The 5 am club

The 3 Step Success Formula
you taught us yesterday. As I develop better daily awareness around myself
and why it is that I do what I do, I’ll make the better daily choices that will

---

give me better daily results.”
The entrepreneur was unstoppable.
“I have no clue what my authentic values are, what I want to represent as
a leader, why I’m building what I’m building, what really makes me happy
and how I want to be remembered when I’m no longer here. The story of that
CEO and the stroke of that editor really spoke to me. Life really is super-
fragile. And—now that I’m speaking so openly—I think I’ve been spending
many days chasing the wrong things. Stuck in the noise of complexity instead
of hearing the signal of those top-value pursuits in my career and in my
private life that would really make a difference. And I think about the past a
lot. What happened to me in my childhood. I also haven’t had any time for
any friendships. I have no real passions. I’ve never watched the sun rise, until
now. And I’ve never found true love,” said the entrepreneur as she anxiously
rubbed her bracelet.
The entrepreneur looked over to the artist. “Until now.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“Trillions of planets in this universe,” he pronounced, “billions of people
on our planet and I was fortunate enough to meet you.”
The entrepreneur smiled and then proceeded to respond in a gentle tone.
“I hope I never lose you.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” interjected the billionaire. “We’re all on
our paths, know what I mean? We’re all exactly where we need to be to
receive the growth lessons we’re meant to learn. And a problem will persist
until you get the education it showed up to bring. And I do agree with you
that human beings have a tragic habit of remembering the things that would
be smart to forget and forgetting the wonderful things it would be wise to
remember. Anyhoo, I do understand you. Please just trust that the highest and
wisest part of you is leading you. There are no accidents on this path to
legendary and the making of a life that matters. And, if you ask me, there’s
nothing
wrong with magnificent homes, fast cars and lots of money. I really,
really need you to hear me on that. Please. We are spiritual beings having a
human experience—as the old saying goes. Having plenty of money is what
life wants for you. Abundance is nature’s way. There’s no scarcity of flowers,
lemon trees and stars in the sky. Money allows you to do superb things for
yourself—and for the people you care most about. And it offers you the
chance to help those in need.”
A tourist waterskiing behind a speedboat zoomed by. You could hear him
laughing with glee.

---

“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” the magnate continued. “I’ve given away
most of my vast liquid fortune. Yes, I still have the jets and the Zurich flat and
this oceanside place. And though my business interests are still valued at an
amount that makes me a billionaire, I need none of it. I’m not attached to any
of this.”
“I read a story that I think you’ll like,” shared the artist. “Kurt Vonnegut,
the writer, and Joseph Heller, the author of 
Catch-22,
were at a party hosted
by a renowned financier on Long Island. Vonnegut asked his companion how
it felt to know that their host made more money in the day before the gala
than he had made from all royalties of his bestselling book. Heller replied,
‘I’ve got something he can never have.’ Vonnegut asked, ‘What on Earth
could that be, Joe?’ Heller’s reply was priceless: ‘The knowledge that I’ve got
enough.’”
“Brilliant!” enthused the billionaire. “Love it!” he shouted inappropriately
loudly as he high-fived the artist. He then performed the little dance he loved
to do when he was happy yet again before launching into a series of jumping
jacks. His eyes were closed as he did them. Such an oddball.
The artist went on talking. “Anyway, I understand what you’re teaching us
on this point about capitalization and The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. No one
will believe in our ability to do great things until we first believe in our
greatness and then put in the sincere and rigorous effort to realize it. You
know what Pablo Picasso once said?”
“Tell us, please,” implored the entrepreneur, her stance showing that she
was very open in this instant.
“Picasso announced, ‘My mother said to me, if you are a soldier, you will
become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the pope. Instead, I
was a painter. And became Picasso.’”
“Gnarly, man,” the billionaire remarked. “Now that’s faith and confidence
in one’s potential.”
The billionaire ran a fist along his tanned chin, looking down at the white
sand for a moment.
“And it’s not only our parents who are responsible for the limited
programs most people are running through their minds during the finest hours
of their greatest days. Like I suggested, many well-meaning yet unaware
teachers reinforce the idea that the heroic geniuses of the arts, sciences, sports
and humanities are ‘special’ and that we need to accept that we are ‘ordinary,’
incapable of producing towering work that leaves people breathless by its
excellence and generating a life that is matchless. And then we have the

