“Wake up early every day so that while others are still dreaming, you can make your dreams come true.”

– Hal Elrod

“You may delay, but time will not.”

– Benjamin Franklin

Early Morning Hours

Dear readers, I’m taking today’s post from one of my best-selling Amazon’s ranked #1 books, from NIGHT-OWL to MORNING-LARK. If you haven’t read that book, I suggest you try it. It’s worth reading and implementing. You can buy it by clicking here.

In this book, you Learn to Wake up Early Like High Achievers to Own YOUR Morning & Practice the Not-So-Obvious Secrets to Elevate YOUR life.

Here are 10 life-changing examples depicting the early morning hours of high achievers. I hope these will be helpful for you as well.

After reading those, let me know your takeaways in the comment section. That will help me, you, and others too.

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#1) Ravi L Tewari

a software engineer, founder of IOT Meeting Hub™, certified crystal healer & ho’oponopono instructor, life coach, the law of attraction & meditation coach. He is the author of one of the best-selling books, SELF-MOTIVATION, like CARZY. Here I’m talking about none other than me!

Let me start with my early morning hours. I’ve always been a morning bird who believes that morning birds get the worm. And I think so because I have experienced this several times in my life. I usually wake up around 4 in the morning and, right after that, express ten random gratitude to the Universe.

As also mentioned in my first book of this series, i.e., SELF-MOTIVATION like CRAZY, I love to do Mai Yur Ma (a symbol of unconditional love and good wishes) 3 times, followed by Rajyoga Meditation for about 20 minutes. I end my early morning hours ritual by chanting ho’oponopono (a Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness) 108 times for all areas of my life: health, relationship, career, & money.

Every day I wake up early, I find more opportunities to enjoy the sunlight, work out, meditate, or practice other self-care. I believe that if you take excellent care of the front end of your day, the rest of your day will pretty much take care of itself. And you start owning your morning.

You can give it a try. There is nothing to lose. Believe me!

#2) Benjamin Franklin

also called Ben Franklin, was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, publisher, and political philosopher. He made significant contributions to science, especially in understanding electricity, and is best remembered for his wit, wisdom, and as one of the United States Founding Fathers.

Franklin was a productivity master. It’s likely what allowed him to juggle various roles and tasks. Franklin invented the lightning rod, wrote several best-selling books, made significant discoveries in physics and population studies, composed music and played the violin, harp, and guitar at a high level, and founded many civic organizations, including the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and much more.

How could Franklin achieve so much more than his contemporaries, considering he also had the same 24 hours as everyone else?

The mystery lies behind his early morning hours routine and daily schedule. Franklin spent three hours in the morning easing into his day, making plans and reflecting. He believed that his success was partly due to his 5 a.m. start. As he wrote in his autobiography, from 5 to 7 a.m. daily, he would “rise, wash, and address Powerful Goodness!” From there, he moved on to “Contrive day’s business and took the resolution of the day; prosecute the present study and breakfast.”

#3) Henry David Thoreau 

was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay “Civil Disobedience,” an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.

His early morning hours routine was filled up with unique and mystical powers. He believed that the early morning hours were crucial for unlocking our dreams.

“The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour,” he wrote in “Walden,” adding, “For an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night… All memorable events, I should say, transpire in the morning time and in a morning atmosphere….”

Thoreau used to wake up early and believed that — what we do during the first hour we’re awake determines much more than the rest of the day.

#4) John Quincy Adams 

was one of the most distinguished politicians in American history. He was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the 6th president of the United States. He was a proponent of large-scale federal involvement in economic development.

It was not easy for John Quincy to maintain high living standards without waking up early and having a standard daily routine. Let’s look at the importance of the early morning hours and daily routine he had in his life. In July 1803, he summarized his daily routine: “Rise between 5 and 6. Bathe and walk for about two hours — Read or amuse myself with George until 9. Breakfast — At Market — Read or write until 2. p.m. Dine — Read again until Sunset — Walk an hour. Lounge away the time until 10.” Adams attempted to reread the entire Bible every year.

#5) Toni Morrison 

was a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Among his best-known works are the novels The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1973), Song of Solomon (1977), and Beloved (1987) and the nonfiction volumes Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (1992) and Remember (2004).

Toni Morrison’s early morning hours routine explains the importance of those hours as an essential habit for parents attempting to balance work and family life. She says — “Writing before dawn began as a necessity.” She had to care for her children and balance her job editing books and working on various creative projects. Even after quitting her day job, she continued her early morning habits, waking up before dawn, making coffee, and beginning work as the sun rose.

#6) Oprah Gail Winfrey 

is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She became one of the wealthiest and most influential women in the United States.

Oprah is one of the most potent women globally, yet it seems like she starts her day in her own way. In 2017, she told The Hollywood Reporter she doesn’t use an alarm to wake up!

“I have never set an alarm; I don’t believe in them. They are … alarming! I put the number in my mind, and I wake up before that, usually between 6:02 and 6:20, because the dogs are trained to go out around that time,” she told the publication.

