The 5 am club

Everything
you now
find easy you once found hard, you know.”
The billionaire then asked for the security guard’s flashlight and focused it
onto the part of the learning model related to the second stage of
routinization. “Thanks, Krishna,” he added.
“See here—all change is messy in the middle. Stage two is called
‘Installation’ because it’s like you’re going through an interior renovation, of
sorts. Former foundations need to be torn down so that much better ones can
be put up. This stage will make you feel confused, stressed out and frustrated.
You’ll feel like quitting even more—and dismissing your decision to join The
5 
AM
Club as a terrible one. You’ll long to go back to staying in your warm
bed and counting more sheep. Just know and trust that all is good. 
Very
good,
actually. And though you can’t see it, you’re advancing even further in the
habituation of making the early-rising routine yours for the rest of your life.
Things are about to get easier. They really are. You’re just going through the
second stage of the procedure. And it only 
feels
messy. And, it only looks
chaotic. The reality is you’re growing beautifully. And closing in on a whole
new grade of performing. ‘In all disorder there is a secret order,’ said famed
psychologist Carl Jung.
“So, when you’re wiring in this priceless new morning routine, the entire
structure of your brain really is in upheaval as you manufacture new neural
pathways. Your whole system really is being restructured. You’re honestly in
seriously unfamiliar territory. Sprouting green shoots. Going blue ocean.
Conquering new territories of self-potential and accessing higher universes of
human optimization. Cortisol, the fear hormone, is elevated at this time so
you’ll feel scared a lot of the time. All that’s happening within your brain is
consuming huge reserves of energy. So, you’ll be exhausted often at stage two
of habit installation. The ancient sages, seers and philosophers called such a
profound personal transformation ‘The Dark Night of the Soul.’ What was
once a caterpillar is messily—yet almost magically—becoming a butterfly.
The mystics wrote of deep and real change as a journey involving a series of
little deaths. 
The old you must die so a better you can be reborn
. The

---

Spellbinder says that ‘for you to upgrade to greatness you must undergo an
annihilation of your weakness.’ Dramatic words, I’ll admit. But the guru
speaks truthfully. In stage two, sometimes you might even feel like
everything’s falling apart. But actually, all is coming together—even better.
Your human perception is often not reality, as you’ve learned. It’s just you
seeing the world through a lens. The fact is that the illusion of safety is
always so much more deadly than your rise toward personal mastery. Stay in
stage two of the process for around twenty-two days. And just know that
unfathomable
rewards are coming.”
“I love all that you just said,” interjected the artist. “I’ll install the early-
rising ritual for the rest of my life—even if it kills me trying,” he promised to
himself.
The billionaire grew quiet.
“I’ve been through this shedding and transforming process many, many
times. Each time I go for a new habit, or greater skill, or even a more evolved
core belief, I go into this death-and-rebirth cycle. And I need to tell you that it
does feel like the end. You’ll be so scared at times, tired a lot for a while and
confused by what the dark voice of your ego will say. You’ll even feel like
you’re going crazy sometimes. That’s why so few people do this work. And
why so few reach the rare-air of epic performance and make a worldwide
impact on the culture. It’s a sport only for outright warriors. It requires
enormous courage, immense conviction and uncommon strength of character.
You have all this in you. Just resolve to apply it. As I said, with practice and
patience, it’ll all get easier. And eventually automatic.
“Okay, cats,” spoke the billionaire as he clapped his hands together like an
encouraging football coach. “I know you’re getting this beautifully. So, let’s
keep jamming. Stick with the process of new habit installation through the
breakdown of old patterns, which happens in stage one. Then continue
through the formation of new circuitry in your brain, which happens through
neuroplasticity and the manufacturing of better pathways in your emotional
core in stage two. Do that, and you’ll most certainly reach stage three, the
final part of your ascension: ‘Integration.’ Remember: all change is hard at
first, messy in the middle and