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The Morning Miracle : The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed To Transform Your Life Before 8 Am

Rising above mediocrity and join the Top 5%

One of the greatest challenges in human history is to rise above our excuses, do what’s right, give our best and create the Level 10 life we truly want — the one with no limits, the one so few people ever get to live.

Unfortunately, most people never even come close. Approximately 95% of our society settles for far less than they want in life, wishing they had more, living with regret and never understanding that they could be, do, and have all that they want.

According to the Social Security Administration, if you take any 100 people at the start of their working careers and follow them for the next 40 years until they reach retirement age, here’s what you’ll find: only 1 will be wealthy; 4 will be financially secure; 5 will continue working, not because they want to but because they have to; 36 will be dead; and 54 will be broke and dependent on friends, family, relatives, and the government to take care of them.

Monetarily speaking, that’s only 5% of us who will be successful in creating a life of freedom and 95% who will continue to struggle their entire lives. So, the crucial question — the one that we must explore and find the answer to — is this: what can we do now to ensure that we don’t end up struggling, like the 95% majority will? Here are three simple yet decisive steps to rise above mediocrity and join the top 5%.

Step #1: Acknowledge the 95% reality check

First, we must understand and acknowledge the reality that 95% of our society will never create and live the life they really want. We must embrace the fact that if we don’t commit to thinking and living differently than most people now, we are setting ourselves up to endure a life of mediocrity, struggle, failure, and regret — just like most people. Realize that this will include our own friends, family, and peers if we don’t do something about it now and set an example of what’s possible when we commit to fulfilling our potential.

Step #2: Identify the causes of mediocrity

Once we’ve acknowledged that 95% of our society is settling for far less than they are capable of, struggling in almost every area, and not experiencing the levels of success, happiness, and freedom that they really want, the next crucial step is to understand why. To prevent it from happening to you, you must know what causes the average person to end up living a life of mediocrity.

If you were to ask the average person in this country — 40-50 years old, settling for less than they want, and struggling to be happy, pay their bills, etc. — if you were to ask them if this was their plan, their vision for their life, what do you think they would say? Do you think they envisioned their life being a struggle? Of course not! And that, my friend, is the scary part.

If 95% of our society is not living the life that they want, we must figure out what they did wrong or what they didn’t do right, so that we don’t end up living a life of mediocrity.

The causes of mediocrity (and your solutions)

One of the most crippling causes of mediocrity in life is a condition the author calls Rearview Mirror Syndrome (RMS). Our subconscious minds are equipped with a self-limiting rearview mirror, through which we continuously relive and recreate our past. We mistakenly believe that who we were is who we are, thus limiting our true potential in the present, based on the limitations of our past.

As a result, we filter every choice we make — from what time we will wake up in the morning to which goals we will set to what we allow ourselves to consider possible for our lives — through the limitations of our past experiences. We want to create a better life, but sometimes we don’t know how to see it any other way than how it’s always been.

Lack of purpose

If you ask the average person what their life purpose is, you will get a funny look or a response like “Gee, I dunno.” What if I asked you? What would you say? The average person can’t articulate their life purpose — the compelling “why” that drives them to wake up every day and do whatever it takes to fulfill their mission in life.

Rather, the average person takes life one day at a time and has no higher purpose beyond merely surviving. Most people just focus on getting through the day, taking the path of least resistance, and pursuing short term, short-lived pleasures along the way, while avoiding any pain or discomfort that might cause them to grow.

Isolating incidents

One of the most prevalent, yet not-so-obvious causes of mediocrity is isolating incidents. We do this when we mistakenly assume that each choice we make, and each individual action we take, is only affecting that particular moment, or circumstance. For example, you may think it’s no big deal to miss a workout, procrastinate on a project, or eat fast food because you’ll get a “do-over” tomorrow. You make the mistake of thinking that skipping that workout only affects that incident, and you’ll make a better choice next time. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

We must realize that the real impact and consequence of each of our choices and actions — and even our thoughts — is monumental because every single thought, choice, and action is determining who we are becoming, which will ultimately determine the quality of our lives.

