10 Reasons Why Billionaires Wake Up Hours Before Everyone Else
“What time do billionaires wake up?” This is a common question that arouses the curiosity of an average or poor man. Some time ago, I came across an article on behavioral differences between the rich and the poor on many levels and I discovered some facts I would like to share with my audience.
Different profiles, same habits
Billionaires across the world are known to have different profiles. For example; there are some who became rich because of the degree they obtained in school while others achieved great success by working on their ideas.
Talking about their family background; some came from rich background while others built their success from the bottom.
While analyzing the lives of these individuals, I realized that they all have the similar habit of waking up early in the morning.
One fact you should note is: successful people don’t necessarily sleep for lesser hours than the rest of mortals. They only have a different preference of time that’s why the morning hours are better used for other activities.
Billionaires wake up early in the morning to work with their brains because studies show that the brain’s functionality is usually high at this time of the day.
Having known that billionaires wake up at the early hours of the morning, I guess you might be wondering why and what they do at such hours?
Well, they don’t really do anything special. The only difference is that they do the common things at the uncommon time thereby getting outstanding results.
Below are ten reasons why billionaires wake up earlier than others.
1. To meditate:
Most billionaires wake up to practice meditation during the early hours of the day. The reason is to avoid distraction as the early hours are often quiet. Due to their busy schedule, they might not have time to think and meditate during the day as there would be one customer or the other patiently waiting to be served.
Richard Branson, the famous boss of The Virgin Group, said his days begin at 5:30 with a meditation session and yoga postures.
Paul English, Co-founder of Kayak, wakes up at 6:00 a.m. “I often meditate for a few minutes before leaving the bed. I’ve practiced yoga for 10 years, and I currently have a room to meditate in my house.” he says.
Manisha Thakor said she spends 20 minutes of his mornings to carry out two sessions of meditation per day.
Early morning meditation helps to turn on your mental filter which removes all disturbing thoughts and prevents you from developing the “busy mind” syndrome.
As these billionaires wake up to meditate, they would be able to maintain a sound mind while dealing with people during the day.
2. To set Goals:
You might already know that billionaires are strong goal getters but did you know when or how they set those goals?
They often have a busy day so they use their morning hours to organize, set goals and plan for weeks and future months. Successful people know that time is very precious so they use these hours to create a daily schedule that guides them through. Meanwhile, most poor men end up achieving little or nothing on a daily basis because they never create time to plan.
3. To read without distraction:
Reading is a common practice of most rich men. These billionaires wake up early in the morning to read and digest facts that would help in promoting their businesses.
For this type of people, after work, it is difficult to have the time to read or write because they are usually tired and hungry. For this reason, billionaires wake up early in the morning to read and carry out their personal projects before they officially begin their day. Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, said he gets up at 4:30 to read.
Billionaires also use these early hours to read the news and be updated on the latest happenings in the world and their surroundings. Reading is like a pre breakfast ritual for them. Another billionaire, GE CEO Jeff Immelt said he starts his days with a cardio session and then reads the newspaper before watching CNBC.
4. To exercise:
One of the common activities carried out by the rich and powerful men during the early mornings is exercising; either lifting weights at home or going to the gym.
It is true that many of them have the gym installed in their homes, but if it is not your case you can go for a run or even buy some dumbbells to exercise without leaving your home.
The CEO of Starwoods Hotel, Frits Van Paasschen, runs at least one hour every morning from 5:30 and Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox holds a one-hour personal training session at 6 am twice a week. Also, investor Kevin O’Leary, gets up every morning at 5:45 to use the elliptical.
“A workout before breakfast helps to reduce stress, counteracts the effects of the high-fat diet and improves sleep,” said Vanderkam, author of the book “What the most successful people do before breakfast”.
5. To spend quality time with the family:
Billionaires wake up in the morning to spend time with their family. In most homes, everyone goes to either school or work and when they all return in the evening; they might be tired and can’t share happy moments together.
