My Miracle Morning

Those that know me well, know that I was NEVER A MORNING PERSON! In fact, one of the reasons I wanted to be a business owner was so that I could create my own schedule and wake up whenever I wanted to. Unless it was an emergency my family knew to NEVER CALL ME before 9AM or else I would RIP THEIR HEAD OFF for waking me up before my alarm! I admit I was not a very nice person in the morning. And it was because I truly HATED MORNINGS!

Can you relate?

In 2015 my friend Stephanie gave me a book for my birthday that completely CHANGED MY LIFE! Because of this book I was able to increase my daily productivity, have more energy, and feel really good!

How did a book help me do that? It helped me become someone that I wasn’t... a MORNING PERSON!

Benefits you can expect to gain from The Miracle Morning:

(Author's claims)

• Wake up every day with more energy.

• Lower stress levels

• Overcome challenges that have been holding you back

• Improve your health

• Increase your productivity

• Experience more gratitude

• Increase your ability to earn more wealth

• Uncover and begin loving your life purpose

• Stop settling for less and start living in alignment for the most extraordinary life you can imagine

"How you wake up each day and your morning routine (or lack thereof) dramatically affects your levels of success in every single area of your life.”- Hal Elrod

"By simply changing the way you wake up in the morning, you can transform any area of your life." -Hal Elrod

Hal says we should treat each morning as if it's Christmas or the morning on which we’re leaving for a vacation. The excitement that we feel on those days is what motivates us to get up early and feel good about it. So before you go to bed at night, think about something you have to look forward to the next morning and that will help motivate you to wake up. If you don’t have anything to look forward to the next day, think of something! Anything that makes you smile even if it's eating something yummy for breakfast.

Here is Hal’s 5 step snooze proof wake up strategy:

1. Set your intentions before you go to bed.

Say Bedtime affirmations. (It's Christmas tomorrow!, I’m going to Hawaii!, I have chocolate muffins to eat in the morning! I get to_________)

1. Move your alarm clock across the room.

1. Brush your teeth.

1. Drink a full glass of water.

1. Get dressed or jump in the shower.

Then once you’re out of bed, Hal teaches about an acronym he calls S.A.V.E.R.S. This is the morning routine that turned me into a morning person!

The miracle morning sample schedule:

Silence (5 mins)

Affirmations (5 mins)

Visualization (5 mins)

Exercise (20 mins)

Reading (20 mins)

Scribing (5 mins)

Total time 60 minutes

S.A.V.E.R.S

S is for Silence. “Silence is the best way to immediately reduce stress while increasing your self-awareness, and gaining clarity will allow you to maintain focus on your goals, priorities, and what's most important in your life, each and every day.” Hal Elrod

• Prayer

• Mediation

• Deep breathing

• Reflection

• Gratitude

I start every morning with gratitude prayers. I thank God for the day and then I start listing all of the things that I’m grateful for in the morning. “Thank you for this comfy couch I’m sitting on, and for the sweetest little dog sitting on my lap....” I also take deep breaths and try to “hear my thoughts” a way I’ve found that will silence my thoughts for a few seconds. (a technique I learned from another great book called The Power Of Now by Elkhart Tolle)

A is for Affirmations. Affirmations are one of the most effective tools for quickly becoming the person you need to be to achieve everything you want in your life.

"Constant repetition of an affirmation will lead to acceptance by the mind, and result in changes in your thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that want and need to succeed." Hal Elrod

Here are a few of my own daily Affirmations:

• "Something amazing is going to happen to me today!"

• "I am financially free."

• "I am a morning person."

• "I love to work out!"

• "I can achieve anything that I can believe."

• "I will fulfill my mission statement."

• "I am a money magnet."

"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. Once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen."-Muhammad Ali

"Whether you think you can, or you can't, you're right either way." Henry Ford

"It took me years to realize that affirmations were one of the most powerful tools for transforming your life." Hal Elrod

V is for Visualization. “Visualization is the process of imagining exactly what you want to achieve or attain, and then mentally rehearsing what you'll need to do to achieve or attain it.” Hal Elrod

A famous example is Jim Carey, who wrote himself a check in 1987 in the amount of 10 million dollars. He dated it for Thanksgiving 1995 and added in the memo line, "For acting services rendered." He then visualized it for years and in 1994 he was paid 10 million dollars for his starring role in Dumb and Dumber.