Lack of accountability

The link between success and accountability is irrefutable. Virtually all highly successful people — from CEOs to professional athletes to the President of the United States — embrace a high degree of accountability. It gives them the leverage they need to take action and create results, even when they don’t feel like it.

Accountability is the act of being responsible to someone else for some action or result. Very little happens in this world, or in your life, without some form of accountability. Virtually every positive result you and I produced from birth to age eighteen was thanks to the accountability provided for us by the adults in our lives (parents, teachers, bosses, etc.) Vegetables got eaten, homework was completed, teeth were brushed, we bathed and got to bed at a reasonable hour. If it weren’t for the accountability provided for us by our parents and teachers, we would have been uneducated, malnourished, sleep-deprived, dirty little kids! Nice way to reframe it, right?

Mediocre circle of influence

Research has shown that we virtually become like the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Who you spend your time with maybe the single most determining factor in the person you become and in your quality of life. If you are surrounded by lazy, weak-minded, excuse-making people, you’ll inevitably become like them. Spend time with positive, successful achievers, and inevitably their attitudes and successful habits will reflect on you. You’ll become more and more like them.

Lack of personal development

Your levels of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development because success is something we attract by who we become. In other words, your level of success — in every area of your life — will rarely exceed, and usually parallel your level of personal development (i.e., your knowledge, skills, beliefs, habits, etc.)

Step #3: Draw your line in the sand

Make a decision as to what you are going to start doing differently from this day forward. Not tomorrow, not next week, or next month. You’ve got to make a decision today that you’re ready to make the necessary changes to guarantee that you will be able to create the life you really want. To take your personal and professional success to the level they’ve never been before, you have to be willing to commit at a level you’ve never been committed before. Are you ready to make that commitment?

Your entire life changes the day that you decide you will no longer accept mediocrity for yourself. When you realize that today is the most important day of your life. When you decide that now matters more than any other time because it is who you are becoming each day based on the decisions that you are making and the actions that you are taking that is determining who you are going to be for the rest of your life.

You snooze, you lose: The truth about waking up

Why did you bother getting out of bed this morning? Think about that for a second… Why do you wake up most mornings? Why do you leave the comfort of your warm, cozy bed? Is it because you want to? Or do you delay waking up until you absolutely have to?

If you’re like most people, you wake up to the incessant beeping of an alarm clock each morning and reluctantly drag yourself out of bed because you have to be somewhere, do something, answer to — or take care of — someone else. Given a choice (do you have a choice?) most people would continue sleeping.

So naturally, we rebel. We hit the snooze button and resist the inevitable act of waking up, unaware that our resistance is sending a message to the universe that we’d rather lie there in our beds — unconscious — than consciously and actively live and create the lives we say that we want.

The old saying, “You Snooze, You Lose” may have a much deeper meaning than any of us realized. When you delay waking up until you have to — meaning you wait until the last possible moment to get out of bed and start your day— consider that what you’re actually doing is resisting your life. Every time you hit the snooze button, you’re in a state of resistance to your day, to your life, and to waking up and creating the life you say you want. Think about the kind of negative energy that surrounds you when you begin your day with resistance when you respond to the sound of the alarm clock with internal dialogue along the lines of, “Oh no, it’s time already. I have to wake up. I don’t want to wake up.” It’s as if you’re saying, “I don’t want to live my life, at least not to the fullest.

How to Increase Your Wake-Up-Motivation-Level (WUML) For most of us, when the alarm clock sounds each morning, we are woken from a dead sleep. Leaving the comfort of our beds is the least appealing thing to do. If you were to rate your level of motivation as it pertained to waking up — a.k.a. your Wake Up Motivation Level (WUML) — at the moment the alarm clock starts incessantly beeping, on a scale of 1 – 10 (“10” is ready to wake up and embrace the day, and “1” meaning you want nothing more than to go back to sleep), most of us would probably rate our WUML close to a one or a two. It’s perfectly natural, when you’re still half asleep, to want to hit the snooze button and keep on sleeping.

