We all look up to people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Richard Branson. They’ve made it and continue to inspire thousands and thousands of people around the world.
While a lot of people struggle to keep their day jobs, these successful leaders own and run multiple companies at any given time and look as fresh as ever.
So, What’s the Secret?
All of them have a morning routine that they follow religiously in order to become more productive for the rest of the day and are successful in life.
If you are striving to achieve, it’s important to set yourself up for success but giving yourself the right start every single day. For some, it could be meditating early morning, while for others, it might involve an exercise routine. The key is to do you, but ensure that your actions are preparing yourself for a highly focused and productive day so you can go out and achieve your goals and targets.
Below you’ll find what some of the most successful business leaders in the world do after waking up every morning – take a look:
1. Richard Branson:
- Leaves the curtains undrawn so he can wake up right at dawn.
- Swims early in the morning or goes kite surfing.
- Follows it up with a health high-vitamin breakfast.
2. Warren Buffet:
- Wakes up at 6:45 and starts with reading paper at home before heading to office.
- He is big on reading and spends 80% of the day reading.
- Advocates reading up to 500 pages a day because that’s how knowledge builds up.
3. Steve Jobs:
- Steve Jobs gave himself a motivational speech every morning. He started every morning looking himself in the mirror and asked, “If today was the last day of my life, would I be happy with what I’m about to do today?” If he responded ‘no’ too many days in a row, he knew something needed to change.
- He also advocated minimalism from furnishing his house to clothes he wore and often wore the black t-shirt with a blue jeans.
4. Arianna Huffington:
- Starts her day with 30 minutes of meditation.
- She is also big on sleeping well and unplugging from smartphones, she shuts off all her devices at night and keeps them out of her bedroom.
5. Bill Gates:
- Starts his day by working out on a treadmill for an hour.
6. Mark Zuckerberg:
- Rises at 8 am every morning unless he had been working entire night.
- He does wear same t-shirt everyday to avoid making extra decisions.
7. Oprah Winfrey:
- Starts her day meditating, then she hits the treadmill followed by a healthy meal.
- She gets to work as early as possible which gives her more working hours in the day.
8. Elon Musk:
- He goes to bed at 1 a.m. and wakes up at 7 a.m.
- He usually skips breakfast, but sometimes has an omelet with coffee and wolfs down lunch in a 5-minute span during a meeting. This goes on to show he is trying to make the most of his day and avoiding any lunch meetings.
- He works out once or twice a week, usually on the treadmill or by lifting weights.
9. Indra Nooyi:
- She wakes up as early as 4 a.m. in the morning to arrive in office no later than 7 a.m.
10. Lord Sugar:
- Rides his bike for 50 miles after waking up at 5 a.m.
11. Jeff Bezos:
- Sleeps 8 hours a day and even has a sleeping bag in his office, thanks to the compact refrigerator.
- He clears out certain days e.g. Tuesdays and Thursdays where he doesn’t hold any meetings to be more productive.
12. Sergey Brin:
- Exercises intensely every morning and has remained remained loud-and-proud about his fitness obsession, counting workout clothes and Vibram barefoot shoes as his typical wardrobe and frequently zipping around on rollerblades, doing yoga stretches during meetings, or walking around on his hands for fun.
13. Jack Ma:
- Starts his day by exercising and his tai chi trainer travels with him when necessary.
14. Marissa Mayer:
- She sleeps very little around 4-6 hours as she works long hours, up to 130 hours a week.
15. Tory Burch:
- Wakes up at 5.45 a.m., wakes up her three sons and then exercises for minutes.
16. Jack Dorsey:
- He wakes up at 5.30 a.m. to meditate, then runs several miles to stay healthy and active.