Episodes

There’s a lot of cultural pressure to “feel” happy during the holiday season. But often feelings of grief, disappointment and loneliness can blindside even the most optimistic among us. Recently at a social gathering a show listener questioned my “no bad days” policy. If you’re new to The Jim Fannin Show, it’s been more than 25,000 days since I’ve had a bad day. “No bad days” doesn’t mean I’ve never felt a twang of regret from putting a dent in my car or sadness at the loss of a loved one. Howe...

“Those look like catcher’s hands,” I blurted out. It was an odd statement to make to a cab driver for sure, but it was the start of something amazing. “Yes I was,” he replied. Turns out the 70-year old man behind the wheel was a former professional player in the Negro Leagues. The driver was a raving fan of the Cleveland Indians but had never seen his hometown team play live. Because I was coaching nine players on the team, I had tickets to the American League playoff game that evening. I’ll n...

We all have our mountains to climb. Some seek the “world’s best” moniker where iconic athletes reside, while others trek the competitive, business landscape to find their fortune. If you have abnormal dreams, you must think in an abnormal way. If you have the talent to ascend to the highest peak of performance, you will inevitably need to scale the intimidating “Wall of Scrutiny.” Here, you will be exposed to all your competitors, team members, naysayers, pundits, critics, and skeptics. Even yo...

In this episode of The Jim Fannin Show, we’re providing tips, tools and techniques to prepare for a positive holiday season with great holiday spirit while combating stress, worry, anxiety and fear. There’s no doubt that the “happiest time of the year” also includes additional commitments, costs and obligations. Can you stay present in each life arena, accomplish more than you thought possible, and enjoy time with your friends and loved ones in the last month of 2018? Absolutely! On this episo...

Happy Thanksgiving! This special episode of The Jim Fannin Show is our “THANKS” to you for being the most positive listeners on the planet. We hope you and your family have an awesome, Zone day. Enjoy the boomerangs! On this episode, we share: The two important lists to create this Thanksgiving Six tips to have a happy life How to prepare your greatest December ever The science behind why the simple act of smiling can disarm potentially tense moments during the holidays How the Kansas City...

Can a company, sports team or entire family perform collectively in the Zone of peak performance? Absolutely! Unfortunately, I regularly meet team leaders who are completely at a loss on how to move their team forward. Although their teams vary in size, experience, industry or sport, the rudiments of team peak performance remain the same. Finding the right tactics and or strategies to reverse negative thinking is the key. With a plethora of external and or internal Zone Breakers confronting you...

This week on The Jim Fannin Show, you’re invited to join me on a seven-day diet. No…I’m not talking about some trendy weight loss plan. I’m talking about a mental diet! We’re going to look at the ways we invest our time, thoughts and energy and scale back the unwanted and unneeded waste over the next week. The best in the world don’t achieve their success by jamming their calendars with more meetings and commitments. Nor do they let their minds run amok engaging in idle gossip and or drift aiml...

“The goal is to win the World Series.” That was the statement Boston Red Sox rookie manager Alex Cora made earlier this spring on The Jim Fannin Show. This week, we revisit the interview with Alex from April, so you can apply the 20/20 vision of hindsight to understand how Cora applied the elements of the S.C.O.R.E.® System to attract the Zone for his team and lead them to baseball’s highest prize. This episode is all about the power of words. I share practical tools, like the use of strategic ...

From 1990 until 2008 I coached MVP, All-Star and Hall-of-Fame baseball player Frank Thomas. We had no written contract. Our word was our bond. We had no conflicts or misunderstandings about our verbal agreement. During this time period, I also coached GE Healthcare. No written contract. According to GE, at the time I was the only person in the company’s history to work with them on a monthly retainer on a simple handshake. I refused to sign a contract. We had an oral agreement that may have baf...

I want to tell you about three people. The first is sitting at his desk, brow furrowed as he looks at his company’s profit and loss statement, which is dangerously in the red. The second is going through a divorce. The third person is considering leaving a high paying, comfortable job to start a new, risky venture. On the surface, this sounds like three very different scenarios. However, all three have entered a time of transition. The first two had transition thrust upon them, while the third ...

More times than I can count, I’ve stood before a room full of people eager to learn the success secrets I’ve taught to clients who have become champions in 10 different sports. Each time, the audience expects the first half of the S.C.O.R.E.® System (Self-discipline, Concentration and Optimism). However, when I get to relaxation, I always see brows wrinkle. Much of modern American life can be summed up as “what have you done for me lately?” This can quickly lead to the mentality that the only p...

For the most part, we expect to be rewarded for top notch performance. Get all the answers right on a test? Then you’ll expect an A+. Sell the most in the division? You’ll expect a bonus. However, that’s not always how life works! Just ask Ryan Lidge, who’s first year as a professional baseball player took him to nine different teams, playing for different coaches, in different leagues, in different parts of the country. In this candid conversation, we unpack real examples of using the element...

