Most of us are constantly tempted by miracle elixirs, new tricks or secret techniques — anything that will give us an edge in our lives. I have sipped my share of elixir over the years, including a golf club that advertised on TV that it might “hit the ball too far!” — it didn’t.
One thing that is neither a miracle nor an elixir that we can do for ourselves without getting anyone’s permission or spending any money is to recapture the early hours of your morning.
If you can capture an extra two hours a day (maybe 5-7 a.m.) and you get in the habit of doing it every day, that is an extra 730 hours a year to focus on something important in your life.
New sales prospects? A new language? A musical instrument? Knowledge on your business offering? Write your book? It could be anything.
Another benefit of this early-morning focus is that it will be your most productive time of the day. You are the most alert (after coffee) and will have your most quiet, uninterrupted time all day. This time is wide open for the taking and all you must do is make it a priority and get used to 5 a.m.
Let’s do the math — 730 hours a year times the next 10 years equals 7,300 hours to focus on something. What could you do with 7.300 hours to focus on something?
Famous legal author John Grisham was a working nine-to-five attorney in Mississippi for many years before he figured out how to write his first book. He simply woke up early every day for about a year and spent two hours working on his manuscript. He completely changed his life, his profession, his balance sheet and enriched the lives of millions of readers around the world with one simple change (and some great writing).
Jocko Willink is a noted Navy SEAL who currently covers all things leadership and personal responsibility through his books, podcast and speaking engagements. He is famous for tweeting out the time he hits the gym every morning which is usually around 4 a.m. He is huge on taking advantage of his mornings and likes to get his workout in, some reading, some work and some family time before most people start the day.
Scott Adams is most famous for being the author of the Dilbert cartoon. Look a little deeper into Scott and you will find his brilliant cartoon comes from a lifetime of studying businesses and what is so darn goofy about them, especially the big ones. Scott starts his day around 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. and says that he gets more done before 7 a.m. than he does after 7 a.m.! He has written and published a Dilbert comic every single day for 30 years, in addition to writing four books, recording a daily podcast, taking on speaking arrangements, etc. — and he does not change his routine on the weekends.
So if you have found any real miracle elixir, let me know and I will sip it with you. Otherwise, start your day at 5 a.m. and make your own miracles.
John Sterling is the Amazon bestselling author of “Sales for Noobs” and CEO of NOOB School, an online resource for new salespeople. Previously, John helped build and sell Datastream for over $200 million. He has trained and hired hundreds of sales reps globally. Subscribe to his YouTube channel for new sales content every week. https://noobschool.org
