MM#41--AM & PM Bookends

Hello I’m David and welcome back to another MOJO Minute

So in almost every MOJO Minute we mention in the past, we say we want to create a flourishing life.

We do that on purpose to always have the goal or aim in front of us.   

Like a North Star far above us on our heros journey, it always points us to the way.

The Greeks philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were always calling their fellow citizens  back to their goals.  Their aims, Their conduct of life, and how were they living the virtues.   

But not only do we have that teleological star to always point us to the correct path.

For Telos means = an ultimate object or aim. (Thank you Oxford dictionary for that gracious help)

We also need to get super practical and come back down to earth and ask ourselves.

If i do in fact want to live a flourishing life.   Then I need to break that flourishing life down into a flourishing year.   And flourishing month and week and day.

How do I do that?

Enter Darren Hardy in the Compound Effect.  

Lets go to the book, as always with a quote

“The key to becoming world-class in your endeavors is to build your performance around world-class routines. It can be difficult, even futile, to predict or control what will show up in the middle of your workday. But you can almost always control how your day starts and ends. I have routines for both.”  

Again, thats Darren Hardy in the Compound Effect.    

Did you hear that key nugget of wisdom?

Let me repeat it, “but you can almost always control how your day starts and ends.  I have routines for both.”

Ahhhh, what wisdom there is in that.

Darren calls these “the bookends of our day”.  AM and PM bookends.

You Control those bookends and you almost always have a successful day.

In fact, you have a flourishing day.

And a flourishing day repeated enough times, means you have a flourishing week

And weeks begets months and months beget a year.  

Super exciting isnt it.

To have a framework.  

To build a flourishing day and life with.  

So...

What would your ideal day look like?

Since I read the compound effect back in 2010 I have been relentlessly putting the concept of AM and PM bookends into effect.  

So here's some tips from my experience:

- start your ideal day, the night before.  Getting 7-8 hours of sleep will have You starting on the right foot.  

- don't plan your morning schedule (am bookend) too rigidly, jot down some rough times.   Not minute to minute scheduling.  

I use the miracle morning method for my morning routine because it is simple yet effective.  check out the review for those details

But a quick summary is 

After waking and feeling refreshed from my optimal sleep from the night before.  Im ready to rock my morning time. 

So with the morning hygiene completed 

Off I launch into my routine (very rarely does it change)

I pray for 5-10 minutes 

Then I go downstairs and make my preworkout drink 

I read the Bible 10 mins 

Write a MOJO minute like this one or work on book review for 30 mins 

Then I'm off to 30 min workout 

So I pray, read, write, workout all before my primary job begins and I lose control of my day with the demands and needs and obligations upon me. 

So In today's MOJO minute, what's your ideal day look like?  Jot it down.    (First small victory)

Then make sure you go to bed on time so you can wake up on time feeling super good and ready to tackle your flourishing day. (Second small victory)

Then wake up (not hitting the snooze button--because you are refreshed from your 7-8 hours of sleep). (Third small victory)

Then launch into your morning ideal day AM bookend style.  

After which you will have payed yourself FIRST  (fourth small victory) before the day with its chaos, demands and super packed schedule is coming down upon you.  

With those small victories, you will have some MOJO going for your day 

So let me ask you when will you put theory 2 action and start your ideal day?

May i make a suggestion?   How about today!