The 5 am club

#1.
 
To make a habit last, never install it alone.
#2.
The teacher learns the most.
#3.
 
When you most feel like quitting is the time you must continue
advancing.
The billionaire smiled again. “Pretty simple instructions, right?
Profoundly simple because they’re simply profound. The first point will
remind you that rituals run deepest when performed in a group. That’s why
being a member of The 5 
AM
Club is so potent. You’re not installing this
morning routine alone. We’re all in this together. And my sincere wish is that,
when you cats get home, you bring as many people as you can—people who
are ready to rise early so they can do world-class work and craft phenomenal
lives—into the club. Support groups have long been a proven way to make
improvements that last. So, leverage this concept brilliantly, please.”
The billionaire coughed. Then he rubbed his chest, as if he were in pain.
He pretended no one noticed. And advanced the dialogue.
“The second point will remind you to actually teach the philosophy and
methodology you’ve been learning from me. As you do so, your own
understanding of the material will deepen even more superbly. In many ways,
educating others on all I’ve shared will be a gift you provide to yourself.”
“I’ve never looked at it that way,” observed the entrepreneur.
“It’s truth,” informed the billionaire. “And the final line you see on this
ceiling is the most important. Remember that persistency is necessary for all
forms of mastery. In that moment you feel you can’t go further lies an
enormous opportunity to forge an entirely new level of willpower. When you
feel you can’t continue, progress a little longer. Your self-discipline muscle
will be amplified considerably. And the degree of your self-respect will
increase vastly. And few things are as essential to exponential productivity,
leading your field and the creation of a life you adore as raising the
appreciation you have for yourself.”
Stunningly and without any clue about what was coming, the billionaire
flipped over and held a headstand. With eyes closed, he recited a phrase from
Gerald Sykes, the writer and philosopher, that went like this: “Any solid
achievement must, of necessity, take years of humble apprenticeship and
estrangement from most of society.”
“You two amazing humans deserve to materialize your best selves and
realize epic achievements,” the billionaire said as he returned to earth. “Do
not betray the powers that sleep within you by staying too late in a soft bed
that keeps you sedated. The great men and women of the world became so not

---

because they lounged glamorously under the covers, but because they set
sublime ambitions that they then proceeded to 
do
—even as the majority
called them crazy. World-class takes time and commitment and sacrifice and
patience—like the Taj Mahal shows us. And heroism never occurs in a single
season. Encode the 5 
AM
habit. Stay with the process indefinitely and move
ahead when you most feel like stopping. Doing so will make you a legend.
And seal your fate as someone who is worthy of worldwide influence.”
Stone Riley then stood up. Hugged his two students. And disappeared
down a marble passageway.

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Chapter 13
The 5 
AM
 Club Learns The 20/20/20 Formula
“Early in the morning, when you are reluctant in your laziness to get up, let this thought be at hand: ‘I
am rising to do the work of a human being.’”