As always, Cash is here to give you valuable and practical tools to ignite your life and help you kick-start your morning to be the real warrior you are meant to be. The pointers I am about to share will give you a prosperous outlook in your day and life that I call the “Million-Dollar Morning Routine: Navy Seal-Style.” Interestingly, my morning routine begins during the night-time. You may ask, “What the hell does that actually mean?” If you want to change your life, read closely and be enlightened.
Like every successful action, the million-dollar morning routine is centered on proper preparation. In this case, preparation starts the night before and continues when you wake up to welcome the day. Having ample time to prepare the morning routine allows us to gain thoughtful processes and actions to ensure the practice is executed correctly and seamlessly. More so, preparing at night will enable us to wake up with a ready mindset, which is an advantage compared to the general public.
The Night Before Routine
Here are three things in the “night-before” preparation routine:
- Nourish Your Body. A core philosophy is “You are what you eat.” The human body is a machine that needs quality fuel to maintain optimal function. Even if you are having a chaotic day, and you opt to grab fast food for a quick meal, it is crucial to make an effort to make sure that the last meal of the day is healthy so your body will have a healthy resource to be in the optimal form the following day. If you find yourself often pressed for time that you end up getting fast food for convenience, consider meal prep or the availability of one of the many home delivery meal plans in the market. Incorporating these healthy and easy prep food will give your body the quality fuel it needs. After all, you only get one body, and it’s best to take care of it by feeding it premium fuel as often as possible. In addition to fast food, dehydration is a crucial issue for your body. It is vital to take care of one’s body to hydrate, especially before and after waking up, to keep your organs in tip-top shape!
- Prep Your Clothes. Another night-time routine I diligently practice is preparing what I will wear the next day. This might be a simple thing to do, but it makes a lot of difference in your outlook and attitude the next day. I firmly believe in systematically laying my clothes in the order I wish to wear them. Doing this saves me time in the morning, allowing me to prepare your clothes thoughtfully and calmly. After all, how often have you gotten up late and thrown on whatever clean clothing you have without much thought about whether your outfit presents you in the best manner? The idea behind this routine is to allow you to control as much as you can before life what it does best – to throw curveballs your way! Thus, by laying out your well-chosen clothes the night before, you get to have a plan of attack in place no matter what state you wake up in.
- Protect Your Peace. Another important aspect of thriving in life is to have a peaceful environment. To foster a calm setting, it is important to detach yourself from toxicity and toxic people. This means you surround yourself with successful, supportive, and loving people, whether at home or your workplace. Now you may be wondering, “Ray, How do you deal with a toxic person in your personal life, or better yet, a toxic person in your workplace?” My answer will always be the same: to become a better version of yourself. By becoming the best version of yourself, you will naturally rise above and separate from the toxic elements surrounding you. Removing yourself from toxicity is not easy and will not be done overnight. Still, it is possible if you work on it consistently daily with the right attitude, calm mindset, and relentless determination.
The Million-Dollar Day Routine: Navy Seal Style
After successfully fulfilling the “night-before routine” and giving your body and mind the rest it deserves, it is time to rise and shine and welcome a new day with the Million-Dollar Day Routine: Navy Seal Style with the following:
- Skip The Snooze Button. As tempting as it may be, pressing that snooze button is counterintuitive than helpful to your success. After all, hitting the snooze button keeps you from getting up and being great! The truth is, you do not need more sleep, at least not the general nine (9) minutes you get between each snooze. If you are prone to hitting the snooze button, I recommend you purchase an old-school alarm clock or turn off the snooze option from your phone. (Yes, you can!).
- Hydrate Your Body and Mind. An average human body (and that includes the brain) is made up of 60% water. Thus, the body and brain must constantly be hydrated throughout the day to maintain optimal form. And what better way to start this process than by drinking water in the morning as soon as you wake up? Sure, a cup of coffee may be part of your morning routine, and it’s okay to do so as long as you prioritize water. To keep in top form, the best way to start the day is to drink 8-12 oz of water! Your body and mind will thank you.
- Put Down That Phone. In a technologically-dependent society, reaching out for your phone as soon as you wake up seems intuitive. However, this is not beneficial to your psyche and efficiency to get stuck in the contents of your phone as soon as you wake up. After all, there is no text or email that cannot wait. The key to success is controlling the chaos, especially when waking up. You are practicing control by not giving in to instant gratification set by checking your phone immediately after waking up. As a control freak, I practice this routine by getting up gradually earlier and checking the phone at a specific time when I know that I will be in control. Every week, I get up earlier and add a minute to when I can check my phone until I have programmed myself to get up 30 minutes earlier and wait 20 minutes before I contemplate checking my phone.
- Exercise Your Mind. The main reason I like to get up early is to enjoy my mandatory “ME” time. This is a non-negotiable aspect of my daily routine that I gift myself. This ritual has been my go-to morning mantra since I started BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL team). During this time, I exercise my mind with a five (5) minute positive self-talk and reflection where I repeatedly say the following mantra:
“I BET ON ME”
“I CAN DO THIS”
“NOTHING CAN OR WILL STOP ME”
- Exercise Your Body. After exercising my mind with my mantra, I challenge my body by knocking up 200 pushups. By doing this physical exercise, I can achieve the following; get my heart rate and blood flow; and train my body and mind to be a Weapon of Mass Awesomeness.
- Follow a Color Coordinated Schedule. One of the biggest challenges I have observed from my 1:1 and group coaching clients is that a majority of them only keep an active calendar for their work. If you are one of these people who only keep a schedule of their work activities, shame on you. I have built a successful life by following a color-coordinated schedule that is not centered in just work, but rather in four (4) non-negotiable aspects, which I refer to as Four “F” Bombs.
Ray’s Four “F” Bombs
The concept is I assign colors to each of my activities as a reference. This color reference serves as a quick visual reference so I never miss out on any of my scheduled non-negotiable appointments in life – which is not just work! Feel free to use the same color scheme below or assign your own colors. The key here is picking a color that you quickly associate with the four non-negotiables in your life.
Family = Red
This color symbolizes my love as a father, husband, friend, son, and brother.
Fitness = Tan
This color reminds me of being in shape, buff with a sun tan. Sure, it might sound crazy, but didn’t you naturally associate the color tan with my description? It does work!
Finance = Green
This color is universally associated with money, or finance. It can also be associated with hustle, which I associate with my speaking events, coaching, other related activities and opportunities.
Faith = Gray
This color translates to faith, the power to believe in me. The reason why I chose this color is that of my belief in myself to never be a “gray man.” This color is a perpetual reminder that I am a shining star. I know what you are thinking. “Ray, this is so corny!” and my response to you is this: I have been guilty of far too long of not prioritizing, strategizing, and monetizing my life!
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The truth is my method is sought after by many. I paid money to mentors to learn this, and I have diligently passed this on to my coaching and corporate clients. However, I do not want to limit this valuable method to a select few; thus, I want to share it with YOU.
Why do I want to impart this knowledge to you? The answer is quite simple. This method is vital to a successful life, and I truly believe in sharing knowledge to transform people’s lives. I am unselfish by nature and do not believe in gatekeeping. Thus, I made it my mission to spread the word!
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