Tell me you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan without telling me… I’ll go first.

AJ Brown, Philadelphia Eagles Wide Receiver Seen Reading Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy during NFL Wildcard Game. Photo Credit: Unknown

January’s book of the month is Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy! Why? Because AJ Brown, Eagles wide receiver, was seen reading it mid-game during the NFL Wild Card game against the Packers on January 12th.

According to the back cover, Inner Excellence shows you how to:

Develop mental toughness
Train your subconscious mind
Overcome mental blocks
Develop empowering habits

These topics are staples in my conversations with clients, so, like thousands of others, I immediately ordered the book. The result? Inner Excellence jumped from #523,497th on Amazon to #1 in a single day.

So, let’s dive in, shall we?

Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy: A Book Review Including Actionable Tips for Leaders

As a leader, you face a daily barrage of decisions, challenges, and responsibilities—all demanding your focus, clarity, and resilience. Amidst this whirlwind, how do you ensure you operate at your best?

Jim Murphy’s Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life offers a compelling answer. This book is not just about achieving success; it’s about redefining it by cultivating a mindset that harmonizes performance with personal well-being.

Let’s break down the key concepts and their impact on leadership:

Key Concept #1: What Makes an Extraordinary Leader

According to Murphy, a powerful leader inspires individuals to connect with something bigger than themselves. Helping team members grow as people, and enabling them to grow together as a unit. Expanding on that notion, Murphy outlines three traits that distinguish extraordinary leaders beyond technical expertise and disciplined practice.

Redefine Success
Exceptional leaders measure success not by external accolades but by effort, growth, and a meaningful purpose that serves the greater good.
By focusing on purpose-driven goals, leaders inspire teams to work toward a shared vision that transcends individual gain. For example, a leader might redefine success as fostering collaboration and innovation rather than merely hitting quarterly metrics.
Pro Tip: Your definition of success should be something that can be achieved in the current moment and something that you can set goals to achieve in the future. It should be a vision that grounds you in your every day and inspires you to pivot and find innovative ways to achieve it in the future.
Inspire Connection
Great leaders connect individuals to something bigger than themselves. By helping individuals create a meaningful purpose, you are providing them with an inner drive, focus, and inspiration to excel.
Pro Tip: Regularly communicate how your team’s work contributes to a larger mission. Share stories of how their efforts impact clients, communities, or the organization.
Seek Self-Mastery
Influential leaders pursue personal growth and demonstrate authenticity, inspiring others to do the same. A leader who invests time in improving emotional intelligence and communication demonstrates the courage to evolve, creating a ripple effect of growth across their team.
Pro Tip: Leverage one-on-one meetings for more than just tactical updates. Prioritize discussing personal development goals and create team-building opportunities that enhance collaboration.

Key Concept #2: You Choose Your Path

Murphy emphasizes that life offers two paths: the path of freedom, which involves risks, facing fears, and pursuing dreams, or the path of comfort and safety, which seeks temporary rewards with fewer possibilities.

Coaching Insight: Our brains are wired to seek the safe path. For that reason, leaders often gravitate toward comfort zones, especially when managing risk-averse environments. However, choosing the path of freedom enables innovation, resilience, and authentic growth.

There are several strategies to support you on your path to freedom including:

Building a support network of peers, coaches, and mentors
Leveraging holographic thinking
Making values-based decisions (vs fear-based)
Developing emotional and situational awareness to better assess risks and rewards

Key Concept #3: Fear Stunts Growth; Awareness Unlocks Success

According to Murphy, fear stems from self-centeredness—a preoccupation with oneself that limits options and stunts growth. This isn’t to be confused with selfishness, but rather, the mind’s natural tendency to filter all new experiences through past experiences, and surfacing thoughts, beliefs, and actions that will limit exposure to repeated mental or physical pain.

Awareness is the antidote of fear. Cultivating self-awareness helps leaders view setbacks with a wider lens, turning obstacles into opportunities.

Example: A leader facing organizational restructuring might initially feel fear of failure. Through self-awareness, they can reframe the situation as an opportunity to demonstrate adaptability and leadership under pressure.
Practical Exercise: At the end of each day, reflect on moments when fear influenced your decisions. Ask, “What was I protecting?” and “What opportunities did I miss?”

Coaching Insight: One of my favorite client tools is the Sabotuer’s Assessment offered through Positive Intelligence. This tool helps clients recognize which learned protective behaviors are holding them back from greatness, and empowers them to learn new behaviors that better serve them in moments of stress or pressure.

