Accelerating Excellence: The Principles That Drive Elite Performance

by James A. King

AMBITION IS NOT THE PROBLEM. FOLLOW THROUGH IS. In Accelerating Excellence James King draws on his fifteen years of experience as a trusted advisor to some of the worlds most elite and exclusive organisations combined with cutting edge scientific research to reveal the foundational principles that are proven to drive elite performance. This inspiring book is bursting with highly actionable strategies you can apply today that will make you better tomorrow. You will learn how to:- Align with the principles all outlier performers have leveraged in order to obtain and sustain elite performance- Ignite your psychological firepower and unleash the inner confidence, motivation and resilience that we all know drive success. - Apply a methodology that will channel your ambition, talent and effort so allowing you to get better faster.- Rapidly acquire skills that stick blowing the 10,000-hour rule out the water. - Win the head game mastering your emotions so you can access your best when it matters most - Generate breakthrough solutions to innovate and stay ahead of the rest. Accelerating Excellence will revolutionise the way you perceive excellence, potential and talent, crushing some of the most entrenched assumptions along the way. You will emerge inspired about the possibility that exists before you, enriched with purpose, structure and direction along with a biological and psychological edge over the competition.

519 pages, Paperback

Published April 12, 2021

Reviews

[Terry Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling book on cultivating excellence.
It felt like a Tony Robbins-style self-help book, but delivered from an ex–special forces perspective—regimented, thorough, and highly disciplined. I appreciated how comprehensive it was, covering countless areas for self-improvement. The examples and stories with each lesson made it engaging and motivating.

This may not be a life-changing read, but if you adopt its mindset, it can certainly help you achieve more.

[C Corbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book with a strong golden thread running through, that encapsulates a hell of a lot of pre-existing books and theories into one place very well.

However, in places it is clear this book has not been properly published with professional editors - there are some basic copy errors. That’s the only reason it loses a star for me.

[Mandy Lehti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accelerating Excellence by James A. King is the kind of performance manifesto that feels like being handed the secret playbook everyone suspects elite performers have but can never quite access. King blends science, psychology, and high level organizational insight into a roadmap that’s both deeply motivational and shockingly practical.

What stands out most is how actionable everything is. King isn’t theorizing he’s handing you tools. His breakdown of psychological firepower, his demolition of the 10,000 hour myth, and his emphasis on emotional mastery make this book read like a masterclass in human optimization.

Readers who love structure, science backed strategies, and high performance frameworks will devour this. King writes with clarity, authority, and genuine belief in human potential, making the entire book feel like a personal invitation to step into your best self.

If performance, mastery, and sustained excellence are your jam, this book delivers big time.

[Jamie Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elite performance is attainable if you follow the top tips in this book. Some really good and thought provoking chapters, particularly around training. As the author states, this book is best read as a novel, I.e. from start to finish and can then be used as a reference tool to drop in and out of when you need to refresh your memory. I think I’ll be using this book on a regular basis.

[MR F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights. I’ve read a lot on performance and psychology but there were lots of interesting lessons from someone who knows the thou and has a broad experience implementing it.