Most high achievers wake up early because the early morning hours are free from distractions and allow for focused personal growth.
✅ More time for yourself before the world wakes up.
✅ Increased focus, creativity, and productivity.
✅ Less stress and more mental clarity.
✅ Helps build self-discipline and consistency.
5:00 AM – 6:00 AM is divided into three 20-minute blocks:
1️⃣ Move: Exercise (running, yoga, HIIT) to boost dopamine and wake up the body.
2️⃣ Reflect: Meditate, journal, or plan your day for mental clarity.
3️⃣ Learn: Read, listen to a podcast, or take an online course for self-improvement.
Sharma argues that starting your day intentionally creates momentum and sets the tone for success. This routine activates four key brain chemicals:
- Dopamine (Motivation)
- Serotonin (Happiness)
- Cortisol Reduction (Less Stress)
- BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) (Sharpens the brain)
🔹 MOVE (5:00 – 5:20 AM)
- Exercise increases oxygen flow to the brain and releases endorphins.
- Any high-intensity movement works—running, cycling, stretching, or push-ups.
🔹 REFLECT (5:20 – 5:40 AM)
- This part is about self-awareness and emotional well-being.
- Practices:
✅ Meditation 🧘♂️
✅ Gratitude journaling ✍️
✅ Goal-setting 🎯
🔹 LEARN (5:40 – 6:00 AM)
- Use this time for personal growth:
✅ Read books 📚
✅ Listen to podcasts 🎧
✅ Take an online course 🎓
By 6 AM, you’ve already moved your body, cleared your mind, and gained new knowledge—before most people even wake up!
Sharma highlights that building a new habit is not instant—it requires at least 66 days. The process happens in three phases:
- The hardest phase! You feel resistance and discomfort.
- Example: Waking up at 5 AM feels impossible at first.
- Things start getting easier, but you still struggle.
- Your mind adapts, but you might feel frustrated.
- The habit becomes automatic—waking up at 5 AM feels natural.
✅ Push through the first 22 days (it will be tough).
✅ Track your progress with a habit tracker.
✅ Reward yourself when you succeed.
Success isn’t just about mindset—Sharma introduces the 4 Interior Empires that need to be developed together:
- A strong growth mindset allows you to embrace challenges and keep learning.
- Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations.
- Success is not just about logic—it’s about feeling good emotionally.
- Practice gratitude, kindness, and deep relationships.
- A healthy body = a healthy mind.
- Prioritize exercise, sleep, and healthy food.
- Meditation, mindfulness, and being present in the moment help balance life.
- Spirituality doesn’t have to be religious—it’s about connecting with yourself.
These four areas together create a complete, high-performance individual.
In today’s world, distractions are everywhere—smartphones, social media, emails, and notifications. Robin Sharma emphasizes that success depends on your ability to focus deeply on important tasks without interruptions.
- Imagine your productivity as a sacred space—a "bubble" where distractions are blocked out.
- Avoid unnecessary meetings, endless scrolling, and negative influences.
- Train your mind to single-task instead of multi-tasking.
- Turn off notifications while working.
- Schedule social media time instead of checking it impulsively.
- Use website blockers (like Freedom, Cold Turkey) to avoid distractions.
- Work in a quiet, clean, and inspiring space.
- Use noise-canceling headphones if necessary.
- Keep your phone in another room while working on deep tasks.
- Spend the first 90 minutes of your workday on your most important goal.
- Do this for 90 days, and you will see massive progress.
Sharma talks about the "Tragedy of Potential"—many people have great ideas but never take action consistently. Success doesn’t come from one big move but from small, daily victories.
- Research shows it takes 66 days to form a new habit.
- Push through the initial resistance, and habits will become automatic.
- Aim for 1% daily improvement instead of waiting for a "perfect" time to start.
- Track your progress with a habit tracker or journal.
- There will always be bad days—but showing up matters more than perfection.
- Follow the "No Zero Days" rule: do something every day, even if it's small.
Robin Sharma explains that mindset is just one part of success. You also need:
- Heartset (emotional well-being)
- Healthset (physical fitness)
- Soulset (spiritual connection)
- Growth happens outside your comfort zone.
- Difficulties = Opportunities for self-improvement.
- Train your brain to love challenges instead of fearing them.
- "You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with."
- Surround yourself with high achievers who inspire you.
- Mindset alone won’t make you successful. You need:
- Mindset → A positive and powerful way of thinking.
- Heartset → Emotional intelligence and gratitude.
- Healthset → A strong and fit body.
- Soulset → Spiritual connection and mindfulness.
Sharma introduces 10 game-changing tactics that can help you achieve elite performance:
- Spend 90 minutes every day for 90 days on one key goal.
- Example: If you want to build a business, spend your best morning hours on it.
- Work intensely for 60 minutes, then take a 10-minute break.
- Helps sustain focus and productivity without burnout.
- Every day, write 5 small actions that move you toward your goals.
- Example: If you’re writing a book, your daily 5 could be:
- Write 500 words.
- Read for 20 minutes.
- Research one chapter topic.
- Edit a previous section.
- Plan tomorrow’s writing session.
- Instead of one workout per day, add a light second workout in the evening.
- Boosts energy, creativity, and health.
- Schedule two deep-tissue massages per week to relieve stress.
- (Alternative: Yoga, stretching, or deep relaxation exercises).
- Use commute time for learning (podcasts, audiobooks, online courses).
- Example: Listen to a business or self-development podcast while driving.
- Don’t do everything alone—find mentors, advisors, and people to learn from.
- Example: Build a network of coaches, mastermind groups, and experts.
- Every Sunday, plan your week in advance.
- Set clear priorities for work, health, and personal life.
- Have five non-negotiable daily habits that improve your life.
- Example: Exercise, reading, meditation, deep work, and gratitude journaling.
- Spend at least 60 minutes daily learning something new.
- Read books, take online courses, or practice a new skill.