Jeff Sanders - The 5 A.M. Miracle: Dominate Your Day Before Breakfast

Text copyright 2015 Jeff Sanders. Design and concept copyright 2015 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the Internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the U.S. by

Ulysses Press

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-61243-533-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015937556

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Cover photo: Tyler Ring

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IMPORTANT NOTE TO READERS: This book is independently authored and published and no sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, any trademarked brands or other trademarked brands or products mentioned within is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The authors and publisher encourage readers to patronize the quality brands and products mentioned in this book.

To my lovely wife, Tessa, and our quirky pug, Benny, the only two souls who know the real me and still love me anyway.

Table of Contents

Contents

Waking Up Early to Run: A Double Kick in the Pants

... and the heavens parted and God said, Let there be a miracle at 5:00 a.m., let all the people bounce out of bed with enthusiasm, let them dominate their day, and let no snooze button stand in their way.

A Productivity Junkies Bible

A few years ago, I was in training for a marathon. I was working a full-time job as a career advisor, building a side business as a productivity coach and podcaster, and finding it increasingly difficult to make time for my daily run. In fact, I was getting so sloppy with my schedule that the only exercise I made time for was the long run on Saturday morning.

As any marathon coach will tell you, the long run is the most important of them all. However, as with most great habits, consistency is more important than sporadic action. That meant that I would be better off running a few miles a day, five to six days a week, than impulsively throwing my marathon hopes and dreams into one long and brutal effort.

I needed a new plan. If I was going to be running nearly every weekday and carving out consistent time for my most important goal, I had only a few viable options: run before, during, or after work.

Running during my workday was highly unlikely with only a 30-minute lunch break. If you know me, you know I really like to eatand eat a lotand eat often. Skipping lunch was off the table.

The other reality for me, like most people with a day job, was the sheer challenge of navigating a midday workout (lack of access to a gym or shower, transporting workout clothes, scheduling running between meetings, getting my boss to agree to a longer lunch break, etc.). Though technically these were all just excuses, they were also real obstacles that needed real solutions.

Running after work appeared to be my best candidate, but something always seemed to get in the way. I continually planned after-work trips to a local park or the gym, hoping to force myself to stick to a schedule by changing my environment. It did not seem to matter how I finagled my evening routine; consistently working out after a long day at the office proved to be as challenging as running the marathon itself!

Since I was now out of options, I turned to my worst-case scenario: waking up earlier to work out before work. I know, it sounds painful.

At the time I never would have identified myself as a morning person and had the awful habit of waking up at the last possible minute, hitting my snooze button at least twice, and refusing to smile until I had a hot cup of coffee in hand.

Waking up early to run seemed like a double kick in the pants. Who would ever volunteer to do either of those things, let alone both at the same time?

However, as I would soon discover, waking up early to tackle my grandest goals would be the greatest personal and professional decision I had made in years, and possibly, ever.

What It Means to Dominate Your Day Before Breakfast

Miracle:noun: a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is considered to be divine; a highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment.

Welcome to The 5 AM Miracle. I am Jeff Sanders and this is the book dedicated to dominating your day before breakfast.

Just like my podcast, also called The 5 AM Miracle, this books goal is to help you bounce out of bed with enthusiasm, create powerful lifelong habits, and tackle your grandest goals with extraordinary energy.

Throughout this book, I will be discussing early mornings and diving much deeper into topics like healthy habits, personal development, and rockin productivity.

I started my podcast due to one key anchor habit that has revolutionized the way I live: intentionally waking up early. This one habit has become the backbone of everything I do.

Over the years, I have given many explanations as to what the 5:00 a.m. miracle is and how it could be defined. From my experiences, there are so many wonderful things about waking up early that it took quite a bit of soul searching to pin this one down.

For the sake of this book and for clarity, the 5:00 a.m. miracle can be defined as the extraordinary act of dominating your day before breakfast, intentionally bouncing out of bed bright and early in order to make significant progress on your grandest goals.

In my experience, 5:00 a.m. is a fantastic time of day, and throughout this book, I will strongly emphasize 5:00 a.m. as the ideal time to get up every morning.

However, the act of waking up at that time is not impressive on its own. After all, 5:00 a.m. is arbitrary. However, what 5:00 a.m. stands for is much more impressive, and ultimately, miraculous.

5:00 a.m. is a block of time each morning when life is calm, serene, and peaceful. In the early-morning hours, there are few distractions, the birds are just beginning to sing, and life moves at a slower pace. For some, this is the only time of day they have to themselves.

5:00 a.m. is a symbol for taking control. Realizing your life and your time are in your hands is incredibly empowering and presents abundant opportunity. When you use your minutes wisely, you reach a pinnacle of achievement and fulfillment that few ever do.

5:00 a.m. can become your most precious asset. When you guard your time and prioritize your tasks; when you optimize your body and develop your mind; when you live on purpose and pursue your grandest goals; you reap the limitless benefits of the miracle of 5:00 a.m.: a grand life lived with intention, pursued with ambition, and rewarded with transformation.

For those who experience their own 5:00 a.m. miracle, there are no accidents. Their life is planned on paper, on purpose, every day, without exception. This also means that the benefits they experience are planned. The amazing results are anticipated and realized.