A Willingness to Do What Works
I’d like mornings better if they started later.
—Garfield
Like many night owl college students, there was a time in my life when I was only awake at 5:00 a.m. because I was still up partying from the night before.
Even as I left school and began working full-time, I still only woke up early if I felt there were no other viable options. I had no love of early mornings or embracing the sunrise. In fact, I would plan my mornings to be as short as humanly possible.
If I had to leave the house for work by 7:00 am, I was awake no earlier than 6:30 a.m. In that 30 minutes I would rush around like the house was on fire, shoving food in my face as I got dressed and styling my hair as I ran out the door.
From where I stand today, it was madness—sheer madness.
How did I let myself act like that for so long? How did I miss the opportunity available to me to wake up with intention, with a plan, and with any reason other than survival?
Where I was then is where many people stand today. Their days begin with madness. For them, waking up in a self-inflicted chaos is just another typical morning.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who wake up with no plan and no energy. Their mornings consist of piddling around, checking Facebook, and simply wasting hour after hour. They accomplish nothing and arrive at work with little or no ambition to do anything all day.
I know these kinds of people exist because I have been both of them myself at one point or another. It can be so easy to fall into the trap of waking up again and again without a solid sense of purpose, meaning, or direction.
It’s disheartening to witness so much potential being thrown away in myself and others, especially when I know that this problem can be solved with only a few simple strategies. Whether a morning routine is a battleground of insanity or nothing more than a few wasted hours, it’s not the way mornings were meant to be.
You can do better—much better.
COMFORT: THE ENEMY OF GREATNESS
Whenever I imagine my ideal life, I tend to use the same few words to describe what I want to see: ambition, success, prosperity, and greatness.
Maybe it’s the hundreds of personal development books that I have read over the years that have brainwashed me, or maybe there is something there, something deeper.
For years I have been in active pursuit of closing the gap on my potential, seeking to achieve greatness. As a personal development fanatic, I have found that greatness, like success, is a noble goal and worthy of pursuit.
Over the years, it has become clear that simple, daily habits (like waking up early or going for a run) are the backbone to the greatness that I seek. The problem is that on any given day, I am not necessarily in hot pursuit of greatness. Instead, I am looking for the next most comfortable place to rest.
In spite of my success, I routinely find myself going out of my way to avoid hard work, postpone challenges, and eliminate anything that might make me feel uncomfortable. Comfort is addicting. It’s easy to achieve and it’s everywhere.
Everything being sold, pitched, and dangled at us is another tool, gadget, or gizmo designed to make our lives easier.
Is that what you want?
Do you really want your life to be easier and more comfortable? Or, instead, do you want your life to be more meaningful and your existence to exemplify greatness?
For my own use, I have defined greatness as the active pursuit of my potential. Greatness is not a finite position or end goal. It is a process, an ongoing battle, and a daily fight.
You achieve greatness by becoming the highest and best version of yourself every single day. This is not about the perception others have of you, but about how you decide to live your life each morning as the sun rises and to continue that pursuit all day long.
Earl Nightingale, known as the father of the modern personal development movement, defined success as “the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” In other words, if you actively and consistently work toward inspiring and challenging goals that push you toward your own potential, you are successful, and in turn, living a life of greatness.
On one episode of my podcast, I borrowed a brilliant idea from Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS magazine, and presented an argument that focus is the most important skill in the 21st century. I also described how distractions are the greatest enemy to focus.
In our world today, comfort may be the ultimate distraction and the defining enemy of greatness. Nothing will cause you to give up faster, let your guard down sooner, or simply lose focus with greater ease than comfort.
Your brain’s natural desire is comfort, tradition, and sameness, which is why habits can become so powerful and automatic.
It takes real work to overcome your natural tendencies and avoid comfort, which ultimately holds you back from growth. Comfort does not assist in your growth; instead, it actively works against you.
Eating fatty foods, drinking alcohol, borrowing money, staying up late, watching TV, and avoiding awkward social interactions are all examples of our natural desire to take the easy road instead of the right one.
You have a choice. The alternative to these examples is less sexy, and that’s what makes them so unappealing in the short term and so powerful over the course of our lives.
• Instead of eating fatty foods, you could order a salad.
• Instead of drinking alcohol, you could opt for water.
• Instead of borrowing money, you could save up the cash for later.
• Instead of staying up late, you could go to bed early.
• Instead of watching TV, you could read a fascinating book.
• Instead of walking away from a conversation, you could engage in an intriguing dialogue.
