Employee Incentives News: The morning routines of the super successful

Want to get motivated? Follow the lifestyle of someone you admire. And whether that’s Kanye or Malala Yousafzai, we can say that the people you admire and respect for their family values, creativity, money, power or careers probably aren’t still in their pyjamas at 10am eating Coco Pops out of the box or idly swivelling on a desk chair, scrolling through hate comments on Facebook.

However, we can be proved wrong.

To see where our heroes stand on out of the box consumption, we took a look at the morning routines of the super successful. Perhaps it’s time for ‘monkey see, monkey do.’

Stephen King 

In Lisa Rogak’s Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King she took the details of Stephen’s morning routine.

“There are certain things I do if I sit down to write. I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning. I  have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places. The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.”

Benjamin Franklin 

According to the amazing book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey, “Benjamin Franklin, who, although busy and constantly working with an almost-hypomanic fervency, still found a leisurely hour or two every morning to read in his study, completely naked.”

Ludwig van Beethoven
In the same book it was revealed that “Beethoven rose at dawn and wasted little time getting down to work. His breakfast was coffee, which he prepared himself with great care: 60 beans per cup. After his midday meal, he embarked on a long walk, which would occupy much of the rest of the afternoon. As the day wound down, he might stop at a tavern to read the newspapers. Evenings were often spent with company or at the theatre, although in winter he preferred to stay at home and read. He retired early, going to bed at 10pm at the latest.”

Oprah Winfrey 

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Oprah laid out her morning.

“I have never set an alarm, I don’t believe in them. They are …alarming! I put the number in my mind and I wake up before that, usually between 6:02 and 6:20, because the dogs are trained to go out around that time. My first thought in the morning is, “Oh, I’m alive. Thank you!” I hop up, brush my teeth and go take the dogs to do their thing. I make a chai tea or skim cappuccino and put on my sneakers.I am in the gym downstairs in my house by the time “Eye Opener” hits on CBS This Morning. I’ll do 20 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes walking on the treadmill then
I do some form of walking or sitting meditation. I like to sit in a window seat in my house or outside on the balcony. If I am in a hotel, I will just sit in a chair. If I have the time, I’ll do 20 minutes; if I am in a rush, I’ll do at least 10 to 12 minutes. I eat medium-boiled eggs and a piece of multigrain toast for breakfast. I have actually noticed that lately I have been eating breakfast at 8:38. And I take some vitamin D. Then I go on and do my day.”

Richard Branson 

“I like to wake up early; usually around 5am. I get out of bed and do some exercise – play a game of tennis, go for a walk or a run, jump on my bike, or if there’s enough wind, go for a kitesurf. Then I eat breakfast and spend time with my family. Exercise and family time put me in a great mind frame before getting down to business. The reason I like to wake up early, is so that I can work through my emails before most of the world logs on.”

Beyonce

According to Owaves “After waking up…the superstar will pray and give thanks to God for all her blessings, while “breathing out anxiety, breathing in positivity”. When alone and traveling, her favorite way to re-center is through a video diary.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

Speaking to Business Insider Gary said of his routine “I wake up at 6 a.m. Literally. Every day. For me, every minute counts, so my schedule is planned down to the second. And I’m not kidding: I’ve had, and continue to have, three- and four-minute meetings. The first thing I do when I wake up is grab my cellphone and take it to the bathroom with me, where I start my day by consuming quite a lot of information. I go to TechMeme and check out the headlines. I read Jason Hirschhorn’s email newsletter, MediaREDEF. Then I hit the news outlets, primarily Business Insider and ESPN. But the main site that I focus on during this time is Nuzzel, an aggregator of headlines and links that my circle is sharing. It’s a tremendous tool, and I recommend everyone look into it if they feel they don’t have time to properly focus on every website individually.”

Bill Gates

According to The Independent, “Gates is known as an advocate of good health and spends an hour on the treadmill, watching courses from the Teaching Company while doing so.”

Michelle Obama

In an interview with Oprah, Michelle Obama shared that she wakes up early to take care of herself before her day starts.

“Well, I just started thinking, if I had to get up and go to work, I’d get up and go to work. If I had to get up to take care of my kids, I’d get up and do that. But when it comes to yourself, then suddenly, ‘Oh, I can’t get up at 4:30.’ So I had to change that.”

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