According to a NY Times Interview, Robin Arzon, Vice President of Peloton, downs filtered water, a dash of sea salt, fresh lemon, and some apple cider vinegar, before heading to 20 minutes of prayer and meditation. She then checks her very popular social media, does her own workout, and generally teaches 2-3 classes for the fiercely popular brand. Ms. Arzon is an example of a modern, ambitious, go-getter and lives into the 5 common things high achievers do to start their day.
Tony Robbins, master trainer, coach to stars like The Washington Capitals, The Golden State Warriors, and more, starts his day in a similar fashion to Ms. Arzon. He does not drink coffee either and after approximately 20 minutes of prayer, gratitude, and meditation, he jumps into a cold plunge pool for at least five minutes to wake up his body. Exercise follows and then a full day of checking in on his businesses or training for sixteen hours on stage in front of thousands of raving fans is the norm.
Brendon Burchard, self-help guru, and trainer starts his day with meditation, prayer, and then journaling. He reviews his schedule and then if something isn’t in alignment with where his focus is, it goes. Like Arzon and Robbins, he does not hit up his social media, emails, or texts before getting centered and grounded.
If you are picking up on a theme here, please allow me to share how I start my day. Generally, I am awake no later than 5:15 a.m. I say, ‘Thank You God for this day,’ before rolling out of bed, making some super strong, black, organic coffee, and heading into my living room for 20 minutes of prayer and meditation. After this, my husband and I share several things we are grateful for. I then head to my home office to journal, write, and review my schedule, like Burchard, to ensure that there is nothing on there that doesn’t align with my objectives.
I helm the brand decisions for Susan Sly, have a growing direct sales business, and am the President and Co-Founder of RadiusAI – a retail based artificial intelligence company. I have four kids and love what I do. Energy is my greatest commodity, so I must ensure that it is in ample supply. Like my fellow high achievers, I share the following common 5 habits to start my day and encourage you to adopt all of them if you want to increase your productivity and take your life to the next level.
-
Prayer and Meditation
The vast majority of high achievers begin their day with some form of prayer and meditation. Whether it is strict Vedic style meditation or a guided form, high achievers take time to silence their ever-busy minds for about 20 minutes first thing.  A friend of mine, who owns a multi-million-dollar digital agency, and is over 10-years sober, credits his morning, and evening, meditation with contributing to his will power to resist alcohol.
High achievers often have more ideas than they have time and by beginning the day with mindfulness, they are able to focus on what is most important.
-
Wake Up Your Brain and Body with Some Form of Natural Energy
Like Arzon, I have apple cider vinegar in the morning however it is after 30-minutes of fasted (on an empty stomach) cardio. I also make a smoothie with vegan protein, greens powder, maca, acai, glutamine, and whatever strikes my fancy. My focus is on energy and not on calories or the scale.
Arzon, and I, both consume at least a gallon of water each day, down a handful of vitamins, eat every 2-3 hours, and never allow ourselves to get hangry. I carry low-sugar vegan protein bars, nuts, Keto Cups, and water everywhere I go. In meetings, I am often the smallest one, and the one eating the entire time.
My naturopath, Dr. Sunil Jain, has clients which include NBA and NFL superstars. His first smoothie of the day includes organic greens from his own garden that he runs through a juicer. The man is ageless, high energy, and as lean as his athletes.
High achievers focus on some form of natural energy first thing in the morning and consume high nutrient foods all day.
-
Get Your Workout in Before Your Work Day
Have you ever intended to get your workout in and then started answering emails and responding to direct messages only to miss getting in that daily sweat? High achievers don’t do that, and neither should you.
Bob Burg, author of the best-seller, The Go Giver, has a trainer that comes to his house every morning at the same time to ensure that he gets his workout in. You can check out my interview with Bob here. At my house, I am out the door for a morning run, and then do a second workout of weights or hot yoga, after reviewing my schedule, responding to emails (generally at least 100 per day personally), checking social media, and writing.
High achievers understand that there will be business dinners, flights to take, late meetings, and a host of other things that happen. When they get their workout in, their energy increases, and this is what fuels them. High achievers get this done before their workday starts.
-
Journal and Review Your Day
The reason high achievers achieve so much is because they do not waste time on things that do not align with their goals. They review their day, which is often written out the night before, and are not afraid to cancel, or reschedule, anything that isn’t going to help them attain what they want.
Tony Robbins, and I, were both mentored by the late Jim Rohn. Robbins worked for Mr. Rohn for several years and was undoubtedly his best student. Mr. Rohn was a big believer that it was important to plan the day the night before and review it again in the morning. Anyone who wants to achieve a multi-million, or in the case of Mr. Robbins, multi-billion-dollar empire, must be able to be strategic and after grounding with prayer and meditation, waking up the body with some form of high nutrient food, and getting a workout in, the brain is operating at optimal.
This is always a time of clear decision making and that is why high achievers review their day again and ruthlessly cut all non-essentials.
-
Check Social Media, Emails, and Texts After You Have Your Head on Straight
High achievers understand that social media is for business. Gary Vee, the uber successful author, speaker, influencer, and brand builder, posts dozens of times per day and responds to his fans, however he admits that he does not openly go looking at other people’s posts.
High achievers use social media to grow their businesses and elevate their brands. They are not interested in seeing what five top celebrities wore last night unless they have a million-dollar fashion blog. Social media is a marketing tool…period and high achievers do not start the scroll until their head is on straight.
When it comes to emails and texts, high achievers understand who gets the first responses. Ultimately, as my mentor, author of 7 NY Times Best-Sellers, Harvey Mackay says, ‘I respond to whatever is going to make me the most money first.’ Mackay has built his own empire of businesses, investments, and speaking. In his eighties, he is still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to achieving.
If you are wondering if your first-morning scroll is really hurting, read this.
If you truly want to become a high achiever, I encourage you to adopt these 5 habits. One of the greatest things you can do to become successful is to model success and although it may take some time to change your getting started routine, it will ultimately be worth it.
I would love to hear how you are progressing. Message me on social:
Instagram @susansly
Twitter @susan_sly
Facebook @susanslylive