It’s true, the alternatives to our natural tendencies are less sexy. They are uncomfortable and require us to work just a little harder. However, these simple, daily choices are the same ones that make a powerful difference when applied consistently over time, and they are the same ones that ultimately lead to greatness.
You have a choice. You can seize these growth opportunities or fall victim to the easy comfort that follows you around like a cute puppy.
To achieve greatness and fight its opposing force of comfort, you will have to lean into the pain and, at least to a small degree, lean into masochism.
Masochism is “the enjoyment of what appears to be painful or tiresome.” When you embrace masochism you acknowledge and even appreciate the growing pains.
Over time you can overcome the tendency to lean toward comfort by training your “masochism muscles.” You can literally train yourself to enjoy the growth process as you strengthen your resolve and transform into a higher and better version of yourself.
I’m not arguing that you will actually become the kind of person who enjoys pain, but that you can strengthen your ability and willingness to push through when times get tough instead of backing off or giving up altogether.
You will get more done when you have stronger muscles and can repel the distraction of comfort. You can also be more productive and successful if you train yourself to build the energy, systems, and muscles to do the hard work every day.
The process of training your masochism muscles is a series of habits. It is the act of doing small things every day in many areas of life, which eventually lead to significant growth in the long run.
Over the course of this book and throughout The 5 AM Blueprint (page 34), I will challenge you to push yourself. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to form new habits, take on new projects, and adopt new philosophies, all of which can strengthen your masochism muscles.
In the context of becoming an early riser, the connection is obvious: Waking up early is going to hurt. I’m not going to make this sound easy because it’s likely that you will want to give up and quit on me.
Don’t do that.
What hurts today may not hurt at all in the future because your muscles will have grown stronger, more powerful, and more resilient.
This is not an impossible project, and yet, it’s not something you will want to attempt passively either. Significant change requires significant investment. The good news is that you can achieve that change slowly over time, and through the form of this book and my podcast, I’ll be with you the whole way.
10 EXCEPTIONAL BENEFITS OF WAKING UP EARLY
Waking up early is awesome and there are dozens of amazing benefits that make a 5:00 a.m. wake-up call worth it. If you’re still on the fence about it, here are the top 10 benefits that should easily push you over the edge:
1. MORE TIME TO PLAN YOUR DAY AND EXECUTE IT EFFECTIVELY
Of all the reasons to wake up early, this may be the most practical on Day 1. When you wake up even just 15 minutes earlier than normal and you use that time for planning your day, you are already entering domination mode.
While the late risers are thrashing out of bed at the last minute, scrambling to find their toothbrushes and briefcases (does anyone use those anymore?), you have created a written plan for exactly how your day will go. You know ahead of time what to cut and what to keep. You know when your appointments are and what resources you will need. You know the optimal order of events for the day because you have optimized your schedule and updated your task list.
Creating an intentional, prioritized, and written plan for your day is everything. Planning how you will use your time is the number one strategy for achieving your own 5 a.m. miracle. It is the most important element in this book and it is the key difference-maker between success and failure.
If you haven’t already done so, highlight that last paragraph. That’s gold, baby!
2. PERFECT FOR QUIET TIME
The early morning hours are likely the only time you will have to yourself all day long. For many people, this is it. The time between 5:00 a.m. and whenever the rest of the family wakes up is the golden hour. This is your chance to soak up a few precious moments for those activities that easily get lost in the shuffle later in the day.
Whether you choose to read, meditate, pray, practice yoga, or any other quiet activity, make the most of it. Light a candle, play soft music in the background, or just sit in silence.
For years I refused to meditate because I thought I was too much of a busybody to be good at it. What I have found over the last few years is that quiet time is essential for collecting my thoughts, lowering my stress levels, and maintaining my own peace of mind. Even if you, like me, identify as a productivity junkie, type A personality, or ambitious high achiever, don’t neglect the benefits of slowing the pace of your life—even if it’s only for a few minutes.
3. HIGHER-QUALITY SLEEP AND MORE CONSISTENT SLEEP PATTERNS
When you embrace a consistent wake-up call, you will have no choice but to embrace a consistent bedtime in order to get the sleep you need. One great side effect of transitioning to this lifestyle is that your sleep is likely to improve.
There are many factors that affect sleep quality, but consistency is one of the most important. Waking up early forced me to prioritize going to bed, which forced me to prioritize ending my work day earlier, which forced me to be more intentional and efficient all day long. You see the pattern here? Setting even just one firm boundary in your day can have a ripple effect on every other choice you make.