Here are the author’s five simple, snooze – proof steps to making waking up in the morning — even early in the morning — easier than ever before.

Step #1: Set your intentions before bed

The first key to waking up is to remember this: Your first thought in the morning is usually the last thought you had before you went to bed. For example, we’ve all had nights where we could hardly fall asleep because we are so excited about waking up the next morning. Whether it was Christmas Eve, the night before your birthday, your first day of school, starting a new job, or going on vacation — as soon as the alarm clock sounds, you open your eyes with enthusiasm and excitement to get out of bed and embrace the day. So, the key is to consciously decide every night to actively and mindfully create a positive expectation for the next morning.

Step #2: Move your alarm clock across the room

If you haven’t already, move your alarm clock as far away from your bed as possible. This forces you to rise from bed and engage your body in movement. Motion creates energy, so when you get up and out of bed, it naturally helps you wake up.

Step #3: Brush your teeth

The point is that you’re doing mindless activities for the first few minutes and simply giving your body time to wake up. So, after turning off your alarm clock, go directly to the bathroom sink to brush your teeth and splash some warm (or cold) water on your face. This simple activity will increase your wakeup motivation level from a WUML-2 to a WUM-3 or WUML-4. Now that your mouth is minty fresh, it’s time to…

Step #4: Drink a full glass of water

It’s crucial that you hydrate yourself first thing every morning. After 6 – 8 hours without water, you’ll naturally be mildly dehydrated, and dehydration causes fatigue. Often when people feel tired— at any time of the day — what they really need is more water, not more sleep.

Step #5: Get dressed in your workout clothes

Last but not least, get dressed in your exercise clothes, so you’re ready to leave your bedroom and immediately engage in your Miracle Morning. Some people prefer to start their day by jumping into the shower, but I believe we should earn our morning shower by breaking a sweat, first! Morning exercise is crucial to maximizing your potential because it puts you into a peak mental, physical, and emotional state so that you can win the day

The live S.A.V.E.R.S

The First “S” of S.A.V.E.R.S

S is for Silence. “In the attitude of silence, the soul finds the path.”

For some of us, words like rushed, hectic, stressful, or even chaotic might best describe our typical morning. For others, slow, lazy, and lethargic might be a more accurate description of how our day begins. Which of these scenarios best describe your mornings?

Mornings, for others, are typically pretty hectic and rushed. We’re usually running around trying to get ready for the day, and our minds are often plagued with internal chatter about what we have to do, where we have to go, who we have to see, what we forgot to do, the fact that we’re running late, a recent argument with our significant other or family member.

Silence is one of the best ways to immediately reduce stress while increasing your self-awareness and gaining the clarity that will allow you to maintain your focus on your goals, priorities, and what’s most important for your life, each and every day.

Here are some of the author’s favorite activities to choose from and practice during his period of silence, in no particular order, followed by a simple meditation to get you started:
• Meditation
• Prayer
• Reflection
• Deep Breathing
• Deep Breathing Gratitude

The LIVE S.A.V.E.R.S: A is for Affirmations

“I am the greatest!” —Muhammad Ali affirmed these words over and over again — and then he became them. Affirmations are one of the most effective tools for quickly becoming the person you need to be to achieve everything you want in your life. Affirmations allow you to design and then develop the mindset (thoughts, beliefs, focus) that you need to take any area of your life to the next level.

Whether or not you realize it, incessantly talking to one’s self is not just for crazy people. Every single one of us has an internal dialogue that runs through our heads, almost non-stop. Most of it is unconscious, that is, we don’t consciously choose the dialogue. Instead, we allow our past experiences — both good and bad — to replay over and over again. Not only is this completely normal, but it is also one of the most important processes for each of us to learn about and master. Yet, very few people take responsibility for actively choosing to think positive, proactive thoughts that will add value to their lives.

