Robin Sharma - The 5 AM Club

Thorsons

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First published in Canada by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2018

First published in the UK by Thorsons 2018

FIRST EDITION

© Robin Sharma 2018

Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2018

Cover illustrations © Alexander Row

Characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The original models, performance tools and learning tactics in this work are the intellectual property of Sharma Leadership International Inc. and cannot be used, in any form, without express written approval.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Robin Sharma asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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Source ISBN: 9780008312831

Ebook Edition © December 2018 ISBN: 9780008312855

Version 2018-11-15

I’m immensely grateful that this book is in your hands. My deep hope is that it serves the full expression of your gifts and talents beautifully. And causes revolutions of heroic transformation within your creativity, productivity, prosperity and service to the world.

The 5 AM Club is based on a concept and method that I’ve been teaching to celebrated entrepreneurs, CEOs of legendary companies, sports superstars, music icons and members of royalty—with extraordinary success—for over twenty years.

I wrote this book over a four-year period, in Italy, South Africa, Canada, Switzerland, Russia, Brazil and Mauritius. Sometimes the words flowed effortlessly as if a gentle summer breeze was at my back and at other times, I struggled to move ahead. Sometimes I felt like waving the white flag of creative depletion and during other periods of this intensely spiritual process, a responsibility higher than my own needs encouraged me to continue.

I’ve given all I have to give in the writing of this book for you. And I greatly thank all the very good people from around the planet who have stood with me to the completion of The 5 AM Club.

And so, with a full heart, I humbly dedicate this work to you, the reader. The world needs more heroes and why wait for them—when you have it in you to become one. Starting today.

With love + respect,

“We will have eternity to celebrate the victories but only a few hours before sunset to win them.” —Amy Carmichael

“For what it’s worth, it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be … I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Message from the Author + Dedication

Epigraph

1. The Dangerous Deed

2. A Daily Philosophy on Becoming Legendary

3. An Unexpected Encounter with a Surprising Stranger

4. Letting Go of Mediocrity and All That’s Ordinary

5. A Bizarre Adventure into Morning Mastery

6. A Flight to Peak Productivity, Virtuosity and Undefeatability

7. Preparation for a Transformation Begins in Paradise

8. The 5 AM Method: The Morning Routine of World-Builders

9. A Framework for the Expression of Greatness

10. The 4 Focuses of History-Makers

11. Navigating the Tides of Life

12. The 5 AM Club Discovers The Habit Installation Protocol

13. The 5 AM Club Learns The 20/20/20 Formula

14. The 5 AM Club Grasps the Essentialness of Sleep

15. The 5 AM Club Is Mentored on The 10 Tactics of Lifelong Genius

16. The 5 AM Club Embraces The Twin Cycles of Elite Performance

17. The 5 AM Club Members Become Heroes of Their Lives

Epilogue: Five Years Later

About the Author

Also by Robin Sharma

About the Publisher

A gun would be too violent. A noose would be too ancient. And a knife blade to the wrist would be too silent. So, the question became, How could a once-glorious life be ended swiftly and precisely, with minimum mess yet maximum impact?

Only a year ago, circumstances had been dramatically more hopeful. The entrepreneur had been widely celebrated as a titan of her industry, a leader of society and a philanthropist. She was in her late thirties, steering the technology company she founded in her dorm room in college to ever-increasing levels of marketplace dominance while producing products that her customers revered.

Yet now she was being blindsided, facing a mean-spirited and jealousy-fueled coup that would significantly dilute her ownership stake in the business she’d invested most of her life building, forcing her to find a new job.

The cruelty of this remarkable turn of events was proving to be unbearable for the entrepreneur. Beneath her regularly icy exterior beat a caring, compassionate and deeply loving heart. She felt life itself had betrayed her. And that she deserved so much better.

She considered swallowing a gigantic bottle of sleeping pills. The dangerous deed would be cleaner this way. Just take them all and get the job done fast, she thought. I need to escape this pain.

Then, she spotted something on the stylish oak dresser in her all-white bedroom—a ticket to a personal optimization conference that her mother had given her. The entrepreneur usually laughed at people who attended such events, calling them “broken winged” and saying they were seeking the answers of a pseudo guru when everything they needed to live a prolific and successful life was already within them.

Maybe it was time to rethink her opinion. She couldn’t see many options. Either she’d go to the seminar—and experience some breakthrough that would save her life. Or she’d find her peace. Via a quick death.

“Do not allow your fire to go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not at all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists. It is real. It is possible. It is yours.” —Ayn Rand