These successful people use their mornings to either read stories to their children or cook a great breakfast together. They also enjoy a family devotion together as this creates an opportunity to share and listen to the different issues a family member might be experiencing.
Vanderkam talked about a financier in New York that spends her mornings with her little daughter. She helps her get dressed, makes her bed and even work on art projects together. In addition, they prepare breakfast and sit down at the table for a discussion. Her daughter calls those 45 minutes spent together: “the most precious moment of the day”.
Other billionaires who spend their morning hours catching up with their families are: Edgar Casal, the CEO of Porsche Mexico and Cristiano Ronaldo, a soccer player.
6. To have sex:
Billionaires wake up early in the morning to have sex. They perform the ritual of connecting with their partners during the morning because at night they are often tired from all the activities carried out during the day.
What could be better than sex before dawn to energize for the day? There are even couples who leave sex aside to talk about their lives, finances, kids, their list of homes and possible plans for the weekend.
7. To socialize before going to work:
Ivy Life is a networking group created by Christopher Colvin, a lawyer and businessman from New York. This group hooks up millionaires at 5:30 am for an early morning breakfast once in a week. It is actually more than a breakfast as this socialization creates opportunities for business transaction amongst members.
Something as simple as hanging out for a coffee in the morning with your partners can make your day more bearable. While this goes on, don’t be surprised that the poor man might still be on his bed dozing and later on he would wonder how a billionaire was able to achieve his success.
8. To drink water:
Some billionaires wake up in the morning just to have a glass of water. Does it sound strange? This routine is practiced by Kat Cole, president of Focus Brands as she wakes up at five in the morning to drink 700 ml of water. While Arianna Huffington, founder of Huffington post and Brad Lande, director of Birchbox Man, both begin their day with a glass of hot water with lemon.
“Drinking water during the morning helps to rehydrate the body, favors metabolism and keeps me at alert” said Nutritionist Rania Batayneh.
9. To check their e-mails:
Many successful people start the day by checking their e-mails. Even a recent survey found that the first thing executives do in the morning is check their e-mails.
They quickly explore their inboxes to see urgent messages that need an immediate response. They also check for their bank alert messages so as to ascertain the completed and failed transactions. Doing this at such quiet hour enables them to concentrate and work without making mistakes.
For example, Tim Cook, Chief Executive officer of Apple, said he starts the day by sending e-mails at 4:30 in the morning before going to the gym at 5:00 a.m.
Padmasree Warrior, Cisco Technical Director, gets up at 4:30, reads e-mails for about one hour, reviews the news, exercises and prepares his son for school.
Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO of Living Social, said when he wakes up at 5.00 am, he checks his mails before leaving the bed. His purpose for doing this is to monitor his gains and losses. He then exercises and sees his children before going to the office.
10. To be grateful:
It might seem strange to you, but taking things for granted sometimes is not entirely rewarding, neither for the one who takes care of you, nor for oneself.
Most billionaires wake up in the morning and dedicate a few minutes to write down those things that they are grateful for. For example, Tim Ferris, author of “The 4-Hour Work Week”, said he spends 5 minutes every morning writing the things he appreciates. Yes! This practice helps to boost your morale to work harder and achieve greater success.
Getting up earlier is not a lifestyle of workaholics neither does it involve more work. It is simply about taking advantage of two hours a day to work on the important tasks which would enable you to perform better during the rest of the day.
In fact, the side effect is that at 8:30pm, most of these early risers are already set for sleep so they actually get enough sleep too.
Some of the benefits of this routine are; morning exercises help to build your muscles, meditation clears your mind of depression and mental stress, early breakfast enhances body metabolism, and the early morning sex with your spouse leaves you refreshed and glowing.
Do you wish to join the list of billionaires who wake up early in the morning but still achieve greater goals? You can if you wish to. Those who have done it say it’s worth it. Although, the beginning is often difficult but with time you would get used to it and start enjoying the daily routine.
Post a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Fit lyrics
Thanks for this wonderful post.
Very informative.
BIZMYMIND