Passion Struck with John R. Miles - 5 Keys to Creating the Best Morning Routine w/ John R. Miles EP 17

Episode Date: April 9, 2021

Are you following a morning routine that turbocharges your mind and body and sets you up for a superhuman performance? On today’s show, John shares the five steps for creating a perfect and impenetrable morning routine. You will learn how to awaken your body, mind, and then prioritize your intentions for the day.   Topping off your day with your favorite activities can fill you up with energy, positivity, and fortitude. And once you become habituated to these, they will become second nature to you. Tune in for some golden nuggets! What You Will Learn In This Show Why a morning routine was so important to a famous Roman emperor The science behind habits The three-step process to forming a habit How to awaken your mind, body and prioritize your intentions for the day The five steps to building the perfect morning routine And so much more… Resources --- Follow Passion Struck on Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/passion_struck_podcast -- Combat veteran, multi-industry CEO, and Author John R. Miles is on a mission to make passion go viral by helping growth seekers to overcome their fear, self-doubt, and adversity. He loves taking his own life experiences, lessons from his time as a CEO and Fortune 50 C-Level Executive, and the truths he has learned to help make other's lives better. His new podcast Passion Struck provides inspirational interviews and powerful guidance for people to take their lives to the next level. Watch as these high achievers weigh in on life's biggest questions and challenges as we journey on the path to becoming passion-struck. -- Follow John R. Miles Here: Website - https://passionstruck.com/​ ​​Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_r_miles ​​ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Johnrmiles.c0m​ ​Twitter: https://twitter.com/Milesjohnr​ ​​ Medium: https://medium.com/@JohnRMiles​ ​John's Website: https://johnrmiles.com/​ - John's New eBook - The Passion Struck Framework https://passionstruck.com/coaching/​

I find that the final step in an impenetrable morning routine is to plan out the day. Using a clock or stopwatch, I set the alarm for five to ten minutes, and I write out my schedule and task list for the day. By writing these down or inputting them into your digital organizer, you mentally walk through and plan the rest of your day, building out your expectations and goals, because remember failing to plan is planning to fail. Welcome to the PassionStruck podcast. My name is John Miles, a former combat veteran and multi-industry CEO, turned entrepreneur and human performance expert.

Each week we showcase an inspirational person and message that helps you unlock your hidden potential and unleash your creativity and leadership abilities. Thank you for spending time with me today and let's get igniting. Welcome to this episode of Momentum Friday. Sean Covey, the president of Franklin Covey Education, said, depending on what they are, our habits make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do. And isn't that so truthful?

We are what we do. We are what we spend our time thinking about acting upon. We are we hang out with. And I have been spending so much of this first 15-16 podcast going through habits and the importance of you forming ones that focus on where you want to go or lock your hidden potential and live that passion-driven life that you so aspire to achieve. But so often, we let negative activities, habits, people enter our life and deter us from our goals. And that's why today I want to talk to you about one of the most important habits of all. And that is you creating an impenetrable morning routine.

And I found having this habit of having this impenetrable morning routine, so important throughout my life and my career, and I'm going to give you my five secrets that I've used time and time again to do it, so that you can start putting positive habits in your own life. I hope you get so much from this episode and I am so excited to share this with you. No matter your job or position, one of the most important roles you have, especially if you're listening to this podcast right now, is a leader. As someone responsible for driving vision and guiding a team, operating at your best is absolutely essential. We don't often think about the importance of our daily routines.

When we start our day, the choices we make, when we plan our goals, when we set our schedule, they all establish our daily intentions. And what happens is these choices get compounded. Ultimately, our success, how we perform and the outcomes we get, are a measure of our daily habits. In fact, neuroscientists have traced our habit-making behaviors the part of the brain called the basal ganglia, which also plays a key role in the development of emotions,

memories, and pattern recognition. Decisions, meanwhile, are made in a different role in the development of emotions, memories, and pattern recognition. Decisions, meanwhile, are made in a different part of the brain called the pre-frontal cortex. But as soon as behavior becomes automatic, the decision-making part of your brain goes into sleep mode of sorts. Let's think about something you did that took you a really long time to learn. Like the first time you were able to ride a bike or perhaps trying to tie your shoes for the first time. At first, those tasks are difficult and you had to devote a lot of mental energy to it, but after you grew comfortable with them, they became much easier, almost habitual, you could say. Things like parallel parking, gambling, exercise,

and brushing your teeth, and every other habit-forming activity all follow the same behavioral and neurological patterns, according to New York Times business writer Charles D. Houg and his book, The Power of Habit. And let me talk about how habits form. It turns out that every habit starts with a psychological pattern called habit loop, which is a three-part process. First, there's a cue or trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and let a behavior unfold.

