“Intelligence is ninety percent organization.” I ran across this gem in a syllabus from Jerry Buck, a high school English teacher in Nebraska. I find a great deal of truth in this. In both coaching and teaching, helping people know what to look for and where to look for it is fundamental to problem solving. Likewise, expressing an idea logically and coherently requires organization. Over and over, I hear coaches tell their players to, "Get organized!" If it's this important, let's make sure we're showing people how to be organized.

Recently, a number of individuals have inquired about the availability of online courses. Rather than guess what would be most helpful, I thought I would ask you. What would you like to see me work on?

Erling Haaland is 22 years old and playing his first season in the English Premier League for Manchester City. He recently became the first player in league history to record a hat trick in three consecutive home games and is on pace to set the the league scoring record.

Haaland is big, fast, strong, and highly skilled. More importantly, he has an advanced maturity and mindset. Some of that comes from his meditation practice, which he describes as helping him, "find an inner peace. . . It makes me feel calm and gives me tranquility." He says that, "I try to be free in my mind and to attack this game without thinking too much." What also stands out is his upbringing. Even though his father played in the Premier League, he never pressured his son to play soccer. He's maintained a low profile and allowed Erling to follow his own path. Finally, Haaland displays an elite level of situational awareness. Situational awareness describes how performers perceive relevant events in their environment, establish their significance, and use this knowledge to anticipate future outcomes. As you can read (and see) in this analysis by football psychologist Geir Jordet, Haaland scans the field more frequently than other top forwards. You can see his head moving on a swivel. This improves his ability to find space and then decide what to do with the ball once he receives it. The result - a stunning average of one goal scored per game.

It is inevitable that we will encounter challenges. Our culture, however, sees challenge as an unwanted difficulty that should be avoided at all costs. Since this is impossible, the question, then, is how we will FACE the challenge before us. Let's use FACE as an acronym that stands for:

Focus - Are you focused on controllable or uncontrollable factors?

Attitude - Do you see an obstacle or an opportunity?

Commitment - Have you poured all of your resources into finding a solution?

Effort - How hard are you working to prevail?

FACE or flee? If you do the former, you'll be equipped to handle any situation.

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