Jim Murphy recalls the moment that everything changed.

“It was just another average, quiet Sunday, and then all of a sudden – out of nowhere – my phone started blowing up,” shares the author and mental skills coach from his home in Ohio. “Text messages, voice mails, notes from people via social media…I had absolutely no idea what was happening.”

What was happening was something quite significant; during an NFL playoff match-up between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers this past January, Eagles star receiver A.J. Brown was spotted on the sidelines during the game…reading a book. That book was Murphy’s 2020 motivational guide to performing under pressure, Inner Excellence.

A minor-league baseball player who bounced around the Chicago Cubs organization for several years, Murphy – who is proud of his rich Irish heritage – admits that he was a bit out-of-sorts when his on-field career came to a close.

“I had to do some serious soul-searching,” he shares. “I knew that I loved the mental element of baseball – and of all sports really – and I got excited by the thought of collecting these ideas and putting them down in a little manual that I could pass along to younger players.

“Sharing my experience, strength and hope was incredibly fulfilling, and I felt like I was being called to serve. But the question remained, how best to serve?”

In 2003, Murphy packed up a few prized possessions and moved to the Sonora Desert in Arizona. There, he would spend – on average – between 50 to 60 hours each week over the next five years researching and writing Inner Excellence.

“I read everything on the subject that I could get my hands on,” he recalls, “and I interviewed anyone and everyone in the field that I could; athletes, coaches, trainers, managers, motivational speakers, members of 12-step support groups, spiritual leaders, and more. I wanted to draw upon a wide spectrum of wisdom in an effort to discover the common denominators of peak performance.”

Once completed, Murphy released the book to the world and then…

“Crickets,” he laughs. “The book didn’t exactly break any records on the bestseller lists. It may have risen as high as 8,000 or 9,000 on Amazon, but it wasn’t like it was flying off the shelf.”

At one-point, Inner Excellence was ranked as low as 523,497 on the online retailer.

“I was $90k in debt, and I had about $100 in my wallet.”

And while he did manage to pick up a few coaching clients from the world of sports, including several MLB players and PGA golfers – and side-hustled with various speaking engagements – success was slow.

Fittingly, perhaps, it took an Eagle to help the work soar to new heights.

“The day after A. J. (Brown) was filmed reading Inner Excellence on the bench, the book shot to number one on Amazon and elsewhere. I went from selling 5 books a day to selling 10,000 books a day. People were all over social media – commenting, recommending, reviewing, influencing…to be honest, it may have been a lucky break, but I feel vindicated for all of the time and effort I had put into it.”

In addition to the first five years that he took to put the tome together, Murphy spent even more time revising his ideas and updating newer editions.

“In all, Inner Excellence represents about 11 years’ worth of researching and writing about performance coaching. What is really interesting, when I think about it, is that I wrote the book to help others become the best version of themselves and to achieve a greater sense of purpose and meaning in their lives. In the end, though, the process likely helped me in those regards more than anyone else.”

That process led Murphy to an even deeper awakening.

“I am a practicing Christian, so I have always had a strong belief in God, and that faith has helped me through some very difficult times both during my career in baseball and since retiring from the game. Over the years I began to understand how the spiritual life – a life of love, devotion, commitment, surrender – is critical for success not only in sports, but in any worthwhile endeavour.

“The principles at play in Inner Excellence are stars with which we can steer our ship though the seas of life…”

He expands upon those ideas in his latest chart-topper, The Best Possible Life.

“The new book raises some important fundamental human questions that we should all be asking ourselves regularly; How do I want to feel? How do I want to live? What do I want most? Who am I meant to become? Many people have told me that, after they do a little digging, they are often surprised by what they unearth.

While self-reflection is essential to staying sane in today’s often-chaotic world, Murphy admits it that introspection isn’t always easy.

“There are a million things each day that distract us, and it’s not like critical thinking is encouraged or even taught in schools anymore – many people, especially younger people, feel powerless to what is going on around them these days and are discouraged about making a difference.

“That said, I wrote both Inner Excellence and The Best Possible Life to remind people that while they may not feel that they can change the world, they can certainly change the world inside of them.”

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