

Accelerating Excellence
James A. King
Accelerating Excellence takes you on a journey into the minds of the world's most elite performers, to reveal their secrets, serving them up on a plate so you can accelerate your own pursuit of excellence. If you know you’re capable of going to the next level, but aren’t quite sure where to start or how to optimise then you’re in the right place.
Each episode of contains captivating interviews with renowned individuals—athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, generals, special forces operators, and scientists. We'll dive deep into their journeys, discovering the defining moments, mindset shifts, and vitally the principles and strategies that propelled them to the pinnacle in their craft.
From the high-pressure stages of world cup finals, Superbowl’s, and world title fights; to covert operations, counter-terrorism, and firefights in the air and on the ground in the world of elite military; and the hundred million dollar P&L swings in the billion dollar world of trading and investing you will be exposed to the fundamental principles that connect all of these individuals success.
Most importantly to me Accelerating Excellence is not just about inspiration; it's about practicality, for you, the listener. We’ll extract actionable insights and practical techniques that you can implement immediately, to stack probability in your favour of success in your own pursuit of excellence.
So, if you’re ready to ignite and expand your potential, to shatter the boundaries that hold you back and unleash the ambition, talent and motivation that exists within you and your team join me, as we empower you to leverage these principles. Get ready to be inspired, shocked, and challenged, you're about to embark on an adventure that will shift your perceptions of what’s possible.
For those who strive to make things better for themselves, and those they care for, manage and lead.
This podcast is for you.
Each episode of contains captivating interviews with renowned individuals—athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, generals, special forces operators, and scientists. We'll dive deep into their journeys, discovering the defining moments, mindset shifts, and vitally the principles and strategies that propelled them to the pinnacle in their craft.
From the high-pressure stages of world cup finals, Superbowl’s, and world title fights; to covert operations, counter-terrorism, and firefights in the air and on the ground in the world of elite military; and the hundred million dollar P&L swings in the billion dollar world of trading and investing you will be exposed to the fundamental principles that connect all of these individuals success.
Most importantly to me Accelerating Excellence is not just about inspiration; it's about practicality, for you, the listener. We’ll extract actionable insights and practical techniques that you can implement immediately, to stack probability in your favour of success in your own pursuit of excellence.
So, if you’re ready to ignite and expand your potential, to shatter the boundaries that hold you back and unleash the ambition, talent and motivation that exists within you and your team join me, as we empower you to leverage these principles. Get ready to be inspired, shocked, and challenged, you're about to embark on an adventure that will shift your perceptions of what’s possible.
For those who strive to make things better for themselves, and those they care for, manage and lead.
This podcast is for you.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 9, 2023 • 2h 5min
Develop the Mindset of One of the Worlds Most Experienced Tier One Special Forces Operators - Jason Henderson
On today's episode, we have Jason Henderson. Hendo is a retired Master Chief in the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. For context, the NSWDG, as it is referred, is the absolute pinnacle of U.S. Tier 1 special forces. Hendo is one of the most experienced Special Forces operators on the planet. He's operated during the most active and violent period the modern special forces era has seen. He served 30 years with the SEAL teams conducting 16 combat tours from Kosovo right through to Afghanistan. Hendo was once described to me as the alpha of the alpha's within his U.S. Special Forces community. Hendo is a black belt under Dave Camarillo in Judo and a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu under Gustavo Machado and is an extremely impressive powerlifter. He's also the founder of the Four Pillars Collective, a not-for-profit team of elite veterans who are committed to upskilling police with tools and techniques proven to reduce and even prevent conflict with the aim of helping to restore confidence in law enforcement. In this episode, we're going to talk about extreme violence, the role of routines in performing under pressure and how to seize control of your emotions so you can deliver when it matters most. I hope you enjoy. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Find Hendo: https://www.hendosec.com https://www.fourpillarscollective.com https://www.instagram.com/hendosecurity https://www.instagram.com/fourpillarscollective Find James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acceleratingexcellence/ https://www.instagram.com/jamesaking_/ https://jamesaking.com/ The Mindset App: While the app is under development, we have decided to provide access to the full content for free on YouTube for a limited time. You can find the courses within our playlists or by the link below. I hope you enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/@AcceleratingExcellence/playlists

Oct 6, 2023 • 18min
Lessons in Excellence: Mastering the Art of High-Performance Team Building
James reflects on his conversation with Sir Clive Woodward and discusses building elite performance tech teams, what it takes to win, and how to set and enforce high standards.

Oct 2, 2023 • 1h 50min
The Shocking Truth About Why Your Team's Not Everything You Know It Could Be - Sir Clive Woodward
Today on the podcast we have Sir Clive Woodward, Grand Slam winning international rugby player and British and Irish lion, accomplished businessman. He was England's first professional rugby coach and led England to become 2003 World Championships in Australia, where Johnny Wilkinson kicked that iconic drop goal against the Aussies to clinch it for England. He won 12 consecutive games against Southern Hemisphere sides, which was unheard of for a Northern Hemisphere side to do back in 2003, and I'm not sure if that will ever be repeated again. He was Director of Sport for Team GB at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and the London 2012 Olympics, and he's now busy producing a high performance talent factory within British Snow Sport, with the aim of producing that first gold medalist for Team GB. In this episode we're of course going to talk about that iconic drop goal and what was going through Sir Clive's head at the time, but we're also going to focus on building elite performance tech teams, what it takes to win, and how to set and enforce high standards. I hope you enjoy. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Find Sir Clive: https://www.clivewoodward.com/ https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sirclivewoodward Find James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acceleratingexcellence/ https://www.instagram.com/jamesaking_/ https://jamesaking.com/ The Mindset App: While the app is under development, we have decided to provide access to the full content for free on YouTube for a limited time. You can find the courses within our playlists or by the link below. I hope you enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/@AcceleratingExcellence/playlists 🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-accelerating-excellence-podcast/id1706636304

