THINGS ABOUT LIFE
Canada-based author Robin Sharma on the essence of waking up early in the morning and having a productive life
26 Leadership expert Robin Sharma on nurturing good habits for a productive life
ALEADERSHIP EXPERT and life coach, Robin Sharma, 54, considers himself to be a student at heart. The author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari invests 60 minutes every day learning something new. He quit his profession as a lawyer in 1997 to follow his creative instinct. His new book, The 5 AM Club, focuses on living an inspiring life and owning your success.
What made you give up litigation law and become a writer?
Litigation law, for me, was very adversarial and my nature isn’t aggressive. I was struggling at that point in my life. I woke up every morning and I felt empty, thinking that there must be a way forward. Pain can be a great motivator. I turned to books and started reading about the world’s great leaders and creative people. I started experimenting and tried meditation and made some powerful changes in my life. Those around me thought I was crazy to give up my successful career and follow my passion to write personal development books. One of the lines in my latest book The
5 AM Club is ‘your instinct is always wiser than your intellect and your heart knows what’s best even if it is a scary part to follow your heart’. I followed my instinct.
What inspired you to write The 5 AM Club?
What I always found interesting was that all great leaders had one thing in common—they were early risers. I was fascinated why so many genius minds and influential people get up before the sun rises. I started my research and came up with this 20:20:20 formula of working out, self-contemplating and learning for 20 minutes each, and the book is based around that. I understood from some of my billionaire and sports celebrity clients that by following this, they were getting great results. The way you begin your day sets the way your day unfolds. After seeing so much success with the 20:20:20 formula, I decided to write a book. It’s the story of the power of getting up at 5 am and running this process so that you optimise your brain, body, heart and soul for a great day.
What’s so magical about waking up early in the morning?
I have been getting up at 5 am for 30 years. I call it the mother of all habits. It is the one habit that elevates every other habit, and if there is one reason I have been creative and productive in my life, it is because I have been consistently getting up early in the morning. You can get most of your work done by
8 am and I want people to incorporate this habit. Every day, I go for a walk that re-energises me and makes me present for the evening. The two massage protocol is another lesson from the book. Every week, I get two massages done and that allows me to stay productive, relaxed and happy throughout the week.
How is your day planned?
I do an hour of morning exercise and then I love to write in my journal and drink my coffee. I write about what I am learning and what I am most excited about. Often, I write statements about the type of man I want to become, where I need to improve myself, and then I spend an hour reading. That’s how I start my morning and if it’s a creative day, I am working on videos, or a new book, or a blog post, or I am with my team. Some of my days are theme driven and some are free days when I block off every distraction and interruption. I specifically don’t have the entire day for learning but I always do that while commuting, listening to the audio book.
What drives you to write?
I have a deep hunger to express myself. I took me four years to write The 5 AM Club; I wrote it in different places such as Mauritius, Russia, Brazil and Canada. It was an exhausting process because I was polishing every line and I wanted to go deeper than I have in any of my other books.
Which was more difficult to pen— The 5 AM Club or The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari?
The 5 AM Club because this is an eclectic work and eccentric book and because I planned the storytelling based on neurobiology. It was a roller coaster ride of science and philosophy and creativity and productivity, and towards the end of the book, began writing about how to live a great life.
How would you like people to remember you?
I want people to remember me for The 5
Am Club. If you get that first hour of your morning calibrated and optimised, you will have consistently great days that will lead to great weeks, months and years. If you live it, you will have a much better life and I would like to be known as someone who helped people own their glory and materialise their potential to live better lives.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND TRUST YOUR INSTINCT. BEING RELENTLESS IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESS.