The 5 A.M. Revolution: Why High Achievers Wake Up Early and How You Can Do It, Too

by Dan Luca

two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you figure out

I often say that ‘If you don’t have a choice…it’s easy!’

The answer is because they want to be those people who set things in motion. They want to be proactive. They want to initiate things and make things happen. If you are asleep when your team is already up, you will be playing catch-up all day long. You will be on defence, not offence.

A singer, before getting up on stage, warms up. An athlete, before starting a race, warms up. Any top professional, before performing in his field, warms up. The sole purpose for this is to be in peak condition. This happens when you hold yourself accountable to a very high standard. Consequently, high-performing standards deliver high-quality results.

Keep computers and TVs out, so that you come to know your bedroom as a haven for sleep, free of distractions.

Sleeping in complete darkness is important in getting a good night’s sleep because darkness increases the production of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain and controls the body’s sleep cycle. Melatonin is believed to cause a person to fall asleep faster and sleep better.

Research has shown that when you’re exposed to light at night, even if it’s brief, your leptin level decreases, which makes you hungry in the middle of the night—a phenomenon that wouldn’t have been very convenient for our ancestral hunter–gatherers.

Before you go to sleep, your body’s internal temperature drops, which ‘promotes deep continuous sleep’.

This is why exercising or eating a large meal close to bedtime disrupts your sleep: both activities raise your body’s core temperature.

Natural light is a factor that helps regulate your biological clock, keeping it on the right track.

Kiwi is a fruit rich in antioxidants, which reduce oxidative stress, and it also contains serotonin and folate.

The effects of coffee can last up to six hours, so if you want to go to sleep at 10 p.m. make sure you don’t drink any coffee past 3 p.m.

People who smoke a few hours before bedtime struggle to fall asleep because nicotine disrupts their natural sleep–wake cycle, and withdrawal symptoms set in before the morning alarm clock goes off, often leaving them feeling even more restless and agitated.

The questions are the following: • What worked today? (at least five examples) • What didn’t work today? • What have I learned today? (at least three examples) • What will I do differently tomorrow? • What am I grateful for today? (at least three examples) I do my ‘Review for the Day’ while drinking my favourite tea.

‘There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub.’ —Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

The basic principle is to ‘scan’ your body by focusing your attention from the heels to the top of your head and gradually relax each part of your body.

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. —Mark Twain

THE GREAT SLEEP CHECKLIST During the day 1. Did you wake up this morning at the time you had planned to last night? 2. Did you manage to wake up immediately after the alarm clock went off? 3. On a scale of 1 to 10, how rested did you feel this morning right after getting out of bed? 4. Did you expose yourself to natural sunlight for 30 minutes between 6 a.m. and 8.30 a.m.? 5. Did you drink at least 68 fl. oz. of water during the day? 6. Did you exercise for at least 30 minutes today? 7. Did you avoid drinking coffee after lunch?

At night, before going to bed 1. Did you set out to be in bed by 10 p.m.? 2. Did you set your alarm clock 30 minutes before the hour you would like to be in bed by? 3. Did you eat at least four hours before going to bed? 4. Did you especially eat vegetables and fruits that stimulate the production of melatonin (bananas, nuts or kiwis)? 5. Did you avoid drinking alcohol, coffee, eating chocolate or smoking before going to bed? 6. Did you set your alarm clock so that you were able to sleep between seven and eight hours? 7. Do you have a pillow that helps you relieve any tension you might feel along your spine? 8. Do you have a quilt that ensures optimal thermal comfort during the night (you shouldn’t be sweating nor feeling cold)? 9. Do you have comfortable pajamas? 10. Is your room quiet? If you hear any external noises you can’t control, do you use ear plugs? 11. Is the room temperature between 60 degrees F and 68 degrees F? 12. Is your room dark during the night? Do you use a face mask if it’s not dark enough? 13. Did you avoid practising activities in the bedroom that stimulate your intellect for at least two hours before going to bed? 14. Did you complete your daily review to alleviate your emotions? 15. Did you organize your to-do list for the next day so that you can feel you have things under control?

morning question

1 https://drgreger.org/pages/about-us

GRATITUDE FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY DAY What is this? It’s a practice that sets the tone for the day. It’s a fast and easy way to put yourself in a great state during the first few minutes of the day. Why is it great? Gratitude has the benefit of releasing the hormone oxytocin which counters any hormones that get released due to anxiety, such as cortisol (also known as the stress hormone).

