30 days: Change your habits, Change your life

Ask yourself the following questions:
Whose life are you living? Are you living your own life or trying to
please and fulfill the expectations of others?
Who and what are you going to say NO to, starting NOW?
Action Step:
Make a list of things that you will stop doing!

---

25
Get up early! Sleep less!
It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits
contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.
—ARISTOTLE
The first benefit of getting up an hour earlier is that you gain around
365 hours per year. 365! Who said “I don’t have time”? When clients
come to me telling me that they don’t have time, the first thing I ask
them is how many hours of TV are they watching. This usually
provides them with the time they need. To those who stopped
watching TV and still don’t have enough time, I ask them to get up
one hour earlier. There is a very special energy in the morning hours
before sunrise. Ever since I started getting up around 5.30 or 6
o’clock, my life changed completely. I’m much more calm and
relaxed and don’t start the day already running around stressed. I
usually go running half an hour before the sun rises, so that on my
way back, I see the sun rising “out of” the Mediterranean Sea. This is
absolutely mind-boggling and already puts me in a state of absolute
happiness. And for those of you who don’t live next to the sea, a
sunrise “out of” the fields, forests, or even a big city is just as
exciting. Just go watch it and let me know! Starting your day like this
is very necessary for your happiness and peace of mind. Another
great advantage of getting up earlier is that it reinforces self-
discipline and you’ll gain self-respect. Many successful leaders were
and still are members of the early birds club, for example, Nelson
Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Barrack Obama, and many more.
It’s scientifically proven that six hours should be enough sleep per
night, paired with a 30- to 60- minute power nap in the afternoon.

---

Your freshness depends on the quality of your sleep, not on the
quantity. You have to try and figure out for yourself how many hours
of sleep you need to feel refreshed. But you should definitively give it
a try. It will improve your quality of life a lot. Don’t forget that getting
up early is a new habit, so give it some time and don’t give up after
the first week if you still feel tired after getting up earlier. The habit
needs at least three to four weeks to kick in. If you absolutely can’t
get up one hour earlier, try half an hour. And don’t forget that your
attitude, thoughts and beliefs about getting up an hour earlier play a
big role, too. To me, it was always intriguing how it was so difficult for
me to get up at 6.45ish to go to work after seven or eight hours of
sleep, but before every vacation, I usually slept four hours and woke
up before the alarm clock went off and I was totally refreshed and
energized.