How To Create A Morning Routine You Love
“The way you start your day sets the tone for how the rest of it will go.”
One of the biggest things I attribute my success and positive mindset to is my Morning Routine. When I began my entrepreneurial journey, I knew I didn’t want to have any excuses for why I didn’t succeed. I didn’t want to look back 20 years later and say, “Damn, if I had only…” Because of that, I adopted a mindset of learning as much as I could from as many successful people as possible. If it works for them, then it can work for me.
One thing that continually came up was how these high performers started their day. I started to compile and implement many of these tactics into the morning routine that you see today. I wanted to share my morning routine so it could be an inspiration to you, helping you create more positive energy, high performance, and control in your life.
Creating a good morning routine was a game-changer for me, and it can be for you too. Whether you’re new to morning routines or looking to refine your existing habits, this blog post will empower you to start your day with intention and joy. Let’s dive into how to create a morning routine that you’ll look forward to every single day.
9 Morning Routine Principles – Key Takeaways
- Design the First 90 Seconds of Your Day: Start with a positive affirmation like “Today is going to be a great day.”
- Practice Gratitude: Use simple moments, like brushing your teeth, to express gratitude.
- Control Your Inputs: Limit exposure to negative influences first thing in the morning.
- Learn Something: Dedicate time each morning to read and learn.
- Create Your Being: Define who you are and how you show up every day through affirmations.
- Journaling: Use stream-of-consciousness writing to clear your mind.
- Meditate: Incorporate stillness and mindfulness into your routine.
- Design Your Day: Plan and set your goals for the day.
- Work Out: Prioritize your health with morning exercise.
Design the First 90 Seconds of Your Day
We all get to choose how we start our day. Will you hit snooze, or will you rise with gratitude for the blessing that is today?
To ensure I start my day with a positive mindset, the first thing I say to myself is, “Today is gonna be a great day.” The odds of having a great day increase dramatically when you say this compared to if you don’t. Because of this, I often repeat, “Today is gonna be a great day,” two or three more times throughout my morning. Sometimes it’s while walking the dog, or when the sun rises and shines through the window. It’s so easy to do, and the more you drip “Today is gonna be a great day” into your mindset, the better.
This simple, intentional act starts building momentum right away. In contrast, many people start their day by jumping on their phone to check social media or email, allowing the world to dictate their day. Think about who you want to control your life: yourself or someone else.
Practice Gratitude
Within the first 90 seconds of my morning, the next thing I do is brush my teeth. Since this is a routine task, I’ve turned it into a trigger to practice gratitude. As I brush my teeth, I say to myself three things or people I am grateful for. For example: I am grateful for my wife, I am grateful for my dog, I am grateful for the Unlimited Community.
Starting the day with gratitude warms my heart and helps me show up better for others. It’s a deposit in my positivity bank, which can help combat any negativity or challenges that might arise later in the day.
This habit is super easy to execute, but the key is to be intentional about it. Once you make the connection that brushing your teeth is the time to practice gratitude, it becomes second nature.
Tip: One way you can build this habit is by writing a note that says “Gratitude” and putting it next to your tooth brush. That way you’ve got a reminder to do it. From there say three things you are grateful for every day for a week. Once you experience how simple it is you can then add on doing it at night too. That way you give yourself the gift of double gratitude.
Control Your Inputs
One of the key perspectives in my morning routine is that I am in control, not the world. Because of this, for the first hour and a half to two hours of the day, I do not check my email or go on social media. I know that I will be flooded with that stuff the rest of the day, so I make my morning time sacred. It’s my time, where I am intentional about my growth, personal development, and mindset.
One of my favorite quotes is, “Good in, good out. Bad in, bad out.” When you feed your mind with good inputs, you are likely to have positive results. On the flip side, if you feed your mind with inputs from the world, which are often designed around fear, negativity, or someone else’s agenda, you are more likely to have negative results. I cannot overstate how important this is because your choice builds momentum in either direction. This can either become the biggest blessing or a vicious cycle, depending on which side you are on. Anytime I come across someone with negative energy, I can almost guarantee you the way they start their day.
The rest of my morning routine is built on the foundation of controlling my inputs. I want to feed myself things that will make me happy, inspired, curious, grateful, joyful, excited, and everything in between.