Relax with eyes closed. You don’t need to be in a meditation position. It’s OK to sit up with the back straight. You can even sit on a chair 2. Inhale through your nose gently while counting (count in your mind 1…2…3…4…5…6…7) 3. Hold your breath for seven seconds (count in your mind 1…2…3…4…5…6…7) 4. Exhale up to a count of seven (count in your mind 1…2…3…4…5…6…7) 5. Hold your breath for seven seconds (count in your mind 1…2…3…4…5…6…7) 6. Do this for seven minutes 7. Slowly open your eyes and notice how clear and balanced you feel!

Hawaii medation

‘Great ideas will visit you only once. You’d better capture them, or you’ll lose them forever’.

1. What would I dare to do if I knew I could not fail? 2. What am I assuming about what’s possible and impossible? 3. What hill am I willing to die on? 4. What brings me joy and fulfilment? 5. What revolution do I want to lead? 6. I imagine myself 12 months from now. What is one thing I’m glad I did? 7. What do I enjoy doing so much that I’m very good at and obtaining remarkable results? 8. Who do I admire? Who are my mentors? Why? 9. When was the last time I delivered more than was asked of me? What motivated me to do so? 10. When was the last time I lost track of time and entered a state of flux? What was I doing at the time? 11. What displeases me? What do I want to change in my environment? 12. Who is that one person that I would like to invite out to lunch? What questions would I ask that person? 13. What is the hobby that I would like to try? Why do I find it interesting? 14. When was the last time I got out of my comfort zone? What did I learn about myself? 15. When was the last time I was so excited about a project that I couldn’t sleep at night because of my anticipation? 16. Who knows me best? What are the five things I believe that person would say about me? 17. Who would I like to get along with better? What could I do concretely to improve my relationship with that person? 18. What did I want to become when I was five years old? To what extent is what I’m doing right now related to that childhood dream? 19. If I were to write a book about my life that would he...

breakfast question

How do you discover the most important goal of the day? 1. Make a list of five goals you would like to accomplish today 2. Open the www.onlyone.io application

Ask yourself the following questions 1. If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? If the answer is YES, go on (Steve Jobs used to ask himself this question every day). 2. Would I want to call my best friend at the end of the day and brag about this accomplishment? 3. Will this goal count five years from now? 4. What advice would ‘X’ (mentor) give me on accomplishing this goal? 5. How could I reach this goal for today if I worked for only one hour? 6. What is a completely different way of achieving this goal?

Here are some questions that you can answer and put them in the note 1. What compliment have you never made to your spouse? 2. What is one trait of your partner that you are glad he/she has, because you lack it? 3. In what way has your spouse surprised you pleasantly in the last few days? Why do you appreciate that? 4. What compliment would you like to receive from your spouse, so that you can offer it first or if you like something more straightforward, you can use one of these: • You inspire me • I love to hear you laugh • You are my biggest treasure; I feel rich every day! • Your gorgeous smile can lighten up my darkest day • You amaze me with your… • You light up my life • You have a beautiful soul • You are lovely in so many ways • I am the luckiest person alive when you hold my hand • I have butterflies in my stomach when you say my name • I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you

