The Morning Routine That Actually Works (No BS)

Well, folks, welcome back to Habits of High Performers. And I've got my favorite mucker. Yes, in Ireland, that means friend. My favorite mucker here, Caroline.

What about you, mucker?

What about you, mucker? That's our little one-liner. So what are we here to chat about today?

I'm going to talk about morning routines.

Morning routines. They are everything. So it'd be fair to say that I'm quite a routine person. How would you describe yourself?

Much more routine.

Yeah. So Caroline's even more routine than I am. I'm a little more flexible.

Yeah, I'm a little less flexible. I like a routine.

Yeah, this is good. And all of you folks that listen right now, we know that when you have a routine, it then becomes a habit. You don't have to think about it and it's easy to do the thing.

Automatic.

It's automatic. What happens at the age of 35, Caroline?

Hold on.

I thought you were going to say, I don't know because I'm not there yet, but you are.

Yeah, actually, it's about your brain. Everything becomes hardwired and it's harder to change things. Spot on.

So Dr. Joe Dispenza, who we both love and have read, he says that by the age of 35, most of the thoughts and habits and responses that you have are neural pathways. Correct.

Sorry.

So excited. But yes, essentially the neurons and the neural pathways are really strongly formed. The pathways are myelinated with this fatty tissue, which makes it like super reactive. So if someone challenges your ego, you just respond in a certain way. You wake up in the morning and you just do a certain thing. So after 35, it's really hard to change your habits. Not impossible.

But harder.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So morning routine, if we just get into that.

Yeah. Why?

Why do you think it's important to have a morning routine?

Because it sets you up for the entire day. If I don't have my morning routine, the day doesn't go as well.

Yeah, I agree. And if we—

I don't know if that's a healthy thing.

I think that's just the nature of being a human. Yeah. If we go all like Instagram quote, like master your morning, master your day.

I thought you were going to say master your life.

Something cheesy like that, right?

Yeah.

So, but it's true.

It is true. If you don't start out on the right foot, you'll be reactive. Well, I know for me I am.

Yeah. Well, even when you look at the studies around the first 5 minutes of your day, when you do start with your phone and looking at social media or the news or emails or anything on your phone, it wires you for stress for the day and reactivity for the day. And of course, you guys are listening right now going, "Yeah, common sense," but not always common practice.

Yeah, it's hard to do sometimes. And then it becomes a habit. Pick up the phone first thing.

100%. We're not here to sell you on you must get up at 5:00 AM and do this and do that. That's not what this is about. But more so about understanding what type of person you are. Are you a chronotype of the evening person, a late night person, which would be an owl? Or are you a morning person? Thanks. That's the first time on the podcast we've had some bird noises.

I appreciate it. I don't know what the lark sound is.

It would be something light and—

I can't do it, but I know an owl.

There we go. Did you appreciate that owl? Yeah, first owl sound. Thanks, Caroline.

You're welcome.

So are you a lark or are you an owl? And I guess if I take a second and maybe you, the listener, think about this as well, go back through your life and go, was there a pattern? So me personally, I can remember Dad saying at 2.5 or 3, he'd be getting up at 4:30 or 5 to walk the dogs and he'd be putting his clothes on super quiet to try and not wake me. But no matter what, bang, I'd be out.

Hey, what's up, Dad?

Let's go. And he said he would be walking along the pavements in our tiny little estate in Ireland. And I had this little trike, like a little bicycle with 3 wheels, but it was all plastic, hard plastic. And so I'd be making a racket all around my estate, 5 a.m. And I just— I think teenagehood, yeah, for sure. Alcohol probably didn't help. And I did sleep a little more.

And so what were you like naturally as a teen without alcohol?

Bang, up, ready to go. School started at 8:40. I'd be at school at 7:00. I'd be there walking around the halls, chatting with the janitor, just catching up with everyone, having breakfast at the canteen so I could chat to the canteen ladies.

Oh, my gosh.

Always early morning.

You? Interesting. Always early morning.

Yeah.

