What you do at 5AM is you do three things. From 5AM to 5:20, the first thing you’ll want to do is start moving. Intense exercise. It could be jumping jacks, it could be running on the spot, it could be skipping, which is why do boxers skip? Well, you want to really get fit fast, try skipping. It could be pushups, it could be planks, it could be burpees. But 20 minutes of intense activity. And don’t just do it to look good, do it to think well. When you exercise, you release, here’s some science for you, dopamine, the inspirational neurotransmitter. When you exercise first thing in the morning, you dump serotonin, norepinephrine, anandamide, the neurochemical of bliss, and BDNF. You know what BDNF is? This is cutting-edge science. BDNF has been called Miracle-Gro for the brain. You’re actually going to grow neural connections just by that 20 minutes at the beginning of your day during exercise. Why wouldn’t you? You’re going to feel fundamentally different at 5:20 than you did at five o’clock. The second thing you do, so the second 20 minutes, 5:20 to 5:40, you plan. Most people have vague goals, so they get vague results. You know, the 95%, the card-carrying members of the cult of average, no disrespect, but it’s just a reality. You ask them, “What do you want to do this year? What do you want to do this quarter? Show me your goals.” “I don’t know. I’m too busy watching TV. I’m too busy being busy.”
But you look at the top 5%, you look at the leaders versus the victims and they’ll go, “Let me show you my battle plan. Let me show you my charts. Let me show you where I’m going this year.” So the second 20 minutes, look at your plan, write about your plan, review your goals. And that’s going to give you clarity. And clarity precedes mastery. And then the final 20 minutes, 5:40 to six o’clock, what do you do? You learn. That’s when you can read the great autobiographies. That’s when you can watch your online videos. That’s when you can write in your journal. That’s when you can review your days and remind yourself that the person who learns the most wins.