Oct 1, 2023 • 20min
Lessons in Excellence: The Algorithms that Power your Life and How to Master them
In this lesson James reflects on his conversation with Ted Rath and discusses the importance of habits and understanding how they work, so you are best able to optimise them in your day to day life.

Sep 28, 2023 • 7min
Lessons in Excellence: Maximising the ROI of your Ambition, Talent and Effort
James discusses the importance of prioritising your development tomorrow, not your ego today, and examine why humility is so important in terms of optimising your development trajectory following his conversation with Gorm Thomassen.

Sep 28, 2023 • 27min
Lessons in Excellence: The Three Crucial Psychological Skills That Separate the Outliers From the Rest
James introduces you to a model that you can use as your own personal performance barometer and master the art of not panicking, drawing upon examples from his recent conversation with WBO Cruiserweight World Champion Chris Billam-Smith.

Sep 28, 2023 • 15min
Lessons in Excellence: Nine Actionable Strategies to Propel Your Leadership to New Levels
James deconstructs his nine key takeaways from his conversation with General McChrystal. Walking the walk, taking risk, and competitive environments to dealing with adversity, the role of belief and the power of listening.

Sep 25, 2023 • 1h 21min
NFL Performance Secrets from Inside the Eagles Nest - Ted Rath
Ted Rath has held multiple prestigious roles in the NFL at the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins and LA Rams. He is currently Vice president of player performance for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles went 22-1 last season, making the Superbowl, where they lost on a brutal, last second field goal 38-35 to Patrick Mahomes Kansas city Chiefs. I’ve been privileged to see Ted doing what he does best first hand at the Eagles HQ in Philli. The intensity, passion and focus Ted brings on this podcast is exactly what he delivers to the superstars such as Jalen Hurts, AJ Carter and Brandon Graham day in, day out. In this episode we focus on how excellence is a series of days that repeat and that to excel we must win each day. We’re going to talk the power of process, the make-up of elite athletes like Jalen Hurts, and the habits that will enable you to win your days. I hope you enjoy. James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acceleratingexcellence/ https://www.instagram.com/jamesaking_/ https://jamesaking.com/ Ted: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-rath-4ba02928/ https://www.instagram.com/tedrathstrengthcoach/ https://twitter.com/ted_rath The Mindset App: While the app is under development, we have decided to provide access to the full content for free on YouTube for a limited time. You can find the courses within the playlists section on our channel at the link below. I hope you enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/@AcceleratingExcellence

Sep 18, 2023 • 1h 18min
Philosophy and Fortune: The Secret Qualities of a Market Wizard that Fuel Innovative, Unconventional and Disruptive Performance
Gorm Thomassen is the CIO of AKO Capital- one of the London’s leading investment funds, managing around 22 billion dollars in capital. AKO are one of those rare organisations that practice what they preach and have profound methodology behind the results they produce- that we’ll explore during this conversation. In this episode we’re going to talk about how Gorm and his team handle hundred million dollar plus pnl swings, some philosophy and the powerful role humility plays in building elite performance. I hope you enjoy. James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acceleratingexcellence/ https://www.instagram.com/jamesaking_/ https://jamesaking.com/ Gorm: https://www.akocapital.com/ The Mindset App: While the app is under development, we have decided to provide access to the full content for free on YouTube for a limited time. You can find the courses within the playlists section on our channel at the link below. I hope you enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/@AcceleratingExcellence

Sep 11, 2023 • 1h 16min
How to Ignite the Leader in You, Expand Your Potential and Win - General Stanley McChrystal
General Stanley A. McChrystal is a master strategist and visionary leader, the former Commander of special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The retired four-star general led the war on terror carrying out unprecedented success against multiple high value targets significantly disrupting terrorist networks around the globe. Standby for some inspiration as we delve deep into this exceptional military mind. His development of counterinsurgency warfare transformed the way special forces work. I’m sure case studies on the strategies and techniques he cultivated will be taught at Military Academy’s and within special forces communities across the world a hundred years from now. General Stanley also the Founder AND CEO of the McCrystal Group, a leadership consulting group that specialises in teamwork and strategic planning. He’s also the best-selling author of multiple books including; My Share of the Task; Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, Leaders: Myth and Reality, and Risk: A User’s Guide- all of which I highly recommend. In this episode we receive a masterclass in leadership, we talk President Obama and bouncing back from adversity. I hope you enjoy. General Stanley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanmcchrystal/ https://www.mcchrystalgroup.com/ James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acceleratingexcellence/ https://www.instagram.com/jamesaking_/ https://www.jamesaking.com/ The Mindset App: While the app is under development, we have decided to provide access to the full content for free on YouTube for a limited time. You can find the courses within the playlists section on our channel at the link below. I hope you enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/@AcceleratingExcellence