I remember being little. My sister was not as early of a She wasn't an early morning person. And I just remember sitting in bed at like 6:00 AM dying for someone to wake up, just being like, "Someone, play." No one woke up till like, I'm going to say 7:30, 8:00.

So do you think in your house the chronotypes were more like evening people?

I think my— I don't know, it's hard to say. I think my mom, I just remember her waking up early always. But I don't know if that was because she had to.

Or because of you.

Or because of me, or like a natural thing. I must ask, actually. My dad is definitely a night owl. He'll stay up till like 1, but he also doesn't really sleep in. So he's probably not getting enough sleep.

Well, it's interesting you say that. So some people might be asking, how much sleep should I get? Well, again, when we look at what researchers say around sleep, there are about, I think it's around 3% of the world's population that can survive and thrive on 4 or 5 hours sleep.

Wow.

Small amounts. Your dad might be one of those.

Yeah. Well, it's my whole life.

Whereas I can't.

No, I get very emotional.

Yeah, you do.

Very sad if I don't have enough sleep. But I think on average I get like 7 hours a night, not 8. And I feel good on 7.

Yeah, likewise. I'm 7 or 8.

Yeah. So I've always been a morning person.

Yeah, likewise. So for those listening right now, this is not about whether you're morning or evening. We're going to talk a little bit about what your morning could look like to set you up for success. We've had a couple of people on the show that have wrote books. So one was recently was Hal Elrod, who wrote The Miracle Morning. We will put a link to that episode in the show notes. And also another friend of ours, Robin Sharma, wrote a book called The 5 AM Club. Some of you may have read that. Highly recommend you read both the books, but essentially it's about what do you do when you're waking up? So we wake up on average, both of us, 5:00 AM. How do we manage to do that, do you think? What happens the night before?

We, you mean evening routine? We are generally not on our phone for about an hour to 2 hours before bed. We normally fall asleep on the couch when we try to watch TV. We watch TV, but then we end up falling asleep just because we wake up early. And then we go to bed. You will often read or journal in bed or meditate, and I will just pop earphones in and go to sleep.

Caroline's been real nice. She puts these like—

Oh yeah.

You don't want to out me. She puts these expensive earphones in to try and drown out my snoring.

I found the pair that work.

Yeah, she's found the ultimate pair.

I've gone through a few pairs and this is the one.

Yeah, so if you have a snoring partner and you want to know what those are, just message Caroline.

I've got a whole protocol. So let me know.

That's a whole other podcast.

It's a whole other podcast.

Yeah. So early to bed is for us, so 9-ish.

9-ish, we'll end up getting in bed.

Yeah, like 5 to 9, I'm looking at my watch being like, "It's time, it's time." 100%. And 9:30, usually sleeping by then. Now I know some of you are going, "James, this is absolute nonsense. Like, I don't get to bed till 11:30 or 12." That's okay. That's just what you do. So that might not change after this episode. However, we might convince you to get to bed a little earlier. So you might be one of the 3% that don't need sleep. You'll know that if you get 4 or 5 hours and you're happy, lots of energy, you're not grumpy with people or short with people, maybe you are one of those 3 percenters. However, if you get 4 or 5, 6 hours sleep and you are grumpy or short with people, then let's get to bed a bit earlier. And so your morning routine will not work unless you've got an evening routine that matches it. What was something you mentioned that you learned?

Yeah. When I lived in Auckland, I had sort of like a life coach and he— I was trying to get healthier. And he said to me, "Instead of focusing on your bedtime, we're going to focus solely on your wake-up time. And if you can keep that early and consistent, the bedtime will fall into place because you'll be so tired." And he was right. It did. So, I just started, I was working in hospitality, so I was up late, I was trying to make it all work, which is hard. So, if you work night shifts, it's hard. Yeah, it is hard.

It's all situational.

You still have your morning routine if you do, I guess. The morning's just a different time.

I think most of the people that listen, from what we understand, probably do work days.

9:00 to 5:00. Yeah, most.

