“How you start your day is how you start your life” – Drew Canole
Studies show the most successful people all have systems for starting their day so they are equipped to take on the world.
In order to create an authentic morning routine for your own successful day, you must assess what makes you happy combined with what makes you feel good.
For example, if 100 pushups each morning sounds like a good idea, but you’re finding you procrastinate getting out of bed in order to post-pone those pushups for as long as possible, it does more harm than good keeping it in your routine, with the mental guilt you’re creating.
But to generate some ideas to craft your perfect morning rituals, let’s look at what some wildly successful entrepreneurs do to get their day rolling in the morning…
Noah Kagan
Noah worked for Facebook, Mint.com and has created multiple businesses of his own that run in the 7 figures. Feeling like he didn’t deserve his success, this process helped him overcome depression and continues to kick off his mornings on a good note. He calls it GEBY;
- G: I become grateful for seemingly small things in my life.
- spend 10 mins and write down some of your favourite things
- E: I make exercise a priority (and not just in a gym).
- choose exercise that makes you happy (if you hate running, do yoga or lift weights)
- B: I eat a healthy breakfast.
- plan a breakfast that gives you good stamina/fuel but also excites you to get out of bed for it
- Y: I do something just for me (“you”).
- read a book or meet a friend for coffee; something that feeds your soul
Arianna Huffington
Arianna claims it’s more about what she doesn’t do when she wakes then what she does do. Meaning daily distractions like our smartphones are something she avoids until the important work is done – beginning with breathing.
She claims to begin her day with deep breathing, gratitude, and setting her intention for the day.
That’s how she keeps her girl boss mentality and great smile, and was able to create one of the world’s biggest online news sources – “the Huffington Post”. At the time, Huffington Post was the highest selling website in history at $315 million!
Robin Sharma
This routine is specific to his Sunday morning.
Every Sunday, Robin gives himself an hour to review the past week and write his Weekly Story – a review of his performance and behaviour based on his daily schedule. This allows him to eliminate what didn’t work well for the next week and continue to increase effectiveness.
From there he reviews his annual plan, his top 5 values, and his next 7 day’s schedule to ensure they are all congruent and aligned. Now he’s primed for his next piece of writing; his “Blueprint for a Beautiful Week” where he will fill his morning time blocks with things like working out, reading, and family.
This man is dedicated to an authentic lifestyle!
Danielle Laporte
The author of Desire Map likes to start her day with prayer and repeating her Core Desired Feelings. Due to a busy schedule with work, travel, family, and all the hats a successful girl boss wears, she does a medley of the following rituals.
Mantra, you can follow along with her tomorrow with this Youtube video.
Angel Cards, something wise and profound to start the day (Doreen Virtue is a favourite of hers).
Lighting a candle in honour of a friend – like a prayer candle.
Meditation is a must for this woman.
Spiritual text or poetry.
Spiritual/Personal Development; she claims www.GaiamTV.com is her spirit snack to inspire her and get her out of bed.
Mouth Cleanse; oil pulling is her ritual backed by 6,000 years of ayurvedic science.
Hot water with lemon, alkalizes the body in the morning.
Sweat; elliptical, dance yoga, or walk.
Create a magical space; she does this with incense and altar tending.
She’s a spirit junkie and it totally works for her authentic expression AND her branding. Congruency.
Mark Cuban
This billionaire investor and businessman has a severe case of entrepreneurialism and work-ethic. So what does this shark do when his eyelids open?
Work!
“Business is my morning meditation”, says Cuban between sets on the 6th season of Shark Tank. He wakes up and checks his most pressing issues through his new private mobile messaging app called Cyber Dust.
Just goes to show you that we all have unique rituals that works best for us, and we need to be diligent to crafting whatever is going to give you the most energy and life juice throughout your day – because the world deserves all of you!
What’s your morning routine consist of?
Leave a comment or facebook post and let us know!