The 5AM Club Book Summary
Being an advocate of waking up early and getting to work before the world is awake as soon a I saw Robin Sharma (author of 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari') released his latest book, 'The 5AM Club' I knew I had to read and review it for the blog.
'The 5AM Club' is written as a fictional story, with lessons and frameworks scattered throughout as a billionaire introduces an entrepreneur and a painter to the life-changing magic of waking up early while they spend a number of days with his in the Mauritius and Rome.
Coming in well over 300 pages this book does contain a lot of filler content, as the key points only take up a few pages.
Below you'll find the key lessons and takeaways from the book, ready to be implemented into your own life should you wish to.
Greatness Does Not Come Easy
Hard is good. Real greatness and the realization of your inherent genius is meant to be a difficult sport. Only those devoted enough to go to the fiery edges of their highest limits will expand them. And the suffering that happens along the journey of materializing your special powers, strongest abilities and most inspiring ambitions is one of the largest sources of human satisfaction. A major key to happiness - and internal peace - is knowing you've done whatever it took to earn your rewards and passionately invested the effortful audacity to become your best.
Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life
If you start the day the wrong way it's very hard to turn it around.
Successful individuals from top tier athletes to business titans all implemented a series of habits in their life to realize their success, and one key habit you'll find the vast majority of them share is that they wake up early.
This is no coincidence.
The highest quality, uninterrupted work can be performed first thing in the morning - before decision fatigue becomes a factor, before their are the many distractions of other people.
If you start the day the right way the rest of the day will generally take care of itself, if begin your day lazy and late it's hard to turn things around.
You Must Routinize The Right Habits
When we observe magnificent players in business, sport, science and the arts we are observing the earned results of a monomanical concentration arund a single pursuit, astronomical focus on one skill, intensity of sacrifice applied to one aim, unusual levels of deep preparation and extreme amounts of solid patience. Remember, every professional was once an amateur, and every master started as a beginner.
Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary feats, once they've routinized the right habits.
Change Is Hard At First, Messy In The Middle & Gorgeous At The End
If you want to improve your life in ANY aspect you must endure the soreness of growth.
The soreness of growth is so much less expensive than the devastating costs of regret.
The hardest step is always the first, like a rocket exiting the atmosphere the vast majority of your fuel (energy) will be used to propel yourself forward in the right direction.
Submit Yourself To Voluntary Discomfort Regularly
To build your mental fortitude and keep things in perspective you should submit yourself to temporary discomfort.
Sleep on the floor, fast for 24 or 48 hours, go a day or two without touching any of your electronic devices.
Not only will you build mental toughness but you'll find that often these 'worst case scenarios' you have in the back of your mind are nowhere near as bad as they may seem.
voluntary discomfort = less fear.
Don't Fall For The Illusion Of False Power
Real riches and power come from living by the noble virtues of productivity, self-discipline, courage, honesty, empathy and integrity.
Our culture tells us to pursue titles and trinkets, applause and acclaim, money and mansions. All that's fine - it truly is - so long as you don't get brainwashed into defining your worth as a human being by these things. Enjoy them, just don't get attached to them. It's fine to have them, just don't base your identity around them.
These are only forms of fake power our civilization programs us to believe we must pursue to be successful. Lose these things and you'll quickly see your power evaporates, revealing itself as the illusion it truly is.
The 3 Step Formula For Success
The formula for success comes down to 3 key steps.
1- Increase your daily awareness.
2 - Make better choices based upon your newfound awareness.
3- Obtain better results based upon these new and improved choices.
Increasing Self-Control In 1 Area Elevates All Areas
Increasing self-control in one area of your life elevates self-control in all areas of your life. This is why joining the 5am club is the game-changing habit that will lift everything else that you do.
Trigger > Ritual > Reward > Repetition
A new habit begins with a trigger, a prompt for you to begin your new ritual so to speak. If your new ritual (habit) is a 30 minute fasted run each morning your trigger might be your alarm going off at 4:45am each morning. Upon completing your new ritual you might decide to reward yourself slightly later in the morning with a iced long black from your favorite cafe.
Rinse and repeat each and every morning as your trigger (alarm) goes off.
Eventually you can remove the reward when your new habit becomes automatic.
Habit Installation Takes 66 Days
It takes 22 days to destroy your existing negative habits.
It takes 22 days to begin to install the new habit.
It takes 22 days to integrate the new habit into your routine.
As I mentioned earlier, change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end. Waking up at 5am is far from easy when you begin... but soon enough this positive new habit will have integrated itself into your life, it will become automatic.
The 20/20/20 Formula Explained
The 20/20/20 formula forms the basis of the 5am club.
This isn't just about waking up at 5am, it's about what you do once you've woken up at 5am.
It's that pivotal hour between 5am and 6am that will begin to define your success...
You should spend pocket #1 (the first 20 minutes of your day) exercising intensely, get your heart rate up and get sweating. Whether you choose to run, perform a circuit based workout or get out on the road on your bike is up to you.
Pocket #1 will cleanse cortisol, increase dopamine, increase seratonin and get your metabolism going. You'll soon find this will increase your productivity and focus, reduce stress and increase your overall quality of life over time.
Pocket #2 (the next 20 minutes of your day) should be spent reflecting. Journal, meditate and plan. You'll find this will boost your gratitude, increase awareness and expand your serenity.
Pocket #3 (the last 20 minutes of your first hour of the day) should be spent growing. Read books, listen to podcasts, consume audiobooks and review your goals. You'll not only deepen your knowledge but you'll also accelerate your confidence and begin to master change.
The Pre-Sleep Ritual Of Producers
Without a solid pre-sleep ritual you'll it near impossible to consistently wake up at or prior to 5am with the necessary energy to take charge of your morning. Here's how you should end each day to ensure you're setting yourself up for success the following morning.
Between 7pm and 8pm you should have your last meal of the day and begin to turn off all electronic devices.
Between 8pm and 9pm you should have conversations with loved ones, read a book and have a periodic epsom salt bath.
Between 9pm and 10pm you should prepare for sleep in a cool, dark, technology-free bedroom after getting your things organized for pocket #1 of your morning routine.
The Twin Cycles Of Elite Performance
Becoming legendary in your industry is all about sustainability.
Self-care is essential to elite performance. When you're on the path of betterment it's often difficult to make yourself to take a moment to to breathe and relax.
If you do not embrace deep recovery cycles you'll burn out. Elite performance cannot be contained 24/7. Know this.
The twin cycles of elite performance consist of the HEC (high excellence cycle) and the DRC (deep refueling cycle)
Peak Health Is True Wealth
We often spend the first half of our lives sacrificing our health for wealth.
This is one the biggest mistakes that can be made.
Without health there is no productivity, there is no focus.
Without peak health you cannot put in the work to obtain wealth, whatever you define that to be.
Treat your body like an exotic vehicle - service it often and provide it with only the best fuel (nutrient dense food and plenty of water!).
Do not make this mistake that many have made that then results in them spending any and all of their acquired wealth to attempt to regain their health when it is too late.
What's Your Take On The 5AM Club? Pick Up Your Copy Here!