Then there's a routine which is the behavior itself. That's what we think about when we think about habits. The third step is the reward,. That's what we think about when we think about habits. The third step is the reward, something that your brain likes that helps it remember the habit loop in the future. With this as a backdrop, let me talk to you about your morning routine, but I'm going to do so in the form of a small story. As a stoic philosopher in King, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is known historically for his incredible leadership in wisdom and as I went over his story for Marcus Aurelius one primary key to leadership was waking up ready and fit to lead. It was one of the most important things that he focused on. And that emperor would

surely know where thing or two about the importance of the morning. As the king of at that point, history's largest empire, Marcus's day would have been filled with conflicts to mediate, treaties to sign, crises to manage, and wars to fight. How on earth did he find the energy and fortitude to lead an empire while still keeping a sanity? Well, he understood the priority of a morning routine. While you may not be a Roman emperor like Marcus Rulius, you are the king of your inner kingdom, as well as the ambassador of the world around you. Each day, Greachie with a plethora of emails to answer, problems to solve, and world events to navigate.

However, a few individuals allow themselves to prepare for these events, and instead, are forced to act out of a lack of time preparation or focus. I often talk about this as they prioritize urgency over what is important. Imagine what you could accomplish if you had a few hours each day set apart for investment in yourself. Let's take a look at five steps then to building this perfect and peniturable morning routine. Well, the first of them, and I would say probably the hardest,

is to actually give yourself the gift of a morning. To have a morning routine at all, you must have a morning. While countless gurus and coaches argue for daily 4am or so wake up call, starting out with two audacious a goal and be deadly for your goals and aspirations. To give yourself the chance to experience all that a powerful morning routine can offer, make sure that you set your alarm for time early enough to provide you with the time it takes to take the next steps in the list. An easy way to start is by looking at your schedule and setting your alarm to wake up

one to two hours earlier. For example, I wake up every day at 6am and I make my bed. It's something that I've been doing my entire life, growing up in a military household, and then serving in the military. I find that it's critical to get up that early because it allows me the time to perform those activities I need to do to charge myself for the day, prepare myself to perform the best that I can and to activate my body. Are you ready to overcome your fears and start committing yourself to mastery and growth in your life and career? If you are, we're ready to help you. Go to passionstruck.com slash coaching right now,

and you'll be able to download the passionstruck framework and connect with a member of our coaching team. The next thing on the list is to drink a glass of water. And while you may be saying to yourself, why when I first open my eyes, would I drink a full glass of water? Well, you may be tempted to guzzle down a glass of coffee to get yourself moving. Water can actually do wonders for your mind and body when you drink it first thing in the morning.

I love to start my day with a full glass of water and a digestive enzyme added in that it helps kickstart my body's systems and prepares me for the morning ahead. Among benefits such as boosting nutrient transportation in your blood and lubricating your organs, water can also jumpstart your metabolism and clear out the fog that accompanies those moments right after we wake up. Simply set out a glass of water the night before either by your nightstand or in your bathroom, a splash of water and the action of drinking will not only help you wake up, but it will help you knock off a healthy to-do list item first thing.

Third, sweat it out. There are many out there who swear by that early morning run. However, I've discovered that simply getting out of bed, drinking glass of water, and doing 20 pushups, or pull-ups does wonders to supercharge my system. Studies have shown that short burst of cardio can help produce dopamine in our system, which is perfect for helping boost our mood and clarifying the final two steps of remorning routine. My morning routine finds me lacing up my shoes at about 6.30am for a three mile walk with my dog Bentley.

