I’d heard about Robin Sharma for some time now and seen his name pop up about his work on leadership, personal development and self-help. His ‘5AM Club’ book had been on my reading list for some time, so it was one of the books I took on my recent holiday.
Sharma is a Canadian author who initially trained and worked as a lawyer, but later shifted his career focus to self-help and leadership training. He gained prominence with his 1997 self-published book, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, which became a worldwide success and established him as a thought leader in the field.
His work focuses on the importance of self-discipline, personal mastery, and leadership principles. His teachings have attracted a global audience, including business leaders and celebrities. Over the years, he has authored numerous bestselling books.
Before reading the book, I had not looked at anything relating to it or the reviews of the book. I therefore started to read it, and it commenced with a fictional story about a struggling entrepreneur, a frustrated artist and an apparent homeless man, who went to an event to hear from an inspirational speaker. I assumed, wrongly as it turned out, that the story would be part of the book and then there would be insight and commentary direct from Robin Sharma. However, as I got further and further through the book, I realised the whole book was actually the story and all the insight and teachings were within the story itself, which is a really interesting way to get the points across, once I got my head round it!
Robin Sharma’s The 5 AM Club is a motivational self-help book that focuses on the concept of rising at 5 a.m. to take control of the day, maximise productivity, and improve personal well-being. Through the interactions between the individuals and the journey they take, Sharma shares his philosophy on personal mastery and success. The overarching theme centres on the idea that waking up at 5 a.m. allows for uninterrupted focus on activities like reflection, personal growth, and physical health before the rest of the world demands attention.
Now before you stop reading and think ‘I’m not getting up at 5am every day’ there is more to it than that. I too don’t have any plans to get up at 5am but I found some of the key messages really interesting and useful, ignoring the 5am bit. I suppose the book would not have worked as well if it had been called the 10.30am club!!
Key Messages
The 20/20/20 Formula
This framework is the cornerstone of the concept. It breaks the first hour of your day into three 20-minute segments: 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes of reflection, and 20 minutes of learning. Sharma argues that these three elements set the tone for a productive and fulfilling day.
The Victory Hour
Sharma explains that the first hour of the morning is critical to shaping the rest of the day. By using this hour effectively, you can jumpstart your focus, creativity, and willpower.
The 90/90/1 Rule
This principle suggests that for 90 days, you should focus the first 90 minutes of your workday on your single most important project or goal. By concentrating on high-impact work in the morning, you maximize creativity and productivity during your peak performance hours. This is something that comes up again in my piece on the entrepreneurs conference I attended.
Mindset, Heartset, Healthset, and Soulset
These “four interior empires” represent different aspects of holistic self-improvement. Sharma argues that developing just your mindset (your intellectual capabilities) is insufficient for overall success. The heartset (emotional well-being), healthset (physical vitality), and soulset (spiritual depth) are equally important, and all four must be balanced to achieve real fulfilment and success.
The Twin Cycles of Elite Performance
Sharma highlights the importance of balancing intense work periods with recovery and renewal. He believes that to sustain peak performance, one must regularly switch between cycles of focused work (deep concentration) and cycles of rest (recharging). This idea counters the common notion of always being “on” and suggests that periods of rest are essential to maximising long-term productivity and creativity.
The Importance of Routine
The book stresses the significance of consistency. Waking up at 5 a.m. becomes a daily habit that fosters discipline and enables peak performance.
Once I got my head round the structure of the book and realised that the whole book was going to be a fictional story, I enjoyed the book and there were undoubtedly messages to take from it and learnings to be had, if just in my case, they won’t be at 5am every morning!!