And then probably have side hustles, maybe for some of those, the ones that are kind of really ambitious and entrepreneurial. Yeah, but this 5 AM thing for us works really well. And I guess in the morning there's a few routines. So what does your morning routine look like?

I wake up first normally, just a little bit before you.

Yep, you win.

I win. I creep downstairs so I don't wake anyone else up, and then I feed all of our fur children because they're all starving at 5 AM and then cup of coffee and I sit on the couch and read and drink my coffee.

Brilliant. So you're feeding your mind, you're getting caffeination going.

I know some people say you should wait for your coffee, like, I don't know how long, but it's just— 1 hour. Some people.

Yeah, 1 hour.

It's just not the life that I'm choosing.

Yeah, that's fine.

I don't like it in the morning.

What I appreciate what you're saying is that your flexibility is showing through here, right? In this instance, you're being flexible with the morning, knowing that Andrew Huberman did say that once you wake up, don't have your coffee within an hour. And you're going, yeah, I'm okay. I'm just going to be a bit flexible with that.

That's kind. However, I think flexibility would be up till that point of that episode, I'd always had coffee first thing. Flexibility would be, "Oh, let me try his approach. It's just 1 hour." You just didn't.

No. But you're being flexible with yourself is what I'm saying.

There you go.

There you go with the routine.

Yeah. I just like it first thing and then I read. And it is tempting to go on my phone and it is tempting to not read every morning, but I have a better day when I do read.

And I always am like, "Oh, I love reading." And you've been doing that for a number of years. And every morning when I come downstairs, Caroline then shares with me what she's been learning. And I've learned so many things about white male privilege. I've learned so many things about what true feminism is. I've learned things about the body, about health, about nutrients, about—

A lot of info dumping happening.

It's amazing. I learn a lot. And it's so interesting, often from stage I get asked random questions at the end for Q&A, and sometimes some of the stuff that you and I have chatted about from your reading really helps me answer those questions brilliantly.

Thank you.

Yeah, thank you.

Now, what is your morning routine?

A bit different. So I get up usually after Caroline, sometimes before, but usually after, within 5 or 10 minutes. So usually 5 to 5:15-ish. And I like to do a little bit of breathing. I like to meditate, even if it's only a couple of minutes. A little light stretch, nothing crazy. No, no 4-hour Goggins kind of stretching going on there. And then a little journal. Like what's the focus for the day. It might be one word, it might be an intention. And then I'm straight downstairs where I can—

You get attacked.

Yeah, I get attacked by our chocolate Labrador. She gets very excited when I get up.

It never gets old, honestly. It's the cutest thing.

Yeah, for those that don't have animals, I mean, I get it, you don't want them, but this is the best love, always fully excited to see you. It's a great way to start the day.

It is.

And then I pour myself a decaf, just a black decaf, because I actually enjoy the smell and the taste, but I don't enjoy caffeine. Caffeine and I don't work well together. I get a bit jittery. By about 6 PM that night, I think I'm getting the flu or maybe dying. So I just don't do caffeine very well. Maybe 20 to 30 days a year I'll do caffeine.

Yeah, if it's a big week or—

Yeah, like this past week, Had a big session with the Transport Alliance in Queenstown. Then I had like, I was leaving the house about 5:00.

We were waking up a quarter to 5:00.

Yeah, quarter to 5:00, only 15, 20 minutes earlier.

It makes such a difference.

It does.

Massive difference, yeah.

And I headed out to work with these amazing, Fulton Hogan, had their grads, so it's a civil construction company, had all their grads, like 56 young talented people out at a campsite. So, I went and spent a day and a half with them, And I had coffee both mornings. I needed it.

Yeah, I was like, what's going to happen later?

That was pretty good.

Yeah, yeah, you didn't have the flu.

I needed the coffee. So decaf in the morning, usually a lot of water. Then we go for a hill walk.

Yeah, so yeah, I forgot I left that part out. I got stuck on the coffee. Yeah, we usually— well, every day I walk the dogs. If James is able to, he'll come with, um, and it's about 4 or 5 Ks with the girls.

