Spurthi Alluri The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma is pretty popular and it kept popping up on my Amazon book recommendations. The storyline is pretty obvious from the title: how starting your day at 5AM can change your life. Well to be honest, I wasn’t a fan of the writing style. The book is trying to convey a philosophical message through a story about a successful business tycoon who’s preaching his secret to success to an entrepreneur and an artist. So it’s basically like fiction in a non-fiction novel. Maybe the whole agenda behind that writing style is to keep readers engaged in the story, but I would’ve preferred it to be plain old simple non-fiction.
The overall message conveyed in the book is pretty good though. The main point emphasised is the first hour of your day, i.e., 5AM to 6AM is your “Victory Hour”. The book talks about utilizing this victory hour through the 20/20/20 model. The first 20 minutes should be spent on your physical set: working out or going for a run. The second 20 minutes set should be spent on your heart and soul: meditation, yoga, painting or journaling. The last 20 minutes set should be spent on your mind: learn something new, work on a course, read a book. By fully utilizing this Victory hour, you are ready to conquer your day while your competitors probably didn’t even start theirs.
And I know, waking up at 5AM everyday might sound absurd to most people, especially to my generation. We are so used to extremely late nights, whether it be working late, binge watching Netflix or mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, that early mornings seem next to impossible. (My dad always said by waking up early you will see so many hours in daylight and you could get everything you wanted done. – when people ask me where do I get the time to read so many books, this is how.) The author mentions how to overcome this habit – by staying away from electronic devices before bedtime. Use a traditional alarm clock instead. And as soon as the alarm rings, get out of bed, jump into your workout clothes (better if you lay them out the previous night) and start sweating. Your urge to go back to sleep will drop down once your body is heated up. And if you do manage to get up at 5, you can always reward yourself with an afternoon nap!
There’s one quote I loved from the book: “All change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.” So maybe it’s all worth the initial struggle. Cause starting your day at 5AM is the one practice that changes and elevates every other practice. The book also mentions that if you continue this practice for 66 days, it will become a lifetime habit (haven’t tested that out yet).
So if you’re planning to be part of the 5AM Club, good luck!
If you’re planning on reading the book for yourself, happy reading. 🙂
