Early to Rise…

I’ve been privileged to attend both Air Command & Staff College and the Eisenhower School where I heard dozens of very successful leaders from every walk of life speak to us: business executives, military leaders, politicians, and athletes.

There were several common themes in all of their talks, and one of the most obvious to me was that they were all early risers. Some got up very early, others merely earlier than than most. But they all got up at a regular time every day with a disciplined morning routine.

Over at Inc.com, Margaret Heffernan notes the same trend among successful leaders:

What is striking about leaders, however, is that even those who do get a decent eight hours a night are mostly early risers. Helena Morrissey, CEO of Newton Investment, gets up at 5 AM. Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone gets up at 6. Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, gets up at 5 because, he says: “Life is too exciting to sleep.”

I have also always been an early riser. I use the time in the morning for physical fitness, catching up on the day’s news, some spiritual nourishment, and a decent breakfast. That’s my routine, but I don’t think there’s a magic formula. What’s important is to get a head start on the day, so that when your team assembles the leader is ready to show the way.

How do you spend your mornings?

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