The majority of my clients are leaders and entrepreneurs, and I am one too. We are in charge of managing our own energy, moods, work schedule, goals, and accomplishments. This is HARD!

For me it is critical that I start my day optimistically, and that I maintain this energy through the week. It is the only way I can serve everyone I am committed to- myself, my clients, my family, and my community. Some days this feels impossible.

But when I am in a routine that supports my inner well being, this daily "reset" informs all of my interactions for the day, and across my week. So perhaps the most important thing I do happens before 9 am in the morning.

I didn't author this article, but I found it very helpful. Credit goes to Benjamin Hardy and his thoughtful trove of articles on being your personal best. I took seriously the advice on eating protein in the morning, and have noticed how much it has helped me maintain energy and focus.

Rethinking Your Life and Getting Out of Survival Mode

It may seem like a long list. But in short, it’s really quite simple:

Wake up
Get in the zone
Get moving
Put the right food in your body
Get ready
Get inspired
Get perspective
Do something to move you forward

1. Get A Healthy 7+ Hours of Sleep

Let’s face it — Sleep is just as important as eating and drinking water. Despite this, millions of people do not sleep enough and experience insane problems as a result.

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) conducted surveys revealing that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders. Not only that, 60 percent of adults, and 69 percent of children experience one or more sleep problems a several nights per week.

Getting a healthy amount of sleep is linked to:

Increased memory
Longer life
Decreased inflammation
Increased creativity
Increased attention and focus
Decreased fat and increased muscle mass with exercise
Lower stress
Decreased risk of getting into accidents
Decreased risk of depression
And tons more… google it.

Enough said.

2. Prayer and Meditation to Increase Gratitude

Prayer and meditation help you feel gratitude for all that you have. Gratitude is having an abundance mindset. When you think abundantly, the world IS your oyster. There is limitless opportunity and possibility for you.

Gratitude may be the most important key to success. It has been called the mother of all virtues.

People are magnets. When you are grateful for what you have, you will attract more of the positive and good. If you start every morning putting yourself in a space of gratitude and clarity, you will attract the best the world has to offer.

3. Hard Physical Activity

Despite endless evidence of the need for exercise, only one-third of American men and women between the ages of 25 to 64 years engage in regular physical activity.

If you want to be among the healthy, happy, and productive people in the world, get in the habit of regular exercise, early in the day. Just get your body moving- this can be by doing chores, yard work, taking a 20 minute walk, doing a 9 minute strength workout. Lately I’ve found that doing yard work in the morning makes me feel inspired and focused all day long. I’ll work in the yard at a brisk pace to get my heart pumping and I feel better all day.

4. Consume 30 Grams of Protein

Donald Layman, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois, recommends consuming at least 30 grams of protein for breakfast. Similarly, Tim Ferriss, in his book, The 4-Hour Body, also recommends 30 grams of protein 30 minutes after waking up. According to Tim, his father did this and lost 19 pounds in one month.

Protein-rich foods keep you full longer than other foods because they take longer to leave the stomach. Also, protein keeps blood-sugar levels steady, which prevents spikes in hunger.

Eating protein first decreases your white carbohydrate cravings. These are the types of carbs that get you fat. Think bagels, toast, and donuts.

Tim makes four recommendations for getting adequate protein in the morning:

Eat at least 40% of your breakfast calories as protein.
Do it with two or three whole eggs (each egg has about 6g protein).
If you don’t like eggs, use something like turkey bacon, organic pork bacon or sausage, or cottage cheese.
Or, you could always do a protein shake with water.

For people who avoid dairy, meat, and eggs, there are several plant-based proteins. Legumes, greens, nuts, and seeds all are rich in protein.

5. Take A Cold Shower! OUCH!

Tony Robbins starts every morning by jumping into a 57-degree Fahrenheit swimming pool.

Why would he do such a thing?

Cold water immersion radically facilitates physical and mental wellness. When practiced regularly, it provides long-lasting changes to your body’s immune, lymphatic, circulatory and digestive systems that improve the quality of your life. It can also increase weight-loss because it boosts your metabolism.

A 2007 research study found that taking cold showers routinely can help treat depression symptoms often more effectively than prescription medications. That’s because cold water triggers a wave of mood-boosting neurochemicals which make you feel happy!

There is of course, an initial fear of stepping into a cold shower. Without a doubt, if you’ve tried this before, you have found yourself standing outside the shower dreading the thought of going in.

To me, it increases my willpower and boosts my creativity and inspiration. While standing with the cold water hitting my back, I practice slowing my breathing and calming down. After I’ve chilled out, I feel super happy and inspired. Lots of ideas start flowing and I become way motivated to achieve my goals.

Plus, it’s healthy to do something in the morning that kind of freaks you out! Get’s you feeling alive and sets the tone for living outside your comfort zone!

6. Listen to/Read Something Uplifting

Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning. It is common for the world’s most successful people to read at least one book per week. They are constantly learning.

I can easily get through one audiobook per week by just listening during my commute to school and while walking on campus.

Taking even 15–30 minutes every morning to read uplifting and instructive information changes you. It puts you in the zone to perform at your highest.

7. Review Your Life Vision

Your goals should be written down — short term and long term. Taking just a few minutes to read your life vision puts your day into perspective.

If you read your long term goals every day you will think about them every day. If you think about them every day, and spend your days working toward them, they’ll manifest.

Achieving goals is a science. There’s no confusion or ambiguity to it. If you follow a simple pattern, you can accomplish all of your goals, no matter how big they are.

8. Do At Least One Thing Towards Long-Term Goals

Willpower is like a muscle that depletes when it is exercised. Similarly, our ability to make high quality decisions becomes fatigued over time. The more decisions you make, the lower quality they become — the weaker your willpower.

Consequently, you need to do the hard stuff first thing in the morning. The important stuff.

If you don’t, it simply will not get done. By the end of your day, you’ll be exhausted. You’ll be fried. There will be a million reasons to just start tomorrow. And you will start tomorrow — which is never.

So your mantra becomes: The worst comes first. Do that thing you’ve been needing to do. Then do it again tomorrow.

If you take just one step toward you big goals every day, you’ll realize those goals weren’t really far away.

Conclusion

After you’ve done this, no matter what you have for the rest of your day, you’ll have done the important stuff first. You’ll have put yourself in a place to succeed. You’ll have inched toward your dreams.

Because you’ll have done all these things, you’ll show up better in life. You’ll be better at your job. You’ll be better in your relationships. You’ll be happier. You’ll be more confident. You’ll be more bold and daring. You’ll have more clarity and vision.