Summary:
- The $10m question on the Rich Roll podcast had some misunderstandings
- I’m now a resident of Spain!
- The Inner Excellence retreat Nov. 7-11 is the last one until November 2027! There’s a few spots left. Register here.
- Come say hi in Philly at the Mets game Sept. 9 (see if I can still throw a baseball!).
Note: Please pray for the humanitarian crises around the world, especially civil wars in Sudan and Myanmar. Please also continue to pray for ceasefire in Gaza and donate to humanitarian organizations like Amnesty International to help those suffering and dying in the genocide.
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The controversial question* from my conversation with Rich Roll on his podcast (had an amazing time with Rich):
Would you rather own a $10 million house on the ocean, completely paid off, and have all the normal concerns of that person, OR… would you rather live in an apartment, paycheck to paycheck the rest of your life–no savings–but be guaranteed amazing experiences, deep enriching relationships, and be filled with love, peace, and joy, every day of your life.
This is a thought experiment taken from my latest book The Best Possible Life: How to live with deep contentment, joy, and confidence–no matter what. designed to help you think deeply about your life and what you want most.
The hypothesis: The reason you/me/we want the nice house on the water, in general, is because we see it as a way to have amazing experiences, deep, enriching relationships, and great feelings. In other words, we don’t want the house itself (the wood, brick, and shingles), we want what we think it will bring us. Since that’s the case, the most powerful way to live (and perhaps even get the house) is to go for WHAT YOU REALLY WANT directly. Build your character and let the rest be added to you.
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This past monday, Sept. 3, I received my Spanish residency card! If you ever move to a foreign country, let me know. (Tip: Get comfortable being uncomfortable, and if your spanish-only speaking tradesman doesn’t show up four times in a row, he’s still doing the best he can with what he has in his heart. 😎) Btw, “move” may be a bit misleading. Yes I now have residency, but realistically, I’ll be spending more time in the NYC/Philly area as we work on bringing Inner Excellence to inner city Philly! (I’m in Spain now, flying to NYC thursday, with plans on coming back to Spain mid-November to early December). I get to Philly Monday 9/8 and throw out the first pitch at the Phillies/Mets game Tuesday, 9/9.
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The YWAM/Inner Excellence Retreat is here! Inner Excellence has teamed up with YWAM (Youth With a Mission), a non-profit organization that has a Homes of Hope division where they/we build a house for a family start to finish in two days. Watch a video of last April’s build here!. This is the only chance for the public to do an Inner Excellence retreat (you get both the full Inner Excellence retreat and YWAM house build) until November 2027. The spots fill fast so don’t hesitate (20 people is the cap).
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Update on Inner Excellence and my life
2025 has been an incredible whirlwind. I’m super excited for what’s to come:
- We are moving to Substack! This will enable you to get more content and learn and grow in Inner Excellence in a deeper way. There’s nothing you have to do–except watch for it in your mailbox!
- The next 3 weeks I’ll be (potentially) holing up in a cabin somewhere on the East coast wrapping up final edits to the soon-to-be-released (end of March) updated version of The Best Possible Life.
- That is, of course, after I have the incredible honor of throwing out the first pitch at the Mets/Phillies game Sept. 9.
- The Inner Excellence workbook is the 3rd book of the three-book deal I signed with Hachette Book Group. Super excited about this–comes out in 2026.
- The Inner Excellence podcast is in the works for 2026! I’ve done over 200 interviews since AJ Brown’s post-game interview !after the wildcard game. Time for me to start doing the interviewing!❤️
Love Jim
PS
If you want to see the reaction to this question, go to my instagram account and see the Rich Roll post.
Instagram @innerexcellencejimmurphy
LinkedIn @innerexcellence
TikTok @innerexcellencejimmurphy
Facebook @innerexcellence