doyourules w/Cliché Jeff

Embracing the Dawn: The Revolutionary Impact of a 4 AM Awakening

• Jeff • Season 2 • Episode 13

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Imagine reshaping your life with the simple act of rising before the sun. That's what I did, and I can't wait to share how this single decision has carved out a path to astonishing personal growth and focus. The peace found in the predawn hours has become my sanctuary for meditation, reading, and exercise, setting an energized and purposeful tone for the entire day ahead. For those audacious enough to join me, I've packed this episode with firsthand insights and actionable advice to harness the magic of a 4 AM start. 

Weave through the narrative of transforming the darkest hours into a time of powerful self-discovery and spirituality. While there are sacrifices, like bidding farewell to late-night social scenes, the gains are immeasurable—picture an extra month per year for just you and your ambitions. I'll guide you through the steps to craft a morning routine that's as much about productivity as it is about personal development. Together, let's redefine what it means to live a life rich in spirit and purpose, and discover how changing the alarm clock can change everything.

Speaker 1:

believe it or not, if this message is reaching you today, the decision that got me here started about a thousand days ago. A thousand days for one seemingly outrageous and radical decision that goes against the common grain, that defies social logic, inspired during a moment of vulnerability, a moment of pain and a moment of anxiety that came with the realization that I was failing myself, I was failing my family and failing God because, like you, I could be better and I deserve more period. And that's the main message for today. Not necessarily waking up at 4 am, although that will be the driving force and factor. That's your one decision, one decision away, and maybe possibly it's 4 am wake up, but your one seemingly simple decision away from forever altering the reality of your life. So let me get into the power of 4 am wake-ups, the good, the bad, the ugly, and I'll share some tips in my personal morning routine to hopefully add context and brevity. And I'll start with the power of the good, because all eventual bad or ugly needs a mask of positivity first. And I'll go with what I believe is the greatest gift of all and that is the gift of time. Let's go with the math, because math is data and helps contextualize. So, using the assumption and the math that today you wake up at about 6 am because that's what is needed to maintain your life and your priorities, so at 6 am, switching to a 4 am wake up equates to two extra hours a day. And let's say, on average, you wake up at 4 am for six days a week. Over the course of six days, two extra hours turns into 12 hours Over the course of 12 days, which is roughly two weeks, that's 24 hours Over the course of four weeks. We're calling it a month, that's 48 hours, which is two full days. Two full days per month. Now, over the course of the year, which is 52 weeks, that's 26 full days, or roughly a month extra for just you, imagine all that you can do with an extra month, just about four weeks, 24 full or 26 full days, which is 624 hours of dedicated you time that, ultimately, is dedicated to your growth. However you decide to define your growth path Because, let's face it, no one is committing to 4 am wake-ups to scroll away their time or binge watch TV. You likely already do that during your evening downtime. But I digress. And for those of you waking up at 6 am or after6 am, I should say. The math is even crazier, which is super dope For me. I used to wake up at 7.30. The math is even crazier, which is super dope For me. I used to wake up at 7.30. So there's that.

Speaker 1:

And that leads us straight into the good and powerful impacts of choosing to wake up at 4 am. Firstly, it's the most positively selfish thing you can do for yourself. Whether you are in a committed relationship and have 19 kids, single, or whatever your inclusive social lifestyle is, waking up at 4 am is a hundred percent uninterrupted, non-distracted focus time for you and whatever you want to do. No one to judge, criticize or stop you from doing anything you choose to focus on. It is the ultimate free time you with, just you, me, me, me. And that's powerful for all the right reasons, because we need some of that. And that leads into the second point, which is greater, deeper and more meaningful self-discovery. And I know, as you're watching this, it's likely you believe you already know yourself deeply and I'm not taking away that fact from you. You might, you know you, but waking up at this time is an absolute challenge and anything challenging forces you to dig a bit deeper and discover in greater detail who you are and, most likely and even more importantly, who you are not, and that is crucial for the evolution of your life and whatever dreams and goals you want to chase for yourself, which leads me to a third point. And whatever dreams and goals you want to chase for yourself which leads me to a third point you become more routined and predictable, which is super powerful and helpful for your mindset and your flow state.

