What’s Your Millionaire Morning Routine?
By: Canon Wing
Tags: Millionaire Mindset, Business Strategy, Business Owner, Millionaire, Morning Routines

Even if you haven’t heard about the benefits of having a morning ritual or routine, you can probably guess some of the most common morning practices: Eating a good breakfast, getting some exercise, maybe doing a spiritual practice whether it’s prayer, or meditation, or making a gratitude list; many top entrepreneurs will swear by the power of waking up every morning at set time, many swear by 5am… And yes, absolutely these are all great strategies for a good morning routine, but the truth is that there is no “correct” or “perfect” morning routine that is guaranteed to be effective for every type of person. And anyway, you’re not here because you are looking for just any old morning routine. You are here to get YOUR Millionaire Morning Routine!

I’m not going to tell you any one way is the exact way, because you are not a commodity. You’re a wonderful human being with your own unique strengths and weaknesses. And here’s what that means… the exact way will always be inextricably your way, the way that best fits you and all of our unique wonderful quirks and needs and habits and preferences. We can however, and we will today, simply finding your Millionaire Morning Routine.

Lao Tzu said, “Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.”

So right now, let’s go over some of the 4 most common ways that the world’s most successful entrepreneurs set themselves up for big wins using a Millionaire Morning Routine.

YOUR Time to Rise

I believe it was J.M. Power who once said, “If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up,” so let’s jump right in and discuss your perfect wake-up time.

Many successful people will attest that early-rising is the key to success, and while there are some amazing benefits to rising with the sun, the truth is that knowing what time of the day YOU are the most productive and creative is the key to YOUR entrepreneurial success.

For me it’s 5:34 I wake up naturally at 5:34 almost every day. I look at my phone and that’s the time. It used to be a weird coincidence but after years I just see it as a sign that I’m treating myself right and so it starts me off feeling balanced and ready. So when I hop out of bed to start my own Morning ritual, I start the day happy, filled with purpose and even when my energy is low I have my routine to lift my energy up, filling my cup so that I can share my energy with all of my clients. But… if I need to set an alarm for 4am to go skiing or catch an early flight, I wake up bleary and oh gosh, I remember waking up for skiing at 4:30 and taking one step out of bed so sore from the day before my quadriceps just said UM NO, and I felt right to the floor. I was just crying all the way to the shower, confused and well… I felt like “that alarm attacked me!” Not exactly a great morning routine.

If the dynamic hours of your business happen during that good old 9–5, then waking up between 5–6:30am could very well be your Millionaire Morning Ritual sweet spot. Waking up at 5 will give you plenty of time to enjoy your routine before you need to deal with the agenda of the day. But, consider this, if you are in the night owl game, such as a restaurateur, who loves to keep big things happening well into the early morning hours, then you’ll want to adjust your rise and shine to best suit your needs so you don’t get attacked by your alarm, like I did.

Here’s a surprising tip for those of you who find your creativity gets sparked by that midnight oil: Instead of sleeping late into the morning and staying up until early the next day, have you tried going to bed earlier, and then waking up around 2 or 3am? It’s not as crazy as it sounds! If your creative fires get stoked during those quiet hours of peaceful starlit solitude, you can turn that fire into an inferno by giving yourself 6–8 hours of solid rest beforehand.

Here are 2 key points to consider when choosing your perfect time to rise:

Be Consistent. Whatever time you choose as your magical morning power hour, going to sleep and waking up around the same time each day allows your circadian rhythm to get synced up with your entrepreneurial success.

Allot YOU Time. The activities you choose for your morning routine MUST include the things that serve your mind, body, and soul. Allot enough time for what brings you more joy, more health, and more energy.

Next, let’s talk about:

YOUR Time to Refuel

Maybe you’re the type of entrepreneur who luxuriates in a cup of coffee first thing, the type who needs an hour to stretch and hydrate before they start getting hungry, the type who arises hungry as bear craving a hearty breakfast — the most important thing for your Millionaire Morning Routine is giving your body what it needs to win the day.

Benjamin Franklin preferred to spend an hour meditating on the “Powerful Goodness,” he wanted to create that day, reviewing his to-do list, and journaling before having his breakfast. It’s worth mentioning, just for posterity, that he would spend this first hour buck-naked, just because. So yeah, you do you. The exact way really is always going to be in essence, your way.

Winston Churchill would wake-up around 7:30 every day and have his breakfast in bed while he read his mail, and caught up on all of the national newspapers.

Barack Obama reviews his next-day documents the night before, after his daughters have gone to bed. He’ll regularly stay up reviewing tomorrow’s agenda until around 10pm, because he enjoys having extra time for breakfast with his family the next morning.

Oprah prefers to take two hours to walk her dogs, meditate, drink some espresso, and break a little sweat before she sits down to breakfast.

Here’s what’s most important for ALL types of entrepreneurs to keep in mind when determining YOUR time to refuel:

Hydration is life. No matter what your entrepreneurial type, you have much to gain from scheduling your morning water intake.

Choose fuel that gives you energy. Some entrepreneurs need a hearty protein-rich breakfast to get their engines running while others thrive on a nutrient-rich power shake and a handful of almonds. Honor your process, and stick with what feels great to you.

Now let’s talk about:

YOUR Time to Ramp Up

Some Entrepreneurial types include a strenuous workout into their Millionaire Morning Routine, such as weight-lifting or an hour of power yoga. Other entrepreneurs hit the morning magic bullseye with a brisk walk in the fresh air, or a slow deep stretching routine — and prefer to save the more high-intensity workouts for the end of the day, to help them reset and burn off excess energy before winding down for the night.

Anna Wintour of Vogue magazine starts each morning with an hour-long tennis match, but Henry David Thoreau will tell you that, “An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”

Whatever level of intensity, or duration of time you choose to spend getting your body moving and your blood flowing in the morning, the most important thing any type of entrepreneur needs to remember is just to be consistent, and choose a physical activity that you truly enjoy.

And finally we have:

YOUR Time to Reflect

For my own Millionaire Morning Routine, time to reflect is my absolute favorite. For me, this means gratitude journaling. Reflecting on my gratitude first thing in the morning gives me exactly the right dose of morning magic I need to win my day. I’ll often include things that I am working towards, as though they’ve already happened. This is how I unleash my enthusiasm and align myself with my goals for the day. Your time to reflect is all about creating the mindset that will make you feel powerful, capable, and grounded in your big why.

Ariana Huffington does deep breathing exercises and sets an intention for the day.

Shonda Rimes journals and listens to NPR’s Morning Edition.

Elon Musk spends time with his sons.

Oprah meditates for 20 minutes.

Steve Jobs started every day by asking himself, “if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” And if the answer is no, he adds something to his agenda that will increase his joy. I’ve recently added this to my morning journaling and it’s created some serious positive changes, for one I feel more in control of my day, I feel I have chosen this day, I feel I’m taking good care of myself, my family, and the world on this day when I begin with a game changing question like “if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” It has actually increased my water intake. It sounds funny but I had some left over mindset from my days as an athlete where I would push my body to its limits, but when I put that left over mindset of push push push to the Steve Jobs question, it seems pretty obvious that hydration is going to be a part of my day, because it’s vital for doing what you love.

Some other common practices successful entrepreneurs use to reflect includes prayer, reviewing your goals, listing all your wins from the day before, sending good morning texts to your loved ones, or spending a little extra time in bed snuggling with your partner.

Different types of entrepreneurs are inspired in many different ways. Whatever inspires you, whatever stirs your heart, whatever brings your love for what you do and how you do it bubbling up to the surface — whatever that special practice may be — It deserves a place of high honor in your Millionaire Morning Routine.