“You will be a failure until you impress the subconscious with” ~ Florence Scovel Shinn

Here are simple steps to create your first affirmation.

Step 1: Write what you really want

The purpose of a written affirmation is to program your mind with the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors/habits that are vital to your being able to attract, create, and to sustain your ideal levels of success — Level 10 success — in every area of your life. So, your affirmation must first clearly articulate exactly what you want your ideal life to be like, in each area.

You can organize your affirmations according to the areas that you most want to focus on improving, such as Health/Fitness, Mindset, Emotions, Finances, Relationships, Spirituality, etc. Begin with clarifying, in writing, what you really want — your ideal vision for yourself and your life — in each area.

Step 2: Why you want it

“The wise begin with whys.” Everyone wants to be happy, healthy, and successful, but wanting is rarely an effective strategy for getting. Those who overcome the temptations of mediocrity and achieve everything they want in life have an extraordinarily compelling why that drives them. They have defined a clear life purpose that is more powerful than the collective sum of their petty problems and the countless obstacles they will inevitably face, and they wake up each day and work towards their purpose.

Step 3: Whom you are committed to being to create It

This is where the rubber meets the road. In other words, your life gets better only after you get better. Your outer world improves only after you’ve invested countless hours improving yourself.

Being (who you need to be) and doing (what you need to do) are prerequisites for having what you want to have. Get clear on who you need to be, are committed to being, in order to take your life, business, health, marriage, etc. to the next level and beyond.

The LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S: V is for Visualization

Simple steps for miracle morning visualization.

Step 1: Getready

Some people like to play instrumental music in the background — such as classical or baroque (check out anything from the composer Bach) — during their visualization. If you’d like to experiment with playing music, put it on with the volume relatively low.

1. Now, sit up tall, in a comfortable position. This can be on a chair, couch, floor, etc.
2. Breathe deeply.
3. Close your eyes, clear your mind, and get ready to visualize.

Step 2: Visualize what you really want

Visualize your major goals, deepest desires, and most exciting, would-totally-change-my-life-if-I-achieved-them dreams. See, feel, hear, touch, taste, and smell every detail of your vision. Involve all of your senses to maximize the effectiveness of your visualization. The more vivid you make your vision, the more compelled you’ll be to take the necessary actions to make it a reality.

Step 3: Visualize who you need to be & what you need to do

Once you’ve created a clear mental picture of what you want, begin to visualize yourself living in total alignment with the person you need to be to achieve your vision. See yourself engaged in the positive actions you’ll need to do each day (exercising, studying, working, writing, making calls, sending emails, etc.) and make sure you see yourself enjoying the process

LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S: E is for Exercise

Morning exercise should be a staple in your daily rituals. When you exercise for even a few minutes every morning, it significantly boosts your energy, enhances your health, improves self-confidence and emotional well-being, and enables you to think better and concentrate longer.

Personally, if I were only allowed to practice one form of exercise for the rest of my life, I would, without a doubt, choose yoga. Yoga is a multi-faceted science that has applications for the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of life.

The important thing to remember is that yoga can take place in many forms. Whether it is sitting in silent meditation, breathing to expand your lung capacity or back bending to open your heart — there are practices that can help every aspect of your life. The key is to learn which techniques to practice when you need a remedy and use it to your advantage to bring yourself into balance.

A well-rounded yoga practice can enhance your life in so many ways. It can heal what is out of harmony and can move stuck or blocked energy through your body, creating space for new fluid movement, blood flow, and energy to circulate. I encourage you to listen to your body and try some new sequences as you feel ready.

You know that if you want to maintain good health and increase your energy, you must exercise consistently. That’s not news to anybody. But it’s too easy to make excuses as to why we don’t exercise. Two of the biggest are “I just don’t have time,” and “I’m just too tired.” There is no limit to the excuses that you can think of. The more creative you are, the more excuses you can come up with, right?

