I first made this realisation in my 20s. It was a period in my life when I was doing the things most young people do - partying (until 9pm), smoking (mainly salmon) and sleeping around (I had a bad back and had to keep switching between my bed and the bamboo mattress).
Naturally, all this hard livin’ took its toll. I looked in the mirror and no longer recognised the person I saw - usually because I still had my sleep apnea mask on.
Then I heard about the 5am Club. It’s a book that’s written by Robin Sharma, but I heard about it from an Uber driver called Vikram Sharma. He told me that waking up at 5am every morning had changed his life. He was no longer depressed or lonely and his hair was starting to grow back.
As a balding twenty seven year old, I was intrigued. I did some more research and discovered that some of the most successful people in history woke up early. Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Ralph Macchio.
So I decided to give it a go.
The results were immediate. I was way more productive. My mind was ten times sharper. I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment.
More than that, the idea for my first business came to me at 5.17am two weeks later.
Would I have had that idea if I was fast asleep at that time? Maybe, but it would have been mixed in with erotic dreams about sushi.
The business took off. I became a successful entrepreneur and the award-winning thought leader you see before you today.
But then one day, by sheer luck, I happened to wake up at 4:59am.
And this is where the real magic began. I found I had a whole extra minute to beat my rivals and win the day.
They didn’t know what hit them, mainly because they were asleep.
People would come up to me at events and ask me what I was doing that made me so successful. I lied and told them I stopped brushing my teeth. One guy tried to copy me and ended up with gum disease. Another insisted he live with me so he could copy my strategies for success. I agreed but deliberately made sure I only woke up at 5am and not 4:59am, just so he couldn’t glean my secret. It was utter hell losing that priceless minute, but I was hellbent on keeping my winning advantage to myself.
Until now.
I am sharing the 4:59am secret with you because after making my millions and enjoying all the fruits of massive success, I realised that you can’t take it with you. The real success comes from helping others grow and achieve their dreams.
That’s why I’ve decided to launch The Daily Winner newsletter.
Every day (or every week depending on how tired I am) you will receive news, guidance and tips on how to become a Winner. If you are already a Winner, then you will learn how to become an even bigger Winner.
Whatever your goals may be, I can get you there. Think of me like Clint Eastwood’s character in Million Dollar Baby. Someone who believes in you when no one else does (I never finished the movie but I got the gist of it).
Anyway, back to the 4:59am Club. With that extra minute, I am able to set myself up for a glorious morning. And that’s what every Winner needs - morning glory. The harder and stronger that glory, the better you will feel throughout the day.
So here’s how I use that extra 60 seconds:
Journal for 10 seconds.
Mindfulness meditation for 10 seconds.
Do affirmations for 10 seconds.
Deep breathing for 10 seconds.
Power nap for 20 seconds.
It’s up to you how you want to structure it. The point is to get into the discipline of doing it.
The best part is that waking up an extra minute gives you a total of 7 extra minutes a week. This equals an extra 364 minutes a year. That is a whole six extra hours - or 3 viewings of The Wedding Planner.
What will you do with all that extra time?
Before I started waking up at 4:59 I was depressed. I still am, but I was then, too.
This is truly inspiring