By: Andrew Fink

Read time: 8 minutes

Welcome to The Ascend Archives Friday Edition where I share insights from the brightest minds in business and life and how I'm applying them to my life.

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This week I finished my 23rd journal.

I still have all of them going back 6 years after reading Hal Elrod's The Miracle Morning.

Hal is an inspiring guy and the routine he created works. His books have been translated to 37 languages and have sold over 3 million copies.

I'll give you a breakdown of what the Miracle Morning is and how I have integrated it into my life.

S.A.V.E.R.S

This is an acronym for the routine he teaches. It stands for:

• Silence

• Affirmations

• Visualization

• Exercise

• Reading

• Scribing

Silence

Silence comes in many forms:

• Meditation

• Prayer

• Reflection

• Deep breathing

• Gratitude

Stress is one of the most common side effects of a busy life, but meditation in particular lowers our cortisol levels, reducing stress and improving our health.

2014, my therapist helping manage my flight anxiety after having a panic attack on a plane (a story for another time) introduced me to the Headspace app.

I tried it but it didn’t stick.

Fast forward to 2018, after reading about the detailed benefits of meditation in Hal's book, I gave it another shot.

I committed to doing it every day for 30 days. I tested time duration and my seating position. I found 10 minutes and laying down propped up against pillows in my bed was the sweet spot.

I was antsy at the beginning, but now I look forward to those 10 min of silence: focused on breathing and being grounded. It’s quite refreshing.

Affirmations

Affirmations are all about mindset.

Step one: Identify the ideal result you are committed to and why

Step two: Name the necessary actions you are committed to taking and when

Step three: Recite your affirmations every morning with emotion

Constantly update and evolve your affirmations based on what is important to you.

I found this cheesy at first, but I decided to give it a try.

I soon discovered it helped give me a daily reminder of what is important. I read this once or twice a week and each year I update them.

Here are a few of my example affirmations:

• I am a social person. I am committed to attending a social event at least once a week (drinks with friends, networking event, date)

• I am healthy. I am committed to eating healthy foods and prioritize the consequences of the food I eat instead of the taste

• I am a reader and learner. I am committed to reading one book per month and listening to 3 podcasts per week

• I am self aware. I am committed to continuing to be aware of my emotions, talk with my therapist about my feelings, and stay present throughout the day

Visualization

Visualization is a well known practice of world class athletes.

They create a compelling picture of the future, then get the heightened clarity and motivation needed to make the vision a reality.

I always struggled with this.

Instead of sitting and visualizing my future, I have found success in writing my vision and re-reading it from time to time.

Check out Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold to learn more about this method. I recently updated my vision for 2027 and re-read it several times per month to remind myself of what I'm working towards.

Exercise

Yes, most people know exercise is important. But Hal points out that even a few minutes of it every morning will significantly enhance our heath, improve self confidence and emotional wellbeing.

When I was super busy living in Dallas: 5 am wake up, 35 min commute and needing to get in the office by 7 AM, there wasn’t a ton of time for exercise.

So all I did was 3 sets of jumping jacks, push ups and crunches. Took 5 minutes and gave me a bolt of energy to start the day.

This exercise can be anything: walking, yoga, lift weights, play racquet ball.

It’s just about doing something small to get the heart going.

Reading

Hal tips on reading:

• Choose something you find interesting (book, newsletter, magazine)

• Start small (e.g., read 10 pages of a book)

• You don’t have to read books cover to cover. If you aren’t enjoying it, put it down and pick up a new book

• Reread books you enjoy

• Put what you read into practice

I don't like reading a full book in the morning. So I read one page of the Daily Stoic and I pick a newsletter that I enjoy.

It has evolved over time, but here is what I read these days:

• Austin Axios newsletter

• Sahil Bloom

• James Clear

• Justin Welsh

Scribing

Hal's benefits of scribing:

• Gain clarity and understanding of your circumstances

• Capture ideas

• Review lessons

• Acknowledge your progress - seeing what you’ve accomplished is eye opening

• Improve your memory

Until this year, I really haven't appreciated how beneficial writing has been for me.

Some folks struggle and don't know what to write about. If so, find online journals that provide prompts and structure.

For me, I've always just been able to write.

What happened the day before, what I'm looking forward to, what I'm grateful for, what I'm struggling with. I love getting all the thoughts out of my head and onto paper. I don't worry about misspelling words or grammar. I just flow.

The best part is going back to review the journals weeks, months or even years later.

As I started telling stories in these newsletters, I have gone back into the journals from the day of the story. It takes me right back. To what I was thinking. To what I was feeling. It’s really cool and powerful.

Final Thoughts

I'm big on taking action from what I learn in a book or a podcast. But, I realized that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Reading the Miracle Morning inspired me to become a morning person, get back into meditation, and develop my skills as a writer. And it's totally ok that I don’t do the entire routine the "right way" or exactly how Hal designed it.

I took action. I made it my own. That's all that really matters.

Last year Hal spoke at at a Mastermind Event I attended with a small group of 50 people.

The theme was finding your purpose. I’ll leave you with these two quotes from Hal that resonated with me:

“Purpose is a North Star. It can change and it does not have an expiration date”

'“Wake up every day with urgency but be happy and at peace with where you are”

Thank you for reading! As always please reply and let me know what resonated, what didn’t, or what you question. I love chatting about this stuff!

Cheers,

Andrew