---

association of our friends and relentless messaging of the media supporting
the same ‘facts.’ Essentially it all becomes this consistent hypnotization
where, without us even knowing it, the once-blazing fire of genius within us
grows dimmer. And the once-passionate voices of possibility get quieter. We
minimize our abilities and begin a lifelong process of playing small with our
powers and constructing prisons around our strengths. We stop behaving as
leaders, creative producers and possibilitarians. And we start acting as
victims.”
“Disappointing what happens to so many good people. And most of us
can’t see this brainwashing away from our best selves happening,” reflected
the entrepreneur.
“Yup,” responded the billionaire. “Even worse, the potential unexpressed
turns to pain, I need to emphasize.”
“What do you mean by that?” wondered the artist, turning his eyes away
and shifting his posture somewhat nervously. “Maybe I’m sabotaging creating
art as original and exceptional as the great masters did because I’ve avoided
capitalizing on my potential for so long that I’m hurting deep inside,” the
artist thought to himself.
“Well, our noblest selves know the truth: each of us are built to do
astonishing things with our human gifts and materialize astounding feats with
our productive talents. The word ‘astonish’ is actually derived from the Latin
word ‘extonare,’ which means ‘to leave someone thunderstruck.’ Every single
person alive today carries the capacity deep within their hearts—and spirits—
to do this. The more we decrease the volume of our unhealthy narrative
which, neurobiologically speaking, is a creation of our limbic system, the
more we will hear this sublime call on ourselves to rise up to the blatant
expression of our greatest genius. This is true whether you’re a supervisor
within a large organization, a programmer in a small cubicle, a teacher in a
school or a chef in a restaurant. You absolutely have the capacity to lift your
work to the level of artistry and have an impact for the betterment of
humanity. And yet we resign our lives to apathy because of this faulty
perception of who we truly are and what we can really accomplish, staying
violently stuck in half-alive lives. And here’s the really big idea: as we betray
our true power, a part of us starts to die,” noted the billionaire.
“Dramatic insight,” acknowledged the artist. “I seriously need to make
some massive changes. I’m tired of feeling tired. And neglecting my creative
abilities. I’m beginning to get that I’m special.”
“You are,” affirmed the entrepreneur. “You are,” she repeated, in a voice
of tenderness.

---

“I’m also starting to see that I care too much about what others think.
Some of my friends make fun of my paintings. And they say I’m a screwball
behind my back. I’m realizing they just don’t understand me. And my vision
for my art.”
“Many of the great geniuses of the world were not appreciated until
decades after they died, you know,” the billionaire offered, in a murmur.
“And on your point about your friends, I’m not so sure you’re surrounding
yourself with the right ones. And maybe now it’s time to do you rather than
limiting your talent and aliveness because you are seduced by the opinions of
others. Kurt Cobain said it better than I ever could: ‘I was tired of pretending
that I was someone else just to get along with people, just for the sake of
having friendships.’”
“Hmm,” was the artist’s only response.
“What I’m sharing is accurate. We become our associations. And you’ll
never have a positive influence in your field and make a beautiful life if you
hang with negative people,” continued the billionaire. “Oh—and that pain I
was just speaking of—if not attended to and released—starts to form a deep
reservoir of fear and self-hatred within us. Most of us don’t have the
awareness or possess the tools to process through this well of suppressed
anguish. Most of us are unconscious to this quiet torment created by the
disrespect we have shown to our promise. And so, we deny it if someone even
suggests it. We flee from it when presented with an opportunity to manifest it.
And we subconsciously develop a series of soul-crushing escape routes to
avoid feeling this pain generated by our talents denied.”
“Like what?” quizzed the entrepreneur.
“Addictions. Like constantly checking for messages or scanning for
‘likes.’ Or spending vast chunks of our daily lives watching too much
television. TV shows have become so superb these days, it’s so easy to get
hooked. And when one episode ends, on some viewing platforms, the next
one begins automatically. Many among us also make flights from their
greatness by chatting and gossiping endlessly, not really understanding that