Getting better sleep is all about consistency and preparation. Knowing you have to be in bed by a certain time will also cause you to prepare for bed, which means your mind and body will be ready to rest.
4. MORE ENERGY AND OPTIMISM
I know a lot of people (cough, me, cough) who don’t look too pretty in the morning. On top of my hair being a mess, weird goop being stuck to my eyelashes, and some of the worst bad breath you can imagine, I also don’t naturally bounce out of bed with a goofy grin on my face.
That used to be the case every day, but now it’s a rare occurrence. A typical wake-up call involves me literally bouncing out of bed with enthusiasm as I begin my morning routine. This isn’t genetics at work. I was not born this way. This is all about habits, systems, and choices.
This is a concept that bears repeating again and again: The best morning routines prioritize energy because it is the foundation for productivity. Energy is a natural by-product of amazing health and it’s awesome!
This may be the type A, espresso-loving, perky man in me, but why would you want to feel exhausted when you could feel pumped up? Why would you want to lie on the couch when you could be out for a run? Why would you intentionally hold yourself back when you know that the power behind your journey forward is nothing more than sustainable energy?
We will discuss the specifics in Chapter 7, but just note that if you want to fill your mornings with more joy and optimism, you can do it. You can choose to bounce out of bed smiling. It is certainly possible and worth the effort.
5. BETTER FOCUS
Assuming that when you wake up at sunrise you truly are the only person awake in your house, you have a shining opportunity in front of you. One of the greatest benefits of waking up early is the unmistakable lack of noise and interruptions. There is nothing standing between you and your goal. There are no distractions unless you create them.
There are many people who begin their day with television. They wake up and immediately turn on a morning talk show, the news, cartoons, or a rerun of a late-night comedy special they missed.
If your goal is focus, concentration, and execution, distractions like these have to go. The phenomenal benefit of focus is it’s always available, unless you choose to opt out. Focus is all about the elimination of everything except the one thing that matters most. Embrace the simplicity of a focused morning routine and you will experience those benefits over and over again.
6. BETTER BRAIN: IMPROVED MENTAL CLARITY AND CREATIVITY
Have you ever tried to do something really important late at night? How did that work for you? If you’re anything like me, you have to fight to think. Thinking clearly is more difficult and often painful when your brain is tired.
I know from years of trial and error that my best mental acuity is available to me during the first half of the day, not the last. This is true across the board. In The Willpower Instinct, Kelly McGonigal describes how willpower is a finite resource that replenishes itself when we sleep. As the day progresses, our reserves of discipline and our desire to work slowly diminish. We find ourselves less capable of performing simple tasks without exerting intense effort.
If you want to take advantage of the natural cycles your brain is already going through, then jump at the chance to do your best work early in the day. It doesn’t necessarily have to be right when you wake up—just don’t wait until happy hour to start writing your next novel.
7. SEXIER AND HEALTHIER BODY
My best morning routines are either focused on a major project or my health. When I’m not using 5:00 a.m. to read, write, or finish an urgent project, you can find me drinking green smoothies, running trails, and hanging upside down from my gravity boots.
The morning hours are ideal for taking care of yourself. Most people either squeeze in a few minutes here or there for a quick trip to the gym, or they just never make the time for self-care. Of all the things you could do at 5:00 a.m., eating a healthy breakfast and exercising should be at the top of the list.
Waking up early is not a magic weight-loss solution, but the trend is that the kind of people who wake up early are also the kind of people who exercise. People who exercise are the kind of people who eat healthier. People who eat healthier tend to lose weight, and people who lose weight tend to have more self-confidence and feel sexier.
That’s how it has worked for me and countless others, and that’s how it could work for you too.
8. CONSISTENT INCREASE IN DAILY PRODUCTIVITY
One of the most fascinating side effects of waking up earlier is the residual effect of increased productivity all day long. When you start your day with intention, it’s likely you will finish it that way too.
There are days when I sleep in (obscene, I know!). On those days I am usually never as productive as the days when I wake up earlier. It’s like clockwork. When I wake up with a plan, I also work my day with a plan. When I wake up and wing it, I get the results you would expect—subpar.
If you want to keep yourself chugging along all day, executing tasks like a five-star general, then it’s best to begin your day the way you want to end it. Start with intention and productivity, and finish with intention and productivity.
9. MORE LIKELY TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR GRANDEST GOALS
Being productive means that you are getting things done, but simply doing more is not your primary goal with The 5 AM Miracle. What happens when you wake up earlier is that you open the doors of opportunity. You can literally do anything. Time has been freed up that previously never existed, which leaves you with a choice.
