I gave the keynote address at a conference yesterday. It was a great group and the audience was full of energy, passion and intelligence. I shared my ideas on building a high-performance culture, developing deeper relationships and the power of leading without title. Then I offered some insights on personal leadership — beginning with the imperative of getting up early if one wants to get to world class as a human being. The room fell silent. Thought I’d lost them.
I love connecting personally with audience members and happily stayed after my presentation to answer questions. Amazing how many people asked me what they needed to do to build the early rising habit. “I want to get a lot more from life,” one manager said. “I loved your point about taking a ‘holy hour’ each morning — 60 minutes to feed my mind, care for my body and develop my character,” said another.
It’s so easy to forget that our outer lives reflect our inner lives and that by getting up earlier each day to do some internal work, our days will become dramatically better.
How can you be a positive source of energy to those around you when you have no energy? That ‘holy hour’ infuses every remaining minute of your day with a perspective that elevates each area of life.
Six practical tactics to help you get up early
Don’t eat after 7 pm: You’ll sleep more deeply and more sweetly. It’s the quality, not the quantity, of sleep that’s important.
Don’t lounge in bed after your alarm clock goes off: Jump out of bed and start your day. The more time you lie in bed after the alarm clock goes off, the greater the likelihood that the chatter of your mind will say something like, “Stay in bed. Sleep a bit more. The bed is warm. You deserve it.”
Get into world-class physical condition: This is a big idea. I find that when I am in excellent physical shape — working out five to six times a week and eating ultra-well — it is easy to jump out of bed at 5am or even 4am. Being fit is a brilliant move that will positively influence every area of your life.
Most people don’t get up early because they have no reason to. The secret of passion is purpose. Goals inspire you and give you something to get out of bed for.
Set your alarm clock 30 minutes fast: I just got an email from my friend who is in Spain. This little trick has completely changed her life. She thinks she’s getting up at 6 am. By the time she’s up and out of bed, she realises it’s only 5.30 am. She uses the newfound time to meditate or read or to exercise. I know this tactic seems silly — but it works.
FOR Example - One of the things I’ve learned from NASA is that the space shuttle uses more fuel during the first few minutes after lift off than it consumes during its entire trip around the globe. Why? Because, initially, it needs to overcome the tremendous pull of gravity. But as it does — it gets easier to fly. Personal change is a process that can be hardest at the beginning.