Daily blog #74

Early mornings

Are you not an early riser? Many people aren’t although they are typically the younger generation. My job gives me the fortune of not only working with very hard working middle class families as well as very successful entrepreneurs who have come from nothing to become big players in their respective industries. What I can say is that, on average, very few of either of these individuals wake up later than dawn. To me this is not only an important understanding for a young person, knowing that to be successful or raise a family you will need to become familiar with the early hours (there are exceptions but generally speaking, if you work at google that’s great). Kobe Bryant is famous for 5am workouts. There is a tremendous benefit from the mental strength that comes with waking up early, imagine our military waking up at noon LOL.

Another huge benefit might be becoming familiar with the peace that the early mornings bring. It’s 6:50 as I type in almost complete silence, with the occasional chirping bird, as daylight starts to break through my window. I get to prepare for my day void of the distractions which is an important trait I have taken from Zig Ziglar who famously quotes “Success is when preparation and opportunity meet”. Any person who has experienced a fraction of success will tell you it’s not something you stumble into, if it is the case it will not be sustainable or repeatable. Success is always dependent on consistency.

There are also great health benefits. Maybe you’re retired and simply want to go on a hike or catch a sunrise. I think it’s fair to assume that most healthy and fit adults are comfortable waking up early. During the summer months here in Palm Springs you wouldn’t want to be caught outside too long after 9am with our highs in August ranging from 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit.

I didn’t always get up early though, in fact I love my sleep and if I didn’t have certain ambitions I might be getting up at noon too. If you struggle getting up early, before you start trying to wake up earlier, start with waking up at the same time every day. Get in the habit of putting your feet on the floor and sitting up as soon as your alarm sounds (I go straight into a cold shower). Coming from a snooze-pusher who has conditioned himself to not use snooze, you have to start with the habit of getting up when you plan to, from there you can start to adjust and afford yourself more time in the mornings. My client who is working towards a healthier lifestyle not only gets up early now but oftentimes wakes up right before his alarm on his own, and he used to think 10am was early!