Learn Something
When I started my entrepreneurial journey, I audited the success habits of the most successful people and a common thread kept appearing: “The average CEO reads 60 books a year.” The people I was learning from all had reading as part of their daily routine. Knowing this, I had to find a way to implement reading into my morning routine, especially since I was currently reading zero books.
The challenge most people face about reading every day is how to find time to do it. If something is important enough, you’ll always find time to do it. When is there always time? First thing in the morning. It’s when you have the most control over your schedule. Because of this, I decided to start reading first thing in the morning. That way, there was never an excuse for why I couldn’t do it.
One of my goals every day is to make today better than yesterday. As long as I read a book every day, I get smarter. No matter what else happens the rest of the day, I know that I am better today than yesterday.
To make things as easy as possible, I set a timer for 30 minutes. This gives me a definitive start and end time. I also choose books that interest me and make me better, such as those on entrepreneurship, creativity, mindset, leadership, marketing, and sports biographies. This way, I look forward to reading them.
Since I’ve been practicing this for over 10 years, every single day (including weekends), I’ve been able to read 400+ books. Think that pays off?!
Next Level: Since I just woke up and I’m still a bit groggy, this becomes a low impact way for me to gradually ease in to the day while also stimulating my mind. I also make it a point to drink a glass of water right away. That way I hydrate my body, which increases my energy and allows me to be more alert. Usually within the first 15 minutes of reading I’ll make a cup of coffee. That becomes one of my favorite parts of the entire day.
Create Your Being
One of my favorite quotes is, “Live by design, not by default.” What this means is I am in charge of not only designing my days and how I spend them, but who I am. We all get to decide how we show up in the world every day. Because this is so important, I have two things I read, speak, and feel into every day to create me into the person I am. My Morning Routine Boot Sequence and my Declarations.
Morning Routine Boot Sequence
Think of your boot sequence the same way you would a computer. For a computer to best function as a computer it opens specific programs every time (aka a boot sequence). The same is true for ourselves. To be the best version of yourself every day, what programs do you need to boot up?
The more you are aware of something the greater the chances you’ll think about it and be it. Because of this I created a Boot Sequence document that has a list of things that are most important to creating who I am. Below is what it looks like.
My purpose in life is to be a positive force for good that leads others to what’s possible.
I commit to give my all to every activity I participate in.
I pledge to be fully present and try my hardest.
No matter how big or how small the task is, for the next 30 days, I am committed to excellence!
Thoughts:
- Be so good they can’t ignore you
- Be a different brownie
- What am I creating today?
I’ve got a lot to be excited about & grateful for right now:
- I married my dream girl
- Living and creating my dream every day
- Helping 10 million people
Morning Routine Declarations
To create who I am I have a list of declarations I speak out loud. They are rooted in self love and vision. I make it a point it a point to feel into each statement, recalling a time in which each statement was true. That way the essence of it becomes part of me and I can reactivate it. Because this is an emotional practice I give time and space to cultivating who I am.
- I am infinite love♾❤️
- I am constant creation of who I am💡
- I am a spiritual billionaire💫
- I am a revenue generating juggernaut💰
- I am that I believe 🙏
- I am at peace with everything ✌️
- I am in flow 🏄♂️
- I am abundantly generous and I am a giver🌟
- I am forgiving👍
- I am unconditional compassion💌
- I am a force of attraction💎
- I am that I bring magic to life🎇
- I am a freight train of possibility🚅🚂
- I am The Home Run ⚾️
- I am The One🏟
- I am that the world needs more of me 🤩
- I am that I am supposed to get there 🌟
- I am the happiest person on earth shining my light on everyone😃🔦🌏
- I am warmth☀️ 😎
- I am that I dance with time🕺
- I am an ASKING machine ❤️📈🗝⚙️
- I am a masterpiece of health and strength⛑💪
- I am that I have a world champion mindset 🏆
- I am the confidence that I belong🔑
- I am a champion for everyone 🥇
- I am rich in all areas of my life💯
- I am always in focus⚡️
- I am fearless🏔
- I am an epic overachiever 🌠
- I am that I care the most 🌈
- I am unstoppable 💥☄️
💡 Do you love the idea of creating a consistency practice around creating your identity and who you are every day? Join me in a powerful conversation to explore what that could look like for you.
Morning Pages (aka Journaling)
Morning Pages, inspired by Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, is my version of journaling. The goal is simple: write out a stream of consciousness to get anything in my head out of my head. There’s no specific goal or agenda, but as I’ve become more self-aware and in tune with my emotions, I often write about what I’m feeling at the moment.