Speaker 1:

In order to wake up at four, you have to have a clear plan, and I'll share mine with you later, so I'm actually recording this. It's about five o'clock, 5 am, but as far as the routine and predictability, this is quite literally from what you are wearing in the morning to what you intend to do as soon as you wake up. It's essentially an agenda that will carry you into the rest of the day, which ironically, allows you to not overthink as much, particularly about the obvious things. That should be easy and stress-free, which essentially turns us into a meditative flow state, because you're not distracted. You become immersed in deep, creative thought, in deep and in a higher elevated state of mind and being and your consciousness will love being in this mode and create elevated emotions and moods. This is super great gratification in taking the time to work on yourself, which absolutely means and leads to a fulfilling process for mind, body and spirit. Which takes me to point four.

Speaker 1:

Spiritually, it is said that the veil between realms is thinnest between the hours of 3 to 5 am. It is also said that those called to protect and heal are summoned by God to do work at this time. So this is an excellent and ideal time to pray, meditate or positively impact the collective spirit of consciousness by just being up, happy and productive. We're all connected and the more you positively contribute to universal energy, the more you will be rewarded. And finally, energy, the more you will be rewarded. And finally, your circadian rhythm will be on a thousand, meaning this routine will enhance your sleep patterns because you'll just about be falling asleep on demand, like 9 pm lights out, quite literally, you hit the bed, you're done, you're out, thereby invoking REM sleep faster, which is super restorative for your body and overall functionality as a human being. The logic is simple Once this becomes a habit, your conscious mind will know it needs to rest even more efficiently in order to maintain proper rhythm. So we'll predictably and again efficiently start the shutdown process for your body to ensure maximized sleep health.

Speaker 1:

Sexy, isn't it? Ooh, baby. All right, that's the good. You're hyped, you're ready to go Four o'clock starting tomorrow. Let's get to the ugly, the bad and the hard truth to this habit. So I ended with the power of sleep and circadian rhythm. And if it wasn't clear, just forget about staying up past nine o'clock. And there's going to be days where 7, 7, 730, you're just like yo, I'm taking my ass to sleep, I'm fucking exhausted. And this is by far where the biggest drawbacks are seen.

Speaker 1:

And here's why Say goodbye to sleeping in on the weekends. Why, if you break cycle during the weekends, you'll break cycle during the week. So that means say goodbye to late night, friday and Saturday nights. Not saying an occasional date night or a night to get shit face hammered is totally out of the question, but it's quite literally like every blue moon. Otherwise, it puts your 4 am routine at risk, which puts your time with self at risk, which puts your elevated, maximized version of life at risk. Simply stated, the math for sleep will win out every time you need at least seven hours. So let's continue to scale this out, because this is everything about why you will fail at this if you have to commit to sleeping by nine. Also, forget about late night sports, late night Netflix or binge watching video games, texting with the homies, drinking, smoking, smoking any other super addictive and great feeling brain altering activities. If you can't commit to breaking those, then again you'll lose the math game. Sleep wins out every time. You can't have it both ways.

Speaker 1:

Now here is the emotional danger, which is really real, and this leads to somewhat of what I would call an isolated feeling of existence. You're socializing a lot less, you're available to your circle a lot less, you're no longer aligned with the standard social sheep and rat race structure. And while you deeply crave this change because you know it's the only way out and the only way to make progress and the only way you can build a scalable structure for success, this is a real pull and awfully difficult to process, especially as you build momentum past the honeymoon phase. And think of it like that as far as honeymoon phase, when you first start, just like the beginning of any relationship, that initial excitement it wears off and you've made the gains, but the gains slow down because that's just how true progress works. In the world of marketing influence, they'll call this crossing the chasm.

