‘5am is the time of least distraction, highest human glory and greatest peace.’

Robin Sharma

1. ‘Dedication and discipline beats brilliance and giftedness every day of the week.’
2. That the most reliable way to generate the best results in your personal and professional life is to build a world-beating morning routine.
3. Getting up at 5 a.m.-the focus is enhanced by the concept of transient hypofrontality, which means that you are well placed to achieve a state of flow in your thinking. You naturally enter a state of flow: of being fully energised, focused and in the zone.
4. Another reason why joining the 5 a.m. club is that: to get the results of the top 5 % of elite performers, you need to do what 95% of entrepreneurs, artists and other people are unwilling to do. Most people aren’t willing to get up at t a.m. so if you are, you have a huge competitive advantage.
5. The greatest people are defined not by their natural talent, but by the extent to which they capitalise. Self-discipline and perseverance always trump talent and giftedness. So rather thinking you don’t have what it takes, capitalise on the gifts you’ve got to make a difference.
6. Freedom from distraction is key. Too many people today waste hours on addictive but hollow technology and social media. If you want to win, you need to focus, simplify, and concentrate.
7. Understand day-stacking. Small things done daily are way more important than big things done once in a while.
8. Personal mastery practice. A person must invest at least 2.75 hours of daily practice in a skill for ten years for the first sign of an elite-level of mastery to appear.
9. 4 interior empires: 1.Mindset. Optimistic thoughts. 2. Heartset. Your emotional life and well-being. ‘Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and they will come forth later in uglier ways.’ 3. Healthset. Your physical health. One of the key ways to get ahead in life is longevity. Elite performers also realise that every day becomes far better with exercise. 4. Soulset. Too often, everyday life pulls us toward the superficial and the material. So take some time in the quiet moments of the early morning to remember who you truly are. In the silence of the dawn, meditate on what you have to offer the world.
10. The 20/20/20 formula ensures that waking up at 5 a.m. generates incredible results. Use 20 minutes to move, 20 minutes to reflect and 20 minutes to grow. The first step is to move-to perform vigorous exercise for 20 minutes. What’s really important is to make yourself sweat. Sweat gets rid of cortisol, the hormone of fear. Also, by sweating for 20 minutes, it means you’ll think faster. (There is a scientific explanation in the book). Then, make 5.20-40 a.m. a time for reflection with a period of deep peace and solitude. In an age of distraction, of constant notifications and messages, you’ll be amazed what visions, dreams and inspiration drift into your mind when you have a few moments of silence to yourself. Write these thoughts in a journal. Commit your current ambitions, the things you’re grateful for in your life, and your frustrations and disappointments to paper. Take a few minutes to meditate. It helps lower your cortisol and is a proven way to stay calm. The last 20 minutes is to grow, study the lives of great achievers by reading their biographies. Learn about human psychology. Watch documentaries on innovation, or listen to audio-books about business building. One thing every billionaire has in common is a love of learning.
11. Sleep is one of the key factors in predicting life expectancy. How you spend the last hour of your day is almost as important to peak performance as how you spend the first.
12. The twin cycle of elite performance. A key to top performance over time is to oscillate between periods of passionate, focused work at the highest levels and periods of time for deep refuelling through relaxation.
13. When the alarm goes off, jump out of bed immediately, before the weaker part of your character can come up with reasons to stay under the duvet.