My Morning Pages typically take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on my flow. I don’t set a time limit. When the good vibes are flowing, I let them out and enjoy being in the moment. It sets me up for a wonderful day. On days when I have a cloud of negativity hanging over me, I write it out, acknowledge the emotion, and then declare that I will not allow it to stay with me today. Instead, I’m going to make it a positive day. This practice helps me release emotions that do not serve me and get back on track.
I also make it a point to start and end every Morning Pages session with “Today is gonna be a great day.” It’s a simple way to get that positive drip into my day.
Meditate
Meditation is one thing that continually came up in the routines of highly successful people. After years of hearing about it over and over again, I finally thought to myself, “If 50 CEOs say that meditation is instrumental in their success, then I’m an idiot if I don’t listen to the advice.”
What I enjoy about meditation is the clarity and space it offers. The nothingness is welcomed and freeing. So much of our lives is filled with noise and things fighting for our attention. By carving out just five minutes a day, I can center myself and allow that stillness to grow inside of me. When I am done, I feel lighter and happier. The more peaceful my mind is, the better I can show up in the world.
I currently use the Peloton app for their guided meditation, and I’ve also used Headspace. Sometimes, I go old school and set a timer for five minutes. There are many good options. Find what works for you.
⭐️ Want to create more Time Freedom in your life? Here’s how you can become a master at it.
Design Your Day
The next part of living by design is designing my actual day. What are the things I want to accomplish? What does my day look like? I am a fan of having a written planner because I like the ability to cross things off, plus it’s easy to reference. I use Grant Cardone’s 10X Planner and highly recommend it. The key is committing to using it.
Every morning, I write down my top five priorities and goals. This practice helps me stay focused and intentional throughout the day. By living intentionally, I ensure that my actions align with my goals, making each day a step towards my bigger vision.
Writing down your goals
One of the success principles I believe in is the power of writing down your goals. By doing this in the morning I prime myself for where I want to go. I also do this at the end of the day. Think about how impactful writing your goals down twice a day for a year could be. Now imagine doing that for 10+ years.
Quote of the day
My morning routine is about priming my mind. A simple way I can set an intention for the day is to write down a quote of the day. What I do is think of a personal growth related word (ex. confidence). From there I’ll do a Google Image search and see what quotes of the day appear. When one of them stands out to me I write it down and it becomes my quote of the day.
Power List
When it’s time to set my targets for the day, I write down the five most important things I want to accomplish (aka my Power List). Doing this allows me to stay focused and have a roadmap of what to do next. By completing the most important tasks day after day, I set myself up to win every week, month, and year. This builds momentum and success through consistency.
This concept comes from Andy Frisella, and is something I learned during the Live Hard Mental Toughness program. I recommend listening to his “Win the Day” podcast episode for a deeper dive.
Working Out
Another habit that repeatedly popped up when I audited the habits of the most successful people is that fitness is a huge priority in their lives. Without your health, you don’t have anything. On top of that, when you are healthy and look good, you feel good and are more confident. That’s how I want to show up in the world.
Because fitness is so important, it has become a lifestyle and way of being for me. My best day involves working out or engaging in physical activity, so I treat this habit with excitement and a positive outlook.
Similar to stacking the reading habit early in the day, I take the same mindset with fitness. In the morning, there is always time to get a workout in. Doing so also gives you a sense of accomplishment and natural endorphins that help build momentum and confidence. It is easy to create excuses later in the day for why you can’t work out, so doing it early takes those excuses off the table.
I typically work out for 30 to 45 minutes. I set a timer on my watch so I know when I am done. Once again, this consistency builds growth and excellence.
Morning Routine Next Steps
The key to starting a morning routine starts with committing to do it. You need to be all-in on making it happen. I started with zero morning routine but committed to my personal development, and I am proof that anyone can do it. Sure, it took several years to implement each of these habits, but the road to success is a long one. You have to be willing to take the first step and be excited to get better every day.
I encourage you to take my morning routine principles and make them your own. Take what you like and implement it. Use the underlying framework to design your own version of things that allow you to show up as your best self every day. Your morning routine is something that should serve you, that you believe in, and that you want to do.
If you have a big vision and are looking to create positive habits and mindsets that serve you I invite you to schedule time for us to be in a powerful conversation together.