In 2018, she revealed her morning secrets to Harper’s Bazaar and said — “First thing in the morning, I brush my teeth and take the dogs out. There are five of them, and everybody’s ready to leave, but I make them wait while brushing my teeth. It’s a ‘perfect day’ when I can wake up surrounded by nature in my home.” She also said she enjoys lifting her blackout shades and watching geese fly over the backyard into the pond in the morning.

Next, Oprah’searly morning hours routine includes a ritual of spiritual exercises. She told Harper’s Bazaar — “After reading Gathered Truths, I check out ‘Bowl of Saki’ on my phone; it’s delivered to my inbox every morning. It contains the teachings of the Sufis, a Middle Eastern sect that believes all paths lead to God and that all religions are one, pointing to the same north star.”

And then Oprah meditates. She said — “When I want to meditate, I can go to a special rock that’s carved into the shape of a seat. Or I can sit underneath the 12 live oak trees that I call ‘the Apostles.’” In one interview, Oprah revealed that she sometimes lights three candles as she meditates in the morning.

An hour of exercise is the next higher-priority task in her early morning hours routine. She said — “I work out for an hour. I do resistance flexibility, a low-impact strength-training program that involves two, sometimes three, people pushing against you as you push against them. I have stretchers come to my house to help me do it.”

Running is included next in her morning routine. She said — “This morning, I did 30 minutes on the treadmill and then a giant loop around my home. I live on 65 acres, so I can jog for a solid two miles without leaving my property.”

She said about her meaningful and fulfilling morning life, “I know what people will say, ‘Well, Oprah, if I were you, I’d have a perfect day too.’ But I’ve earned it: I’ve earned the ability to pay attention to every aspect and detail of the day. I greatly appreciate the little things that add up to that big thing called a meaningful life.”

#7) Indra Nooyi 

is an Indian-American business executive, former chairperson, and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. She was also named the №1 most powerful woman in the world twice by Fortune Magazine. Her rise from a humble background to a top leadership role is a saga of determination, hard work, and integrity.

During one interview, she revealed her secret. Like many other CEOs and leaders, Nooyi starts her day earlier than everyone else. She used to wake up at 4 a.m. every day, at least when she led Pepsi. She would wake up and read through books, her mail, or the documents for the day and then get to work by about 7–7.30 a.m. Waking up early in the morning makes her more energetic and productive.

#8) Narendra Damodardas Modi 

is an Indian politician serving as India’s 14th and current (as of May 2023) prime minister since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is a Member of Parliament from Varanasi.

He believes that, early in the morning, the mind is as fresh as the sky after rain. Once, at his annual “Pariksha Pe Charcha” event, he said — “Before sunrise, your mind is completely healthy. From my experience and general belief, morning is a great time to study. Whatever you study then registers more. But everyone has their own habit and should do whatever one is comfortable with.”

He wakes up in the early morning at 4 a.m. His early morning wee hours are refreshing and inspire us to try it. After waking up, he is first done with the daily course and then goes for Suryanamaskar, Pranayam, and Yoga, which helps him remain fit and fine. He never forgets to do Yoga in starting of the day. After that, he likes to have tea with ginger. He also takes a light breakfast, a boiled one, and some roasted stuff.

#9) Jack Patrick Dorsey 

is an American Internet entrepreneur, programmer, and philanthropist who is Twitter’s co-founder and former CEO. Jack Dorsey proved his supremacy in entrepreneurship through his wisely chosen business ventures. He uses his three traits of simplicity, craftsmanship, and constraint to run his businesses. His secret to success can be attributed to consistency and morning routine. He believes that a well-structured early morning hours routine is directly linked to higher output.

Jack Dorsey wakes up at 5–6 every morning. According to a study, Dorsey believes that his rigorous early morning hours routine gives him the mental confidence to tackle any challenges that come up during the day. He dedicates the first few hours of his day to “personal care,” which includes meditation, jogging, and ice bath to shock his system into action.

He says, every early morning — “I do the 7-minute workout. I usually do one to three iterations of that or get on the Tabata bike. The thing I love about the 7-minute workout is I never have an excuse. I don’t have a personal trainer. I don’t go to a gym. I travel a lot, and all I need to work out daily is a chair and a wall and my body weight.”

#10) Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama 

is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position and the wife of former President Barack Obama. Through her initiatives, she became a role model for women and an advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girl education.

Michelle Obama reveals her secret about how she started waking up early. She says — “My ‘aha’ moment came when our first daughter, Malia, was 4 months old. My husband’s exercise routine hadn’t changed a bit; he was still getting his workouts in, and I was getting irritated (laughs). Then I realized he was prioritizing it differently. So, I said, ‘If I get up and out before the first feeding, I will work out.’ That will engage my husband to do that first feeding with the baby.

So, I started getting up at 4:30 in the morning and going to the gym. With exercising, the more you do it, the more you get into it. And the more you see results, the more you push for the next level. That’s when it just clicked for me.”

She firmly believes in her early morning hours routine: “My number one daily habit is to permit myself to be happy. It’s physical and mental; it’s my diet, physical activity, and emotional state. That’s all tied together.”

If you want to read more and learn different strategies to become a morning lark, read this book.

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