That’s the beauty of incorporating exercise into your Miracle Morning; it happens before your day wears you out before you have a chance to get too tired before you have an entire day to come up with new excuses for avoiding exercise

LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S: R is for Reading

Reading, the fifth practice in the Life S.A.V.E.R.S. is the fast track to transforming any area of your life. It is one of the most immediate methods for acquiring the knowledge, ideas, and strategies you need to achieve Level 10 success in any area of your life.

The key is to learn from the experts — those who have already done what you want to do. Don’t reinvent the wheel. The fastest way to achieve everything you want is to model successful people who have already achieved it. With an almost infinite amount of books available on every topic, there are no limits to the knowledge you can gain through daily reading.

Whatever you want for your life, there are countless books on how to get it.

Want to become wealthy, rich, a multi-millionaire? There are plenty of books written by those who have achieved the pinnacles of financial success which will teach you how. Here are a few of the author’s favorites.

• The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
• Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Want to create an incredible, loving, supportive, and romantic relationship? There are probably more books on how to do exactly that than you could read in a decade. Here are a few of the author’s favorites.

• The Five Love Languages by Gary D. Chapman
• The Soulmate Experience by Jo Dunn
• The Seven Principles For Making a Marriage Work by John M. Gottman and Nan Silver

How much should you read?

The author recommends making a commitment to read a minimum of 10 pages per day (although five is okay to start with if you read slowly or don’t yet enjoy reading). Let’s do some math on this for a second: reading 10 pages read per day is not going to break you, but it will make you. We’re only talking 10-15 minutes of reading, or 15-30 minutes if you read more slowly.

Look at it this way. If you quantify that, reading just 10 pages a day will average 3,650 pages a year, which equates to approximately eighteen 200-page personal development/self-improvement books! Let me ask you if you read 18 personal development books in the next 12 months, do you think you will be more knowledgeable, capable, and confident — a new & improved you?

Absolutely!

LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S: S is for Scribing

Scribing is the final practice in the Life S.A.V.E.R.S. and is really just another word for writing. The author’s favorite form of Scribing is journaling, which he does for 5-10 minutes during my Miracle Morning.

By getting your thoughts out of your head and putting them in writing, you gain valuable insights you’d otherwise never see. The Scribing element of your Miracle Morning enables you to document your insights, ideas, breakthroughs, realizations, successes, and lessons learned, as well as any areas of opportunity, personal growth, or improvement.

Writing in a journal each day, with a structured, strategic process (more on that in a minute) allows you to direct your focus to what you did accomplish, what you’re grateful for, and what you’re committed to doing better tomorrow. Thus, you more deeply enjoy your journey each day, feel good about any forward progress you made, and use a heightened level of clarity to accelerate your results.

Here are 3 simple steps to get started with journaling, or improve your current journaling process.

1. Choose a format — digital or traditional

You’ll want to decide upfront if you want to go with a traditional, physical lined journal, or go with a digital journal (such as on your computer, or an app for your phone or tablet). Having used both traditional and digital, there are advantages and disadvantages to both formats (which I’ll address in a minute), but it really comes down to your personal preference. Do you prefer to write by hand, or would you rather type your daily journal entries? That should make it a relatively simple decision as to which format to use.

2. Get a journal

When it comes to a traditional journal, while just about anything can work (you can even use a 99-cent spiral notebook), since you’re probably going to have it for the rest of your life there is something to be said about getting a nice, durable journal that you enjoy looking at. Get a journal that is not only lined but also dated, with room to write for all 365 days of the year.

If you prefer to use a digital journal, there are also many choices available. The author’s favorite journaling app is Five-Minute Journal (available at www.FiveMinuteJournal.com) and is becoming very popular. It makes it easy by giving you prompts, such as “I am grateful for…” and “What would make today great?” It literally takes five minutes or less and includes an “Evening” option, which allows you to review your day and even upload photos to create visual memories.

