The Miracle Morning
by Hal Elrod
Have you ever said to yourself “I’m not a morning person”? Or maybe you’ve found yourself identifying with night owls who get their creative or productive spark at 11pm at night. Working with such a diverse group of business owners over the years has exposed me to those who wake early and feel the exhaustion at night as well as those who lay restless at night and struggle to wake up in the morning hitting snooze over and over. I always felt the latter… until I read this book.
The author Hal Elrod adds a boost of inspiration and motivation throughout by connecting the lessons and results from implementing his own teachings during one of the hardest times of his life – overcoming a car accident that left doctors saying he would be paralyzed and have permanent brain damage. Many of the lessons shared in this short book, Hal used to make a full recovery.
Before I share the meat of the book, I want to relay a short passage that could be easily glossed over but one that had a profound impact on me when I read it. It was a point Hal was making about what it basically means when you wake up and hit the snooze button. We all do it right? I mean that’s what it is there for and so why would I ever think of a morning without a snooze button. Wrong. My perspective shift happened when Hal stated that when you hit the snooze it is like saying to yourself you would rather sleep then go after the day, you aren’t grateful for the opportunities coming your way and that you are too tired to greet another day of life with excitement. Yuck! That was not the message I was trying to tell myself and it was a big wake up call for me to the decision to hit snooze I had been making without a second thought of what that was doing to my morning mindset and momentum.
Ah, morning mindset and momentum is the perfect transition to the core of what this book is about. As Hal says, there are many books that mention waking up early and they often make a long list of exceptional performers and their formula for being a success and for becoming billionaires… however, there are not many books that highlight it and talk about how to maximize the morning like this book. Hal set out to research what are the top components that successful people unanimously say contribute to having a successful morning launch. At the end of all that research, he found six repeated over and over. Fortunately for memories sake, they form the acronym S.A.V.E.R.S.
The first is Silence which can be in form of meditation, prayer, gratitude, appreciation of the moment, deep breathing or sitting calm and peacefully.
The second is Affirmations which are statements of who you desire to be in your dream future that you read out loud with passion and emotion. Here is one of my favorite examples of daily affirmations…
The third is Visualization which is affirmations only with visuals you can see by closing your eyes or by utilizing a vision board to remind you. Sometimes visualization involves simply imagining walking through your day and conquering each moment. With all the technology around you, it is easy to get a vision board on your phone or use a digital photo frame.
The fourth is Exercise which can be as simple as 10 sit ups or one minute of jumping jacks – whatever it takes to get your heart rate up, get the blood pumping into your mind and body, and increase your alertness to start the day feeling energized.
The fifth is Reading which is all about expanding your thinking by reading a page or two or listening to a video or audio book to get that brain moving and to generate new ideas.
The sixth is Scribing which includes writing in a journal for a few minutes, maybe writing what you’re grateful for or what your accomplishments have been, or what your goals and top focus items are for the day you have ahead.
The average business owner will read these six and say I don’t have time for that in the morning… but you are not average so here’s how you conquer it.
First stop using the snooze button. Set a time to wake up that is 6 minutes earlier than you would normally need to wake. That way you are not waking up because you have to do something or you have to go somewhere… now you are waking up to do something for yourself. That alone will be a refreshing difference. Now armed with 6 minutes to yourself – go through each of these for one minute – and start reaping the rewards of doing what most are not willing to do for themselves.
Find out what your next steps should be to create the compound effect in your business by contacting us for a complimentary strategy session by clicking here…
Book Reviewed by…
Juliet Kyes of ActionCOACH Tampa Bay