I brought my findings to my life coach…my father. I told him that the formula for Zone attainment was getting confusing. I understood all the ingredients but was unsure how they worked in a simple recipe. James Edward Fannin, my father, was an uneducated wordsmith. My dad could finish the New York Times crossword puzzle in one sitting. “How did you know the sun god’s name is Ra?” I asked. He replied, “You didn’t learn that in college?”

My father took Webster’s dictionary and wrote every intangible word on a three-by-five index card. Love, honesty, discipline, focus, confidence, passion, and hundreds of other words were strewn across his living room floor.

When I walked into his home, I said, “What is this mess?” He replied, “Inside this room is the answer to your question of how to get into the Zone. What did the champions tell you first about their success?” I said, “They all had a vision or dream, and they illuminated a pathway to attain it.” He said, “That’s self-discipline. Let’s place it first.” And with that, we arranged other words that fit under self-discipline. These were vision, patience, goals, tasks, persistence, and so on.

“What’s next?” he queried. I said, “They all had the ability to focus with blinders.” With that statement, my father placed the concentration index card next to self-discipline. I thought, “You can’t focus unless you have a place to send your energy.” Concentration must come after self-discipline.

Next? All champion interviewees had tremendous confidence and high self-esteem. My father said, “We need the word optimism. In fact, you have to have optimism, or I can’t help anymore.” Laughing, I said, “Why?” “Because I’m the president of the Ashland Optimist Club [a men’s service club like Kiwanis or Rotary],” he replied. So, reluctantly, I placed the optimism index card next to the concentration card on the floor. We then put all the other words that fit under that heading. I knew optimism was the glue that held these champions together.

What else was next? It’s not what they said but how they went about their profession. They all seemed effortless and smooth in the execution of their craft. So my dad and I placed the relaxation index card next to optimism.

“What else did you observe from the champions?” “Dad, they all loved what they did. They had great passion for their craft.” And with that, he said, “Enjoyment.” They all enjoyed what they did. That’s the bottom-line end product for every champion.

With most of the index cards in single file under Self-discipline, Concentration, Optimism, Relaxation, and Enjoyment, my father blurted out, “It’s an acronym! And don’t tell me you didn’t learn that in college, either.” Wow! It was an acronym or a word where its letters represent other words. S.C.O.R.E.® was born in 1974. My father’s living room floor looked something like the following graphic.

Soon I incorporated S.C.O.R.E.® into a new tennis teaching system for children between the ages of four and eight called Tennis Tots. I wrote my first book about S.C.O.R.E.®, “Tennis & Kids: The Family Connection” (Doubleday, 1979). Hundreds of parent seminars followed. During the seminars, I was asked, “Does S.C.O.R.E.® work for baseball?” Yes. “Does S.C.O.R.E.® work for golf?”

YES!

“Can you come speak to my company?” Yes. I’ve conducted thousands of corporate, parent, and student-athlete seminars and clinics teaching the S.C.O.R.E.® System. Athletes from over 22 professional sports have taken S.C.O.R.E.® into battle. Including 28 MLB All-Atars, The Former Number 1 Pro Golfer, 7 Top Ten Tennis Pros, an Olympic Gold Medalist, and many more have used the System to gain an edge over the competition.

Corporations have earned millions of dollars by changing how they think with S.C.O.R.E.® From the center court at Wimbledon to the gridiron of the Super Bowl to the diamonds of the World Series to the hardwood floors of the NBA playoffs to the fairways of the Masters; the S.C.O.R.E.® System has been there. More importantly, I’ve dedicated my time and energy to developing the S.C.O.R.E.® System into a simple day-to-day performance formula that is useful for everyone.

• The S.C.O.R.E.® System is based on the following principles.
• You possess free will.
• Only you possess your thoughts.
• No thoughts can enter your mind as your own without your permission.
• You cannot hold a positive and negative thought simultaneously in your mind.
• You can prepare your subconscious mind (the performance automatic pilot) for positive results.
• Your thoughts dictate your physical actions.
• Your collection of thoughts and the corresponding verbal and nonverbal reactions to these thoughts determine your attitude.
• This attitude consists of a domino-like chain of intangibles that form an acronym called S.C.O.R.E.® The acronym represents Self-discipline, Concentration, Optimism, Relaxation, and Enjoyment.
• S.C.O.R.E.® comes with its own language that can and will be used to communicate with yourself, family members, relationships, coaches, teammates, clients, and prospective clients, and can be used against the opposition.
• Everyone possesses a S.C.O.R.E.® Level at all times.
• “S.C.O.R.E.® Level” replaces the words “attitude” and “mindset.”
• There are three-time elements to every performance: pre-performance, performance, and post-performance.
• Managing your S.C.O.R.E.® Level as you pass through the three performance time segments is the key to peak performance.

I have never once seen S.C.O.R.E.® fail its students, though I have witnessed the reverse countless times. It does not guarantee a win in every performance, but it is a tried and proven blueprint for potential realization, the art of a real winner. Once you embrace this recipe for success, you’ll immediately see positive change. Commitment and consistent use of this success formula will enable you to see a clear path to personal and professional achievement. As you learn more about the System and yourself, you may alter the prescription dosage of S.C.O.R.E.® according to your personality, situation, and mission. As you embark on this venture, please remember the importance of commitment. You must embrace the mission, philosophy, principles, strategy, and tactics of the S.C.O.R.E.® System. Without this commitment, the information contained in this book can merely assist your performance rather than catapult you to peak performance.

For 50 years now, I have trained elite performers. I coach champions using techniques gleaned from research and experience.

My parents set me on the right track early. As an only child, I was raised with love and devotion to my well-being. Even though we started out poor in the Appalachian hills of eastern Kentucky, I was never allowed to be aware of it. When my father died, he left a void. He was a mentor and guide. I still feel his loss. When my mother became sick several years ago, I was at her bedside like she had been at mine in my formative years. I could not imagine losing her as she rapidly neared the end of her life. She was my biggest fan and reveled in the considerable success I had achieved. But, while my only thoughts were for her well-being, she still was thinking of the potential she saw in me that remained untapped. Minutes before she passed away, she looked me in the eye and said, “Go for it.” As I urged her to relax and breathe, she repeated it: “S.C.O.R.E.®, Go for it.” She died minutes later in my arms. I was devastated but took solace in my promise to her: “I will, Mom.” I am now fulfilling this promise. I enjoy my life’s work. Although it took me many years to provide this information, you can apply it swiftly. Godspeed, and remember: “Good fortune favors the bold!”