I’m at my publishing office in Dallas this week helping close out the upcoming April issue of SUCCESS (Starbuck’s returning white knight CEO Howard Shultz on the cover – fantastic issue!).

Anyway, the Super Bowl fever here is at an almost hysterical pitch. Reminds me of one of the favorite Super Bowl stories…

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the Joe Montana/Bill Walsh 49ers dynasty years. There is a famous story about Joe Montana who earned the name ‘Joe Cool’ that I love and in it lies a fantastic success lesson.

It was Super Bowl XXIII. The San Francisco 49ers are playing the Cincinnati Bengals. The 49ers are down 16-13. They have only one possession left. They have to drive 92 yards if they hope to win. At the start of this crucial drive Joe exclaims to tackle Harris Brown, “Hey, check it out, in the stands, near the exit ramp, there’s John Candy”. Harris grabs the tight end John Frank and points out Candy to him too, “Hey, John. There’s John Candy”. Fifteen seconds later Joe claps his hands in the huddle and says, “You guys want it? Let’s go.” 11 plays and 92 yards later, Joe Cool leads his team to a touchdown with only 34 seconds left, winning Super Bowl XXIII 49ers 20, Bengals 16.

During crucial and critical times, that is when you need to be most cool. If you are going to lead people, YOU have to be the eye of the storm. You have to bring calm to the situation, you have to be cool… Joe Cool. So the next time you get into a crucial moment, take some time to look around, you just might see John Candy.