Blog

[easy-share buttons="facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail,print" counters=0 native="no"]

5 Steps to Dominating Your Day by Conquering the Morning like the Rock, Hugh Jackman and Tom Brady

Have you ever hit the snooze button a few times, woken up groggy in a bad mood and felt like you were already behind before your day even started?

Me too.

My average morning used to consist of setting the alarm for 6:45 a.m., hitting the snooze 3 or 4 times and finally getting up around 7:30. Realizing that I was already running 30 minutes behind, my day would usually start with cursing, a quick shower and self-loathing thoughts of how I should have gone to bed earlier while grabbing something quick and easy to eat as I rushed out the door.

I used to start every morning REACTING instead of DOMINATING.

Then I started hearing about the morning rituals of super successful achievers like Richard Branson, The Rock, Hugh Jackman and Tom Brady.  These guys were talking about having insane workouts at 4:30am. Studying film at 5am. Swimming in the ocean at 5:30am. No wonder they were crushing it – they had done more than most people do in one day before most people were even awake.

I became obsessed with studying the morning rituals of the super successful and crafting my own “Elite” morning routine.

Here are the 5 most common or useful rituals top achievers do each morning:

• Wake up early (5:30am or earlier)

Hitting the snooze is tapping out. It’s saying “I’m too tired, I’d rather stay in bed than get started on my day and getting after my goals. Sleep is more important than success.”

Waking up early is taking control. Getting out of bed and getting things done before the sun or other people are up makes you more productive and gives you momentum for the entire day. Knowing that you are awake and are grinding before the competition gives you a feeling of domination.

Most of our days are spent reacting to other people’s agendas. Calls, texts, email, screaming kids and significant others clamoring for our attention. The early morning is the ONLY time where you are the least likely to be interrupted or distracted.

Have you ever tried to do something important or creative late at night? If you are anything like me, you probably end up in a puddle of your own drool watching a crime documentary on Netflix. As the day progresses, our reserves of mental attention and discipline slowly diminish.

You want to write a book, start a side hustle or get into the best shape of your life? Do it early when you have the most will power and creativity, not when the siren song of the couch and Making A Murderer comes calling at 9pm.

• Meditation

More than 80 percent of the world-class performers author Tim Ferriss interviewed for his podcast practice some type of daily mindfulness, however briefly.

By meditating, you’re practicing focus and emotion control when it doesn’t matter (sitting on a couch for 10 minutes) so that you can control your emotions better later when it does matter (negotiation, conversation with a client, when a small dog thinks that you are a fire hydrant, etc.).

Meditation relaxes the entire brain, including the amygdala, which is the emotional center of the brain. Starting the day calm, relaxed and feeling good has carry over effects that last all day.

I used to think meditating was only for Buddhist monks wearing hand stitched underwear sitting on top of a hill in Nepal  – then I tried it daily the year that I opened my second business while simultaneously planning a wedding and traveling on business every two weeks. The stress reduction and elevated mood was immediate and I’ve hardly missed a day since.

• Exercise

Dwayne the Rock Johnson frequently posts on Instagram photos of his before 5am workouts. Hugh Jackman was frequently doing 410 pound deadlifts shortly after 4am in preparation for his role in Logan. When safety Rodney Harrison once showed up the Patriots weight room at 6am, quarterback Tom Brady, already covered in sweat, greeted him by saying “Good afternoon.”

Even if throwing around heavy ass weight isn’t their thing, most top performers do some kind of exercise before they start their day whether it’s running, biking or 30 pushups as it gets the blood flowing to the body and mind and has a “priming” effect – putting the body and mind into an optimal state and reducing stress.

Again, best to do difficult things first thing in the morning when you have more will power and energy than after a long day at the office.

• Ice cold shower

Feeling lethargic and like you can’t take on the day? Try seeing how long you can sit under a shower head engulfing your entire naked body with shocks of freezing cold water.

The shock delivered to the brain by the cold shower sends an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which results in an anti-depressive effect and heightened alertness.

The challenge of forcing yourself to endure the discomfort of the freezing water will also challenge and strengthen your mental toughness and resiliency. The Ice Man Wim Hof has taken this approach to the extreme  as he has been up to his neck in a cylinder filled with ice cubes for over 90 minutes, swam long distances under polar ice, ran a marathon barefoot and climbed Everest in nothing more than a pair of shorts.

Try the ice cold shower- it might shock you into alertness and make you more of a man.

•  Journal/Gratitude practice

Rather than starting the day running late and imagining what you would say to your boss if won the lottery, taking some time to slow down and plan out the upcoming day and think of 3 things that you are thankful for will put you into a much more positive state.

Gratitude reduces a multitude of toxic emotions, from envy and resentment to frustration and regret.

While most people would say billionaire Richard Branson has billions of reasons to be happy, he has said that gratitude and being present makes him happier than money or fame ever has.

To get started with your own elite morning routine, start by picking two of the rituals from the list and do them every day for 7 days. Track your state, energy and productivity throughout the day. As you see the results and it starts to become a habit after a few weeks, you can incorporate more into the routine.  Before you know it, you may be deadlifting 400 pounds before the sun is up or waking the neighbors with a barbaric yell as you take an ice cold shower at 5am. You’ll be well on your way to dominating your day before the rest of the world is even awake.