My Rating: 8 /10
Title: The Miracle Morning: The not-so obvious secret guaranteed to transform your life before 8am (Amazon Link)
Authors: Hal Elrod
Personally I hate Albert Einstein quotes. Why doesn’t everyone start with them? Maybe it’s just from working in research, but I feel I have been chronically over-exposed…
Reading The Miracle Morning has gotten me out of bed in the morning and made me look forward to it. You can too, but only if you consciously commit to it.
“Is there a difference between average and mediocre? Not so much.”
– Seth Godin
A group of 100 Americans start their careers (Apologies for us non-yanks). As time goes on their paths diverge. After 40 years:
- Only 1 will be wealthy;
- Only 4 will be financially secure;
- 5 will continue working because they have to;
- 36 will be dead;
- and 54 will be broke and dependent on friends, family and the government.
95% of people will fail to achieve true financial freedom. How do we break away and make sure we are part of the 5%? With three simple steps of course:
Step 1. Acknowledge the reality of the 95% and set an example for others.
- Obesity is an epidemic, cancer and heart disease are on the rise, more prescription drugs are being consumed than ever before, there is an epidemic of divorce, and people are quick into debt but slow out of it. Make the choice to live differently.
Step 2. Identify Causes of Mediocrity.
- Most people have “rearview mirror syndrome”, a tragic illness where we believe who we were is who we are.
- Most people don’t know what their life purpose is. If you don’t then reserve some time for yourself to figure it out.
- “Every time you choose to do the easy thing, instead of the right thing, you are shaping your identity.”
- Do you have a sense of accountability to other people?
- A lack of urgency to improve yourself leads to complacency and procrastination. Now matters more than any other time in your life.
Step 3. Draw Your Line In the Sand.
- Make a decision today about what you are going to start doing differently from this day forward.
- Not tomorrow, next week, or next month.
Importantly you must realise that “mediocrity has nothing to do with how you compare to other people”. At it’s core it is the result of not making the most of yourself and living up to your potential. It is tied closely to procrastination and regret.
“The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short.”
– Abraham Maslow
Are you living a Level 10 life? More likely you are sitting around 3 or 4. Maybe you have never even stopped to think about it. Ask yourself right now. Could my life be better? How much better?
I don’t want to settle for anything less than my full potential. You shouldn’t either. Let’s be like spinal tap and crank our lives up to 11.
If we can only create one perfect day and then replicate it, then maybe we can achieve a perfect life.
A perfect day requires a perfect morning. I don’t know about you, but my perfect morning doesn’t involve re-hitting the snooze button until the last possible moment to wake up and still meet my first appointment.
“I’d like mornings better if they started later.”
Even if you are not a “morning person” (a self-limiting belief), it is still possible for you to get up early in the morning. You just need a strategy and some tactics. To increase your wake-up motivation level (WUML):
- Set your intentions before bed. Believe that you will be well rested in the morning. Brainwash yourself if you have to.
- Move your alarm clock across the room. Make it as painful as possible not to get up.
- Brush your teeth (hygiene is important). Splash some water on your face.
- Drink a full glass of water (My Protip: use chilled water to get some nice side-effects for your metabolism).
- Get dressed or jump in the shower (My Protip: also use cold water to get similar side-effects for your metabolism).
Congratulations. You are now ready to experience a miracle morning. Just make sure you set your alarm at least an hour before anyone else in your home gets up. If you set yours for 5am, then so will I – just send me an email and I will be your accountability partner.
“The Life S.A.V.E.R.S. – Six Practices Guaranteed To Save You From a Life of Unfulfilled Potential”
Now we have reached the heart of The Miracle Morning. Find a quiet place where you are unlikely to be disturbed. It might be outside in the cool crisp morning. Inside on the couch will do as well.
What is important though is that you do each of the following for 10 minutes (feel free to mix up the order if you wish):
S is for Silence – Spend 10 minutes in complete silence. Calm your mind, meditate or focus on observing your thoughts. Feel peaceful.
A is for Affirmation – Most people think this is a bit weird. But repeat mantra’s to yourself about what you want in life, why you want it, and how you will get it.
V is for Visualisation – Breathe deeply. Try to visualise what you really want. Now create a picture of who you need to be and what you need to do to get it.
E is for Exercise – Consciously bring yourself to the brink of exhaustion. In the short term exercise takes our energy away, in the long term it gives it back – with interest.
R is for Reading – Read something that will add to your life. Ask yourself why you are reading each book. Read with intention. “A person who won’t read has no advantage over the one who can’t read.” – Mark Twain.
S is for Scribing – Write down something anything. It can be a journal where you right down your thoughts as a form of therapy. If you have ever wanted to write a book then now would also be the perfect time to do it.
If setting aside an hour at the start of your day is too much for you, then you should try the 6-Minute Miracle. It is like The Morning Miracle but on crack. The perfect gateway drug to unleashing your potential. Simply do each of the above steps for only 1 minute each. 80% of the benefit in 10% of the time.
Have a miracle morning every day. Train yourself to be your best.
“Wherever you are in your life right now is both temporary, and exactly where you are supposed to be.”
Unfortunately we are addicted to our habits. Good habits will change us for the better, and bad habits will… well, you get the point. Make better habits. The Miracle Morning is a good one.
Changing habits is a three phase process:
Phase 1 – Unbearable (Days 1 to 10)
- Deceptively the first few days can be easy and even exciting because it is new.
- This wears off and things stop being fun. Painful is an apt description.
- Just remember this phase is only temporary.
Phase 2 – Uncomfortable (Day 11 to 20)
- Things are getting easier, but there is still discomfort.
- Stay committed, you are almost there.
Phase 3 – Unstoppable (Day 21 to 30)
- Things suddenly switch, you start to feel good. Like you can achieve anything.
- Start seeing yourself as someone who lives the habit.
- Become unstoppable.
When things get hard, just remember, “If you don’t control your habits, your habits will control you.”
“You Only Live… Twice?”
Do yourself a favour. Listen to this interview with Hal Elrod. Then check out The Miracle Morning.
You can be in control of your life. But only if you choose to be.
Now it is time for me to leave you with one of the many quotations that Hal cited in the book.
“You can learn more in an hour of silence than you can in a year from books.”
– Mathew Kelly
