The 3am Rule: Your Personal Relationship With Time

I know you have heard the phrase, "Time waits for no one!" Time will not wait for us to catch up to it. Once a deadline has passed, it's gone. Setting time blocks is important in getting work done. I challenged myself to see if I could do 3 medium leve tasks in one hour, and I did it within 1 hour 10 minutes. Usually, I could just drag these things along for 4 hours, but I decided to see if I could do it. Don't take 4 hours to do something that takes 1 hour. I've got to keep changing my approach to my work schedule. Don't get trapped in the dogma you have created for yourself. I promise you, there is a better way to do what you are doing right now. That's why I believe waking up early helps you sort out things you have been pondering over. You are not trapped. Start fresh every day. Get up early and begin to read a lot of books. At 3 am, work on your personal development. Get a blank piece of paper and write out your thoughts. Visualize how you want things to be, and then write them out. Do this practice; it has worked for me in my life. I recommend spending time alone. Learn how to communicate with yourself. This work is done in silence.

Ambitious Goals Require More time

The bigger the ambition, the more time that is required to achieve your goal. You have to learn how to master time. If you have 3 or 4 projects going on at the same time, you may have to wake up earlier to get those trains moving. I have coined the phrase of using unused hours when I speak on the 3am rule. People are normally sleep at this time. The people in your industry are asleep, but not you. Waking up at 3am is a challenge to beging working on your tasks for the day, but sometimes it is necessary to take things off your plate to free up time to be more creative and imagine the possibilities of what you are seeking. If you have a bad habit of completing projects at the last minute why don't you try the 3am rule to see if it can fit your lifestyle. Create more output. Use every ounce of time available to you. Create a new habit by waking up earlier. All it takes is a mindshift. If you know you need a change, don't run from it, run to it.

Use the 3am Rule to Eliminate Constant Interruptions

Constant interruptions don't allow us to think deeply for long periods of time. That's why I reccomend using the 3am Rule as a time for deep reflection on what you want.You must have time for your imagination to breath. Get back intouch with your instincts and create the flow for your day. Begin planning for the next decade of your life and how you want it to be. I wish more people would stop thinking of 3am or 4am as off limits to being fully awake starting your work for the day. You and I know that this is true. This morning I woke up at 3:15am. Let's go!

Les Brown, said, "If it's Hard, Do it Hard"

When your schedule feels like it is about to unravel, you've got to tell yourself, "I am not going to be overcome by this onslaught of unexpected activities." Les Brown said, "If it's hard, do it hard." I kept telling myself that all day yesterday. I do a weekly radio show remotely in Chicago every week that does not end until 1 a.m. East Coast time. I had to get up at 3 a.m. to drive two hours to make a 6:30 a.m. appointment. So I knew I was not going to get proper rest. Thank God that I have been conditioning my mind all these years for this to not be a hardship in my life, which is waking up early. I am functioning on two hours of sleep, but this is very unusual for me. I like to go to bed between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Ideally, I really want to be in bed by 7:30 p.m. So I'm not one of those grind it out guys who says sleep is for suckers. I say sleeping late is for suckers...lol Dick Gregory said it is a lack of drinking water and lack of sleep that is our undoing. So no, I am not an advocate of working without proper sleep. The 3 a.m. rule is the linchpin in adjusting your attitude regarding managing your time. Master this practice and use it to advance your cause. Control your day! You are in the 1% of people in the world who use this valuable time of the day.

"Embrace Fasting and the 3am Rule"

Some of my best performances have been when my stomach was empty, living in the fasting state. When we don't let food cravings control us, we are so much happier. You can wake up much earlier. Things that have worked for me in my career I am sharing with you to consider if the ideas resonate with you. Fasting allowed me to wake up easily when I began to practice the 3am Rule. It helped me to be extremely laser-focused on goals I absolutely had to achieve. We have to go back to those things that worked in our lives. We tend to forget some of the habits that aided us in our success. Fasting was definitely my superpower. Clean blood flows to the brain and improves your thinking. It eliminates

lethargy from your life. A full stomach makes you dull and listless. Allow your body to do some internal sweeping and clear out the crud. Again, fasting is not a weight loss program; it is a spiritual exercise to get you back in touch with the divinity that is within you. It is a sacred time when you, the universe, and your creator are one. You can escape this world anytime you like by fasting and disconnecting from the forces of this level of living. Escape the low vibration of this world by emptying your stomach. Fast and connect to heaven. Fasting removes fear and allows you to experience the fullness of your real personality. I encourage you to make this a practice in your life as you incorporate the 3am rule into your lifestyle. This is real freedom.