The realationship Note

And to be double sure, let me do a quick recap of them all. 1. You take care of the energy in your body with these habits: • Hot water with lemon and turmeric • Body Tough Love • The Miracle Shower • The Best Breakfast in the World 2. You take care of your clarity in your mind with these habits: • Only One • Twelve-Month Goals 3. You take care of your confidence level by addressing the emotional needs through these habits: • Journaling • The Relationship Note 4. You take care of your significance level by connecting to your values and higher aspirations with these habits: • Gratitude • The Hawaiian Meditation In this way, you take care of most of your core needs from the first hour of the day and you are easily in the top 0.1 per cent of the people who start their day in terms of essential resources needed for a great day. Do yourself the greatest good and give yourself the gift of the first hour, your life will be completely transformed in just a few weeks, as I have witnessed this first hand in my life and in the lives of thousands of the people that live like this now. In the next chapter, I’ll give my best reasons to motivate you to wake up at 5 a.m., and also the best two tools that will guarantee you success in implementing this life-changing habit.

Nothing changes until you change. —Jim Rohn

‘You will not change until you allocate dedicated time to practice so that the changes can take place.’

In the space of these two hours gained (5 a.m. to 7 a.m.), I was able to exercise, hydrate, breathe, meditate, read, plan, reflect, be grateful, write, etc. This is my time to grow and expand and nobody can take that away from me. The kids are sleeping, the phone is not ringing, nobody sends me texts or emails…so it’s just pure joy of starting each day in the best possible way.

Find your WHY and the HOW will be 100 times easier… because no HOW can compensate the lack of a proper WHY.

You can watch inspirational videos like those posted on TED or those held by Robin Sharma, Tony Robbins, Randy Gage, Brian Tracy, etc. Just one ‘dose’ of these types of videos a day can turn you into a different person and you then realize that excellence is a trait built over time and on a daily basis.

FIFTY REASONS TO WAKE UP AT 5 A.M.

You use photo reading to read one book every 30 minutes. It’s a revolutionary technique, developed by Paul Scheele, that uses the whole brain to read and allows you to extract the essential knowledge from a book in the shortest time possible. It can literally change your life. I’m not kidding!

serious amount of money. 35. You write your goals for the next 12 months on a daily basis for at least 30 days. Each day you write them on a separate page without looking back. In this way, you ‘allow them to negotiate among themselves’ their hierarchy based on how meaningful they are to you. I can guarantee some ‘a-ha’ moments. 36. You establish your top-five priorities that you have to finish that day. You estimate the necessary time to do so as well as envision the desired result.

You write for 15 minutes everything you feel grateful for, thus releasing any trace of anxiety. It’s something easy to do that has a guaranteed positive effect throughout the day. You won’t need sedatives anymore, you’ll be releasing endorphins naturally!

You take the time necessary to create a board with pictures which represents the achievement of your goals. Some call it a Vision Board or a Dream Board. 40. For 10 to 20 minutes each morning you contemplate this board and fill yourself up with the emotion associated with achieving those specific goals. This will increase your level of clarity regarding why you’re doing what you’re doing and what’s the final purpose towards which your efforts are oriented.

Who do I want to become? How would I describe myself? • I’m a morning person ☐ • I’m someone who allots the most precious time interval to myself ☐ • I’m part of a very select group of successful people ☐ • I’m an active person and not a reactive one ☐ What limiting beliefs do I have at this time? Why do I think they’re true? • I’m more effective if I work during the night and I don’t get enough rest if I wake up so early ☐ • I can’t wake up in the morning because I’m not used to getting up before noon ☐ • I can’t find the willpower to wake up so early ☐ • Not even the birds are singing at 5 a.m…I can’t change my lifestyle to implement this habit ☐ What new beliefs could I adopt as affirmations that will help me evolve? • I always wake up early and enjoy that particular day as much as I can ☐ • I always get out of bed after the alarm clock rings ☐ • I have a lot of energy and I feel very motivated because I wake up early in the morning ☐ • I wake up and I’m productive while others are still sleeping ☐

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. —Lewis B. Smedes

The place in your life that you find yourself right now is neither good nor bad. It’s just a benchmark, which we take into account when estimating the necessary length of time for you to reach your desired place.