It’s only when things get so bad that you realize you have to change. Some things have to be learned the hard way for them to truly make a difference in your life.
I found the importance of routines in 2017 as I left my cushy corporate job to follow my passions and become an entrepreneur.
As soon as I handed in my notice to quit, I finally had it. Freedom! No one telling me what to do all day, every day.
To help get me motivated, I listened to a lot of Gary Vee and started hustling. I was hungry for success.
But after six months of non-stop hustling, I was burnt out.
I wasn’t sleeping much, my income wasn’t reflecting my work ethic, and I just felt awful about my progress. I knew something had to change.
Thankfully, I started studying elite entrepreneurs like Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, and Tom Bilyeu. Their content changed everything.
One of the biggest things I found is that they all have solid morning and evening routines. Since implementing this myself, my business and life have been 100X better.
Here’s why every entrepreneur needs an empowering morning routine.
Morning Routines for Entrepreneurs
You Need to Win At Something
Entrepreneurship is filled with disappointment, rejection and constant failure. After metaphorically getting knocked down so many times, it’s hard to feel like a winner still.
But a morning routine is there to help you win. As soon as I started a morning routine, I almost instantly felt better about myself.
Before it, my confidence was lacking. I felt like a massive failure despite working 12-14 hours a day. Jumping from one shiny object and tactic to the next without any real plan, day after day.
But, if you get up when you say, do the rituals you need, and do it with consistency, you can create a winning mentality.
You Need Energy
Without energy, you’re going to fail as an entrepreneur. Especially if you are the face of your brand or business.
Morning rituals are meant to give you energy so you can give it away throughout the day. Like T. Harv Eker said, “Energy is contagious; either you affect people or you infect people.”
If you have the right rituals in place like exercise, meditation, and eating healthy, you set yourself up for optimal energy levels.
You Need to Keep the Promises You Make to Yourself
As Ed Mylett said, “Entrepreneurship is riddled with false starts. One step forward, two or three steps back.”
Waking up on time, going through your rituals, and getting the day started on your terms builds self-integrity. Doing the little things right on a consistent basis can train your mind to follow through on the things you need to do to succeed.
You Need Time to Focus on Your Health
Its easy to feel like you don’t have time to workout or eat healthy when you’re an entrpenreur. You justify skipping the gym or meal prepping so you can spend more time on the business.
But you have to focus on your health so you have energy throughout the day. If you’re sick or have injuries, it’s nearly impossible to grow your business.
Two of my favorite entrepreneurs, Ed Mylett and Tom Bilyeu, talks about the importance of health regularly on their podcasts.
As Ed Mylett said, “I think you can take away about 90% of my wealth if I’m not dedicated to fitness.”
Morning routines give you time to focus on your health and well being. If you look at most successful entrepreneurs in the world, they are always in good to to excellent shape.
You Need to Bookend The Day
A great morning routine only works if you have a night time routine. And it only takes 10–15 minutes to do before bed.
If not, you’ll wake up not sure what your plan is and make it easy to get off track early. This creates an early “L” for the day.
Here’s what my evening routine looks like:
- Journal at least three wins for the day (usually leads to 4 or 5) (2 mins)
- Recap big lessons I’ve learned throughout the day (3 mins)
- Write down three things I’m grateful for on that specific day (3 mins)
- Plan the next day. I plan when I’ll wake up, what rituals I’ll do, identify the hardest tasks, and plan the rest of the day (5 mins)
- Read and visualize my big goals as already being accomplished (2 mins)
This short night time routine sets me up for success because it tells my mind it’s time to wind down. It makes you focus on your wins for the day and sets up tomorrow for success.
Then each morning is a fresh start to conquer the day. My routines provide the necessary structure I used to lack from trying to hustle 20 hours per day.
As Larry Winget said, “Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be fat, lazy or stupid. That’s what happens when you don’t have a plan.”
You Need Quiet Moments
Entrepreneurships isn’t for everyone. It’s long hours, little pay, and lonely moments in the beginning. It’s easy to give into the fears that your brain produces and listen.
But if you have a morning mindfulness or meditation ritual, it makes it much easier to become aware of your thoughts the rest of the day.
Plus, I find to get almost all of my ideas when I wake up thanks to my subconsscious hard at work while I’m sleeping. As Thomas Edison said, “Never go to sleep without a request from your subconscious.”
Each night, when I lay in bed, I ask myself one or two questions on a problem I haven’t been able to solve. But unless you have some quiet moments, you won’t be able to hear the answers to the questions.
Not to mention, meditation has endless benefits that will help any entrepreneur deal with inevitable stresses throughout the day.
You Need a Digital Detox
As a podcaster and writer, I’m in front of a screen way too much.
The first 60 minutes of the day the phone is in airplane mode. This digital detox is necessary because the rest of the day I’m sure you’ll be glued to your phone or laptop like I am.
Next Steps
Create a morning routine that will set you up for success. If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re going to need all the energy and brain activity you can to get turn your vision into reality.
Start small and find 1-2 rituals to do each morning. As you grow and evolve, so should your set of rituals.
Remember, as high-achiever Tim Ferriss said, “If you win the morning, you win the day.”
Love this: “If you win the morning, you win the day.”
Thanks for reminding me about the importance of having morning and evening routines.
I don’t have good routine. What should i do? Recommend plss…..
They can’t give u the exact routine to follow. U have to make one according to ur goal