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The Miracle Morning: A Sample Morning Routine to

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I’ve been desperately craving a morning routine for a couple years

now. Becoming the best possible version of myself has developed into
somewhat of an obsession. I’ve known that a good morning routine is
crucial to that developmental process, but I haven’t been able to do it. Load More...

My journey of seeking happiness, feeling fulfilled and being successful started in 2013. For a year, I taught English Follow on Instagram

with my wife on the world’s smallest atoll in the Pacific: Namdrik, Marshall Islands. Although I didn’t have a
passion for teaching, I had an abundance of free time to read a lot of books. It was then that I decided to learn
about a variety of topics including real estate investing, how to invest in the stock market, how to start a business, TOP PAGES
and How to Think and Grow Rich.
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In total, I read somewhere around 84 books that year. Not all were business,
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investing or positive psychology books, but I began building a foundation of
knowledge for personal success and self-fulfillment.
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My plan before, during, and after the Marshall Islands was to eventually Flushable?
attend law school, become a prosecutor, then a judge. I figured becoming a
police o!cer would look good for top law school admissions, so I became a How Long Should

cop for a few years. Sideburns Be? 7 Tips for

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Although I’ve been a successful cop, becoming valedictorian in my academy

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class, attaining the most arrests in the department two years in a row, while
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simultaneously doing my best to treat people well and mend the divide
between law enforcement and public perception, I quickly learned that I didn’t want to go to law school. Since I Minimalist Wardrobe for
didn’t want to go to law school, I didn’t want to be a cop. Men, A Casual Guide

As a result, the cognitive dissonance I was feeling between what I was doing (being a cop) versus what I wanted to
be doing (not be a cop) took a heavy toll on me. I found myself wasting my days o" in front of the tv, being
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unproductive, bored, feeling unsuccessful, and humming away at about 30% productivity.

Grooming (33)
In late 2016, I decided that enough was enough, and it was time to start a business. I began reading
entrepreneurial books again, which eventually led to reading positive psychology, productivity books like The ONE Lifestyle (21)
Thing , The Power of Habit , Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance , the The Millionaire Fastlane and many
more. Style (16)

Although terribly afraid of failure, I began the steps to start Strictly Man Supply Co. at the end of 2016. In 2017, I
learned how to source manufacturers, use customs brokers, and negotiate. In late 2017, I learned how to build this
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blog, Strictly Manology, from scratch and started posting articles in January 2018.

You could say that I’ve accomplished a lot since my low 30% productivity levels, but I still feel like I’m ticking
away at 65% productivity even now. I’m thankful for what I have, a great wife, an amazing first rental property
that will easily net us six figures when we sell in May, this blog, and business. But, I still feel like I can do more, be
more productive, waste less time, and be more successful. I know I can accomplish that with a good morning
routine.

But, why haven’t I had a good morning routine up to this point you ask? Excuses…plain and simple.

Being a cop is hard. I switch between days and nights every month. Sometimes I work weekends, sometimes I
don’t. Sometimes I get 9 hours of sleep, sometimes I get 3 hours. Sometimes I get subpoenaed for court last
minute, or I need to take care of something during regular business hours when I should be sleeping after a RECENT POSTS
night shift. Sometimes, after dealing with people’s worst problems day in and day out, I can’t bear to add one
more thing to my “To-Do” list. Guys In Flannel: 5 Best
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These are excuses. Whether they have been good excuses or not, they have prevented me from feeling 100% October 18, 2020

fulfilled, productive and successful in my personal and business life.

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This is no longer acceptable. September 27, 2020

Over the last couple years, I’ve been reading a lot of these productivity, positive psychology books. A lot of these How to Wash a Hat: A
books state that some of the most successful people around, such as Oprah, Tim Ferriss, Barack Obama, Tony Quick Guide
September 20, 2020
Robbins, Tim Cook, and the late Steve Jobs, all have consistent morning routines. These people credit their
successes, in part, to their morning routines.
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I feel like I’ve accumulated a lot of raw ingredients for a successful morning routine, such as drinking water,
meditating and working out, but I never had the right recipe to put it all together.

