The 5 am club

The 20/20/20 Formula
is such a game-changer,
75% of HGH production happens when you sleep! And here’s the real key: to
maximize the process of the brain being washed properly and HGH being
produced excellently so you expand your creativity, productivity, vitality and
longevity, you need five complete ninety-minute sleep cycles. That’s what the
scientific studies are now confirming. That’s seven and a half hours of sleep
each night. You also should know that research proves that it’s not only sleep-
deprivation that kills. Over-sleep, nine or more hours, also has been shown to
shorten life.”
“Do you have a learning model for us that explains all this, so our
awareness gets super-clear and calibrated versus vague and lame?” asked the

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artist.
“Good job, Stone. You taught them 
The 3 Step Success Formula,
”
applauded The Spellbinder.
The billionaire, still near to the dirty floor of the crypt, nodded. Then he
burped.
“Yes, I do have a framework for you,” confirmed The Spellbinder. “I’ve
deconstructed my own evening routine that has helped me consistently sleep
wonderfully over all these years.”
The Spellbinder then pulled out a flashlight that had been hidden in his
robe. He unscrewed the top portion, revealing a secret compartment in the
tube. From it, he extracted two thin scrolls, handing one to the entrepreneur
and the other to the artist.
The following diagram appeared on each scroll:
“I don’t know how to thank you,” the entrepreneur said. “Both of you,”
she indicated, looking over to the billionaire, who was now doing sit-ups in

---

the candlelight while whispering, “Great fortune and weighty wisdom keep
coming my way. I’m always a leader, never a victim. A lion, not a sheep. I
love my life and am making it even better every day. And the more people I
help, the more happy I am.”
“I second my beloved’s gratitude,” commented the artist. He reached over
and lovingly stroked the entrepreneur’s hair.
“If the world knew and applied the philosophies and methodologies of
The 5 
AM
Club, every human being alive would transform,” the entrepreneur
reinforced. “And I now get that awakening with the sun isn’t at all about
getting by on less sleep. It’s more the old ‘early to bed, early to rise’ point.”
“And as each of us does our part to make our personal revolutions, every
relationship in our life—from the one we have with our craft to the
connections we share with each other—improves with us,” offered the artist.
“Sort of like Mahatma Gandhi’s words ‘Be the change you wish to see in
the world,’” added the entrepreneur, her face glowing in the soft light of the
candle as she rubbed her new ring. “I read a little about his life before I went
to sleep last night.”
“With all due respect,” pronounced The Spellbinder compassionately,
“Mahatma Gandhi’s actual words have been adjusted over the years, to
become a sound bite that suits a culture experiencing a collective deficit of
attention.”
“What he actually said,” interrupted the billionaire, “was, ‘If we could
change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man
changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change toward him.
We need not wait to see what others do.’”
“Awesome job, Stone,” remarked The Spellbinder, smiling. “But I do
appreciate your larger point,” he said kindly to the entrepreneur. “And, of
course, you’re right. My personal ask of both of you is that you’ll share as
many of the principles and mental models as you can with as many people as
possible. Because, yes, if every business leader, commercial worker, scientist,
artist, architect, political influencer, sports performer, teacher, mother,
firefighter, father, taxi driver, daughter and son simply installed the morning
routine and nightly ritual we’ve shared with you, 
we’d have a whole new
world
. A lot less sadness, rudeness, mediocrity and hate. And so much more
creativity, beauty, peacefulness and love.
“And now, I need to leave,” announced The Spellbinder. “See you tonight
at dinner, Stone. Cacio e pepe’s on the menu, right?”
“Of course,” replied the billionaire as he stood up. He began to cough

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again and appeared unsteady for a moment. His left hand trembled. A leg
wobbled.
The Spellbinder quickly looked away.
“I need to go,” was all he said before dissolving into the darkness of the
tomb.
The three who remained made their way out of the crypt, back up the
stairs and into the blinding Roman sunlight.
The billionaire started his scooter and waved for his guests to follow.
They ventured down a maze of narrow streets, past an antiquated aqueduct
and back through city walls. Soon they were navigating the congested streets
of the historical center and traveling down Via dei Condotti.
After parking their scooters, the entrepreneur and the artist followed the
billionaire up the Spanish Steps.
“Well,” he declared. “This brings us full circle to where we began this
morning’s mentoring session at 5 AM. Before I let you cats go for today, I
have one last super-gnarly model for you two. The Spellbinder taught it to me
when I was much younger, and it proved itself to be priceless. I know it’ll
wrap up this morning’s teachings with a very neat bow.”
The billionaire clapped his hands with a thunderous 
whap
. A whirring
noise could be heard in the distance, emanating from Villa Borghese. Soon,
the sound grew louder. And closer.
An object hovered above the heads of the billionaire, the entrepreneur and
the artist. Tourists sitting on the Spanish Steps, sipping espresso and eating
gelato, turned their eyes toward the heavens, trying to figure out what was
going on. You would have enjoyed being there, at that fabulous moment.
“Mamma mia,” cried an elderly woman in a free-flowing flowery dress.
She was holding a baby in one arm and a bouquet of glamorously colored
tulips in the other. “It’s a drone!” yelled a teenage boy sporting a snapback
cap, a denim jacket with “Doubt Is Not an Option” stitched into the back of it
and ripped jeans with humongous holes at the knees. For some unknown
reason, he was barefoot.
The billionaire began to expertly pilot the little aircraft to a precise
landing as smooth as the surface of a lake on a sweltering summer afternoon.
He winked at his two students. “Still got the gift,” he beamed.
The drone carried a wooden box that, when opened, contained a thin sheet
of glass with a learning model on it. Here’s what the diagram on the glass
looked like:

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“I thought you guys would find this very detailed step-by-step game plan
for an amazing day valuable. Of course, this is just one possible way to carve
it out. You’ll notice the evening regime is a little different from The
Spellbinder’s. As usual, how you apply all these tactics we’ve shared is
completely up to you. It’s your life—live it as you choose. And yet, this