The first thing you do when you wake up can influence your entire day. The early hours of the morning are what set the world’s most successful entrepreneurs apart from the rest. After all, first impressions count even when it comes to starting your day.
The good news is that implementing a new morning routine or updating your current routine is quite easy. Once you know what you need to do, the next step is to get started, it’s as simple as that.
Willpower is like a muscle that needs to be used and stretched regularly. If you exercise your willpower every morning to stick to a new routine, you’ll discover better self-control, greater decision-making skills, more optimism, and greater enthusiasm for tackling the day’s most difficult tasks.
“Studies show that our body has limited reserves to fuel our productivity. Therefore, a strong morning ritual is necessary to prepare the body to maintain its energy and continue with its tasks throughout the day.”
So what are some of the things successful people do every morning?
Morning routines of 10 super successful entrepreneurs in the world
1. Elon Musk: quick shower, coffee, no breakfast
Personal wealth: $222.4 billion
Occupation: CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
Known as the real-life Tony Stark, Elon Musk is often hailed as one of the most innovative, efficient, and hard-working CEOs of our generation. His work schedule amounts to 80-100 hours a week, split between Tesla and SpaceX. He gets up around 7 in the morning, so he sleeps 6 hours a night.
Musk’s morning routine is pretty quick and easy: first, he takes a shower to clear his mind and help him focus; afterward, he gets dressed and enjoys a cup of coffee before heading to work.
Unfortunately, breakfast is ruled out because he is in a hurry most of the time.
2. Warren Buffett: Read the news and eat breakfast at McDonald’s
Personal net worth: $115.4 billion
Occupation: CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Warren Buffett, business tycoon, investor, philanthropist, chairman, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, wakes up at 6:45 every morning.
Known as the “Oracle of Omaha”, he starts his day by reading news articles from the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and USA Today to refresh his mind on the market and the economy.
Next, Buffet enjoys a small breakfast at McDonald’s as part of his morning ritual. He then reads extensively before immersing himself in work.
3. Jack Dorsey: cold shower and jogging, no breakfast
Personal fortune: $7.1 billion
Occupation: Co-founder of Twitter; CEO of Block, Inc. (formerly Square)
Rising before dawn, at 5 in the morning, before taking on running two companies simultaneously, Twitter and Square, Jack Dorsey makes sure he is physically and mentally prepared for the challenges of the day ahead.
As soon as he gets out of bed, he takes a cold shower to improve his mental state and increase his willpower. Later, Dorsey takes advantage of the early morning hours to refresh her mind by running 5 miles to work, meditating for an hour, or working out hard.
Like Elon Musk, Dorsey is not a fan of breakfast and skips it altogether.
4. Mark Zuckerberg: A quick run, social media updates, breakfast, and simple clothing
Personal net worth: $75.3 billion
Occupation: CEO of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook)
Unlike many of his contemporaries who get up at 5 am, Mark Zuckerberg, founder, and CEO of Facebook wakes up a little later in the morning.
He gets up at 8 o’clock and goes running or exercising to release adrenaline in his veins. Next, she checks Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram for quick social media updates.
He is famous for dressing in a simple gray t-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes; Zuckerberg explains that he doesn’t like to waste time on petty decisions, another trick for optimizing mental resources and reducing cognitive load during those critical early morning hours.
Keep your breakfast simple, too, to avoid making too many decisions about what to eat.
5. Ray Dalio: Deep Meditation
Personal fortune: $20 billion
Occupation: Founder of Bridgewater Associates
The rock star who runs the world’s largest hedge fund, Ray Dalio came across his Beatles-inspired morning routine. His morning routines revolve around deep meditation to access the subconscious mind and bring center and “equanimity” to the fore.
Consistent 20-minute meditation every morning prompts Dalio to face the day’s challenges with clarity and thus brings him great career wins.
“Meditation, more than anything else in my life, has been the biggest ingredient in any success I’ve had.” -Ray Dalio
6. P Diddy: Bedtime Phone Calls, Interviews, and Essays
Personal fortune: $900 million
Occupation: Rapper, singer, record producer, businessman, and designer.
One of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time, P. Diddy (also known as Puff Daddy), released #1 hits like no other. Praised for his relentless work ethic and drive, Diddy follows an unconventional morning ritual.
She usually gets up at 10 am, followed by phone calls and office work at 11:30 am, then interviews and rehearsals. For a hip-hop artist who stays up past 2 am most days, P. Diddy is always on the go at all hours to figure out the best way to put out the best song and performance.
Even as he approaches 50, he has gradually included meditation and reading in his morning ritual.
7. Jeff Bezos: Coffee, breakfast with the kids, reading the newspaper
Personal wealth: $179.9 billion
Occupation: Amazon CEO and founder
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said he’s a very early sleeper. Like many of the successful entrepreneurs on this list, Bezos gets up around 6:30 in the morning.
He likes to make himself a hot cup of coffee, make breakfast for his kids, and then read his newspaper like any ordinary American parent. After that, he cooks and cleans the house and takes this pleasure as a meditation before concentrating on his work priorities.
At 10 a.m., he heads to Amazon headquarters to work until noon, where he takes care of important meetings and paperwork.
8. Tim Cook: Client Emails and Intense Exercise
Personal fortune: $2 billion
Occupation: CEO of Apple
Perhaps the earliest riser on this list, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc, boasts of having a routine that starts even before 4 in the morning. He believes that the early hours of the morning are free from any distractions.
Amazingly, he starts his day by reading thousands of customer emails to delve into their psychology and discover how they feel, experience, and do things.
Cook doesn’t forget to include an hour of exercise after reading her emails because it “keeps her stress at bay.”
9. Peter Thiel: intense workouts followed by a breakfast of fresh fruit
Personal fortune: $5 billion
Occupation: Co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund
As one of the world’s most prolific billionaire investors, Peter Thiel makes no secret of his wildly successful career, starting with his morning ritual.
Thiel gets up at 6:30 every morning without the help of an alarm. For him, morning is not just a time to avoid distractions and clear his mind of him; it is also to develop a solid habit for longevity and health.
He is known for taking Human Growth Hormone (HGH) for its anti-aging effects before an intense workout. Then, eat mostly fresh fruit for breakfast.
10. Richard Branson: sports and exercise variety, family breakfasts
Personal fortune: $5.2 billion
Occupation: Founder of Virgin Group
Richard Branson, business tycoon and founder of the Virgin Group, is not shy about admitting that he owes his success to staying active.
He usually gets up at 5 in the morning. Start the day by practicing various sports, such as playing tennis, going for a walk or run, doing some cycling, or kitesurfing. For Branson, “there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that I have pushed myself physically and mentally every day.”
After his exercise regimen, he has breakfast with his family, two non-negotiable things from the day before going to work.
With information from the Addicted2Success.com website. In 2011, Australian entrepreneur, blogger, speaker, coach, and author Joel Brown founded Addicted2Success with a mission to empower and inspire people around the world by spreading knowledge, personal development, and life-changing stories.
