The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

The Morning Miracle summary

Every one of us wishes to be happy and make consistent progress on meaningful projects. How we start our day largely determines how the rest of the day unfolds. The Morning Miracle shows us the simple yet essential personal practices that help us succeed in the areas we value most.

The Morning Miracle notes & quotes

Here are my notes and quotes on The Morning Miracle by Hal Elrod. My notes are casual and include what I believe are the essential concepts, ideas, and insights from the book, along with direct quotes from the author.

We have one thing in common: We want to improve our lives and ourselves.
We’re born with the desire to grow and improve, yet wake up each day and “life pretty much stays the same.”
The Miracle Morning is the most practical and effective method for improving every area of your life faster than you think.
For many, this includes deeper levels of fulfillment and more balance in more areas of life.
After a nasty head-on collision, I wanted to “venture from my painfully comfortable realm of mediocrity…into the space of being extraordinary.”
Change begins with taking responsibility for your life and refusing to blame others.
“Blame determines who is at fault for something, responsibility determines who is committed to improving things.”
Many resign themselves to mediocrity.
Even achievers tend to settle for mediocrity in some areas of their lives.
If you want Level 10 success, dedicate purposeful time daily to creating, attracting, achieving, and sustaining Level 10 success in each area of interest.
It all starts with how you wake up in the morning.
Three arguments of this book:
1. You are worthy of everything you desire
“Dedicate time each day to becoming the person you need to be.”
“How you wake up each day and your morning routine (or lack thereof) dramatically affects your level of success in every single area of your life. Focused, productive, successful mornings generate focused, productive, successful days.”
2. Changing how you wake up in the morning can transform any area of your life.
“Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development because success is something you attract by the person you become.” - Jim Rohm
3. Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world.
Success will be elusive until we develop ourselves to be the person we need to be to create the life we want.
After several weeks of getting up early each morning to spend 60 minutes on personal development, my stress levels dropped, and “I had more energy, clarity, and focus. I felt genuinely happy, motivated, and inspired.”
So I shared my results with my private coaching clients, which also worked for them.
I want the freedom to control my time and do “what I want, when I want, with whomever I want.”
“That kind of life doesn’t just happen. It must be designed.”
“My past does not equal my future.”
“How you do anything is how you do everything.” - T. Harv Eker
Don’t let others’ fears, insecurities, and beliefs determine what’s possible for you.
Seek others who will contribute to your life and bring your best and the same for them.
Mediocrity is caused by:
Rearview Mirror Syndrom—looking backward
Lack of purpose
Small, bad choices that compound over time
Lack of accountability (get an accountability buddy)
Mediocre circle of influence
Lack of personal development
Lack of urgency
How to rise above mediocrity:
Step #1: Acknowledge that 95% of people will settle for mediocrity
Step #2: Identify the causes of mediocrity (see above)
Step #3: Draw your line in the sand
If you’re being honest with yourself, you want an extraordinary life. Make the decision today to have that life.
Our belief about how much sleep we need predominantly affects how we feel when we wake up.
How to wake up early:
Step #1: Set your intentions before bed
Step #2: Move your alarm clock across the room
Step #3: Brush your teeth
Step #4: Drink a full glass of water
Step #5: Get dressed in your workout clothes
Life S.A.V.E.R.S.: The 6 practices of The Morning Miracle
S is for Silence
Meditation, prayer, reflection, deep breathing, gratitude
Famous people who meditate: Jerry Seinfeld, Sting, Russell Simmons, Oprah Winfrey
A is for Affirmation
Affirmations work—our internal programming can be changed.
Famous people who use affirmations: Will Smith, Jim Carrey, Suze Orman, Muhammed Ali, Oprah Winfrey
5 steps to creating your affirmations:
Step 1: What you want
Step 2: Why you want it—knowing your deepest whys will give you unstoppable purpose
Step 3: Whom you are committed to being to create it
Step 4: What you’re committed to doing to attain it—what consistent actions will you do to realize your ideal life?
Feeling into your emotions as you read your daily affirmations will help them sink in more deeply.
V is for Visualization
Many highly successful people use visualization: Bill Gates, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Anthony Robbins, Tiger Woods, Will Smith, Jim Carrey, and Oprah Winfrey.
Jack Nicklaus famously said, “I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp in-focus picture of it in my head."
3 steps to visualizations:
Step 1: Get ready
Step 2: Visualize what you want
“Visualize your major goals, deepest desires, and most exciting, would-totally-change-my-life-if-I-achieved-them dreams. See, feel, hear, taste, and smell every detail of your vision.”
“The more vivid you make your vision, the more compelled you’ll be to take the necessary actions to make it a reality.”
Experience how good it will feel to realize your dreams.
Step 3: Visualize whom you need to be & what you need to do
“Once you’ve created a clear mental picture of what you want…see yourself engaged in the positive actions you’ll need to do each day.”
E is for Exercise
R is for Reading
Modeling successful people is the fastest way to achieve what you want.
“Begin with the end in mind.”
Before reading each day, ask yourself why you are reading the book and what you hope to get out of it.
“Achieving mastery in any area requires repetition—being exposed to certain ideas, strategies, or techniques over and over again, until they become engrained in your subconscious mind.”
S is for Scribing
“My favorite form of scribing is journaling.”
“I can tell you now that journaling has become one of the most gratifying and fulfilling practices of my life.”
Journaling helps you gain clarity, capture ideas, review lessons, and acknowledge your progress.
One of the things successful people have in common is practicing being grateful for all that they have.
“Everything is difficult before it’s easy.”
The 6-Minute Miracle Morning
Even six minutes of morning practices - 1 minute each - can still have a significant positive impact on your life.
The most important tasks tend to be the hardest. If you do them first thing in the morning, you will feel good and be more productive the rest of the day, and you will be one day closer to your goals.
Some say the quality of our habits creates the quality of our lives.
“If you don’t control your habits, your habits will control you.”
Habits are one of the most valuable skills.

Related Resources

Here is a list of resources, including authors, books, websites, podcasts, and concepts mentioned in The Morning Miracle, which might be helpful for further learning.

People

Oprah Winfrey
Tony Robbins
Bill Gates
Howard Schultz
Deepak Chopra
Wayne Dyer
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Franklin
Albert Einstein
Aristotle

Books and Publications

Taking Life Head On: How to Love the Life You Have While You Create the Life of Your Dreams by Hal Elrod
The Rhythm of Life by Matthew Kelly
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
Sleep Smarter: 21 Proven Tips to Sleep Your Way to a Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshal Goldsmith
A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson
The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
The Five Love Languages by Gary D. Chapman
The SoulMate Experience by Jo Dunn
The Seven Principles For Making a Marriage Work by M. Gottman and Nan Silver
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy