Football players are usually responsible for selling tickets and jerseys. But an NFL star accidentally turned a self-help book into a bestseller.

Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver AJ Brown was spotted reading “Inner Excellence” on the sidelines during his team’s game against the Packers on Sunday. The moment went viral and caused book sales to skyrocket.

As of Tuesday morning, the book, which promises to “train your mind for extraordinary achievements and the best life possible,” is the best-selling book on Amazon.

Published in 2020, Inner Excellence teaches readers that when they look within and reflect on their desires and mindsets around success, they can achieve better results in their chosen areas.

“Most of us have done it backwards, trying to be successful in order to be happy,” writes author Jim Murphy in the book’s introduction. “However, if we focus on improving our inner world, we will achieve much more.”

For Brown, “Inner Excellence” is a useful tool for keeping his mind sharp during games, describing the challenges of football as “90% mental and 10% physical.”

“When I score a touchdown or drop a pass, that’s how I refocus,” Brown said when asked about the book after the game. “(The book) says that if you just have a clear mind and remember that nothing else matters, a clear conscience, nothing negative or positive, you are willing to take risks. I’m not embarrassed.

Among Murphy’s many ideas in the book is the argument that the world has a generally flawed view of competition. This zero-sum game view prevents people from adopting a more successful mindset, he argues.

Murphy identified five common refrains about competition and how someone with an “Inner Excellence” mindset would view them instead.

• Winning is everything: “Developing inner strength, fully experiencing the moment and continuously growing is far more sustainable and powerful,” he writes.
• They are your results: “Results are an inconsistent measure of success and failure,” Murphy argues. “You can perform poorly and win, just as you can perform well and lose.”
• The opponent is the enemy: Instead of viewing your opponent as the “enemy” to be defeated, he suggests viewing them as the other half of the same coin. “The opponent is our dance partner,” he writes.
• Failure is not an option: “Failure is the key component of growth,” he writes. “There is no real ‘failure,’ just feedback.” This mindset is shared by one of the greatest champions in the history of sports: Tom Brady. The champion quarterback said a steady stream of failures and rejections early in his sports career helped make him a seven-time Super Bowl winner.
• Strong competitors get angry when they lose: “The best competitors develop emotional control and use mistakes to get better,” says Murphy.

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