3. Decide what to write

Thereare infiniteaspects of your life that you can journal about, and countless types of journals. Gratitude journals, dream journals, food journals, workout journals, etc. You can write about your goals, dreams, plans, family, commitments, lessons learned, and anything else that you feel you need to focus on in your life.

The 6-minute Miracle Morning for those days when you’re extra busy and pressed for time

Minute One…

Envision yourself waking up peacefully in the morning, with a big yawn, a stretch, and a smile on your face. Instead of rushing carelessly into your hectic day — stressed and overwhelmed — you spend the first minute sitting quietly, in purposeful Silence. You sit, very calm, very peaceful, and breathe deeply, slowly.

Maybe you say a prayer of gratitude to appreciate the moment or pray for guidance on your journey. Maybe you decide to try your first minute of meditation. As you sit in silence, you’re totally present in the now, at the moment. You calm your mind, relax your body, and allow all of your stress to melt away. You develop a deeper sense of peace, purpose, and direction…

Minute Two…

You pull out your daily Affirmations — the ones that remind you of your unlimited potential and your most important priorities — and you read them out loud from top to bottom. As you focus on what’s most important to you, your level of internal motivation increases. Reading over the reminders of how capable you really give you a feeling of confidence. Looking over what you’re committed to, what your purpose is, and what your goals are re-energizes you to take the actions necessary to live the life you truly want, deserve, and now know is possible for you…

Minute Three…

You close your eyes, or you look at your vision board, and you visualize. Your Visualization could include what it will look and feel like when you reach your goals. You visualize the day going perfectly, see yourself enjoying your work, smiling and laughing with your family or your significant other, and easily accomplishing all that you intend to accomplish for that day. You see what it will look like, you feel what it will feel like, and you experience the joy of what you will create…

Minute Four…

You take one minute to write down some of the things that you’re grateful for, what you’re proud of, and the results you’re committed to creating for that day. In doing so, you create for yourself an empowered, inspired, and confident state of mind…

Minute Five…

Then, you grab your self-help book and invest one miraculous minute reading a page or two. You learn a new idea, something you can incorporate into your day, which will improve your results at work or in your relationships. You discover something new that you can use to think and feel better — to live better…

Minute Six…

Finally, you stand up and spend the last minute, moving your body for 60 seconds. Maybe you run in place, maybe you do a minute of jumping jacks. Maybe you do push-ups or sit-ups. The point is that you’re getting your heart rate up, generating energy and increasing your ability to be alert and focused.

How would you feel if that’s how you utilized the first 6-minutes of each day?

How would the quality of your day — your life — improve?

The author does not suggest you limit your Miracle Morning to only six minutes every day, but on those days when you’re pressed for time, The 6-minute Miracle Morning provides a powerful strategy for accelerating your personal development

Conclusion

If you’re feeling hesitant, or concerned about whether or not you will be able to follow through with Miracle Morning, relax — it’s completely normal to feel that way. This is especially true if waking up in the morning is something you’ve found challenging in the past. Remember, we all suffer from RMS (Rearview Mirror Syndrome). So, it’s not only expected that you would be a bit hesitant or nervous, but it’s actually a sign that you’re ready to commit; otherwise, you wouldn’t be nervous.

Here’s a quick review of the 5-Step Snooze-Proof Wake Up Strategy to make it significantly easier to wake up and stay awake:

1. Set Your Intentions the Night Before. This is the most important step.

Remember: your first thought in the morning is usually the last thought you had before bed, so take responsibility for creating genuine excitement for the next morning, every night before bed.

2. Keep Your Alarm Clock Across the Room. Remember: movement creates energy!

3. Brush Your Teeth. Use Listerine® for extra umph!

4. Drink a Full Glass of Water. Hydrate yourself, ASAP.

5. Dress in Your Workout Clothes. Earn your A.M. shower!