Well, I’m leaving my cop job in a couple weeks. My wife and I are moving back to her home state, and I will not
have anymore excuses for not having a good quality morning routine.

I picked up The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, eager to obtain the much-needed recipe for a good morning
routine, and I finished the book in a day. The book delivered what I was looking for, and I wanted to share it with
you.

This post is as much for me as it is for you. It is to hold me accountable, but also remind me of the basics after I
return the book to the library. I’ve modified it slightly for me personally, and who knows, maybe it will inspire
you as well to start your morning routine.

The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to

Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)

By Hal Elrod

Wake Up Strategy

1. Set Intentions Before Going to Bed

Go to bed telling yourself that when you wake up in the morning, at your desired time, that you will wake
up with energy and spring out of bed with excitement for starting the day. Mindset is everything. If you
tell yourself you’ll be tired when you wake up, you’ll be tired when you wake up. On the contrary, if you
tell yourself you’ll be excited, well-rested, and will get up immediately when the alarm goes o", you will
do just that.

2. Leave your Alarm Across the Room

This is so you’re not tempted to press snooze when it goes o".

3. Drink Water

Check out 8 Fantastic Benefits of Drinking Water after Waking Up. Try to drink at least 32 ounces of water
upon waking up. A good trick is to leave the water next to your bed in a large water bottle or container.

4. Change into Workout Clothes

Consider leaving your clothes and shoes right by your bed, thereby making this process that much easier.
Check out 7 Tips on How Men Should Dress for the Gym if it’s been a little while since you’ve worked out
at the gym and are not sure what people wear anymore.

5. Brush Teeth

Use alcohol-based mouthwash for one more small pick-me-up.

Morning Routine S.A.V.E.R.S.

Silence (5 Minutes)

Focus on meditation, prayer, reflection, deep breathing, gratitude, or a combination of all!

When meditating, remember to find a quiet place to sit. Sit cross-legged with your eyes closed or focused
on the ground two feet ahead of you. Take slow, deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the
mouth. E!ective breathing causes your belly to expand, not just your chest.

Breath in for three seconds, hold for three seconds, and exhale for three seconds.

Focus on your breathing and inhaling positive, loving, peaceful energy, while exhaling stress and worries.

A"rmations (5 Minutes)

Read out loud or write down your goals and commitments relating to your Health, Wealth, Happiness
and Love (or anything else you want to focus on).

Remember to dig down to the “why”. Why do you want these? Get down to the core emotions of why, not
the superficial surface level stu".

Also remember to get specific. Saying that I want to make the house look nice is not as good as saying that
I am committed to staining the deck this weekend before the house goes on the market on Monday.

Examples:

I am committed to running 1.5 miles today, because I want a strong healthy heart in order to see
my kids grow old.

I am committed to making 5 sales calls before noon today, because I want to increase revenue and
go for a two-week vacation with my spouse instead of one.

I am committed to starting that new batch of beer, because brewing beer makes me feel happy,
relaxed, and saves money, which I can put toward a special day excursion with my kids.

I am committed to writing a nice note for my spouse before they leave for work today, because I
enjoy helping start their day o" well and showing that I love them.

Visualization (5 Minutes)

Consider putting calm, classical music on for this then sit and close your eyes.

Visualize what you truly want. This can be your goals,

desires, dreams, anything! If you want to go on vacation
to Machu Picchu, visualize yourself on top of the
mountain, touching the ruins, smelling the fresh, Andes
Mountain air, drinking your tea or water out of a water
bottle while hearing your feet putter along the ancient
stone steps.

Visualize what you want with all your senses: taste,

smell, touch, sight, sound.

Then, visualize yourself accomplishing those goals, desires, or dreams. Visualize yourself working hard,
saving up the money, buying the flights, researching the area, getting onto the plane, landing on the
tarmac in Peru, meeting the people, having your first meal, staying at your hotel, etc. Feel yourself
meeting those goals with happiness and pleasure.

