players on tour. The profile revealed exactly why she is currently playing so well. Particularly where she is giving most of her attention to in her decision making on the course.
   
5. A personal trainer (and good friend) asked to have one of his new clients take the Fitness Profile. He is designing a training program for his client to follow three days per week on his own. The profile quickly revealed that his client is most likely not going to be compliant and actually complete the training program on his own.
   

These are just five examples of many applications and uses of the various targeted profiles. If you have any specific questions regarding the application of any of these profiles please don't hesitate to contact me at support@innertactics.com.

How's Your Mental Filing Cabinet?

If you are like me, getting organized can sometimes be quite a hassle. No wait...staying organized might be actually harder come to think about it! I don't mean organizing the clutter on your desk. I mean organizing your mental thoughts. And yes it can be scary in there (between our ears) sometimes!

Formal Axiology can be used as a wonderful organizational tool. Below are two examples to give you a clearer idea of what I mean:

1. It can help you gather your thoughts in such a way as to significantly help improve your communication skills...especially when you are experiencing a lot of pressure and emotions. Right now should I be more focused on the person, how they are acting, or what they should be doing?
2. For coaches it can help you structure more effective workouts. Do I have my players work on this individual skill, practice game situations, or have a little fun and just play?

There are endless applications of formal axiology as a tool for organizing good and making people, places, things, ideas, and actions better! For details on how you can apply this powerful science to your life or business shoot me an email at support@innertactics.com and I will be glad to setup a free exploratory session with you!

6 Core Values of Succesful Coaches and Trainers

Coaching today's athletes requires a different approach than it did twenty years ago. In our Sports Axiology Course we discuss your core values in coaching and are they serving your program or are they hindering it?Below are six core values of the top successful coaches and trainers:

1. Babysitting the greatness in athletes OR Challenge the athlete to be great
2. 'Do as I say' OR 'Let me figure out how I can best help you'
3. Coaching for results OR Coaching an athlete how to leverage their strengths
4. Fear-based coaching OR Designing a training environment for the player to take risks
5. Dictating to players how they should act OR Being a model of who you want them to be
6. 'Make it in..' mindset OR 'Beat it by' mindset

What coaching shifts have you made in order to help realize more potential in your players?

On '5 Questions Every Athlete Should Ask Themselves'

Yesterday I came across an article titled '5 Questions Every Athlete Should Ask Themselves' writting by Jonathan Conneely. His article makes a great point that the best athletes consistently train hard on a daily basis and are action oriented and dedicated. He goes on to present five questions for his athletes that can be easily broken down into the value dimensions of formal axiology:

1. How bad do I want it? (internal extrinsic)
2. How bad do you really want to be great? (internal intrinsic)
3. Why do I want it? (internal systemic)
4. What am I willing to do until I get it? (internal extrinsic)
5. How much time do you put into what you do? (internal systemic)
6. Do you really love it? (internal intrinsic)

These five questions create a great foundation for building clarity around self-awareness, self-identity, and self-discipline! The key word here being SELF, or internal directed questions.

It woul be great to expand this list to also include external (world) based questions to help the athlete further identify for themselves their thinking/belief system beyond themself.

For example how about:

1. How important are teammates and coaches to you? (external intrinsic)
2. How clearly do you understand and value the cause & effect action of your sport? (external extrinsic)
3. How well do you thrive in a competitive match? (external extrinsic-attitude)
4. What is your reponse when things do not go as planned? (external extrinsic- negative attitude)
5. How well do you understand the demands of your sport and level of play? (external systemic)

These are just a few additional questions that help to create a bit more intensity for the athlete if appropriate. The initial five in Jonathan's article are a tremendous way to spark self-reflection and clarity for the athlete as they have to make some key decisions for their own athletic journey.

It is important to remember that no matter what the answers provided by the athlete that there are no wrong answers at all. Simply that is where the athlete is mentally in this point and time. The goal is to take their answers and match them up with their long term goals to see where the disconnect may be. Once this is identified, the art and science of coaching then comes alive in working with the athlete to get them to their own definition of 'what could be'.

Axiology vs Psychology

I had a chance yesterday to take part in a fun discussion on the topic of happiness along with a positive psychologist. I am definitely a fan of positive psychology.

The point I made yesterday to the group is that the purpose of using formal axiology is to add more 'good qualities' to an individual in order for them to live a better life, perform better at their job or sport, etc.

The second point I made yesterday came from a discussion I had with Vera Medford of The Value Source Group. The biggest difference between the two can be summed up as Normative (axiology) versus Descriptive (psychology).

More on the second point tomorrow!!!

Future Directions for InnerTactics

Wow what a crazy ride this has been the past two years! I have primarily focused on bringing formal axiology to the world of sports which finally came to fruition about six months ago. We are making leaps and bounds in all sports and at all levels and it is a blast! In fact we are in five different countries already!

Throughout this journey we have now expanded into the world of business and life itself! That is actually one of the greatest benefits of formal axiology is that it can be applied to literally anything!

Sports and Beyond

Until now the majority of the posts on this blog have been geared towards basic principles of formal axiology and how this ties into the world of sports. However, many of you have requested that I broaden the scope of this particular blog and add in some practical life and business examples.

Therefore, I will be creating a few different catagories of posts for this blog so that it may be easier to read and digest for all audiences! I will included examples from life coaching, business and financial coaching, etc.

BE READY!!!

