The 5 am club

Dedication and discipline beats brilliance and giftedness every day of
the week
. And A-Players don’t get lucky. They make lucky. Each time you
resist a temptation and pursue an optimization you invigorate your heroism.
Every instant you do that which you know to be right over the thing that you
feel would be easy, you facilitate your entry into the hall of fame of epic
achievers.”
The billionaire stared at a gigantic seagull clutching its slimy breakfast.
He then released a loud burp. “Oops. So sorry,” he spoke in the tone of
apology.
“As I mentioned earlier, a lot of the latest research emerging on successful
people is confirming that our private story about our potential is the key
performance indicator on whether we actually exploit that potential.”
“What do you mean?” requested the entrepreneur as she stopped taking
notes on her device to look into the eyes of the billionaire, who had now put
on a tight t-shirt that read, “Victims have big TVs. Leaders own large
libraries.”
“Well, if you’re running a mental narrative that says that you don’t have
what it takes to be a superb leader in business or an acclaimed expert of your
craft, then you won’t even start the adventure of getting there, will you? 
And
world-class is a process, not an
event
. Running a limiting psychological
program that says ‘everyday people can’t become great’ or ‘genius is born,
not developed’ will cause you to think it would be a complete waste of time to
do the studying, put in the practice hours and prioritize your days around your
heartfelt desires. What would be the point of investing all that labor, vigor and
time and making all those sacrifices when virtuoso-level results are
impossible for someone like you, under your belief system? And then,
because your daily behavior is always a function of your deepest beliefs, that
very perception of your inability to realize victory becomes real,” noted the
billionaire. “Human beings are hardwired to act in alignment with our self-
identity, always. You’ll never rise higher than your personal story. Important

---

insight there.”
He then peered out into the ocean at a small fishing boat with a net strewn
across the end of it. A fisherman in a red shirt was smoking a cigarette as he
navigated the vessel away from some dangerous coral reef. The billionaire
mumbled another mantra to himself.
“I am grateful. And I am forgiving. I am giving. My life is beautiful,
creative, productive, prosperous and magical.”
Then he continued the discussion around capitalization.
“The positive psychologists call the way we embrace a story about who
we are and what we can achieve and then behave in a way that makes that
fantasy actually come true ‘The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.’ We subconciously
adopt a thinking pattern by learning it from the people who most influence us
at an early age. Our parents, our teachers and our friends. Then we act
according to it. And since what we do creates the results we see, this
generally faulty personal story becomes a reality of our very own causing.
Amazing, right? But that’s how most of us operate through the best years of
our lives. The world is a mirror. And we get from life not what we want, but
that which we are.”
“And I guess that the more we accept that core belief about our inability
to produce excellent results in whatever it is we hope to do, the more we not
only reinforce it so it becomes a trusted conviction but we also deepen the
behavior that’s associated with it so it becomes a daily habit,” recited the
artist, sounding professorish instead of bohemian in the pure morning air.
“Wonderfully said!” replied the billionaire excitedly. “I love the ‘trusted
conviction’ idea. That’s good. You should share that phrase with The
Spellbinder if you see him today. I think he’s out fishing but, knowing him,
he’ll be getting some sun here on this beach later in the morning.”
The billionaire continued. “Every human being has an instinct for
greatness, a hunger for the heroic and a psychic need to rise toward the
heavens of their finest capability, whether we remember this consciously or
not. A lot of us have been minimized and pushed down so much by the dark
and toxic influences around us we’ve forgotten all we truly are. We’ve
become masters of compromise, slowly and steadily allowing in more aspects
of mediocrity until a point arrives where it’s our standard operating system.
Real leaders never negotiate their standards. They know there’s always room
to improve. They understand that we are most connected to our sovereign
nature when we are reaching for our best. Alexander the Great once said: ‘I
am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of
sheep led by a lion.’”

---

The billionaire inhaled audibly. A butterfly fluttered by. And a crab
scampered past him.
“I’m here to remind you,” he carried on, “that each one of us holds a
profound capacity for leadership within us. And as you now know, I’m not
speaking of leadership in the sense of having a title, a lofty position or
needing some formal authority. What I’m referring to is so much more
weighty and exquisite than that. It’s the 
true
power inside a human heart
versus the transitory power delivered by a big office, a fast car and a large
bank balance. What I’m speaking of is the potency to do work that is so great
we just can’t take our eyes off you. The capability to create massive value in
your marketplace. The capacity to impact—and disrupt—an entire industry.
And the power to live with honor, nobility, audacity and integrity. So that you
fulfill your opportunity to make history, in your own original way. Doesn’t
matter if you’re a CEO or a janitor. A billionaire or a ditch digger. A movie
star or a student. If you are alive today, you have the ability to lead without a
title and make your mark on the world, even if you don’t currently believe
you can due to the limits of your current perception. Your perception isn’t
reality. It just isn’t. It’s just your current perception on reality, kindly
remember that. It’s simply the lens you happen to be looking at reality
through at this moment of your ascent toward world-class. Makes me think of
the words of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who wrote, ‘Most
people take the limits of their vision to be the limits of the world. A few do
not. Join them.’”
“So, there’s a large difference between reality and our perception of
reality, right?” inquired the entrepreneur. “It seems from what you’re saying
that it’s almost as if we see the world through a filter that’s made up of all our
personal programming. And we run the program so much we get brainwashed
into believing that the way we are seeing the world is real, right? You’ve got
me rethinking the way I see everything now,” she admitted as the skin on her
forehead scrunched together like a rose contracting in the cold.
“I’m beginning to question so much,” she went on. “Why I started my
business in the first place. Why social status is so important to me. Why I
have such urges to eat in the sleekest restaurants, live in the best
neighborhoods and drive the most stylish cars. I think part of the reason I’ve
been so crushed by the takeover attempt at my company is because I get my
identity as a human being from being the founder. Honestly, I’ve been so busy
driving my career, I haven’t stopped for gas in terms of really thinking things
through—and living intentionally. And it’s like