You can either optimize that time or squander it. You can make the most of it or let it pass you by. The trick is to predetermine how you will spend your time. The people who wind up getting more done with their own 5 a.m. miracle are also those who wake up with a solid plan to make progress on their life’s grandest goals.
You have the ability to make phenomenal progress on the goals that matter most to you when you block off time for your highest aspirations. You have time for running a marathon, writing a book, building a business, studying for grad school, or any other worthy pursuit.
Even just one hour a day, five days a week can be enough to make progress on something that is valuable to you and your mission. Take advantage of that time and guard it like the crown jewels.
10. YOU WILL JOIN AN EXCLUSIVE CLUB OF HIGH ACHIEVERS
What do Howard Schultz (CEO of Starbucks), Richard Branson (founder of the Virgin Group), Anna Wintour (Editor-in-Chief at Vogue), and Tim Cook (CEO of Apple) all have in common? Outside of their amazing success in business, these four power players are also early risers. Richard Branson and Anna Wintour wake up at 5:45 a.m., while Howard Schultz and Tim Cook rise at 4:30 a.m.
Don’t forget famous notables such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Margaret Thatcher, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles Darwin.
There is a clear connection between intentionality and success, between early risers and high achievers, between waking up with a plan and changing the world. If you want to begin your journey to high achievement, waking up early should be the first task on your list tomorrow morning.
KILL THE SNOOZE BUTTON
Pitfalls, Mistakes, and Problems to Avoid
Give yourself the appropriate title.
Before I was a marathon runner, I wasn’t. Before I was a podcaster, I wasn’t. Before I was an author, husband, college graduate, or any other descriptor—I wasn’t.
You don’t become someone new until you live it. You can’t call yourself an athlete, high achiever, or early riser unless you actually walk the walk (or run the run).
When I first considered making running part of my lifestyle, I had one major obstacle in my way: I didn’t think of myself as a runner. In fact, not only would I never have used that term to describe myself, I was scared to do so.
“Runners” were elite athletes. They were slim, fast, and super skilled at something I couldn’t imagine doing myself (or, at least, doing well).
In the summer of 2006, after returning home from a study abroad program in Prague, I was in the worst shape of my life. I quickly decided to make running the central focus of my new fitness regimen. I ran a little bit every day in the beginning, usually no more than five minutes at a time.
By the end of that summer, I was running five miles a day. Was I a runner? I thought so.
Was I a runner when I was only running five minutes a day? Not according to me.
It wasn’t until I was running five miles a day that I allowed myself the privilege of referring to myself as a runner.
I don’t know why I set that boundary, but I did. It was arbitrary and it drew a line in the sand. It was my indication of real progress.
My story of becoming a runner is the same story you share when you become someone new. One day, you would never refer to yourself as an early riser, and the next day, it is part of your vocabulary. Nothing significant changes on the outside, but something dramatic shifts within.
Start small and let yourself off the hook. That’s all it takes to make the critical shift of significant change. Begin by believing in what it means to embody your new title and don’t hold yourself back from embracing it quickly.
I waited far too long to refer to myself as a runner. Five minutes a day is the same as five miles—both indicate action and both exemplify what it means to walk the walk.
Even serious night owls can one day refer to themselves as early risers.
QUICK REVIEW: WHY GETTING UP EARLY IS SO AWESOME
1. You will have the precious time you need to effectively plan your day.
2. Early mornings are ideal for meditation, prayer, yoga, or just a little quiet time.
3. Your sleep is likely to improve dramatically with consistent bedtimes and wake-up calls.
4. You will almost certainly have more energy and a more positive attitude.
5. It’s easier to focus on your biggest goals.
6. With improved mental clarity, your creative juices will flow even faster.
7. Early risers tend to exercise more, eat healthier, and have a sexier body. What’s not to like?
8. Getting more done is nearly a guarantee when you wake up prepared to dominate your day.
9. With a consistent 5 a.m. miracle in place, you are more likely to achieve your life’s grandest goals.
10. Many high achievers wake up early and you are about to join them.
1. What does a typical morning look like in your world? Busy and stressful? Slow and peaceful? Productive and exciting?
2. Is your life too comfortable? What are your comfort tendencies, those habits and rituals that steer you away from greatness?
3. What benefits appeal to you the most from an early-morning lifestyle? Why get up early at all? What are you hoping to achieve at 5:00 a.m.?