And it's hilly terrain. The last bit's quite—

It's a climb.

Yeah.

But it's good. It's the best way to start my day. And if I don't do the dog walk first thing in the morning, I think it's noticeable, like my mood.

Yeah, of course.

Yeah, it's not as positive.

100%. And it's interesting, a lot of the studies will say do vigorous exercise in the morning. For some people, that's just not appealing or even possible. So for me, I'd much rather a challenging hill walk to get the heart going and you're sweating by the end of it. So I think it's about finding what works for you, but certainly BDNF, that brain-derived nootropic factor that helps with the health of our brain, the longevity, avoiding neurological issues, that only gets released when you're sweating and you're doing cardio. So a good walk, a HIIT exercise, some yoga, a run, whatever it is for you, do that. But I'm just not a big fan of these prescribed, like, here's 14 things you've got to do in the morning in this order and have your orange and your lemon and your water and your supplement. I just think the more complex it is, you won't follow through. 100%.

Yeah.

Simplify it.

Yeah.

So we've figured out what we need to function well. And could we make it better? Yes. Yeah. But do we want to do 150 things?

No.

Not at all. So, I would say keep it simple, decide on a few things that work for you. But the first task, pick a time.

Yes. And be consistent with it.

Get your butt out of bed.

Yeah. What advice do you have for people if they are like, "Cool, I currently wake up at 6:30. I want to do 6:00 so that I can do a 30-minute walk before my kids are awake or whatever." What advice do you have for them if they just can't get up?

That's not an excuse at all.

What are some tips that they could use to spring out of bed?

Okay, something I share with my coaching clients that I think, well, no, I don't think, I know will work if you work it. So wait till the weekend, Saturday or Sunday, and wait till during the middle of the day where you're quite awake and alert, Go up to your bedroom, set an alarm, whatever the alarm's going to be, whether it's your watch, an old-school alarm, or if you really have to, your phone, and set it for 1 minute. Lie down on your bed, close your eyes, and when that alarm goes off, bang, bounce out of bed, stand up, move to the door, open the door, move out the room. Then come back, set the alarm for a minute, lie down, close your eyes. As soon as that alarm goes off, bang, bounce up, go again. Do that about 10 to 15 times. Do that 3 or 4 weekends in a row. And I promise you, you will wire a whole new piece of circuitry in your brain that when that alarm goes off, it's like bang, you operate and react. There's no thinking, "Should I get up?" You will get up. It's just a way of conditioning.

Automatic.

Yeah.

And warn your spouse if you have one, or partner, or flatmate, "Hey, I'm going to do this thing." Otherwise, they might be like, call the ambulance. Yeah, he's going crazy.

It's not a normal thing to do.

No.

But then being disciplined is not a normal thing to do. The normal thing to do is take the path of least resistance. So getting up early or having a morning routine, it's not normal. Most people just go with the flow, and that's why most people don't get the results that you want or that maybe you get.

Yeah. You got to have that routine and follow it. And it's not about motivation, it's about discipline. We were speaking about this on our walk today.

Yep.

How— I can't remember where I first heard it, but it's so— I think it was Gabrielle Lyons pretty much saying, don't— set your plan, have your routine, whatever it is, written out. And regardless of how you feel, what emotions you're experiencing, Put those aside and follow the plan. Otherwise, you will always be thrown off by how you feel. Like, "I had a rough day. I'm not going to wake up early tomorrow and go for that walk." That is what will save you, is waking up early and going for the walk. Sleeping in will keep you trapped in that mood of the day before. So follow the plan. Don't follow your emotions.

What I hear from that, which is brilliant, is it's mind over mattress. Like, get out, get going. Appreciate that. Mind over mattress, get your arse out of bed and get going. Dr. Hayley Perles, we've had her on the show a couple times. She's a sports psychologist and she talks about mental toughness. So the very first time I interviewed her, I said, okay, before we talk about that, what's the opposite? What's mental weakness? And she said it was something along the lines of, when you know that the thing you should be doing is good for you and you don't do it, that's mental weakness.