Exercise (20 Minutes)

This can take on any form of you wish, and the length of time can be increased or decreased depending on
your preference, just make sure you do something.

Try yoga on your laptop, a 7-minute app workout from your phone, P90X, pushups/sit-ups/jumping
jacks/pull-ups, going for a run, hitting up your stationary bike, using a row machine, anything to get your
blood flowing and body moving.

Note: You can do these steps in any order. Personally, I believe exercise will be the last thing I do,
because I’d like to either go to the gym for weight training or focus on the other parts of the routine
without being in hot, sweaty gym clothes.

Reading (20 Minutes)

This is the perfect time to fit reading into your schedule, and you only have to dedicate yourself to 10 or so
pages per day (2 per day if you’re short on time). Reading 10 pages per day equates to 3650 pages per
year. This means eighteen, 200-page books per year!

If you are spiritual, this would be a great time to focus on religious text. Otherwise, reading personal
development books or biographies make for a good use of this time.

Learn about stocks, real estate, money management, negotiation, how to be a great spouse or leader,
anything that feeds You, Inc. Remember to use your library card; you don’t need to buy every book!

Scribing aka Writing (5 Minutes)

Take this time to write down, day-by-day, whatever is on your mind. Ideally, this will be done in a nice
journal.

What are you grateful for? What have you accomplished? What would you like to accomplish? What
would you like to improve on? How would you go about improving on something? Do you have any
business ideas? Did you have a great day yesterday-what happened? Did you learn any valuable lessons?
What would you like to focus on?

This is pretty informal, so you write whatever you feel like writing. You can focus on all these questions
one day, or just one, or di"erent questions the next day. The point is to simply get your thoughts on
paper, so you can track your progress and express yourself in writing. Trust me, it works!

I have di"erent sections in my journal that vary from blog article ideas, inspirational quotes, and books
I’d like to read.

Overall, this plan will take about an hour out of my day. I already wake up at 5:50am, so I’m planning on waking
up at 5am instead to get everything in.

But, if you don’t have the will or desire to spend an hour of your day doing this stu". You can get everything done
in 6 minutes. Minute one is dedicated to silence. Minute two is dedicated to a!rmation. Minute three is
dedicated to visualization and so on.

You won’t read as many pages in one minute as you would in twenty, nor will you get the same kind of workout in,
but at least it’s something. At least it’s progress.

Progress is a start, and a start is all you need, even if it is small.

Other productivity pointers:

Always start with the hard things on your “to-do” list first. Not only is everything easier after that point, but
it sets the day up for success knowing that you’ve accomplished your hardest task. Moreover, you have more
willpower in the beginning of the day than you do at the end. So, if you put o" doing your hardest task, you
may never get it done, which generally leads to feelings of guilt and unaccomplishment.

Only do ONE Thing at a time via time-blocking. If you need to write a blog post, sit yourself down for 3-4
hours and write. Don’t check e-mails, don’t do the dishes, don’t play with the dog outside. It’s great to do
those things, but not when you should be doing something else. Instead, tell yourself that after doing three
hours of writing, I’m going to spend 15 minutes outside with the dog, then 10 minutes doing dishes. As the
great Ron Swanson said, “never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing”.

I’d highly recommend you pick up a copy of The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to
Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) .

Good luck, and I hope this helps.

-Chris

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3 COMMENTS

YourFriendPablo
February 9, 2019

Great, I really like it! Youre awesome

1. 5 Fast Smoothie Recipes for a Healthy Body & Mind | Strictly Manology
February 12, 2019
[…] been following the “S.A.V.E.R.S.” method outlined in my previous article, The Miracle Morning: A Sample
Morning Routine to Supercharge Your Day (based on The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod), where I spend time
meditating, writing down my […]

2. 12 Gym Bag Essentials Every Man Should Have | Strictly Manology

December 10, 2019
[…] of that routine is waking up early in the morning (check out The Miracle Morning: A Sample Morning Routine
to Supercharge Your Day) and getting to the gym. In order to make the most e!cient use of my time, I’m going to
[…]

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