Here's a Way to use the 3am Rule

How about dedicating yourself again to mastering your craft, whatever it is? Dedicate yourself again to what you know you do better than 99% of the people in your field. Dedicate those hours to come up with new, innovative ways to operate your life. Waking up and working at 3 a.m. gives you time to not be interrupted constantly like during the day. Every time you begin your work at 3 a.m., the differentiation has begun. We are moving away from being average. In no way, shape, or form do we want that word associated with our name or work. We want to be world-class individuals who are willing to do things average people would never consider. The 3 a.m. rule is personal. You should not go around bragging to people that you wake up at 3 a.m. to impress them. Your extraordinary execution will say it all. "How do you get so much done?" they will ask. Then you can tell them, "I practice this concept called the 3 a.m. Rule."

Live in The Fasting State As often As You Can

We have to learn how to live in the fasting state. We have to avoid the poisons in today's foods that cloud our thinking. Fast to let it pass through our system. When I am fasting, I say to myself, "I want to escape this world and get a connection with heaven." When I’m fasting, I am connected to heaven. It is a hard-wired connectivity that allows me to hear the voice of the divine within myself. I will not allow any encumbrance of food to break my connection. That's what you say when you don't want to hang up the phone with your connection to the divine. The fasting state allows you to be even more expressive using the 3 a.m. rule. Now there is more stillness. You can really feel the electricity of the silence of the morning.

It is a more sacred experience, with the power of the quiet of your mind when fasting. Fasting is not a weight loss plan. It is a sacred connection with the creator of your existence. Your true personality is revealed when you are fasting. If you have never tried it, fast for 24 hours. No food. Allow your stomach to be empty for a while. Make that connection to the heavens.

Differentiate yourself with the 3am rule

What do you think the difference is between a professional and an amateur? In his book "Turning Pro," Steven Pressfield says an amateur has amateur habits, a professional has professional habits. What does that mean? A professional knows how to fight against resistance. A pro knows certain things have to get done despite the way they feel that day. A professional has accepted the daily, predictable work that must be done to hit his or her daily goals. The professional is always looking for the next level of impact in their performance. This is why I am a firm believer that waking up earlier is the way to separate yourself from mediocrity. The great differentiator! Remember you are going to get plenty of sleep when you are dead! Many people would say this does not matter. Well, to you it may not, but to me it does. I'm telling myself something when I'm sitting at my desk at 3:15 a.m. My spirit is saying, "I want something I believe in my heart that I can create. I want to live life on my own terms." At 3 a.m., I have time to think while the rest of the world is asleep. I have time to map out what I think is possible. When the rest of the world wakes up, I will have written pages of ideas to inspire me throughout the day. I am creating my life daily! I've got plenty of pens and plenty of white copy paper to write until I have emptied out all my thoughts. Then I organize them and begin to put things together. Wake up at 3 a.m. to begin your workday and do what amateurs won't do.

"Living with Intent: Finding Purpose and Drive at 3 a.m."

If the average American lifespan is 73.7 years and you subtract your current age from 73, are you excited about the number you get? At the time of this writing, I am now 59 years old. That would mean, by these statistics, I only have 14 more years to be among you! All of us want to live a long time, and we all feel, "Hey, I am going to beat the odds," but all people feel this way, right? So what do you do with this reality? Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee) always talks about whether your ambition matches your actions. Does it? According to those stats, what should I be doing every day with deliberate intent to make sure that before I exit off the planet, I would have accomplished what I imagined was possible for me? I think about time all the time. I'm more mindful than I have ever been in my life. This is why I don't believe, like most people, in waking up at 3 a.m. in pursuit of my ambition. It's personal. The 3 a.m. journey is personal.

The 3am Rule....Just a Thought

To wake up with the day always belonging to me is a gift. To be where I want to be, for as long as I want to be, is my life's definite chief aim. To become who I want to be is the pursuit of happiness. Why would I not be in control of every facet of my life? Why would I put my precious time on Earth in the hands of someone else? I just can't stomach the thought of that. Expand your thinking with a 3:00 a.m. rule: wake up early and become one with the pulse of the Earth. Think every day about what it is that you really want.