Do you ever wonder how the most successful people in the world start their day? Well, you’re not alone. Morning routines have become very popular and many successful people are revealing what they do to start their day off right.
The reason for this sudden interest in morning routines is because people are starting to realize that your morning routine can set the tone for your entire day, good or bad.
Therefore, it’s important to establish a healthy and energizing morning routine. That way you can be your best and most productive self throughout the day.
If you start your day miserable, tired, unmotivated, and depressed, it’s probably because you have rituals in place that put you in that state.
Do you ever wake up feeling nothing but misery and dread about going to work?
If so, you are programming yourself to be miserable. Now, I know that its hard to be excited to go to a job that you hate but creating a powerful morning routine can give you the motivation and energy to make a change.
This is why successful people are very intentional about how they start their day. They understand that small consistent actions turn into long lasting habits, which in turn help them to achieve their goals.
To put it simply, you become what you repeatably do every day.
This is such a powerful concept to understand and once you do it can change your life.
In this article I’m going to breakdown what some of the most successful people in the world do every morning so that they can master their day.
Lets get started!
- Wake Up Early
Now, I know you might already be discouraged by the start of my list, but here me out. There is a reason why the most successful people in the world wake up early. It has to do with time. Specifically, time with yourself.
Most of us are being pulled in a thousand different directions lives and we rarely have time to ourselves.
Waking up before everyone else is a great way to have some alone time so you do the things that you want to do. Whether that’s yoga, reading, or meditation. Getting up early in the morning is the ideal time if you don’t want to be interrupted.
Furthermore, successful people wake up early so that they can plan and prepare for their day. Successful people do not sleep in. In fact, many of the worlds most successful people wake up between 4:30-5:30am.
The list of early birds includes Tim Cook, who usually starts his day around 4:30am, and Oprah Winfrey, who has been known to get up at the crack of dawn.
Additionally, Bill McNabb, Chairman of the Vanguard Group, wakes up around 5am and gets to his desk by 6:15 a.m.
Now, that’s impressive!
Don’t worry, you don’t have to wake up at 3am or be at your work desk by 6am to be more effective. But you should get up early enough so that you have enough time to plan and prepare for your day.
How do I get started?
Good question! A great way to start is by waking up a little earlier than usual. Try waking up 30 minutes earlier.
So, if you normally wake up at 7am, try waking up at 6:30am. Do this for a week or two or until it feels natural. After a few days try to wake up a little earlier, say 6:15am.
The point is not to overdo it. You don’t want to be sleep deprived. Being tired will not help you win the day. Start slow and find out what time works best for you.
“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.” – Aristotle
2. Meditate
For instance, Ray Dalio, the billionaire hedge fund manager of Bridgewater Associates, has been meditating for 40 years, and he openly credits his success to meditation.
Now, if that’s not a good enough reason to start meditating, I don’t know what is.
Still not convinced?
Forbes billionaires list is full of uber successful people who meditate, like Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of Salesforce. Also, billionaire TV talk show host and media mogul, Oprah Winfrey meditates daily.
So, a lot of billionaires meditate, why?
Meditation has numerous health benefits. Here are just a few:
- Improved focus
- Better sleep
- Decreased depression
- Decreased anxiety
- Lowers blood pressure
- Increase in emotional intelligence
Meditating every morning will not only allow you to enjoy the benefits previously mentioned, but it will make you more effective throughout the day.
I personally meditate every morning and it’s one of my non-negotiables. Meaning, I do it no matter what and I’m always glad that I do.
There are several different forms of meditation that you can try. Personally, I practice Transcendental Meditation or TM for short. I also practice mindfulness throughout my day.
Both of these meditations have different benefits, but both are equally powerful. If you are interested in learning TM you can get more info here.
3. Read a Book
Reading is probably one of my favorite things to do in the morning, especially after meditating. Reading is one of the best ways to learn and grow as a person. As the saying goes “leaders are readers”.
Some of the most successful people on earth are avid readers. Whether it’s books, newspapers, magazines, journals, blogs, etc., they are constantly educating themselves.
For instance, Warren Buffett, the multi-billionaire investor (aka Oracle of Omaha), spends 5 to 6 hours a day reading books and newspapers.
He once explained his reading habit to an investment class at Columbia University. This is what he said:
“That’s how it works, it builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it”.
Furthermore, former CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, reads 50 books a year, that’s roughly a book a week. Most of the books that he reads are non-fiction. He likes to read books that are in public health, science, and engineering.
Reading is one of the most important habits that you can develop. If you can start your day by reading 20 pages of a book, you will read about 3 books a month or 36 books a year!
I developed this habit years ago and it transformed my life. I like to pick a topic or skill that I want to master, and then I start reading all the books that I can find on that topic.
This strategy can be applied to any area of your life. Let’s say you want to become an expert at selling products on Ebay. If you spend 30 minutes every morning reading books about selling on Ebay, you will have expert level knowledge in just a few short months.
However, it doesn’t have to be a book on business or entrepreneurship. You can read a book on anything. The point is to develop the habit. If you commit to this for a year, you will look back and be amazed at how many books you read and how much you learned.
4. Exercise
Every knows that exercise is important for maintaining a healthy body and mind. However, most people don’t make time to exercise in the morning.
Why exercise in the morning?
Well, exercising in the morning can boost your energy levels and this energy boost can last throughout the day.
Additionally, exercising in the morning has been shown to lead to healthier food choice. According to International Journal of Obesity, when 2,680 college students completed a 15-week exercise program they ate healthier food when compared to the control group.
Exercise can also improve focus and concentration. The British Journal of Sports Medicine conducted a study and found that morning exercise improves attention, visual learning, and decision-making.
