There are morning people who are most alert and awake early in the day. They wake up and say, “Good morning, Lord.” 

Then there are evening people who are most alert and awake late in the day. They wake up and say, “Good Lord, it’s morning.” Then there are some people who are just plain tired most of the day.

For those of you are are morning people, or who would like to become morning people, this is primarily for you!

I recently read a book called “The 5am Club.” Here is a link to my Book Note on it:

 5am Club.

Author Robin Sharma is of the opinion that the 1st hour of the day is the most important hour of your day. The key is to do a few things early in the day to invest in yourself, before beginning your work. 

Having lived almost 83 years and having coached around 400 leaders over the last 17 years, I have come to the conclusion that in order to have a good start to the day (whether its 5a 6a or 7a), one of the keys is getting to bed early enough so you get the sleep (7-9 hours recommended for adults) you need. Going to bed too late does not bode well in trying to get up early and do a few things before you begin your work day. 

Robin suggests we invest the first hour (could be the first 90 minutes or 2 hours) in three things:

• Sweat
• Reflect
• Grow

SWEAT

Have some vigorous exercise to get the body moving and the chemicals flowing. We all have read and heard about the value of this, but many leaders deem themselves too busy to exercise regularly.  Lack of exercise coupled with lack of sleep and poor eating habits are a recipe for disaster, to which many leaders can attest. Pick something which works for you (walking, running, biking, swimming,  working out at the gym)  and, by His grace, be consistent and faithful. If you have an exercise buddy, that can help a great deal.

REFLECT

For a Christian leader this is where some of the spiritual disciplines come in. Time in the Bible, time in prayer, time in worship. Time in the Bible can include:  Bible study, memorization, meditation and journaling. I highly recommend more than just reading for retention and transformation. I love Hosea 6:3 NLT, “Oh, that we may know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

It takes effort to grow as a Christian leader. Dallas Willard said, “God and grace are not opposed to effort, but to earning.” 

GROW

Here is where we spend time focusing on our current employment responsibilities: Keeping up-to-date with what’s going on in our industry by reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos, thinking, planning; all which will improve our effectiveness and develop needed skillsets to be the best we can be at what we do.

It’s been my observation that many leaders stay up too late, get too little sleep and start the day already tired. After getting cleaned up, grabbing a quick breakfast and the needed coffee, they then plow into their work day; at times feeling they’re already behind the proverbial 8-ball. Their phone is alive with emails, texts and calls; especially if they connect across time zones in their work. 

Needless to say it takes lots of grace and personal discipline to consistently get to bed at a decent hour and start the day right by investing in yourself, before investing in your work. Hard, but well worth it from my experience. 

Are you ready to make some changes to be the best leader you can be for His glory and His honor?