Yesterday, I woke up to find a tiny suitcase on my pillow with a note attached:
Gone fishing. Don't wait up.
–Your brain
I tried to panic, but that requires a brain, so I just stood there drooling slightly as my neighbor’s cat judged me from the windowsill. Without my brain, I discovered I could still perform basic functions—breathing, scrolling social media, making coffee—but complex thoughts were replaced by a strange humming noise, like an old refrigerator contemplating retirement.
By noon, I received a postcard from my brain. It was lounging on a tiny beach chair somewhere in the tropics of my subconscious, sipping a mental margarita.
Sorry for the sudden departure, but you've been overworking me, feeding me doom-scrolling and anxiety for breakfast, and expecting peak performance without rest. I needed some me-time.
Fair enough, brain. Fair enough.
As I wandered through my day in a fog, accidentally putting the milk in the cupboard and the cereal for the kids in the fridge, I found an old fortune cookie in the pantry and cracked open after lunch:
The excellence you seek is not external but internal. Listen to Jim Murphy.
Jim Murphy? The name rang a bell in my empty cranium.
That's when I remembered, last week I interviewed Jim Murphy, author of the NY Times bestseller Inner Excellence, the very book NFL star AJ Brown was seen reading during the Super Bowl. This is the man who coaches elite athletes and leaders on mental skills and high performance!
Just as I realized this, my doorbell rang. There stood my brain, tanned and refreshed, ready to move back in.
"I heard Jim Murphy is on your podcast. I wouldn't miss that for the world."
And that's why I am writing to you today. My brain and I have reconciled, and we're both excited to announce the video version of the latest podcast episode featuring Jim Murphy himself, diving deep into the principles of Inner Excellence—how to master your mindset, become "unoffendable" in a critical world, and transform your relationship with challenges.
Ready to train your mind for extraordinary performance?
Click here to listen to the full episode where Jim reveals the mental techniques that took his book from obscurity to #1 overnight after a single NFL sideline appearance.
Your brain deserves this vacation without having to leave your skull.
As always,
Brian
P.S. – If your brain ever leaves a tiny suitcase on your pillow, tell it that your pal O’Leary, and perhaps Jim Murphy, has some thoughts about that.
Let your friends and family know that they should subscribe to this here O’Leary Letter at briandoleary.com
P.P.S. – Find
INNER EXCELLENCE: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life (Grand Central Publishing, April 29, 2025) by Jim Murphy
at briandoleary.com/innerexcellence
