When I attended the Quitter Conference in September 2012, Jon Acuff convinced me that if I want to get somewhere, I need to make time to travel. Shortly after that, I took Andy Traub’s Early to Rise Challenge. I got up at 5am for 30 days straight. Some mornings I worked, some I read, some I pondered, but I was up and moving toward my goals.
Andy turned his challenge into a book. Early to Rise is less than 100 pages, but is packed with motivation, challenges, and inspiration to get out of bed and work on your dream.
You’ll meet a new friend, named Fred. Fred is there to push you and help you. He’s there everyday urging you to get moving.
You’ll discover a freeway of thoughts that have been there but you never took the time to listen to. Maybe the key to getting to the next level of success has been screaming at you for years while you’ve been too busy to pay attention.
You’ll learn to love silence.
When you are intentional about getting started every morning, you’ll find yourself getting more done that you thought was possible. The happy consequence to this is the freedom to do other things later instead of trying to focus while distracted. You have a choice to make. Be supremely productive at the best time, or be moderately productive during lesser times. All you have to do is rise early and get to work.
One of the most profound things I learned while going through this process is that the first thing you do sets your path for the day. If the first thing you do is consume, you won’t produce much. If you start the day by checking your email, you’ll put out fires all day. But, if you start out producing, you’ll produce amazing amounts with amazing quality.
Start writing. Even if it is your own personal journal. Start writing. Produce. Are you a painter? Paint. We’re all artists. Some of us forgot how to make art. Rising early is the key to unlock those artistic talents.
Here’s one of my favorite parts of the book:
“You should smirk in the morning.
A smirk is a knowing smile. We smirk when what we thought was going to happen happens. We see it coming. We smirk because our foresight is like an inside joke. It’s a hidden joy that we don’t show off with a full smile.”
Attack your day so it doesn’t know what hit it. Give yourself reason to smirk. Are you more awake when you first get up or after you’ve been up for a couple of hours? When you are early to rise, you have the benefit of being farther into your day than most other people. You’ve already been more productive than they’ll be all day. Smirk about that. Enjoy the rest of your day!
Andy was very generous with this book. When you buy it, here’s what you get:
- Each day’s passage text AND audio emailed to you every day for FREE.
- Full audio version of the book free.
- My tricks to becoming an early riser.
- A plan for your morning that will improve your business, marriage and spiritual life.
- Advice on apps to use to help you build your habit.
- 30 days of easy to consume and often humorous advice for taking action every morning.
- A community of early risers using Twitter and other apps to connect on a daily basis for encouragement.
FREE EXTRAS WITH EVERY PURCHASE:With each purchase you will receive access to the full audio version of the book as well as daily email encouragement for your 30 day experience. Instructions are in the book.
Buy the book at Amazon here: The Early To Rise Experience: Learn To Rise Early in 30 Days
