A very happy and joyous New Year to you all.
At the start of this New Year I want to share with you a very powerful habit that is practised by every peak-performer I know and that I have read about or studied, such as Oprah Winfrey, Anthony Robbins, Barrack Obama, the late great Nelson M andela, many CEO’s and high-achievers in life. Research shows, that for most people, their most productive time is in the early morning.
I have been practising what I call my “Hour of Power” in the early morning for many years now. This hour in the early morning has set the tone for the rest of my day. It determines whether I have a productive, high-performance day or a mediocre one.
It has been established that the way you start off your day will determine the type of day you are going to experience. This one-single habit of getting up early and having your hour of power will significantly transform your life. It will ease your stress and anxiety, promote you physical, emotional and metal well-being and allow you to achieve so much more each day. It will literally allow you to become so focused and in charge of your life.
Now, I know there will be many of you who will say, “but I just do not have any time in the early mornings. I have to get up, shower, get dressed, sort out the kids, get a bite to eat and get off to work, where will I get the time?”
Well, this habit is so important for your success, happiness and well-being that your hour of power needs to happen before you do all the above-mentioned chores. This hour of power is your time. I know you might say, “but I am too tired to get up earlier than I am already getting up.” I promise you that this hour of power will give you so much energy and excitement in your life, it literally is a miracle. In fact, there is a book that has been written by Hal Elrod entitled, The Miracle Morning” Hundreds and thous ands of people are now beginning to practise this habit with phenomenal results, like, turning their business around, identifying great opportunities, feeling healthier, developing a better relationships with their spouse, experiencing greater personal and social awareness, earning more and the list goes on and on.
Now you might be asking yourself, “well, if I get up an hour earlier each morning, what am I going to do with myself for that hour?” This is why I use the catch phrase that Anthony Robbins coined, “MY HOUR OF POWER”, because it literally is an hour that will give you phenomenal personal power for the rest of your day. I am going to share with you exactly what I do for my “hour of power” in the mornings.
I have divided my hour into segments for different activities in the following manner:
- I spend ten minutes in quiet time, where I pray/meditate during which I use deep-breathing, (breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.) I sit in a comfortable chair to do this, but there are many people who will sit on the floor. This is an opportunity to express gratitude, to become more personally aware and to feel a deep connection with your source.
- I write down 5 things that I am grateful for. I do this every day. I don’t just write them down for the sake of writing them down, but I feel this attitude of gratitude deep within my heart and soul.
- I spend ten minutes reviewing my goals and accounting to myself for the actions that I must execute.
- I go through my affirmations/mantra. The word “MANTRA” means “Freeing the mind.” These powerful verbal affirmations are statements of intent that allow you to input into your minds powerful, uplifting, pure dynamic thoughts instead of the many thoughts that come from people spending their time reading the negativity of the media.
- I spend my next ten minutes in deep visualisation where I visualise the outcomes that I expect. The presentations that I will be delivering that day, the interactions that I will be having that day and the goals that I am working on.
- I read anything from 5-6 pages from a good book. I have gained invaluable knowledge through this practise.
- My last activity is “movement”. I will do some stretch exercises and walking. Movement creates energy and frees up the feel-good chemicals of the brain, i.e. endorphin, oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine. This leaves you so much more energised for the day.
So, my friends, this is my challenge to you for the year. Practise your hour of power and please let us know how it is going and the results that you are experiencing. We would like to capture your experiences on our website to serve as an inspiration to our many readers.
Always remember to take charge of your life, take a chance, don’t be puppets, live your life with passion and have fun. I look forward to hearing of your successes this year.
Extraordinary yours, Dave