- I'll never forget the day
we moved into our beautiful home.
I was carrying a box of shoes into my new dream closet,
and a young woman who was hired by a cleaning company
to help us get it all ready
for the move-in, she stopped me.
And out of nowhere she asked, "Ma'am, I just wanna know.
"How do you get a life like this?"
Without hesitating, I said, "Your routine."
"Hm?" she said, totally confused.
I said, "If you'll change your morning routine,
"you can change your whole life."
(bright pop music)
Now, if you had told me back in 2002,
when at 33 years old, and my life was such a mess,
that my decision on that rainy day in September
to get up earlier and invest in myself
would transform my entire life,
I would not have believed it.
But it was the best choice I could've ever made
in myself and in my future.
For years, my days consisted
of wakin' up at the last minute to go to work,
jammin' out to my favorite songs all the way to the office,
grabbin' my daily burrito at lunch
with a Texas-size sweet tea, and filling my evenings
with hours of watching other people live their dreams.
And for years I lived paycheck to paycheck,
had credit card debt, car loans,
no savings account, my house was disorganized,
and I had no real goals for the future.
I was average.
Well, one day in prayer, I heard this phrase.
"Don't be average, and your life won't be average."
Well, when I finally looked at my life
and got disgusted with my poor habits,
realizing I was miserable, I was in debt,
I had no vision or dreams for my life,
something had to change.
Not to mention, I had a five-year-old little girl
looking to me for inspiration, for a role model.
Well, that's when I decided to start the journey
of transformation with a simple trick,
setting my alarm a little earlier
and establishing the five morning habits for success.
You know, Jon Acuff said,
"If your dream isn't worth 30 minutes of your time,
"you've either have the wrong dream
"or you're pretending to have one."
Well, all I did was I simply grabbed a notebook back then
and began to write down five things
that popped into my mind.
Now, these were five new habits
I wanted to practice every day for the next 21 days.
You know, behavioral psychologists
have reported that a change in behavior
can be noticed in as early as 21 days
of consistent repetition.
Well, next I grabbed a wall calendar and a big, thick pen,
and each day that I was committed to my daily five,
then I would put a giant mark across that date.
It was almost as if the thrill of makin' that X
gave me the focus I needed to get up and go for it again.
I was determined to not skip a day.
But at the end of that 21-day goal
to keep my 5:00 a.m. routine,
something truly remarkable changed.
Me! (chuckles)
My mindset was improving.
My body was slimming.
My attitude was shifting.
And my dreams were comin' alive on the inside of me.
That routine led to payin' off my debts,
building my savings account, organizing my house,
which later led to starting my own organization,
writing nine books, hosting a TV show, and on and on.
That's why I wanna emphasize the point of this entire video.
"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine."
Let me repeat that.
"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine."
Now, the most successful people in the world
have something in common.
They practice mind over mattress.
They win the battle of the bed.
In other words, they cherish the morning hours
to get up and invest in themselves
while the rest of the world chooses to snooze.
And that used to be me.
You know, I never realized until 2002
that each morning I didn't conquer the covers,
it was takin' me further from success.
Each morning that I slept an extra 30 minutes
was compounding to an extra 10 hours each month
that could change my life or keep me stuck.
You know, I like to think of this change in mindset
like a car stuck in the mud.
You know, you just need a little traction to move an inch,
and then you can gain momentum
to move out and move on, right?
Well, that's what happens when you start waking up
a little bit earlier each day.
It's just the shove you need to gain that traction
to catapult you miles ahead of where you wanna be.
Well, I'm gonna walk you through my 5:00 a.m. routine.
But first, I put together a free download for you
this week to help you take charge of your morning routine.
You know, that's where it all changed for me.
So all you have to do is first, subscribe to this channel
by pushin' the little arrow below, and then click the link
in the description to get a free chapter
called "The Five Morning Habits for a Successful Life."
Now, this is taken straight from my best-selling book,
"Five Things Successful People Do Before 8 A.M."
So let me walk you through my 5:00 a.m. routine.
Every morning my first alarm goes off at 4:50.
The second alarm is at 5:00 a.m.,
and I am up and outta bed.
I brush my teeth, put on some makeup
because I'm not just one of those natural girls
like most of y'all.
Wish I was, but you know, you take what you get
and you don't throw a fit, right? (laughs)
I put on my workout clothes that I lay out the night before,
and I am in the kitchen by 5:35 a.m.
I grab some cold water, take my vitamins
that are already organized to save time,
and I'm out the door.
Now, in the beginning days of this routine,
I would go for a walk in the neighborhood.
Now I go to the gym.
There's just something so cool
about being up and out when it's still dark outside.
I don't know, it just makes you feel successful.
I guess because after you've studied the routines
of the most successful people, they are up before dawn.
Now you're joining their ranks.
Plus it just feels like it's just you and God.
You know, I love my drives to the gym in the dark.
I use this time to just pray,
worship God with music on in the background.
I like to make declarations
and confess God's word while I'm driving.
And some of my declarations at this moment
are, "I'm energetic, I'm enthusiastic.
"I'm disciplined, spirit, soul, and body.
"I'm in the best shape of my life.
"I enjoy workin' out.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
I say that every time I go to the gym.
So the first habit, of course, is exercise.
Now it's no surprise that physical fitness and success,
they go hand in hand.
Now, in addition to losing weight
and improving your overall physical appearance,
this ritual alone can build your self-esteem,
reduce stress, improve sleep,
boost your memory and concentration,
and simply make ya happier.
You know, I always tell people
stop looking at the one hour you don't have.
