The 5 am club

Pre-Performance Blueprint
.
This is simply a written statement of your ideal day ahead. Researchers
confirm that pre-commitment strategies work beautifully to increase your
focus and discipline to get things done. You’ll have a clear and calibrated
script for your day ahead, so it unfolds the way you want it to. Of course,
nothing in business and life is perfect. Still, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t
do our best to pursue it. The heroic women and men of the world were all
perfectionists. They were 
maximizers
, immensely obsessed with being
remarkable at all they did. So, take at least ten minutes to write out your
perfect day.”
The mogul peered over at the flower shop again. He raised his left index
finger up to the Roman sky. A volcanically attractive young woman, with
high cheekbones, tortoiseshell glasses, a gray linen blouse and fashionable
trousers, stood up, holding a metal attaché case. She then sprinted up the steps
like a cheetah chasing its dinner.
“Hi, Vienna,” said the billionaire as she arrived.
“Salve, Mr. Riley,” replied the young woman respectfully. “We are
delighted to see you back in Rome. Sir, I have your items.”
The aide entered a code into the lock and the case sprung open. Inside
were three luxuriously crafted journals, bound by the most supple Italian

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leather. The billionaire handed one to the entrepreneur and one to the artist.
He lifted the last one, clutched it close to his heart and licked it. Yes, he
actually licked his journal.
“When we’re at the magical vineyards of South Africa, I’ll explain why I
just ran my tongue over my diary,” the billionaire enthused with ever-
increasing mystery.
“South Africa?” quizzed the artist loudly. “When are we going?”
“Magical vineyards?” queried the entrepreneur.
The billionaire ignored them both.
“You’re good, Vienna,” spoke the billionaire to his assistant. “Really
good. Ci vediamo dopo,” he added, as she walked down the ancient steps and
hopped onto the back of a black scooter that had been waiting for her, before
it raced away.
As the entrepreneur and the artist opened their journals, they saw a
carefully detailed framework on the first page.
“Another learning diagram for us?” asked the artist in a grateful tone.
“Si,” noted the billionaire.
“Brother, I love these models,” the artist said. “Priceless teaching tools to
make confusing concepts incredibly clear.”
“And super-relevant,” added the entrepreneur. “Clarity breeds mastery.
Right?”
“Truth,” affirmed the industrialist. “And you’re welcome, cats. But it’s
been The Spellbinder who has invested decades of his rich life creating these
frameworks to explain the philosophy and methodology of The 5 
AM
Club.
They look simple because it’s taken him his entire professional lifetime to
handcraft them. It takes long years of extreme attention and ardent isolation to
strip away the complexities of any work to reach the simplicity that sits at the
touchstone of genuine genius. It’s like when an amateur looks at a
masterpiece. It looks simple because he doesn’t comprehend the expertise of
the master in taking away all that was unnecessary. Removing the non-
essentials to produce the gem takes years of dedication. And decades of
devotion. Making things look simple to the untrained eye is the mark of a
maestro.”
The learning model in the lavish leather journals looked like this, just so
you have a clear sense of what the three companions saw on that sunny
morning in Rome:

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“Let me get to the point of these gifts my assistant brought us,” the
billionaire continued. “During the ‘reflection’ pocket of