Heart First, Performance Second
Aug 04, 2026
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I’m picky about the books I bring to these monthly series. I always hope you read the books and because I know time is precious, I want them to be worthy of your time. I want them to be “big bang for your buck” books. I want them to be worth the dishes waiting in the sink for a few more minutes while you read.
Usually, I have an idea of what I want the topic to be and then research books that might support it. August happened differently.
I’m not sure how Inner Excellence (affiliate link) ended up on my reading list. The author, Jim Murphy, was a baseball player and now coaches professional and Olympic athletes. At first glance, it’s not my usual kind of book. It gets filed under business and management…not the normal section I wander toward when I’m choosing books for women who are trying to live with more grace, self-trust, and from True Self.
I was fairly certain this book had ended up on my list accidentally, so I checked it out from the library through the Libby app first. It’s a stretch the book budget strategy I’ve adopted over the years. Borrow. Return if necessary. No buyer’s remorse.
I bought it after reading it for thirty minutes.
What I loved was Murphy’s philosophy of “heart first, performance second.” And yes, it does apply to athletes, but it also applies to life coaching and thought work. It applies to a woman starting a business, raising children, launching children, navigating a new career, retiring from a career.
His approach isn’t about pressure, athletic discipline, or crushing goals. It’s an invitation to tend our inner life. It’s about self-leadership, training your heart and mind so you can show up with “clear mind” and an “unburdened heart.”
This is what thought work does. It helps us notice what we are thinking and believing, tend what is happening inside us, separate from what we are making it mean, and choose how we want to show up.
It’s how we live congruently. Congruence is when your inner life and outer life begin telling the same story. It’s part of learning to live from your True Self.
This book belongs on the bookshelves of elite athletes, but it also deserves a space on yours. It kept bringing me back to the same work I do in coaching. The heart. The mind. The thoughts we practice. The stories we believe. The way we respond when life does not go as planned. The way we bring our best and do our best and don’t let the results be an indicator of our worth.
The subtitle of the book, Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life, does make me think of stadiums and podiums, but in real life, it can be drinking the water, taking the walk, making the appointment, opening the document. It’s not Olympic gold, but it’s still gold.
To me, the best possible life happens when you are learning to live from your True Self in the middle of the life you actually have. Murphy writes about wanting more than tangible goals. He names our desire to feel alive, to grow, to have meaningful relationships, to pursue dreams, and to experience the “fullness of life.”
As we move into August, this might be a book you want to dive into. Check it out on Libby first. Here’s my affiliate link for Inner Excellence if you decide you want your own copy too. Thanks for supporting this work.
In the meantime, I’ll be cheering your on toward “heart first, performance second” and all the nuances of inner excellence. If this stirred something in you, especially around the thoughts running in the background, life coaching might be a good fit. Send me a message and we can talk about what it would look like to notice thoughts in real life.
If this resonated and you’d like to try life coaching, send me a message and let’s set something up.
