219 - The one daily habit everyone should have - Drummer's Resource: Conversations with the world's greatest drummers and music industry pros.
November 4, 2016

219 – The one daily habit everyone should have

There are two types of people in this world: The type who run their day and the type who’s day runs them….and it all starts in the morning. Morning?!?!  Yup, morning! I’ll be the first to admit that I hated mornings, often slept till noon or later and was typically late for anything that started before 1pm.

“Run your day or your day will run you” – Jim Rohn (Tweet this)

Now, things are different. I get up early (5:30am), I get a whole list of things done by 8 am and I have more energy and focus than I’ve ever had before. What’s the secret? A morning routine.

Little did I know, most successful people have a morning routine, namely, Oprah, Tim Ferris, Daymond John, Tony Robbins, Warren Buffett, Rick Ruben, Bill Gates and Robert Herjavek…just to name a few.

Convinced yet? Good….because you need one too! 😉

The good news is, you already have a morning routine whether you know it or not. Don’t think you do? What do you do when you get up? That’s your routine.

Do you oversleep and barely have enough time to shower and grab a cup of coffee? That’s your routine.

Do you wake up, shower, make coffee, watch TV then head to work?

That’s your routine.

Now, whether you have a “subconscious” routine or a “mindful” routine is a different story all together.

The difference between the two is the difference between running your day or your day running you.

For me, I have a morning routine that consists of meditation, affirmations, visualization, planning, exercise, and reading. Sound like a lot? Let me break it down for you:

My old routine

Writing (5mins)

Writing about what I am grateful for, what would make the day great, and some sort of affirmation for myself

Meditation (5 mins)

Silence to clear my mind and get centered and focused.

Affirmations (5 Minutes)

Affirming that I can achieve my goals that I have laid out for myself

 Visualization (5 Minutes)

Visualizing myself being the person I need to become to achieve my goals

Reading (15 mins)

Reading something that will educate me or help me reach my goals.

Planning (5-10 mins)

To look over my schedule for the day (I plan my days the night before) to see what I need to do to prep for the day and any calls, meetings, gigs that I have coming up.

Exercise (1 hr)
Make time for fitness now or you’ll most likely have to make time for illness later. 

My new routine:

Meditation (10 mins)

Silence to clear my mind and get centered and focused.

Gratitude / Visualization (5 mins)

Practicing gratitude is paramount. You can’t be unhappy when you’re being grateful.

Reading (30 mins)

Reading something that will educate me or help me reach my goals.

Exercise (1hr)

Make time for fitness now or you’ll most likely have to make time for illness later. 


This morning routine was modeled after reading the book “The Miracle Morning” and has completely changed my life. Since implementing it I have been more focused, productive, energetic, and healthy and have felt unstoppable.
Note: I interviewed Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morninglisten to the interview here.

I know what you’re thinking…you don’t have time in the morning to complete all of this…and that’s the beauty…you don’t have to! You can start slow by simply spending one minute on each of them (yes, even exercise) and gradually work your way up to as much time as you’d like. In fact, if you’re not doing any type of mindful morning routine now I don’t suggest jumping into a time-consuming routine right away because you’ll only be setting yourself up for failure.

Here are a few tools that I use for my morning routine:

I strongly recommend that you try to start your own morning routine for 2 weeks but remember, start small. Don’t jump into routine that you won’t be able to do every day. The goal is to make incremental progress over time. Set yourself up for success by trying to string together a few days of 5 minute routine.


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