Ty Murray is the "King of the Cowboys", and one of the best to ever do it in the sport of rodeo.

He stared down 1,500 pound bulls and made it look easy, when it was "scary and dangerous."

How did he deal with being thrown into the fire? He dedicated himself to the basics and building the proper foundation first.

Murray mastered the arts of bull riding, bareback riding and saddle bronc riding, earning 7 world all around titles plus multiple bull riding world titles in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) league.

Moment of Excellence from Ty Murray:

"What has to happen first is you have to have an understanding and develop an Excellence in the basics. I feel every endeavor in life has basics that you've got to be able to do. If you get thrown into the fire, you're not learning basics. You're just trying to stay alive. And if you can learn the basics really well first, and get where it's automatic and you don't think about it and your body just knows how to react in those ways, then when the fire does come, you're ready for it."

This is a must listen episode for stories from on and off the dirt and how he also helped build the PBR into one of the world's largest sports leagues.

Guest Jennifer Lynne Williams has been breaking barriers and glass ceilings her whole life. Now, as the Chief Development Officer of the USA Basketball Foundation, she continues to make a difference.

Williams is a former captain of the North Carolina basketball team and also a former athletic director at Alabama State University, and has been recognized with many accolades.

"To be Excellent, you have to be able to stay focused," Williams says during the episode. "For me, I think it goes back to when I was in high school and I was taught to be an independent thinker. When you  know who you are and what you stand for, it's easy to be Excellent. And also to exude Excellence because you're comfortable in your own skin. Also, knowing your core values is key."

Overcoming fear and challenges has also been part of her story, especially when she possibly didn't "look the part" when she was truly qualified.

"I think at the end of the day, you have to know what you're doing it for and it's bigger than you," Williams says. "I was able to break a barrier in situations where you didn't see African-American women fundraising at the division one level. And by showing up every day and being prepared, it has inspired another generation."

For more Excellence, visit www.xlete.com

For about the USA Basketball Foundation, visit USABfoundation.org.

Linda Hartough is a fine artist who followed her beliefs to establish a new genre of golf art.

Since 1984, she has captured some of the world's most beautiful golf courses through stunningly realistic paintings including Augusta National, Carnoustie, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews.

But her story also includes a deep dive into her business acumen and how that prevented her from being a "starving artist."

Hartough on Excellence:

"I think of Excellence as an individual's pursuit of developing their talent. I think everyone has a talent, but some people never realize it, Usually, if a person has passion and they know that's their purpose, then they are going to develop that to Excellence. It's just a natural progression."

Visit xlete.com for more Excellence.

Hartough is credited as a trailblazer within the golf fine art industry and information about her work is available at Hartough.com. 

Along the way, Hartough was a founding trustee of The Academy of Golf Art, which brings Excellence to the genre of golf art by attracting world-class artists, who offer their vision of the game to the fine art medium.

This could be our most important episode to date.

Dr. Gerald E. Harmon is a practicing family medical specialist and also the president of the American Medical Association. At arguably no time in our history due to Covid-19 and other medical issues, is serving these roles been more important.

In this episode, Dr. Harmon shares the excellence he witnesses from his colleagues, his definition of Excellence, why taking the advice of medical professionals is a little bit of Excellence, the impact of Covid-19 and why vaccinations are important, and more.

Dr. Harmon's bio is filled with Excellence, including serving as major general in the Air Force, chief physician for the National Guard Bureau and assistant surgeon general for the U.S. Air Force. He has also been decorated with the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal and other honors.

"One of the things I've learned with excellence is that my patients can trust me.," Harmon said during the episode. "They can trust their provider, the healthcare provider, whether it's me as a physician, whether it's someone coming in and taking their vital signs, (or anyone in the medical field. ) I've given interviews and people have said, 'what's the most important thing you've learned in medicine? And what's the most valuable thing you've taken away?' I think the most valuable thing I would take away is that people have trusted me. I've earned a patient's trust."

Dr. Harmon offers terrific advice  throughout the episode, medical and otherwise.

That's why I dubbed him, Dr. Advice.

I hope you enjoy the episode. --Brian Hurlburt, host.

For more about the Magnifying Excellence podcast, visit. xlete.com

"Go Before You Are Ready."

A life mantra and one of the 10 LOE's (lines of effort) of Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, the only person in history to be both a United States Air Force pilot and PGA of America professional.

During this episode, the uplifting Dan Rooney shares inspiration and conversations about his journey of Excellence, which includes thoughts behind the meaning of the title of his book, "Fly Into the Wind - How to Harness Faith and Fearlessness on Your Ascent to Greatness."

From Rooney, who also is the founder of Foldsofhonor.org, an organization that has awarded scholarships to 35,000 children of fallen military heroes:

"Go before you are ready. If I I had an Anthem in my life, that's probably it. I really believe that people who go before they're ready, that's the DNA that ties greatness together."

Also, he will reveal the life-altering lessons he learned as a fighter pilot that can translate into life for all of us.

