The KOPI Book CLUB!
As an Osteopath, I specialise in the bio-mechanics of the beautiful human body. I am the eternal student of the body, an absolute privilege.
My book reviews are written to help you better understand and nurture your physical body. I hope you enjoy reading them, and if you have any books to suggest, I would be very interested to hear about them.
Book Review: The 5am Club - Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life by Robin Sharma.
"Take excellent care of the front end of your day, and the rest of your day will pretty much take care of itself. Own your morning. Elevate your life."
- Robin Sharma.
Robin Sharma is a world-renowned, highly respected speaker on Leadership and Personal Mastery.
His valuable insights help individuals do their best work in all areas of their lives.
I have long respected Robin Sharma’s values, ethos, and work. The 5 am Club is a book that will encourage readers to examine every facet of their lives, including those sneaky self-sabotages that prevent us from reaching our full potential.
Getting up at 5 am sounds hard. It is – in the beginning, but Sharma carefully deconstructs positive habit-forming behaviour, and understanding the science here is a real game-changer.
However, getting up at 5 am is no good if you don’t use this time wisely. Sharma puts forward a brilliant use of the “Victory Hour” (5 am-6 am) with the 20,20,20 principle in which you exercise for 20 minutes - cardio, weights or yoga/Pilates – the key is to get sweaty, as this elevates your heart rate and gets cortisol* released as soon as you are up.
This gets your mind into an excellent cognitive state. The following 20-minute block is dedicated to focusing and thinking.
This could be writing down what you want to achieve during your day, journalling and meditating – this 20-minute time frame is about focus and clarity.
The last 20 minutes are for learning—about anything that interests you, stretches you, and challenges you. Use this time to upgrade your knowledge.
Right now, at the time of this writing, I am learning about astrology because it fascinates me—who knows what I will be reading about a year from now!
Sharma encourages the reader to customise the routine to them – which I have done, and what works for me does precisely that.
Without giving too much away, as I really want you to read this book, Sharma encourages us to capitalise on our gifts. My absolute favourite bit of advice is to eliminate distractions.
This means getting on top of your technology — step away from scrolling and notifications. Take back your brain space and time — don’t be a digital zombie stepping into what Sharma perfectly calls “digital dementia.”
Sharma considers health in the same way I approach health, using the terms healthset, mindset, heartset, and soulset.
This holistic way of thinking about yourself is what Osteopaths are taught from day one at university: to consider the patient as a whole being, not a shoulder or a knee.
Sharma also discusses the importance of routines, including set bedtimes, to allow for the restorative sleep cycle our brain needs—which is vital if you’re getting up at 5 a.m.
Sharma teaches the use of Day-staking—making each day better than the last one—alongside the 90/90/1 rule, the 60/10 rule, and the daily 5.
I could go on, but like I said, I won’t, as I want you to read this book!
Sharma uses fascinating characters in the 5 am club to weave the magic of his advice through storytelling.
The brilliant Stone Riley leaves you with a massive appreciation for your body, time, and life and an insatiable appetite for excellence - from yourself, all your endeavours, and life itself.
The artist represents the struggle and challenges that can be felt in life, and the entrepreneur is a woman I feel many of us can relate to—putting work first and not taking time to stop, rest, recover, and enjoy life.
As for the Spellbinder, this inspirational guru is someone I would love to sit on a beach with and talk to all day while watching the ocean.
This is a book I read yearly, and every year, I take something different from it and relate to the characters in a new way. It never grows tired or dull.
I implement as much as I can of the fountain of advice in this book – including being up at 5 am.
As Robin Sharma says; “Take Excellent care of the front end of your day, and the rest of the day will pretty much take care of itself. Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life” – and it does.
Robin Sharma implores the reader to share the knowledge in the book – so I am. If you read one book this year, please let it be this one.
*Cortisol has several roles in the body. It is produced by the adrenal glands on top of the kidneys. It regulates stress metabolism, helps regulate blood pressure and blood sugar, and has an anti-inflammatory action. It also affects sleep patterns.