Applying Axiology to the World Around You

Formal Axiology can be used as a logical framework in helping to make meaning of something or someone. Using the three basic dimension of axiology (intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic) take a look at the simple chart below:

Write down two or three words that come to your mind and try and break them down into the three dimensions and see what you come up with! In fact, post them here on this blog so others can learn as well!

An Advanced Axiological Exercise on 'Money'

One of the biggest benefits of formal axiology is that it can be applied to literally any situation, person, event, etc. I had a number of emails asing me to go into this framework a little deeper. Therefore...



Given the current state of the US and World's economy I thought it would be an appropriate post for an axiological exercise for the word 'Money'. Keep in mind that the targeted profiles will reveal an individual's clarity in a specific dimension (aka maturity) and their emotional conditoining patterns within that dimension (both positive and negative). This exercise is taken from the Value Source Group Certification Manual:

Example #2 Money

• Systemically, a system for exact value exchange for all society



• Positive valuation: having money provides a sense of safety & security.
  


• Negative valuation: having it may be short-lived, may lose it, have to pay more taxes – so it is hoarded.



• Neutral valuation: objectively weigh pros and cons – having enough to meet needs
  


• Extrinsically, a means of transaction in coin, currency or bearer bonds



• Positive valuation: I can do and accomplish alot more with more money



• Negative valuation: adds worry to daily living – have to guard and preserve it



• Neutral valuation: objectively weigh pros & cons: earn enough of it to get by and survive in life, being relatively comfortable.

• Intrinsically, loving money, loving to have it and accumulate more of it with no end in sight
  


• Positive valuation: having money is the center of my self-identity and self-image. I can use money to help others in need and pay for college for my kids



• Negative valuation: dangerous! Someone may try to kidnap my child or even kill me for my money



• Neutral valuation: objectively weigh pros & cons: having money is good for me and promotes my growing into a better person, a person who can give to others.

On 'Searching for Patterns'

I just read a blog post by Andrea Sigetich titled 'Searching for Patterns'. Here is an excerpt from the post:

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Jake noticed something interesting -- one time he could be performing a task and have a great time -- really feeling like he was working from a place of strength. Another day, a similar task let him feeling cold, bored, and engaging a weakness. The tasks were similar -- and Jake became confused about his strengths!As my client worked with him to look for the patterns of circumstances underlying the times he felt he was engaging his best strength, Jake had an ah-ha! He realized that his strength was not about the task or the skill at all -- it was all about the relationships he was engaged in when performing the task.

When he performed this task alone, he was disengaged. When he performed it with colleagues and others at work, he had a great time. Soon Jake, and his boss, realized that Jake's strength is in relationship. He loves working with others. He enjoys the interplay and the creativity -- and he manages to build collaborative relationships into most all of his work.

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Recognizing an individual's pattern of strengths is critical in helping other's reach their potential. What's great about this example is that it can be directly applied to formal axiology (the science of human value).

In this specific case Jake leads his decision making pattern with the intrinsic dimension first following by the task itself second, the extrinsic dimension. What is not known is whether Jake is engaged because of his high clarity in the intrinsic dimension or by his emotional bias pattern.

This is where the power of the values targeted profiles come in to play! The profile help's an individual or organization immediately identify a person's strengths and weaknesses based on their decision making patterns revealing both clarity and emotional biases within each dimension of thinking.

A completely different coaching approach would be taking depending on whether he is more emotional driven with a negative bias along with lower clarity....or... he has very high clarity in intrinsic value (understanding others) which therefore his emotional pattern would play less of a part.

Pattern Based Thinking

What if you could identify your unique pattern of decision making based on how you make values judgements? In fact, we have now identified thirteen external (world) view patterns and thirteen internal (self) view patterns for a total of twenty six patterns. There is no good or bad pattern, instead, each pattern is a starting point to help the individual leverage their strenghts and manage their weaknesses.

I would recommend finding a copy of Andrea's book titled 'Play To Your Strengths' in any major bookstore...outstanding information!!!! In fact I will be posting some specific examples from her book in upcoming posts! Thanks Andrea for such practical advice!

Championship Formula

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. Sun Tzu

Winning Strategy + Clear Tactics + Right People= Athletic Success

No matter whether you play on a team or you compete in an individual sport, the team you put together to support YOU is the most important! All three components of the formula above are critical. Many athletes have two out of the three and often fall short in competition.

Which area are you struggling with the most right now? What is it costing you in your path to athletic success?

Inspirational Thought for the Day

Skills make you a good player...Heart makes you a great player

The Story of John Challis- Great Intrinsic Value!!

How is Sports Axiology different?

Over the past week I have had the opportunity to talk with professional teams from multiple sports including the NFL, NBA, MLB, as well as soccer teams from three other countries. A common question that comes up is how does the profile compare with some of the more traditional personality tests that are commonly used?

Below is a simple chart that will help to give the answer:

How's this for being mentally tough?

I just finished watching the final hour of the US Open (men's golf) and what an unbelievable roller coster ride!

The story of Mediate and Woods is ideally what sports is all about! A highly unlikely player not even in the top one hundred in the world in the playoff's against likely the greatest player to ever have played the game other than Jack Nicolaus.

Here is the clip of Tiger's putt on the 18th to force the playoff:



Talk about being mentally tough! This was a make or break putt for him and as typical Tiger does, he makes the putt! Check back this week as I will be writing what makes Tiger so mentally tough along with the ability to have a laser like focus even in the greatest moments of pressure!