"Being a fighter pilot changed me forever," Rooney said during the episode.  "The number one thing you learn about Excellence is that it's a business of no excuses and very high stakes and being prepared. Number one, being very open and transparent about your mistakes in a world where everybody tries to hide everything. When you make a mistake on a mission, you write it down and you come in and you openly share those with the group in the spirit of humility and getting better."

Lt. Col. Dan Rooney. Take a few minutes and listen to his message and learn more about his story.

For more about the Magnifying Excellence podcast, visit. xlete.com

This is the story of Simon Keith's Excellence. Simon has survived and thrived as a two-time heart transplant recipient and was the first athlete to play professionally following his first procedure.

During this episode, Simon shares:

- His definition of Excellence that is similar to that of Tiger Woods
- How to embrace fear and what it was like moments before his heart was removed
- How to not waste your opportunities
- Why motivation is overrated but discipline is underrated.
- Who inspired him to create the Simon Keith Foundation and why
- Much more from the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame member

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This is about 23 minutes of candid and exclusive Excellence with Annika Sorenstam, arguably the greatest women's golfer in history.

She shares with host Brian Hurlburt amazing insights on how to overcome shyness, simplify golf, not fear Excellence, which golfers she emulated to refine her swing and game, and much more.

This is the story of Annika, so take a few moments to be inspired by her Excellence as we share her journey.

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Episode Highlights

• Overcoming shyness
• A willingness to never stop learning
• Shooting the only 59 in LPGA tour history
• Playing in a PGA Tour event
• How she put together her golf game by emulating several all-time greats
• How to simplify the game of golf
• And much, much more

It would seem as if being permanently paralyzed in a racing car accident would be the worst day of a person's life.

For today's guest, Sam Schmidt, it just might have been one of the best days of his life. Listen now as he take a deep dive of his Excellence journey with us.

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Former Indy Car champion Sam Schmidt defines true  Excellence.  This episode explores his amazing story of being an Indy Car champ, paraplegic, a return to racing, successful entrepreneurship, race team owner, philanthropist and more.

From Schmidt's episode:

"I think one of the more enlightening observations is that when I was young, I was arguing pretty selfish. And  I thought I felt satisfaction in only  generating excellence with myself, but now I think I find more satisfaction in helping to cultivate the experts and others. And I realized totally that I had professional athlete insurance, and resources and an education and a support system, and  that enabled me to continue on post my accident and probably do a heck of a lot more with my life in this situation than I would have out of a wheelchair."

Listen to his amazing and inspirational story now.

During this episode, Darren Cahill (ESPN announcer, tennis player and coach) Shares:

• His definition of Excellence
• The 8 most important things you need to do to achieve Excellence
• Coaching memories and what he learned from Andre Agassi
• What makes for a great TV commentator
• The greatest lesson he learned about coaching from his father, the legendary John Cahill
• How he was inspired the Excellence of Bjorn Borg
• And he describes the greatest match he ever witnessed

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Cahill is here to share his journey of Excellence. As always, this isn't a glorification of Excellence, but a deep examination of it.

Cahill has achieved his own excellence on the tennis court and in the broadcasting booth, and he’s also been front row to Excellence as a coach of some of the all time greats, including Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Simona Halep.

Excerpt from Episode:

"I reckon the one quote that I learned that's kind of stuck with me is when I first started with Andre Agassi, I came across Gil Reyes. Gil's a Las Vegas guy here and he was with the UNLV Runnin' Rebels for a bunch of years. And Andre was able to coax him out of that job to become his full-time fitness, strength and fitness trainer. But he's more than that. He's like a second father to Andre. Here's this great saying; it's really simple: It's just 'plan the work, work the plan,' that's it."

Tasha Schwikert Moser had to perform under the brightest lights and intense pressure when mere seconds would define her performance and career.

Listen now as this Olympic medal winner for Team USA ,turned attorney, shares stories, inspirations and more from her journey of Excellence, which featured challenges (as they all do.)

The Magnifying Excellence Podcast is a timeless journey of Excellence, when our guests talk exclusively and candidly about their journeys of Excellence like never before. This is not a glorification of excellence, but an examination of the all-encompassing path of Excellence. Hosted by Brian Hurlburt.

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The multi-talented Schwikert Moser is one of the most notable Team USA gymnasts in history—winning team bronze in 2000—and continues to make a mark as a successful attorney, mother, wife and as an advocate for sexual assault victims. She and many of her teammates were horribly wronged by a team doctor and she has taken power from it to make change.

Schwikert describes how there is little margin for error in gymnastics and when practicing the law. Plus, how she found her true passion under the intense heat of the Las Vegas summer sun.

She was a 2-time NCAA champion and graduate with a sociology degree from UCLA and is a member of the Team USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. She is also a graduate of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law and corporate attorney for Munck Wilson in Texas.

This is the Excellence of Tasha Schwikert Moser.