PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Step aside, Oprah.
Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver AJ Brown might start his own book club after a little side-reading from self-help author Jim Murphy. the hottest seller on Amazon overnight.
The Eagles receiver passed on the playbook and checked out an inspirational headline — Brown casually ignored the action from Philadelphia’s playoff game. and I flipped through the pages from Murphy’s book, “Inner Excellence.”
The little-known mental skills coach’s book was ranked No. 1 on Amazon’s best-seller list Monday morning. It took the top spot on the trending list after being ranked 523,497th. This leap has earned it a new leading position in the market. list of movers and shakers.
He still had to break through the top 100 for sales in 2025, however. Mel Robbins, Rebecca Yarros, Kristin Hannah and the likes still reigned supreme.
Undoubtedly powered by Eagles fans“Inner Excellence” has been reviewed 375 times and rated 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon. For comparison, Freida McFadden’s critically acclaimed book, “The Housemaid,” had 431,491 reviews with a 4.5 rating, but it was ranked nine places behind it on the bestseller list.
“AJ Brown recommended this book, so I’m looking forward to reading it. Fly Eagles Fly,” one reviewer wrote on the site.
Murphy, a former minor league outfielder in the Chicago Cubs organization, told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday night that his phone began blowing up with text messages once his book was accessed on a game NFL playoffs.
After his career ended, Murphy became intrigued by the idea of teaching baseball players to have confidence under pressure.
“I spent five years full time writing and researching the answer to this question,” Murphy said. “It became the book ‘Inner Excellence’.”
Brown, who had 67 catches for 1,079 yards and seven touchdowns this season, described the book’s lessons as helpful because football is “90 percent mental and 10 percent physical for me.”
Brown later shared a photo of the book on social networks with several passages highlighted and underlined in yellow.
Brown said he was surprised his moment went viral because he says he often reads on the sidelines, but added, “Y’all caught me that time.”
“If I score a touchdown or drop a pass, it’s a way for me to refocus,” Brown said. “I always go back to the beginning of the book. It says that if you can just have a clear mind and remember that nothing else matters, a clear conscience, nothing matters, negative or positive. You are willing to take risks. It also says that if you are humble, you cannot be embarrassed.
It must have worked. The Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers and advanced into the NFL playoffs.
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