There’s something about waking up that I love so much. You are here on this beautiful earth for one more day. You didn’t have a stroke in your sleep and die. That’s reason for celebration in itself. How you wake up and stimulate your mind sets up your whole day. I’m a sucker for tips and tricks for gaining that slight edge on my peers, as I’m sure you are as well. Picture how you wake up now. Do you groggily turn off your alarm and stare at your phone for 10 minutes? Crawl to the shower and consider not shaving so you have time to beat your dick? I hope that’s what the majority of people do because that means I am absolutely kicking their ass from the very first second of each day. I view each morning as another opportunity to gain an advantage on everyone else. Most people suck at waking up and wonder why they're tired all day. The morning period is so crucial for daily success because although you’re mind is so fresh, it is at the same time a jumbled mess. Awake but still dreaming. Stiff but full of untapped energy.

 

Every successful person has their own set of weird and wonky ways to start their day and I’m no exception. Here’s my battle tested method for madman results

 

1.) Immediately upon waking up thrust your upper body up and toss your dominant hand in the air. What do I mean by that? Picture Usain Bolt's actions after his world record setting 100 meter race. Throw that fucker in the air and pop out of bed. I love this one so much because it forces you to get up and I assure you that after doing this you will not have the urge to lay back down. By doing this quirky motion not only are you waking up, but you are actively putting your mind in a winner’s mentality. What did you just win? Nothing and everything at the same time. Another opportunity on God’s green earth. What more can you ask for? I was amazed by how this one tip could be so effective in my life. The biggest problem with most people is they set 5 alarms and wake up to the last one, so when they finally get up their body is so confused whether they should be awake or not. You will no longer feel half asleep at 10 am because when you swing your arm in the air you are alerting your body it's go time. Even if you don’t read my next actions I want you to give this one a one week trial run and see how you like it. That’s what I did and after that one week it easily became one of my favorite habits.

 

2.) Dance. Some people say to ‘wake up and do 25 jumping jacks’ to wake up. What are you in the boyscouts? Fuck that sissy shit. Be a man, play some Michael Jackson and let your body go for 5 minutes. Sing in the mirror, run over to your bed and visualize it being a crowd of screaming fans. Channel your inner Michael Jackson then hit the nae nae. Fuck it, pretend you’re in a chris brown music video. I don’t care what you do but most of all, I want you to be moving and smiling. Look in the mirror halfway through the macarena and genuinely laugh at yourself. Appreciate that you are here in this moment alive and well.

 

3.) 10 minutes of meditation. I don’t need to tell you all the benefits of mediation as they are near infinite but I want to give you a lesson that I wish I knew when I started. In the beginning, I was frustrated at how easily my mind wonders. I thought that my brain wasn’t normal. I would repeat to myself ‘stop thinking so much’ and then get mad that I was thinking so much about not thinking. I considered each session a failure because I wasn’t solely focusing on my breath for the whole time. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The bulk of the benefits from meditation come when you bring yourself back in. By doing this you are training your brain to be constantly thinking about coming back to the now. You’re spending ten minutes now preparing your mind by doing nothing, so that when you need it to work the most it will. I now consider any session of having monkey mind for 9.5 minutes, and a peaceful 30 seconds to be a success. It’s hard to believe but those last 30 seconds can drastically change your day.

 

4.) After meditation I like to journal. There’s a million different things you can journal about but the basic premise for mine goes like this. First I write out any weird thoughts, feelings and ideas that are in my head. You would be surprised at how creative you are in the morning when you least expect it. Next, I write three things that would make today awesome. Maybe it’s finally raising my max squat, or reconnecting with an old friend. Doing things like this in the morning helps gives you purpose and focus for your day. And finally, I write out three affirmations for myself that I’m feeling. Whenever I used hear about people doing this it gave me chills because I thought it was so cheesy. However, it really does help. If YOU don’t even believe in yourself, who the hell do you expect will?

 

5.) Shower + breakfast

 

Bottom line: Be thrilled to wake up and have a routine in the morning, most people don’t. Try new things but find something that works for you. You can only do so much in a day, and winning the first 30 minutes sets everything else up.