How do you succeed in life and business? Easy! Start your day off with a solid morning routine.
We all know that having a “good” morning can set the tone for the rest of the day, but what if you got it right every morning? When it comes to the top entrepreneurial elite, nearly every single one of them has a very specific morning routine.
Hal Elrod is a miracle worker, that may be why he has named his morning routine practice The Miracle Morning.
But he hasn’t always been so miraculous. When Hal was 20 years old, he got hit by a car- and it was serious. He was declared dead for six minutes, spent six days in a coma, and when he woke up, the doctors said he would never walk again.
But, in true Hal fashion, he refused for that to be his fate. Today, he is an international keynote speaker, author, podcast host, marathon runner and cancer survivor who has dedicated his life to helping thousands of people worldwide reach a higher level of success.
So, how exactly does one go from being on death’s door to achieving all of that? Well, you have to wake up just right- day after day.
What is the Miracle Morning?
This self-improvement method consists of waking up early in the morning and working through six practices, known by the acronym, S.A.V.E.R.S. When combined, this routine sets you up with just the right mindset for the rest of your day.
“The Miracle Morning allows me to hit the reset button every day,” explains Hal. “I know that I get to wake up, and I get to put myself in peak physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual state utilising that Miracle Morning practice.”
“S” is for “Silence”
How do you start your morning? Calm and peaceful, or rushed and chaotic? Begin your day right by spending five minutes instilling a state of quiet calmness. It’s the best way to reduce stress, gain clarity, and create focus immediately.
Things you can do during this time:
- Meditation
- Reflection
- Deep breathing
- Practising gratitude
The idea is to quiet your mind, cut out the chatter, and start your day with calm, productive thoughts.
“A” is for “Affirmations,”
Do you ever feel like you’re never going to reach your ultimate goals in life? Sometimes we need to get out of our negative mind and overwrite our self-limiting beliefs and switch them over with more positive ones- and affirmations are a great way of doing just that.
Affirmations are positive phrases that we repeat to ourselves to modify our way of thinking.
It can be a sentence or two that aligns with what you want to accomplish in life and who you need to be to get there. Hal suggests that ideally, they should remind you of your unlimited potential and your most important priorities.
Repeating your affirmation out loud can transform how you think and feel. Scheduling in this daily pep-talk will help you get rid of those negative behaviours and replace them with the ones you need to succeed.
“V” is for “Visualisation”
Visualisation is an excellent practice for activating your subconscious mind.
Recent studies from the University of Oxford and Cambridge, hint at the fact that if you can vividly imagine details about a successful outcome, then you are more likely to achieve it in reality.
So, take a moment to imagine yourself taking the steps towards achieving your goals. “You kind of are role-playing, rehearsing if you will, what it would feel like to live the perfect day,” explains Hal. “To execute all of your priorities, all your commitments, and do so with a smile, with confidence, in that peak state.
“E” is for “Exercise”
There’s nothing better to fire up your brain than getting a little morning exercise.
Engaging in simple physical exercise has been proven to increase energy, improve sleep, emotional well-being, and overall health.
Hal isn’t recommending that you start power-lifting at the crack of dawn, but instead, going for something that takes five minutes, isn’t too strenuous and only requires your body weight.
“Even if it’s five minutes in the morning,” explains Hal, “just getting blood and oxygen flowing to your brain, so you think clearer, you feel better, you have more energy,” is the perfect wake up call.
“R” is for “Reading”
One of the fastest ways to achieve success is to base your model on those who are already, in your eyes, a success. Reading is a pleasurable pastime, so why not combine learning with entertainment?
The ideal would be to read a minimum of 10 pages per day. Read something that relates to your personal development and well-being.
So, put Harry Potter back on the shelf, and instead try to gain the knowledge, ideas, and strategies you need to succeed within your life. A good tip is to read positive things that will help you project yourself into your affirmations.
“S” is For “Scribing”
“Scribing,” in this case, is just a fancy word for journaling.
Now, this isn’t so much a “dear diary” moment, but more of a focused outpour, where you can document insights, ideas, realisations, successes, lessons learned, breakthroughs, as well as areas you would like to improve or grow.
To take this practice one step further, Hal likes to review his journal at least once a year. “I went back and read all of my entries, and while I did that, I had another notebook open, and I wrote down on one side “Lessons, accomplishments, and commitments,” Hal says.
“It’s so encouraging, but also just for your clarity, you’re like, “Wow. I learned so much; I accomplished so much.”
These six practices make up the Miracle Morning. Remember, it’s your morning, so customise, move things around, do a 30-minute version instead of an hour- it doesn’t matter. Just as long as you dedicate the time, commit, and make these simple practices a habit. You never know what you might achieve if you do.
The Psychology of Entrepreneurship
For more on The Miracle Morning and how you can set yourself up for success every day, check out Volume 38 of the Psychology of Entrepreneurship podcast hosted by Ronsley Vaz.
Author: Ronsley Vaz
Ronsley is the founder & chief day dreamer at AMPLIFY. He is an author, speaker & serial entrepreneur.
He has a Masters’ degree in Software Engineering and an MBA in Psychology and Leadership. He is known as the creator of We Are Podcast – the first Podcasting Conference in the Southern Hemisphere, and the host of The Bond Appetit Podcast and Should I Start a Podcast. He has an audience of over 3 million in 133 countries.
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