The 5 am club

The
Heroic Human Circle
.
Here’s what it looked like:
“These are the virtues each of us must aspire to, to become world-
changers and heroes for the benefit of a better society,” said The Spellbinder,
his voice filled this morning with hints of both melancholy and immense
strength.
“Leadership is for everyone. Each of us, no matter where we live, what
we do, what’s happened to us in the past and what we’re experiencing right
now, must release the shackles of blame, chains of hate, leg irons of apathy
and prison bars of ordinary that keep us in slavery to the dark forces of our
lowest nature. Every one of us must rise each morning—yes, at 5
AM—
and do
everything we can possibly do to unfold our genius, develop our talents,

---

deepen our character and escalate our spirits. Each of us must do this, across
our world.”
The Spellbinder began to cry as he went on. “We all must break free from
our private jails that incarcerate our glory and keep our nobility in bondage.
Please remember that gifts and talents neglected become curses and sorrows.”
The Spellbinder paused.
“It’s your time,” he stated, looking directly into the eyes of the
entrepreneur and the artist.
The 
Heroic Human Circle
framework had been placed on the small table
in the chamber that sat under the window with bars. The Spellbinder dragged
it to the center of the space, so it became the focus in the prison cell, on that
very special day.
The Spellbinder then asked the billionaire, the entrepreneur, the artist and
the tour guide to crowd around the diagram. They held one another’s hands.
“Yes, no matter what struggles we face and what adversities we will
endure. No matter what attacks, humiliation and violence are visited on us.
We must persist. We must continue. We must stay strong. We must live our
luminous nature. And magnify our sovereign selves. Even if it feels the whole
world is against us. This is truly what makes us human beings. Even if it
seems the light will never transcend the darkness, keep making 
your
walk to
freedom. Model what’s highest for the rest of us. Exemplify grace, for the
majority of us. Demonstrate actual 
love
, for all of us.
“Now is your moment,” said The Spellbinder, raising a hand and placing
it on the arm of the artist. He gently rested the other one on the shoulder of
the entrepreneur.
A quiet smile stretched across his face. He looked poised. And serene.
“Time for what?” wondered the artist.
“To start your pilgrimage,” was the simple reply.
“To where?” asked the entrepreneur, looking a little confused.
“To a territory called Legacy,” indicated The Spellbinder. “A lot of people
are tourists at this place. For fleeting minutes of their precious mornings, they
think about the body of work they’ve built and what it is that they’ll leave
behind, once they die. For brief intervals, before they get distracted, they
reflect on the quality of their productivity, the degree of their decency and the
depth of their impact. For mere short stints, before the bustle of being busy
consumes them again, they pause to contemplate how beautifully they’ve
lived and how helpful they were. They are mere visitors to this realm.”

---

Mr. Riley lifted his arms high as he listened to his mentor’s words. “I love
my life. I will become an even better leader. I will make an even greater
contribution. And I’ll upgrade into a much more inspirational human being,”
he whispered, mostly to himself.
“The distinguished heroes of humankind,” resumed The Spellbinder,
“were citizens and lifetime inhabitants of this Territory of Legacy. It was their
homeland. And this is what ultimately made them legendary. The mighty
mission they constructed their lives around was to exist for a cause that was
larger than themselves. So, when they died, they left our world brighter than
they found it.”
“We all come with an expiration date,” added the billionaire. “None of us
knows how long we get to live.”
“True,” agreed the entrepreneur.
“Today,” The Spellbinder declared, “and this very moment, deserves and
demands your commitment to become sublimely creative, pristinely
productive, decadently decent and of service to many. Please stop postponing
your mastery. No longer resist your primal power. Refrain from allowing the
shadow forces of fear, rejection, doubt and disappointment to dim the light of
your most luminous self. This