And I find that this walk is one of the most critical parts of my day because for me, it gives me time to listen to my favorite podcast, spend some time with myself and mindfulness, and prepare my mind for the rest of the day. My mornings and the early quiet has become one of my most sacred times of the day and I use it to contemplate my daily goals. Fourth, read something inspirational and write out gratitude. This may be two steps in one, but they accomplish the same purpose. Every morning I carve out 10 to 15 minutes

for reading a short excerpt from a devotional, a book of wisdom. This may be two steps in one, but they accomplish the same purpose. Every morning I carve out 10 to 15 minutes for reading a short excerpt from a devotional, a book of wisdom, or my favorite self-help book. This gives me a small bit of inspiration and confidence. I follow this up with writing down several objectives for the day. And this is something I talk about in a previous episode of the Momentum Friday is that need to come up with that daily task list that you're going to do to accomplish your day and meet your priorities.

These actions help produce positive reinforcement in my mind and body, helping me build this routine into an actionable habit that I will stick with. Why? Because my body, mind, and spirit enjoy these moments of self-care and gratitude. Imagine starting your day with joy and pensionality.

Yes, plan your day and top it off with your favorite activity. I find that the final step in an impenetrable morning routine is to plan out the day. Using a clock or stopwatch, I set the alarm for five to ten minutes and I write out my schedule and task list for the day. By writing these down or inputting them into your digital organizer, you mentally walk through and plan the rest of your day, building out your expectations and goals, because remember, failing to plan is planning to fail. I will often sit down and scan through my email

or latest notifications and make a list of objectives for the day based on my latest task list or information from my virtual assistant. With these items on my daily agility board, I end my morning routine with one of my favorite activities, exercise. I often hit the gym, go to a spin class, for practice yoga, and I try to do this every single day with the exception of Sundays when I go on and prefer long hikes.

Finishing your list off with a favorite activity or hobby is a great way to cement the process into a habit and one that ends with something fun that you love. Remember, as you're going through all of this, the most important thing is not striving for perfection, but bringing these practices together by taking small steps each day to build consistent and customized habits. I have given you a lot of wisdom today starting with information from

neurologist with famous author who wrote a book on this topic to the acts of a famous Roman Emperor who I do in my own life. The most important thing is creating your own routine and making sure you start in small steps and then get into the habit of creating an impenetrable morning routine for yourself. Thank you for listening and please join me again on Tuesday and Fridays. I hope you enjoyed that episode of the impenetrable Morning routine and we're able to take away things not only about some Roman culture and how Marcus Arulius used that morning routine as he was a leader, but you also gained valuable insights from my simple five secrets to unlocking in a

penchable morning routine. But I think the most important one is giving yourself the gift of that morning to start out with. Because without that, there is no habit to begin with. Now let me transition to our upcoming episodes because I am so excited about these two. The first is an interview with major Katie Higgins cook. Katie is a Naval Academy graduate who went on to become a pilot and then was chosen as the first female Blue Angels pilot. And I've known Katie for a few years now and you're not going to want to miss this episode. She has so much that she wants to share with you and I think you're going to truly love it. And then, in my next solo episode, a week from today, I'm going to go over what I think are the essential steps to unlock a purpose driven life and how you find your purpose.

Thank you, as always, for listening or watching to the Passion Struck Podcast. I'm so excited you're here and are finding value from these important interviews and lessons. I am so grateful for all of you and appreciate your time and support and commitment to this show. Thank you so much for joining us. A purpose of our show is to make Passion Go viral. By sharing the knowledge and insights you can use to unlock your hidden potential. To hear more, please subscribe to the show in iTunes Spotify Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

If you'd love this episode, we'd appreciate a five-star rating on iTunes where if you'd simply tell free of your most driven and motivated friends about the show and post to your social accounts, that would help us grow our passion struck community too. If you want more tools to unlock your potential,

please make sure to also visit our website, passionstruck.com, sign up to our email list, as well as check out all the links and resources in the show notes. Be sure to tune in on Tuesdays and Fridays for our next episodes, and and remember make a choice, work hard, and step into your sharp edges. Thanks again and I'll see you next time. you