Look at the 20 minutes you do have, and get moving.
Go for a walk.
You know, hey, five minutes is better than no minutes.
But do it again the next day.
And the next day.
And the next.
Until you move up to 10 minutes or 20 or 30.
And I'm telling you, you won't wanna stop.
And you know, I like to get this habit done first
because it's the toughest one,
and it feels so good to get it done.
They say nobody ever left the gym sayin',
"I wish I hadn't done that." (laughs)
So the second habit is pray or meditate.
I found out that no matter what religion
people are affiliated with,
successful people make prayer and meditation
a top priority in their day.
So as soon as I get back from the gym,
I eat something light, and then I go right into my study
to spend time with the Lord.
Now, this is where I journal my time with him.
I worship him, many times
with worship music on in the background.
It just sets the atmosphere.
I write in my gratitude journal.
I just visit with the Lord about everything on my mind.
And many times, I like to just walk in circles as I pray.
You know, Joshua 1:8 says,
"Keep this book of the law always on your lips,
"mediate on it day and night so that you may be careful
"to do everything written in it."
Then it says this.
"Then you will be prosperous and successful."
So according to God, you have to mediate on his word
if you wanna be successful.
Well, prayer is simply talking to God.
Meditation is listening for God.
Now, this single habit of prayer and meditation
is the one you need more than any other habit.
Journal your time in prayer
and you will discover the direction, the wisdom,
the vision that you've been longing for.
This one change in your routine
will dramatically affect everything in your life.
The third habit I do at this time also
is review my dreams and goals.
Now, writing your dreams and goals
is a clear key to success.
Everyone seems to agree on this.
However, only three out of every 100 adults
writes their goals down on paper.
Well, this very act is a powerful motivator.
It forces you to get specific about your ambitions.
Tony Robbin says, "Setting goals is the first step
"at turning the invisible into the visible."
Now, I'm not gonna say a lot about this
because I recorded several videos about this.
In fact, I encourage you to watch
"Goal Setting: 11 Minutes That Can Change Your Life."
That'll give you details on how to discover your goals
and set them the right way.
Now, I never leave my house without praying over my goals
and keeping them constantly before my eyes.
And they keep happening, right?
Now the fourth habit that I had to make myself
add to my routine back in 2002,
and I'm so glad I did, was read.
You know, someone said, "Your life will be determined
"over the next five years by two things.
"The people you hang around and the books you read."
Well, I hated reading back then.
I hadn't read a book since school.
So I set an alarm for 20 minutes,
and I started with one book.
And I kept my commitment to read
the next morning for 20 minutes, and the next, and the next.
And you know what?
Something surprising began to happen.
The more I read, the more I learned.
The more I learned, the more I began to earn.
I found out what we call the key to success,
which is K-E-Y, keep educating yourself.
You know the truth is success is tied
to your personal development.
So you can't grow anymore if you don't learn anymore.
In other words, you know,
I love how Jim Rohn's mentor Earl Shoaff,
he would say it like this.
He said, "Learn to work harder on yourself
"than you do on your job."
He said, "If you work hard on your job,
"you'll make a living.
"If you work hard on yourself, you can make a fortune."
And it begins by building a personal library.
And all it takes is 20 minutes a day.
So by this time, I've worked out, spent time with the Lord,
reviewed my dreams and goals, and read.
So four habits, and it's only 7:30 in the morning.
Time for the fifth habit, which is the easiest
of all the habits to incorporate.
So the fifth habit is listen to audio teaching.
Now, the truth is I've already done this
at the gym while workin' out.
You know, some people like to listen to music
because it gets their blood pumpin', that's fine.
But I prefer to listen to motivation.
So I'm always listening while I'm working out,
but I also listen while I take a bath in the morning,
put my makeup on, style my hair.
And again, on the way to the office.
And this is truly the easiest of all the habits.
It only requires two words and very little physical effort.
Push play. (laughs)
Now successful people seize every opportunity to learn,
to increase their knowledge by listening to audios.
They grow as they go, right?
So start doing this while you're cleanin' the kitchen,
loadin' the dishwasher,
folding the laundry, or makin' the beds.
Utilize your drive time to learn.
You will be amazed at the wisdom you will gain
instead of just dancin' everywhere you go.
Plus the Bible says, "Faith comes by hearing,
"and hearing by the word of God."
So every time you hear God's word, faith comes.
And you can literally learn everything
from marketing and business to finance
and spiritual guidance, leadership, nutrition advice,
as well as, you could learn a whole foreign language
all behind the steering wheel of your car.
So go to college in your car.
And I'm finished with all five habits
by eight o'clock in the morning.
So when I walk in the doors at my office,
I already feel so productive, energetic,
and like it's already been an amazing day.
So if you apply these habits,
could your life drastically change?
Well, the answer is 100%.
Remember, it's not what you do once in a while
that causes you to live an exceptional life.
It's what you do consistently.
So if you're ready to take your life to the next level,
and you're wondering why you haven't achieved the dreams
that are in your heart, it could boil down
to what you're doin' at the break of dawn.
That's why I'm giving my subscribers
this free chapter from my book
by just clicking the link in the description.
It's titled "The Five Morning Habits for a Successful Life."
And it could become your checklist for this year.
So simply subscribe if you haven't,
and then click the link in the description
to get your free chapter.
And I'm tellin' ya from experience, it wasn't 12 habits
or 17 habits that changed my life, it was five.
You can do this, and I'm cheering you on.
(bright pop music)
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And for more inspirational content,
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And don't forget, I'm cheering you on to live your dreams.