Yeah.

She said you're just calling it in. You're just, you're not doing the thing you know you need to do. You're a weakling. Like, get after it. And that really hit home for me because there's lots of things that I would go, well, cool, that's mental weakness. Yeah, get after it.

And Tony Robbins talks about it too, like changing your state. You speak about it too, like your mood and your mindset follows your body. Yeah, not always. Sometimes you can use your mind to make your body feel a certain way, but generally your body will lead the way you feel. So like, if you're slumped over, you're gonna feel low and depressed and sad, but if you're upright and tall, you'll feel confident and happy. So it's sort of like, regardless of how you feel do the thing that's good for you.

100%.

And I don't really know how else to drive that home with people.

Just move your body. We need to be moving more. We've had so many experts on the show in the last year who are like, sedentary lifestyle is absolutely killing us.

It's killing us.

It's obesity and overweight that's going nuts because so many of us are not getting nearly enough movement at all.

Yeah. And honestly, just 30 minutes in the morning of a gentle walk I think a lot of people think it's got to be this all-or-nothing or this really intense workout for it to count. But really, those don't often work if you have a stressed, stressful life, a busy life, a full-on job. It's the slower, easier things that will move the needle.

Yeah.

And along with all of those health issues that come with not moving, your mind also goes. Like dementia risk increases, Alzheimer's, depression definitely increases, all of those sort of— and mood disorders, they increase if your body is stagnant. So I think there's also your— you know, they say your gut is your second brain, and there are nerves that go from your gut to your brain and then the other way around. And people have always been like, your brain is what's leading, but really there are more connections from your gut up to your brain than there are from your brain to your body. I'm pretty sure.

Yeah, no, you're right.

It's quite a lot more. So if you're moving your body and training your body to sort of like live the way you want your life to be and move the way you want to move when you eventually reach whatever goal it is, your brain will follow.

100%.

It just, it makes sense. But I think people just, it's just easier than not.

Why?

It isn't actually, it's much harder.

In the long run, it's like choose your heart and like the not moving thing is way harder in terms of the suffering.

Yeah.

But I think we're so focused on like right now, what would be easier?

Yeah, just chilling. Yeah.

Just relaxing seems easier. Yeah, but long run, it's just terrible.

Yeah. And if you have kids, just think about them, and they are literally sponges, and they're watching everything you do. And you, if you are not happy currently in your life— I know we were talking about morning routines and now we've just taken a tangent— but if you're not happy with where you are but you refuse to get out of the same routines and habits that cause that you are quite literally coaching your child to have the same future.

100%. Monkey see, monkey do.

Like, and that's very scary.

Yeah, 100%. Again, as harsh as it sounds, take some responsibility. Yeah, it's not fun to hear that. No, but often I like, I need to hear that. Yeah. And interesting, when I go back to like 2017, 2018, I was getting out of one career and starting to look into what a new career would look like. And I remember just getting up at 4:00 to 4:30 AM every morning to do the work, to read books, to listen to Tony Robbins, to study with Brendon Burchard, to be at a mastermind that's in LA virtually so I could learn from people that were smarter and faster and fitter than me. And I did that for years, got up early, did the work, and my God, I do not regret any of it. Yes, I was tired. Yes, I was trying to juggle being a parent and having a job. But actually, anytime we come up with this excuse of we don't have time, I disagree with that. You know, I see full-on busy parents who've got a full-time job, yet they still will prioritize time to move their bodies. They still prioritize time to eat well. And I admire that. I know it's not easy, but I really admire people that prioritize what's most important to them.

Yeah, me too.

Now, early morning, the one thing we didn't go into detail on there that I thought would be helpful is the journaling, because I had a recent mastermind session. So I run a small mastermind where leaders from different industries, we get together and we talk about our businesses, what could be better. We bring in special guests. So this one session recently done in Queenstown, I was talking about journaling, and the majority of them said, I know I should, but I just can't. I can't get into that habit.

I'm one of those people, so coach me about it.

