The 5 AM Club Summary by Robin Sharma

The 5 AM Club Summary 

by Robin Sharma

Once upon a time, there was a billionaire; he’d reached the true elite, achieving significant results in both professional and personal spheres. He was the type of man who’d leave his legacy on the world. But the secret behind his successes was surprising. He attributed his achievements not to his natural talents, nor to the hours he invested in his work. He credited it to a revolutionary morning routine, built around getting up at 5 a.m. and following a little known formula designed to turbocharge his mental focus, build his physical fitness and encourage him to be his best self daily.XThat’s like only polishing 25 percent of a picture! Your Heartset signifies your emotional life and well-being. It’s important because, even with a world-class Mindset, you can’t intellectually deliver while your emotional life is a mess. As Sigmund Freud remarked, “unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and they will come forth later in uglier ways.” Focus on a healthy Heartset and you’ll quickly feel a difference. Next, give your Healthset – your physical health – attention. One of the essential steps to getting ahead in life is longevity. The billionaire jokingly pointed out, you can’t be a titan of an industry if you’re dead. Committing to optimal fitness provides you with a couple of extra very healthy and productive decades to build a greater legacy. Furthermore, elite performers recognize that every day gets significantly better with exercise. It ignites your energy, diffuses stress and increases joy. But even that isn’t enough; there’s another interior empire to cultivate. Your Soulset, the billionaire explained, means your spirituality. Too often, everyday life draws us toward the superficial and material. Take some time in the quiet moments of the early morning to remember who you really are. Connect with the hero inside of you. In the silence of the dawn, meditate on what you have to offer the world. Focus on your Soulset, and you’ll reconnect with the best part of yourself.The entrepreneur noted that this framework improved his self-perception, leading him to question how he could use the first hour of his day to effectively apply it. The billionaire told him that he was ready to hear about the 20/20/20 formula, but not in Mauritius. They had to go to The Eternal City – Rome. It was time to get inspired by the passion of the Romans, the city’s architecture, and its superb food.

The 5 AM Club Key Idea #5: 20/20/20 Formula

Now standing in the square at the bottom of Rome’s famous Spanish Steps, the little group took in their surroundings. It’s time, the billionaire said, to discover how you can remodel your creativity, performance, utility, wealth and productivity. Just waking at 5 a.m. won’t do it. You could rise at 5 a.m. and spend an hour browsing social media and checking messages, but that won’t optimize your day. The 20/20/20 formula will though and it asserts that you use 20 minutes to move, 20 minutes to reflect and 20 minutes to grow. The first step is to move or to perform a vigorous exercise for 20 minutes. What’s really critical is making yourself sweat. That’s because sweat gets rid of cortisol, the fear hormone. Sweat produces the protein BDNF, or brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which repairs brain cells and accelerates the development of new neural connections. By sweating for 20 minutes, it literally means you’ll think faster! Then, make 5.20-5.40 a.m. a moment for reflection with a period of deep peace and solitude. Before the complexity of the day begins, reflect on what’s most important to you. In an age of distraction, and constant notifications or messages, you’ll be amazed at what visions, dreams, and inspiration come to your mind when you have a few moments of silence to yourself. Write these thoughts down in a journal. Commit your current ambitions, things you’re grateful for in your life, and frustrations and disappointments to paper. Doing this will help you to understand your vision and let go of toxic, negative energies. Take a few minutes to meditate. Research shows that meditation helps to lower cortisol, which reduces your stress. It’s a proven method to stay relaxed, and the great performers of the world are always calm! Now it’s time for the last 20 minutes of your hour. At this point, you need to grow, so take 20 minutes to learn something. Study the lives of prominent achievers by reading their biographies, learn about human psychology, watch documentaries on innovation, or listen to audiobooks about business building. Something every billionaire has in common is a love of learning. And there you have it: a perfect morning routine, to make the hour your own and become a member of the 5 am club.

The 5 AM Club Key Idea #6: Embracing Sleep and the “Twin-Cycle of Elite Performance”

As the city of Rome slowly began to come to life, the billionaire, entrepreneur, and artist ventured into the depths of the city. As they descended down a dusty tunnel, the billionaire stated they were in the catacombs – underground passages utilized as burial grounds by ancient Romans. The artist asked why they were there and the billionaire explained that they were surrounded by people in centuries-old-slumber, therefore making it an appropriate place to discuss the importance of deep sleep. Research shows that sleep is one of the key factors in predicting one’s life expectancy. How you spend the last hour of your day is almost as important as the first when it comes to peak performance. Too many people are sleep deprived, which is due to technology. Research reveals that the blue light our devices emit reduces melatonin levels– the chemical that induces sleep. Being in front of a screen before sleeping will prevent you from resting properly, so turn your technology off no later than 8 p.m. Spend the rest of your evening chatting with loved ones, meditating, in a relaxing bath or reading and then go to bed no later than 10 p.m. This way, you can positively maximize the value of your 5 a.m. time. Sleeping isn’t the only major way to rejuvenate. A key to top performance over time is to switch between periods of passionate, focused work at the highest levels and periods of time for deep refueling through relaxation, recovery, and fun. This is a process that the billionaire refers to as the twin-cycle of elite performance. Growth doesn’t just happen in the performance phase, but in the recovery phase as well. If you want to understand why this is the case, the billionaire said, speak with a farmer. They’ll tell you there’s always an intense phase of tilling soil, planting crops and laborious work. However, after that period comes the fallow season. This season may seem like a stage of resting. It looks like nothing’s going on. But really, it’s the fallow season, during which the soil rests and replenishes its nutrients, that predicts how well crops are going to blossom. Some of us don’t like embracing the “rest” portion of the twin-cycle. The entrepreneur admitted this, remarking that if he isn’t working, he feels guilty. But, as the billionaire responded, balance is essential. So don’t just work: embrace rest, relaxation and fun, comfortable in the knowledge that it’s all a key part of elite performance.

The 5 AM Club Key Idea #7: In Review

The key message in this book summary: The first hours of the day are where heroes are created. If you want to truly master your life, begin by owning your mornings. Freedom from distraction at 5 a.m. will enable you to increase your creativity, maximize fitness and protect your serenity in this age of complexity. Actionable advice:Set your alarm clock half an hour ahead to trick yourself into waking up at 5 a.m. First, purchase an alarm clock: technology is distracting and shouldn’t be in the bedroom. Once you have an old fashioned clock, set it 30 minutes fast and then set an alarm for 5.30 a.m. That way, when you wake up, you’re fooling yourself into believing you’re getting up later. When the alarm goes off, get out of bed immediately, before the weaker components of your character come up with reasons to stay under the duvet.

Suggested further reading: The discipline to wake up early is just one characteristic of top performers