Part parable, part self-help book, in The 5 AM Club, Robin Sharma tells the story of a fictional artist, an entrepreneur, and a tycoon to explain the benefits of rising early every morning.
The book isn’t the first to think of waking up early. Many great thinkers, artists, and public figures have used an early morning routine as part of their success.
Now, more than ever, it’s vital to take full advantage of the early morning before the day’s distractions.
The book is written by leadership guru, Robin Sharma, who has based it on lessons he’s been teaching successful business owners for over twenty years.
Three main takeaways from The 5 AM Club are:
- Many successful people have a daily habit of rising early
- Small, frequent advances lead to unimaginable results over time
- To truly be great, continue to step outside your comfort zone, even after your life is changing for the better
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Lesson One: Many successful people have a daily habit of rising early
Those who achieve fame and success aren’t simply born with talent and drive.
To be great, you’ve got to put in the work.
There have been many over the years that have committed to rising early every morning. The early wake-up sets a positive and productive tone for the day ahead.
You’d be surprised what you can achieve in only an hour every morning.
In the book, they talk about the 20/20/20 framework for the first hour of your day. The framework is three sets of twenty minutes for the following.
- Physical exercise: This can be a gym session, some yoga, or even a short run.
- Reflection: Fill in a journal, or meditate.
- Learning: Read a book, listen to a podcast or read a newspaper
You can tweak the morning routine to suit you. For example, you may want a longer work out.
The routine should be done every day for 66 days, which is, on average, the time it takes to make a behavior a habit.
Lesson Two: Small, frequent advances lead to unimaginable results over time
You’ll find that almost everyone you talk to has some excuse as to why they didn’t achieve all they thought they would.
For example, a writer might blame his family or friends for his inability to find the time to write.
However, excuses are much like social media: distractions.
Or, as I like to say it… Excuses are like butts: everyone has them and they all stink.
The truth is that reaching goals isn’t a case of hitting home runs. It is a case of consistently hitting singles.
If you want to make a dent in your goals, you need to start working on a regular basis.
Small regular steps build a solid base for success.
Take the story of Sara, from the book. She was a young painter who got the old talk: “If you consistently show up in your studio every day, you will one day reach some degree of success.”
Sara found the information useful but not inspirational.
However, she began to a daily practice, beginning every morning with exercise, reflection, and motivational literature.
Over time, her craft got stronger.
Lesson Three: To truly be great, continue to step outside your comfort zone, even after your life is changing for the better
The best thing about self-improvement is that it is never finished.
If you continually push yourself past what is comfortable, regardless of what you’ve already accomplished, you’ll continue to grow.
Take this story between famous choreographers Agnes De Mille and Martha Graham.
De Mille had just received a lot of fame and recognition for her work on Oklahoma!, however, felt the show was so different from what she wanted to be doing.
She reached out to a colleague and friend, Graham, for support.
In response, Graham reminded her that a true artist is never satisfied.
This dissatisfaction and need for more is exactly what pushes great people forward.
Anyone who has the motivation to succeed can do the same.
Put The Book Into Action
Rather than set the alarm for 5 am tomorrow and hope for the best, start small.
For example, a trick used in the book is to introduce the rule of having no screen time after 8 pm.
By limiting screen time you’ll be able to go to sleep easier.
Without the added distractions, you may even end up going to bed at an earlier time.
You’ll find that with the easier sleep, you may naturally wake up earlier anyway.
My Personal Takeaway
I am already an early riser, so waking up at 5 am is not that big of a reach for me.
However, there are a few things that I can bring into my routine. For example, the no screen time after 8 pm will be tricky but should be a focus going forward.
This book is perfect for anybody who is overwhelmed and overworked. I would also give this book to anybody who has a side-hustle. The emphasis on resting is overlooked to a lot of part-time business owners.
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a Swedish university student, marketing professional, and life-long learner. Here at BookSummaryClub I summarize my favorite non-fiction books into easily digested posts. Hope you like what you’re reading!
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