Key Concept #4: Train Your Brain

Leaders often operate in high-stress environments. Murphy argues that most of us have never been taught how to manage our minds, allowing doubt and anxiety to dominate, and impedes an individual’s ability to make grounded decisions.

Murphy dedicates an entire chapter to mindfulness techniques that help reset the mind and emotions to navigate challenges with ease. One of these tools is the “Basic Reboot” which helps reset the mind anytime you’re not present.

Stop what you’re doing.
Pick a spot above the horizon and stare at it.
Take two or three deep breaths (inhaling for 4 seconds, exhaling for 6 seconds), letting go of all tension.
Repeat until you feel grounded.

Learn More! If the concept of training your brain intrigues you, check out my 8-week Organizational Mindfulness and Neural Training Program offered in partnership with IOSM. In this course, we’ll discuss many of the tools that Murphy highlights in his book!

Key Concept #5: The Inner Critic, Monkey Mind, and Trickster

Murphy identifies three mental blocks that disrupt focus and decision-making:

Inner Critic: The voice of self-doubt that undermines confidence. Leaders plagued by the inner critic might second-guess decisions or hesitate to take bold action.
Monkey Mind: The scattered, restless thoughts that distract from the present moment. Distraction can lead to poor focus and ineffective communication.
Trickster: The deceptive mindset that rationalizes avoidance or procrastination. Procrastination on difficult decisions can erode team trust and momentum.

These blocks are at play for everyone, no matter how seasoned or self-aware they are. Similar to what was discussed under Key Concept #3, it is the mind’s natural tendency and job to limit exposure to repeated mental or physical pain. These three blocks are tools your mind uses to do just that.

To limit the impact of these blocks, identify which block is at play during challenging moments. Practice labeling the thought (e.g., “That’s my inner critic speaking”), and replace them with empowering beliefs to regain control.

Key Concept #6: Redefine Success Through Effort and Presence

Murphy emphasizes that your best effort is possible no matter how you feel, which I wholeheartedly agree with! A concept I discuss in depth with clients is the difference between ‘best’ and ‘potential.’ Picture a bucket and an herb garden. If the bucket is full of water, you have the potential to water your entire garden. If that bucket only has a few drops of water remaining, then the best you can do is water the ‘thirstier’ herbs like basil or cilantro, and hope that your more resilient herbs like oregano and parsley can survive until your bucket has been refilled.

True success lies in four daily process goals:

Give your best effort for the day. (100% of what is available to you that day.)
Stay present.
Practice gratitude.
Focus on routines and what you can control.

Leadership Example: A leader who just returned from a week-long vacation may choose to focus on getting caught up on the progress that was made while they were out, expressing gratitude for their team members, and getting organized. This choice creates the space for them to be their best for their team, without guilt over not completing their to-do list.

Coaching Insight: Our energy can be divided into six different buckets. Similar to the garden example above, if our buckets are empty, we can’t operate at our potential. Understanding this concept allows us to assess what our ‘best effort’ is for the day, and empowers you to choose activities that help you refill those buckets. Knowing your buckets is one of many strategies to help you increase your self-awareness and increase your potential as a leader!

**Why Inner Excellence is Perfect for Busy Leaders**

Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy is an easy-to-read book filled with stories, strategies, insights, and exercises that busy professionals can easily integrate into their routines. Each chapter ends with summaries and actionable tips, making it a seamless transition from theory to practice.

As a Mindful Leadership Coach, my focus on helping leaders achieve excellence without burning themselves out deeply resonated. Many of my clients aim to lead with clarity and calm, and Murphy’s principles provide the tools to achieve just that.

Final Thoughts

As an Eagles fan and Mindful Leadership Coach, I ordered Inner Excellence after seeing AJ Brown reading it mid-game. And I’m grateful I did.

Murphy’s insights are simple but not always easy. With consistent application, you can achieve extraordinary results while cultivating inner peace. As Murphy reminds us, “Excellence is not about being the best in the world; it’s about being the best for the world.”

The next time you’re looking for a book to inspire and challenge you, pick up Inner Excellence. Your team, your organization, and—most importantly—yourself will thank you.

If this review resonated with you and you’d like more insights on leadership, subscribe to my newsletter for regular updates, or connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram. If you’re ready to take these concepts from theory to practice, consider partnering with a coach. Learn about the Conshy Coaching Process or schedule a complimentary discovery call to start your journey.

Please note: Amazon links are part of their affiliate program. Before purchasing on Amazon, consider checking this book out at your library, or supporting your local independent reseller.