This is your one right here. Okay, awesome. Actually, just sitting here by chance, not by chance, but just because that's how it is. There's a couple of journals from this past year. Look, it's not a sexy thing to do. It's just a very simple process. But I believe in high performance journaling. So if you're going to journal, there has to be an outcome and there has to be an upside. Most people stop journaling because they don't see any results. So you got to be patient, play the long game, and there has to be a process. So I like to ask 3 questions. What went well today? If you're doing it at night.

Yes.

If you're doing it in the morning, what went well yesterday? Right. If you're— second question, what didn't go so well yesterday? Or if you're doing it at night, what didn't go so well today? And then the last one, what would 1% better look like? And so those 3 questions, if that's all you do in your journaling, I promise you, you will learn a lot about your life. You will make adjustments and your personal growth will skyrocket. The other thing in the morning I like to start with is gratitude. And it's probably the most cliché buzzword thing that everyone talks about. It's like, oh, practice gratitude. But again, if you take a hot second to go, is there anything to this? The research shows that when you truly practice gratitude, it has an impact on your neurotransmitters, your serotonin, your dopamine, etc. How do we do that? So you write down 3 things you're grateful for.

Yeah, it's easy.

So what are 3 things you're grateful for today?

I'm grateful for the hills where we live, the beautiful walk we had.

Let's start with that.

All right.

So the person listening, I want you to think, what's one thing you're grateful for today? Okay, so you write that down. That's the start of the process. But the next part of the process is, could you feel that gratitude? So, you know, the way if you picture in your mind something scary, whether it's someone giving you a fright, a clown jumping out at you in the dark—

literally where my brain was—

could you feel that fear in your body when you picture it?

Yeah, if I thought about it hard enough.

Exactly. So it takes a little bit of effort.

Yeah.

So the same thing with the hills. I want you for a second when you're writing it out to go, can I feel that gratitude?

But can you explain how that feels in my body?

Yes.

Or in your body so I can try to find it? Like I am deeply grateful for everything, but I struggle with these sort of things.

Embodiment.

Yeah. Where do you feel that? I don't know.

Okay, you do, I promise you. So we did a lot of walking today in the hills.

Yes.

It was awesome. Where did you find the most joy in that walk?

What do you mean, where?

Like, was it heading up?

Landscape-wise?

Heart rate was high? Where was the point in the walk where you're like, that was just awesome?

I think heart rate was high.

Okay.

I was like, yeah, we're in it now. Stay hard. I'd say that's it.

This is what I get. I get Caroline Goggins when we're going up these hills, telling me to stay hard. And what's the other one? Hurrah!

Hurrah! Yeah, I just like that feeling.

Okay, so what were you feeling?

Exhaustion.

Okay, where did you feel it?

In my legs and my chest.

Okay, brilliant. That's it.

So that's gratitude.

That's it. So if you can write that down and maybe close your eyes and feel that in your legs and chest, that's you feeling the gratitude.

Okay.

Another example. What's the one other thing you're grateful for?

For today?

Yeah.

Our lovely dog walk this morning.

Yes. Okay. A lovely dog walk. So when were you most joyful or appreciative on that walk?

Many times, but I just love looking at our dogs, like, just exploring.

Yeah. So they're like on a wee mission. And so where do you feel that? I can see the joy in your face. You feel it in your face.

You smile. Yeah, I feel it in my face.

Anywhere else?

And like in my chest, like happy.

Brilliant. So you've just literally, for those that are watching the video, you've expressed and held your chest and your face lit up.

Right.

That's it. That's it.

Okay.

Experiencing gratitude.

Okay. I thought it was like gratitude was one feeling for all the things you're grateful for. Okay.

All different.

Depends on the thing.

Yeah. So just finding a way to actually feel the gratitude because that's at a deeper, much deeper level than writing it down.

Yeah.

That's where you get the benefits of practicing gratitude.

That's where I fall in short.

How much fun would you have doing that?

Yeah, a lot of fun.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Because you're setting yourself up for joy then.