Speaker 1:

When it gets more boring and mundane and you feel isolated and you're closed off to the instant stimuli, that little voice in your head will start to force you to question yourself. The proverbial devil on your shoulder will get louder. Everything in your mind, body and spirit will begin offering alternate, less painful options and will almost be begging you to tap out. This is the tipping point and newsflash. This happens over and over and over as you reach milestones and the gap between milestones feels longer. If you think of it like climbing a mountain, you get to the top and you look out, there's a more higher mountain, and another one, and another one, and another one, because growth and progress in life is limitless.

Speaker 1:

This isn't a video game with a final boss the rock to nirvana. This really is a lifestyle that only stops when you die. So this again is really real. So prepare yourself for it. It's always hard, no matter how long you do it. There will be days when you ask yourself why and you start trying to convince yourself again. Just get back into bed, but don't give in. All right. That leads me to some tips to help structure your morning and avoid making this harder than it has to be.

Speaker 1:

Number one again 9 pm bedtime. You need at least seven hours. I can't say it enough. Two avoid your phone at all costs. There's nothing good there for you and the light stimulant no bueno for your consciousness. Number three drink at least two cups of water before any caffeine. I personally avoid caffeine for about the first hour.

Speaker 1:

Number four average six days a week and take a rest day on average once per week, but not the weekend. Here's another caveat when you take your rest day, don't sleep over eight hours. So if you go to bed at like 10 o'clock, wake up at six. Don't go over eight. If you oversleep, you risk throwing off your nighttime routine, not good. Number five do some research on non-sleep deep rest, nsdr. Find a way to take a nap, basically during the day, but no longer than 30 minutes. This is essentially a meditative process where you close your eyes and relax, almost falling asleep, which will give you a serious energy boost when it's done right. And even if you don't fall asleep, set a 30-minute timer, find a chair, close your eyes and just chill. This is not screen time. So avoid your phone, all right, cool, we got the good. Bad and ugly. We got some tips.

Speaker 1:

Here is my routine for better or worse. At this point, I'm usually up a little before 4 o'clock like clockwork. Yes, I use the bathroom. It sounds a bit silly but important, because trying to do anything else before you relieve yourself is not wise. I get dressed as I have my workout gear already hung up and ready to go. I meditate and pray to 4.30, and I head downstairs and drink about a half gallon of water and I take my pre-workout drink. I read for 30 minutes and I do cardio for 30 minutes, which puts me at about 5.30, and I lift until about 7. Get my babies ready for school, shit shower and shave, as they would say in the military, and then I'm ready to work my 9 to 5.

Speaker 1:

Now, as a reminder, you can make the adjustments necessary to complement your lifestyle. If you need to cut off activities by 6 am or whenever it's beneficial for you to get to the rest of the day, do just that, adjust and tailor it to your needs. Just keep in mind and I'll close with this all right, we get caught up in what I said earlier and referred to as the sheep and rat race for our promoted culture in life, and I'm not intending to knock it. If you want to stay there, cool, it's perfectly fine by me, but if you find yourself struggling to find time, right, I don't have time, I don't have time, I don't have time. There's truth to that. So, therefore, you need to make time, and I read something that said most of us and this was rather recent, most of us watch TV at night, and about 70 to 80% of what we watch we don't truly care about.

Speaker 1:

But here's what I truly want to end with. This is a lifestyle thing we're talking about, and if you don't want to look to make time to better yourself, to grow spiritually, emotionally, physically and truly focus on yourself, then consider all you could do by making this adjustment. For me, it made me feel better about myself, which, of course, leads to me chasing a dream and being here with you today, but, more importantly, has made me feel better about being the best possible person I can be for the people around me who I love the most. When you make time to grow yourself, it's akin to taking time to love yourself, and bringing the most loved you to the forefront is the greatest gift God has for you. Change your mind, change your life. I am who I say I am, stay rich.