The former CEO of PepsiCo, Steve Reinemund, wakes up 5am and runs five miles on his treadmill every morning. He also includes quiet time, praying, reading, and spending time with his teenage twins as part of his morning routine. Now, that’s an impressive morning routine.
However, the ultimate early morning workout routine goes to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. If you follow Dwayne Johnson on Instagram you know what I’m talking about.
His morning routine has become legendary. To start, he wakes up at 4am and goes for an early morning run. After he eats breakfast, he’s working out or “clangin and bangin” as he calls it.
His workouts are not for the faint of heart. He hits the gym HARD. Again, refer to his Instagram for proof. His morning routine has helped him build the discipline and work ethic that is necessary to be the #1 movie star in the world.
Now, it’s time for you to try it out for yourself.
Start small. You don’t need to workout for an hour right from the start. Try getting at least 20 minutes of exercise in the morning. Whether that’s jogging, yoga, weight lifting, or calisthenics.
Do something that gets your heart rate elevated and makes you sweat. You’ll be amazed how much better you feel throughout the day.
5. Practice Gratitude
In my opinion, this is the most important ritual on my list. Nothing has transformed my view of the world more than my gratitude practice.
Whether we realize or not, we all have things to be grateful for. It’s just that our brains are wired to look for the negative things.
The reason for this negativity bias is due to evolutionary adaptation. Our early ancestors had a better chance of survival if they were extra cautious and pessimistic rather than happy and go lucky.
Our brains are like Velcro for negativity and Teflon for positivity. -Rick Hanson, phd neuroscientist
As a result, we have to work extra hard to notice the positive things in our lives.
This is where gratitude journaling comes in to play. I think everyone should have a gratitude journal. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive or elaborate. Even a spiral notebook will do.
How do you practice gratitude?
Well, it’s simple. After I get my morning cup of coffee, I sit down at my kitchen table and write three things that I am grateful for in my journal.
That’s it!
I know its sounds too simple to be effective, but I assure it works. The trick is to find things that you are genuinely grateful for.
What’s something that I’m grateful for?
How about my legs!
Yes, the fact that I have two working legs that allow me to walk or run where ever I want.
Or, how about my eyesight? It’s amazing that I have these two little spheres in my head that allow me to view the world and experience all the things that life has to offer.
I think you get the idea.
It doesn’t have to be some big accomplishment or expensive object. It can be as simple as being grateful that you have a bed. Think about how many people in the world don’t have a warm bed to sleep in.
Once you start this gratitude practice, your brain will start to automatically look for things in your environment to be grateful for.
You might find yourself stuck in traffic and out of know where you will say to yourself “Well, at least the radio is playing my favorite song”.
The more you practice gratitude, the more you will have to be grateful for.
6. Plan Your Day
This is a crucial step for having a successful and productive day. If you don’t know what you need to accomplish for the day then you probably won’t get it done. It makes sense, right?
We all have the same 24 hours in a day, so in order to be successful you must plan your day in advance.
Take at least 10 minutes to list out the most important tasks that you need to get done for that day. It doesn’t have to be a big long list, just write out the most important things.
Successful people know what daily tasks will help to move them closer to achieving their long-term goals. They will ask themselves “What is the one thing I can do today that will get me one step closer to my goal?”
Once you come up with an answer, you need to create a plan of action. An action plan is a list of steps or tasks that will help you to achieve your goal.
For instance, if taking a new potential client out for coffee is the most important task for the day, I will create an action plan that outlines the steps I need to take to make it happen.
Writing out your plan for the day will also help you get clear on your goals. Not just for the day but for the week, month, and year.
Once you start to identify your goals, write those down too!
Dr. Gail Matthews, who is a psychology professor at the Dominican University in California, led a study on goal setting involving 270 study participants and found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. 42 percent!
Taking time in the morning to set up a plan and strategy for your day will not only make you more productive but it will alleviate worry and stress as well.
If you would like to check out the journal that I use, click here.
Now, once you have your plan in place, my next morning routine will help you execute it.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” -Benjamin Franklin
7. Eat That Frog
You might have heard this expression before or read the best-selling book Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. If not, eat that frog simply means to do something that you don’t want to do, like eat a frog.
Except you won’t be eating any frogs. Instead, your frog might be cold calling a new prospect or meeting a new client for coffee.
It’s doing the tasks that you don’t want to do but you should because they deliver the most results.
“You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue your lower-value activities.” -Brian Tracy
For me that was always cold calling new prospects. It was my least favorite thing to do, yet it was always the most effective.
So, do you know what I did?
I ate that frog, so to speak.
I made sure it was the first task that I completed when I got to my office. And guess what? I always felt better after doing it.
In fact, confronting a fear or accomplishing something difficult is proven to build confidence and self-esteem.
The best part is that you will carry this confidence boost throughout your day, and you will accomplish even more!
So, in the words of Brian Tracy, “If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first”.
Conclusion
There you have it! I hope you enjoyed my list of morning rituals of highly successful people.
Having a morning ritual is an important step in having a healthy and productive day, month, year, and life.
We are the sum total of our daily habits, good and bad. We can use the power of habits to create healthy and uplifting rituals that help us to achieve our goals and aspirations.
Highly successful people start their day with purpose. That is why the most successful people on earth have morning routines that they follow religiously.
Some of the most common morning rituals that highly successful people share are the following:
- Wake Up Early
- Meditate
- Read a Book
- Exercise
- Practice Gratitude
- Plan and Strategize Your Day
- Eat That Frog
By adopting your own morning routine or by following some of the morning rituals I discussed, you can start to establish habits that can help you to achieve your wildest dreams.
What does your morning ritual look like?