Yeah.

You're literally creating good feelings. So I think it's just about practicing gratitude in a way that's pragmatic, but also that it actually has an impact. Otherwise you're just writing 3 things I'm grateful for.

Literally, that's what I did. My mattress, my pillow, coffee.

Yeah. And then whereas if you could have When you think of your mattress, right? What I think of there is like you've had the biggest day or you've been traveling and you've been sitting on a plane for 24 hours.

Finally get to your bed.

What's that feeling like?

Amazing.

And where do you feel that feeling?

Just my whole body feels fuzzy.

There you go. Yeah, that's what bringing gratitude to life feels like. And that's where the science shows that it actually has a massive impact on our health, our well-being, like the depression, anxiety, etc.

Yeah.

Sorry to bleat on about it there, but I like it.

No, I've learned something.

I get a bit excited about it, you know. So folks, figure out what your morning routine is. If you don't know what it is, try some things. Try things that will set you up for success. Try not using your phone. Do read The 5 AM Club. Do read The Miracle Morning.

Yeah.

If you want to, get ChatGPT to help you, but rather work it out yourself.

Also make it simple. Yeah. It doesn't need to be a whole like Mark Wahlberg 3 AM protocol.

Or a Dave Asprey, like, 553 supplements.

Just wake up a little bit earlier if you are— if it's something that you want to be doing and you feel like you need. Be honest with yourself if you need it. Wake up a bit earlier. Make smart decisions. Don't go on your phone. Maybe leave it in another room. Read a book for 10 minutes if that's all you can manage, and then Away you go.

Yeah, keep it simple.

Yeah.

What book are you reading right now?

I'm bouncing between quite a few books. I'm reading on my Kindle, I'm reading Forever Strong, Gabrielle Lyons. I'm still reading it.

What's that about?

It's about, um, pretty much the importance of muscle and about the science behind it and why we need— we're under-muscled as a humans. So it's the focus on that, which is very interesting. And what else am I reading?

The Die with Zero.

Die with Zero. That's good. I'm struggling a little bit with it. I don't know why, but I'm going to persevere. Hopefully it works out.

I'm weirdly re-reading my own book because I'm recording the audiobook. Caroline's looking at me with such judgment going, "You know what? You're that guy that reads your own bloody book?" Dear diary, I'm amazing. Thanks, Caroline. Deeply appreciate that. No, I'm doing the audiobook right now and purposely didn't do it at the start when we launched the book. So I'm literally reading my own book, recording it, and it's slow. It's fun because I'm going back through things going, "Oh my God, I forgot I wrote that." I better double down on that and remember that in case I get interviewed at some point and someone calls me out on it. So yeah, rereading that at the minute.

You're reading other books?

Yeah, I've got other books there too, but that's the one that's really—

Yeah, the main one.

Yeah, yeah. Trying to nail it. And the book went global this past week, which is pretty exciting.

Mr. Worldwide.

Caroline likes to take the piss out of me often. I like to quietly get on with it, but she likes to kind of just, you know, wind me up. Which is much appreciated. So yeah, available in every country on the planet. It'll be available in foreign languages in the next couple of years as well.

That's exciting.

Yeah.

Did you ever think you'd have a book? No. In a foreign language?

Didn't think I'd have a book, full stop, never mind in Swahili, you know.

Don't think it's going to be in Swahili.

Never say never.

True.

You know?

Yeah, we'll see.

That's exciting. So folks, I hope this was a valuable session. Us just sharing some insights around mornings. Make your morning your own and get clear on a few things you want to do. Implement it, give it a crack for 2 months, because that's what it takes to install a new habit.

Yeah.

And be patient with yourself and try and bring your loved ones along for the journey, but they might want to sleep in, and that's okay. Leave them to it.

Lead by example, then. Yeah, they'll follow. Yeah, if something's really good for you and it works, people generally follow.

Yeah, it's true. Yeah, 100%. And don't forget, pick habits over hustle. Thanks, Caroline. Appreciate you coming on the show, mucker.