Let’s start with a quick review.  You’re now familiar with The First Habit, The One Habit to Rule Them All, which is to invest 90 minutes a day in yourself.  You’ve thought about how life is short and you’ll be dead soon, so you got busy and examined your current situation and realized that health, wealth, and wisdom are the three pillars of a good life.  You’ve considered how shifting your time from late night to early morning is like mining early morning gold, and you’re ready to make yourself great again.  You’ve learned cool stuff about your brain so you can hack your habits.  And finally, lest you become discouraged (change can be hard) you now realize that a process is better than goals, any action is better than no action, and if you think you’re doing it wrong, you’re actually doing it right.

Now what? What do you actually DO? Here are the five things I’d like to accomplish within the first 60 to 90 minutes of an “ideal day.” If I can do these, I feel like I won.

Drum roll please . . .

5 morning rituals for success:

1. Get up early
2. Meditate/Pray/Plan
3. Exercise
4. Do one thing to improve your finances
5. Do one thing to improve your mind

 

Too simple?  Were you expecting something you’ve never heard before?  Were you expecting me to ask you to buy my “secrets?”  Sorry to disappoint.  No magic here.  It’s simple enough that anyone can do it, yet few will.  In my experience, life success comes from common sense, uncommonly applied.  

These 5 morning rituals will take about 60-90 minutes a day. If you can do them 5 days a week, consistently, this is what will happen:

1. Health – You will transform your body.  Rather than a focus on losing weight, you will change your body composition and decrease your body fat percentage.  You will be surprised at how strong you will feel.  You will look in the mirror and see someone you admire.  Because you will have succeeded in this area of your life, you will feel this confidence spill into the rest of your life.  If you are middle-aged or above, you may even have the strange sensation that you are getting younger.  I will show you how.
2. Wealth – Starting wherever you are now, you will get your finances under control.  Slowly but surely, you will increase your financial literacy.  You will begin and/or make steady progress toward financial peace.  You will stop living from paycheck to paycheck.  You will see the power of a high savings rate.  Some of you will even make the decision to become financially independent–a consideration you never thought possible.  I will show you how.
3. Wisdom – You will establish a pattern of continuous learning.  This can prepare you for a new job or a promotion.  You will feel more connected to the ‘wisdom of the ages.’  You will feel the excitement of re-inventing yourself.  You will be more confident that you are actively choosing your pathway through life.  Life will seem larger than ever before.  I will show you how.

 

Why am I so confident in this?  Because I’ve lived it.  For the last 8 years, I’ve been gathering the best ideas, experimenting, and implementing.  Through trial and error, I’ve made progress.  I’m finally “in shape” physically.  My finances are organized in ways that will give my family financial security.  I’m learning to tune out the noise and to simplify.  I’m confident you can do it too.

I’ve said it before . . . I’m not claiming to have all the answers.  This blog is about pointing you to the best ideas and resources to make these ideas a reality.  There are lots of smart people out there.  I’ll be curating from the best sources I can find.

If You Can

I say “if you can” because while these steps are simple, they are not easy.  The beginning especially will be the hardest. Just as most of the rocket fuel is expended in the first few minutes after lift off, you will feel the strong pull of your personal gravity.

You will complain that your circumstances are not ideal.  Maybe others can do it, but you just can’t make it work.  You will say you don’t know how.

To counter this downward drag, I will show you all the best ways to minimize the friction of establishing this new habit, but it will still take effort on your part.

What’s Next?

There is a lot to cover.  Unlike many blogs where the posts have no apparent organization, my posts will be more of a running progression.  Remember, I’m a professor.  School’s in session; don’t cut class.  I’ll start with an overview of each of the 5 morning rituals. Then we’ll get into details of the ‘what’ and ‘how-to.’

Which reminds me, sign up for my mailing list so you will get my updates hand-delivered to your inbox. (It’s like those expensive milk services, but without the milk.)

1. How to Get Up Early – 30 Day Challenge
2. Introduction to Meditation – Riding Herd on Your Monkey Mind
3. Your Body is a Machine: Use It or Lose It
4. Personal Finance – Going From (Sub)Zero to Hero
5. Introduction to Continuous Learning – The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Brain

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Matt Morgan, MD writes about how mastering The First Habit is like pushing the power button on your life. Subscribe to his e-mail list and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.