Here are ways that I Visualize:

1. Look at my vision board.

2. Look at my vision book.

3. I close my eyes and think about what it is I want and I try to feel as if I already have it or it already is happening.

“Keep in mind that, although creating a vision board is fun, nothing changes in your life without action.” Hal Elrod

Use these visualization techniques to increase your motivation and stay focused on what you really want in life. I’ve been practicing these techniques for over 10 years and I swear IT WORKS!

E is for exercise. “When you exercise for even a few minutes every morning I significantly boost your energy, enhances your health, improves self-confidence and emotional well-being, and enables you to think better and concentrate longer.” Hal Elrod

Exercises you can do at home:

• Yoga (stretching and breathing)

• Push ups

• Sit ups

• Leg lifts

• Squats

• Jumping jacks

Try creating something like this

• 10 jumping jacks

• 10 squats

• 10 push ups (knees or no knees)

• 10 sit ups/ crunches

• 10 leg lifts

Repeat

Then stretch/ yoga

Here is my yoga routine:

• Child's Pose

• Cat/ Cow

• Downward Dog

• Forward Fold

• Mountain Pose

• Warrior 1

• Warrior 2

• Triangle Pose

Come up and bring your arms and feet together

• Mountain Pose

R is for Reading. “Whatever you want for your life, there are countless books on how to get it. The key is to learn from the experts- those who have already done what you want to do. Don't reinvent the wheel. The fastest way to achieve everything you want is to model successful people who have already achieved it.” Hal Elrod

Personally I love reading all kinds of books. I usually read a couple of books at a time. One book for personal or spiritual development and one just for fun and entertainment.

Reading something positive and inspirational in the morning sets the tone for the whole day! I love to read books for fun at night. They help enhance my creativity the next day!

"A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read." Mark Twain

Here are some of my favorite reads that are both inspirational and fun:

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

• The 5 People You Meet In Heaven by Mich Albom

• The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews

S is for Scribing. “Scribing is really just another word for writing.The scribing element of the Miracle Morning enables you to document your insights, ideas, breakthroughs, realizations, successes, and lessons learned, as well as any areas of opportunity, personal growth, or improvement.” Hal Elrod

Benefits to daily journaling

• Gain clarity

• Capture ideas

• Review lessons

• Acknowledge your progress

For me, this is the one that I struggle with the most because I am a perfectionist and judge my spelling errors and my horrible hand writing. (It’s so bad I sometimes can’t even read what I wrote) What helps me write is to type on a word doc on my phone. I also use this time to create a daily To Do list.

Ok, I know what you are thinking right about now….

“That all sounds great, but I don’t have time for all of that in the morning!”

I completely get it! There are some mornings when I have to leave my house at 6AM and I just don’t have time to spend 60 mins on myself! Well if that's you, you’re in luck! Hal has created the 6 MINUTE MIRACLE! A morning routine that condenses the S.A.V.E.R.S. into 6 minutes (or whatever time you have)

The 6 Minute Miracle

(For The Busy People)

Minute 1- Sit in silence and take deep breaths.

Minute 2- Say out loud your list of affirmations.

Minute 3- Look at your vision board. Visualize the day you want to have.

Minute 4- Write down what you're grateful for or a to-do list for the day.

Minute 5- Read one page of something inspirational.

Minute 6- Move your body for 60 seconds.

I can honestly say that The MM S.A.V.E.R.S. completely changed my life! Because of my Miracle Morning routine I am now a MORNING PERSON and I look forward to waking up early everyday! (Even during quarantine when I don’t have to get up) Thank you Hal Elrod for helping me become the person I NEVER thought I could be!

If you liked my summary, please buy a copy of The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, and check out his website www.miraclemorning.com you’ll be glad you did!