For my April read, I wanted to Shift the focus from personal finance books to personality development. I found a book named "The 5.A.M Club", written by Robin Sharma.
One of the reasons I chose this book was to cultivate a better habit this year, waking up early. I've chosen to be a morning lark than a night owl.
Just like Robin Sharma's "The monk who sold his Ferrari," this book is also a masterpiece. The main objective of this book is to help you prioritize waking up early and achieving more in your life.
This book is not just another how to get up early guide. It doesn't have any tips or tricks to help you get up early. It instead is a walk-through on what you gain from waking up early than the rest.
The essence of the book:
The author implies explicitly that the morning time is the best time to get things done. "The victory hour," as given in the book, is truly inspiring. The mornings are where the magic happens.
Many successful entrepreneurs wake up early. It's not just a habit, but it is how they lead their life.
By the time we wake up early, most of the people in the world are still sleeping. That gives you an edge over them to achieve more.
This book captures it beautifully through the story of the spellbinder(Robin Sharma), the business tycoon(Mr. Riley), an artist, and the entrepreneur.
Robin Sharma's books mostly seem to have a rich guy who looks at life in a way no others can. This book is no different from it.
Initially, the story opens with the spellbinder giving a speech to which the entrepreneur and the artist attend. Due to ill health, the spellbinder abruptly stops the speech.
The entrepreneur and the artist happen to meet a homeless man who talks quite philosophical to them and offers to teach them how to change their life.
Though skeptical about his appearance and words, the artist and the entrepreneur give it a try and accept his invite. He later turns out to be a wealthy businessman coached under the spellbinder.
Then as we move on, the businessman teaches the entrepreneur and the artist what he learned from the spellbinder throughout his successful business journey on his private island.
The entrepreneur and the artist may seem like an odd couple to get married, but the author chose to make it that way.
The 5.A.M Club is all about the lifestyle behind the achievements of the billionaire with the spellbinder's help. He explains his habits and how he altered his mind to work with his will.
The storytelling is excellent, and that's what keeps the book interesting. Sometimes we do feel a bit of a drag in the story.
Mr. Riley tells about some advantages they can achieve with a technique, but that technique isn't there until another twenty pages. It can be a turn off for many as we expect to learn something immediately but can't.
Robin Sharma uses simple English to make his books more enjoyable to everyone around the world. This book may not be a great novel, but it certainly has some good things to note.
Key takeaways from the book:
- The 20-20-20 Rule: The Victory Hour (5 AM to 6 AM) comprises of three sections of twenty minutes each. The best way to use your cognitive bandwidth is to concentrate your efforts to make the most out of each session.
In the first part, you train yourself and workout. The second part to review your goals, meditate, and pray. The third to learn important things and review your goals. - The 90-90-1 Session: You should concentrate on doing something that makes you a leader in your chosen task. For this, you have to utilize 90 minutes without distraction for ninety days on a single task. Remember to turn off your device and keep them away during this time.
- The 60-10 Method: This comes after the successful implementation of the 90-90-1 rule. You should concentrate for 60 minutes without distractions on your goal. Then you take a ten-minute break. It is like a Pomodoro but with 60-minute intervals rather than 25 minutes.
- The daily 5: Pick 5 small goals every day and try to achieve them so that you can attain 150 small goals in 30 days.
There are five more techniques, but these four are the main ones, in my opinion.
To explain these techniques, you have to go through around 200 pages of the story. Too much drag is one reason why this book hasn't been received well as "The monk who sold his Ferrari."
Inspiring Quotes from "The 5.A.M Club":
- Own your morning, elevate your life.
- World-class begins where your comfort zone ends.
- The place where your greatest discomfort lies is also the spot where your largest opportunity lives.
- The rich invest in time, the poor invest in money.
- All change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.
- Part-time commitment delivers part-time results.
- Dream big. Start small. Begin now.
- Geniuses understand that it's smarter to create one masterwork than one thousand ordinary pieces.
- World-class begins where your comfort zone ends.
- Don't live the same week a few thousand times and call it life.
Verdict:
This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to make a habit of waking up early. The victory hour is where you can make the most of your life.
If you are looking for some magic tips to make you wake up early, this book is not for you. It is more of a philosophical and psychological way of explaining what you gain by waking up early.
This book is truly a transformational experience, even for a night owl.
The author stresses why we should keep away from the digital devices so that we can concentrate on what's important—something we all should take note of during this pandemic.
We won't get this much free time ever again in our lives.
Make sure to make the most of it. Cultivate the habit of waking up early. Achieve more and live more.