As we approach October 1st, the current drink of choice may be the Pumpkin Spice Latte, but it won’t be long until those paper coffee cups are traded for champagne flutes on December 31st. How you react to the fourth quarter depends on your ability to resist the dual temptations of noise and pointless action that won’t move you closer to well-defined goals in career, sport, relationships or passions. As you approach the fourth quarter, now is the time to make sure you put the “big rocks” in fir...

If I asked you to sum up this week, what would be your response? Could you articulate the decisions you made on where to spend your time and energy and if those choices marched you toward well-defined goals? Or was your week scattered, haphazard or chaotic? How much time, money was wasted for you, your family, company or team? Do you have too many unnecessary thoughts? Isn’t it time for a mental diet? This episode of The Jim Fannin Show is all about the “mental diet.” Just like a physical diet...

On Sunday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the iconic Lambeau Field was unusually quiet. Superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers had been carted off the field with a knee injury, and the Chicago Bears led the Green Bay Packers 20-0 at halftime. What no one could see coming was Rodgers returning to the game in the third quarter, leading the Packers to a stunning 24-23 win, which was sealed by an epic 75-yard touchdown pass. Contrary to popular belief, “closers” are not born with some special ability....

Most of us have experienced defeat. This occurs when your expectations don’t match reality. Sometimes our best intentions and effort aren’t good enough. It’s here that we can find ourselves with a choice to make. Do we languish in defeat as a victim or judge or rise up to meet our next challenge as a champion? In this episode of The Jim Fannin Show, we dissect how one man’s passion for success was derailed at no fault of his own. Within a short amount of time, he rises to a new level of success...

One common misconception that I often come across is the idea that greatness is made of two ingredients: discipline and focus. For sure, those are two essential elements for peak performance. But individuals, teams and companies who are only driven by these two components will never discover their best. You need all five pieces of the S.C.O.R.E.® System. Leaning too much toward relaxation and enjoyment, nothing is going to get done. Similarly, if the only fuel in the tank comes from discipline a...

If you’re ready to go to the next level in your life, business or sport, this week’s Jim Fannin Show can help take you there. Here’s a secret that some can hardly believe when I share it. I coached a pro golfer to become the best putter on the PGA tour without actually putting. How is this possible? Through the power of Visualization 2.0. This successful golfer was guided through four different types of visualization to go from last in the PGA in putting to 1st in only 90-days. Professional ath...

Tonight, the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots will meet on the gridiron for the first time since Super Bowl 52. Imagine with me, for a moment, the first huddle. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady looks around at his starting players and says “So, did anybody do anything in the offseason? Anyone work out? Do we know the plays?” Hard to imagine this scenario ever happening, isn’t it? Bottom line: Champions are the best prepared. This preparation includes champion students, parents, busine...

One of my favorite things to do when I first start coaching a company is simply to show up a little early and walk around. In that time, I can quickly get a feel for the thoughts and attitudes that make up the company. It’s a macro view available to anyone who will spend a few minutes looking. However, most of us rush into the office with a mile-long to-do list and start hammering on tasks. If you’re in leadership, that means you could be obliviously sprinting past the corporate culture that ru...

Can an entire city overcome hardship and despair and create an overarching, positive mindset of hope and optimism? Yes. This is possible in any city in America. Even though the S.C.O.R.E.® Success System has been used in the World Series, Super Bowl, Olympics and 350 of the Fortune 500, I still run into the “Yeah, but Jim” responses. As in, “Yeah, but Jim, this challenge is just too difficult.” When coaching, one of my first jobs is to help my clients eliminate negatively that leads to the fals...

This Jim Fannin Show episode is all about programming your life, business, or sport for success. Unfortunately, just as easily you can insert a negative program that can wreak havoc on your good intentions. Have you ever felt your stomach tie up in knots with worry as you picture something you don’t want? How about seeing in your mind’s eye every possible way a work or personal situation can go wrong? What about getting stuck in traffic as you mentally picture yourself being late to your appoin...

Most people think about their lives one year at a time and will often accept the situation when things don’t go their way. There’s no more obvious case than your local gym. In January, it’s impossible to find an open treadmill. One month later, you have your pick of any equipment. It’s highly doubtful that all those people hit their fitness goals in 30 days and need to spend less time working out. Instead, when reality didn’t meet their expectations, they simply lowered them. Thankfully, that’s...

One of the most important days of my life was when I asked my father if we had a college fund. He just looked at me and said, “If you want to go to college, you need to get a scholarship or get a job.” I spent my early years on a literal dirt floor in the hills of Kentucky, and the economic reality for many families in the region was simple; there just wasn’t money for college. Soon after that, my father took me to visit a steel mill and a coal mine to help me better understand the options for ...