Zibby Mag

By Zaha Hyatt

Robin Sharma’s book changed my life.

For the life of me, I could never get out of bed early. I loved my sleep and the ease of staying in bed. I despised alarm clocks and was inherently lazy. My children became my alarm clock, which derailed my days from the start. Yet, my motto was: I’m not really lazy, I’m just efficient so I could afford to sleep in. (Where are all my lazies at? High five!)

But I still felt an emptiness inside. The nagging guilt of not fulfilling my potential was incessant. So, I decided, as I always do, to solve life’s problem’s with a book. I chose Robin Sharma’s The 5 AM Club because it seemed to be a cult favorite. Sharma was a lawyer until switching career paths in his mid-twenties and entering the world of writing and motivational speaking.

This is one of those books that I will read many times over. It got me out of bed, out of my house, and running at 5 a.m. — even on the weekends because, as Sharma says, “If you put in part-time effort, you will get part-time results.”

I decided, as I always do, to solve life’s problem’s with a book.

The 5 AM Club is wisdom wrapped in a quasi-mystical fictional story. An eccentric billionaire touches the lives of two random struggling people he meets. He shows them the world (Mauritius, Rome, Brazil, India), passes on his wisdom, and touches on many topics about human behavior beyond early rising. There’s even some romance mixed in.

At the very least, one part of the story and the character’s journey will leave an impact on you. But, in my experience, each time you read this book, you will glean something new.

That said, if you are looking for succinct advice on how to get out of bed, then this is not the book for you. You may want to pick up The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod instead.

But if you enjoy a good story, and also want some life-changing advice, then pick up a copy of The 5 AM Club.

Here are what Sharma outlines as the principal advantages of getting up early:

Chemical Advantage

The pre-frontal cortex “quietens,” cortisol drops, dopamine, and serotonin rise. With these chemical advantages, the benefits are therefore physical and emotional.

Silence and Solitude

This is one of the only times you can really experience silence and solitude, both of which change your brain waves and increases creativity. I have found waking up with the sun and being outside with nature to “greet” the day holds immense power.

One day, while I was out on my early morning run, I saw a deer on my street. I stopped. The deer stopped. We both seemed to share a moment of insight and awareness. It was magical.

What to Do When You Wake Up: The 20/20/20 Rule

1. Move: For the first twenty minutes, practice intense exercise to improve brain chemistry.

2. Reflect: During the next twenty minutes, be silence, journal, mediate, or plan the day.

3. Grow: Lastly, indulge in twenty minutes of learning and reading for personal development.

This is the crux of the book — wake up early and do these three things in this order and it will change your life.

Balancing the Four Internal Empires

Sharma illustrates a holistic approach to improving our mood and productivity with his four “Internal Empires” theory. Those four pillars are:

Mindset (Psychology) — How healthy are your thoughts?

Heartset (Emotionality) — How healthy are your emotions?

Soulset (Spirituality) — How are your spiritual practices?

Healthset (Physicality) — How healthy and strong is your body?

Once you start waking up early, you’ll begin to work towards balancing your four internal empires as well. All four must be fulfilled in order to function at your highest level.

Each day, work towards nurturing these four aspects of what makes us human: the heart, mind, soul, and body.

It all begins at 5 a.m. So, see you in the morning?

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Zaha Hyatt is a wife, mom, writer, self-development enthusiast, software engineer, and perpetual learner.