The 5AM Club By Robin Sharma
Through following the story of an unnamed artist, entrepreneur, billionaire, and teacher discovering the simplicities of life; Robin Sharma has a way of making you see yourself and your dreams through the eyes of each character as if you too were chosen to be swept under the billionaires generous wing. You come to understand the significance of little changes causing big results in your life at the same rate as the characters, while feeling the emotions that they feel.
Though this book was not written purely to be a story of friendship, love, and growth (as you can tell by the quickly advancing story lines and relationships) all these points come across alongside the technical teachings that Sharma is trying to convey. If you are a technical thinker and prefer a plan to be very clearly laid out in front of you (much like the entrepreneur in this story) the diagrams and summaries of each technique alone is enough to inspire you to make a change. But, if you are more of an emotional thinker the conversations and inner thoughts of the characters can give you the same boost of energy and inspiration to make a change.
What change is Robin Sharma urging you to make through reading this entire book? That dedicating time to yourself in the early morning hours will cause improvements in every aspect of your life- and 5am is the perfect time to wake up and start your day to really feel these improvements. Every big idea and concept such as the 20/20/20 formula (to guide you through managing that first hour of your day) can be boiled down into just waking up early and dedicating time to yourself- in whatever way re-centers your mind, body, and outlook. But, I wanted to see how manageable applying all the learning models throughout the book would be.
I set my alarm to 5am and updated my calendar to visualize everything I would need to do to follow the models throughout the book. I went to bed early and felt like that alone was an accomplishment to be proud of. The first day came and I woke up right with my alarm to hop out of bed to do a 20 minute workout, then I immediately started reflecting and brainstorming what needed done for the day, then I listened to a podcast about things I loved doing while I finally started getting ready for the day at 6am after being up for an hour already. I finished everything that was on my to do lists by 1pm, and I felt accomplished; like suddenly the world opened up and time was finally on my side.
Day two came and went just like the first and I spent the remainder of my day with a friend watching shows like we usually do. The morning seemed like it was yesterday and I started to feel the sense of guilt that I am being lazy, regardless of the fact that I had been so productive and didn’t have one thing left to do for the day. This constant battle of hard work and rest is one I have yet to find the balance too.
Day three I dragged myself out of bed and had to remind myself that the billionaire in the story said it would be hard to get up in the beginning, but it is a great act of self-discipline to carry you through the rest of your day. My mood went downhill, through the grumpiness all I wanted to was to go to bed. It started feeling like I was up for 48 hours at a time and the routine that was so important was splitting my life into two: one section was all about the hustle and never stopping, and the other was thinking about sleep and just waiting for time to pass to go to bed. I had been used to waking up early, and there was a point in time that 4:30am was when I would naturally wake up and start my day. So why was this so different? Why hadn’t I felt like I used to when I would rise with the sun and watch the sunrise every morning with a cup of tea? Then, I had felt energized for the entire day and had a true sense of presentness and creativity constantly running through me.
I came to the conclusion that it was the pressure of following along directly with each model that had taken the awe around my day away. I was trying too hard to have the “wake up and work” mindset exactly how they said it should be in the book that I was no longer thinking for myself. I had become a robot following the code it was given, so the individuality and uniqueness of each day slowly started to fade away. The dangers of comparison were showing right in-front of me.
A lot of the concepts and recommendations in this book can seem overwhelming when put into practice, but it is not stressed enough throughout each page that every single one of us is different. Accepting that is what makes us thrive and gets us one step closer to our goals, NOT the specifics of the routine laid out in this book. So find the routine that dedicates time to you, physically and mentally, regardless of if it matches to these concepts and recommended practices, that is where you will find your greatness. Comparison to what works for others does not guarantee that it will work for you, so ultimately you have to practice the biggest lesson throughout this book: time spent focusing on yourself introspectively is what natures the growth throughout your life and comparison is what kills it.
