PDF Summary:The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod

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Elrod concluded that everything happens for a reason and it’s up to us to choose the most empowering reasons for our challenges and circumstances. Ultimately, he viewed his accident as a positive because it changed his life for the better.

After recovering from his accident, Elrod suffered a second rock-bottom experience six years later—this time, financial ruin during the 2008 recession. He pulled himself out of depression by developing a morning routine that motivated him to get out of bed. On a friend’s advice, he started his days with running, while listening on earphones to motivational speakers, in order to feel better and think more clearly.

His depression began to lift and he continued to develop his morning routine, experimenting with his sleep schedule and various personal development methods, such as affirmation and journaling. He came up with a daily sequence of six practices. The routine was so successful in helping him turn his life around that he began calling it his Miracle Morning and sharing it with coaching clients and friends, who also found it transformative.

To share it more widely, Elrod wrote The Miracle Morning, which became an Amazon...

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A Journey of Discovery

Here’s how Hal Elrod used the Miracle Morning to advance in less than a year from his lowest point—a failing business, debt, and depression—to renewed financial success, achieving his dream job, and even completing an ultra-marathon.

Although he’d recovered from a debilitating car accident, he found overcoming financial failure, debt, and depression to be more difficult. After his accident, he had family, friends, and medical professionals taking care of him and encouraging him. In contrast, when financial disaster struck, he didn’t have anyone feeling sorry for him—others had their own problems as a result of the recession.

It was a struggle to get out of bed until a friend suggested that running would lift his spirits and help him think more clearly about his problems. With nothing to lose, he went for a run, during which he listened to a personal development talk by Jim Rohn. He experienced a breakthrough when he heard the message: Your level of personal development determines your level of success; you attract success by who you become. This philosophy changed Elrod’s life.

The ‘Success Parallel’

It struck Elrod that he hadn’t been...

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We measure every new opportunity against our past experiences and capabilities—for instance, thinking: “I’ve never done anything like that before; I’ve never succeeded at that.”

Thus, we limit our future development based on the limitations of our past. Even though we want to change, we’re stuck on the way things have always been.

Most people process up to 60,000 thoughts a day, but 95% are recurring thoughts, including fears and worries from yesterday. Instead, you must recognize these as limitations, move past them, and imagine a future without limits. Overcome limitations by repeating affirmations that inspire confidence that anything is possible and that you can make it happen. Focus on what you want, reprogram your beliefs about what’s possible, and move in the direction of your goals until they become reality.

Remember: your past doesn’t dictate your future. Your present is a result of who you were, but your future will be determined by who you are from now on.

2) Lack of Purpose

The average person can’t tell you their life purpose, the reason they keep getting up every day. They just do what they have to do to survive; they take the easiest path,...

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Taking responsibility for every aspect of your life includes using the power of mind-body connection to wake up feeling good regardless of the amount of sleep you get. Elrod experimented with different amounts of sleep while telling himself he would feel either exhausted or energized. When he told himself he’d feel exhausted on four, five, or six hours of sleep, he felt exhausted on each of those amounts. The converse was true when he told himself he’d feel energized, using the affirmation: “I believe I create my experience of reality, and I choose to create the reality of waking up tomorrow feeling energized…”

The real secret to waking up feeling energized and excited is to make each morning feel like Christmas morning felt as a kid. The Miracle Morning routine creates this experience by giving you purpose and excitement around developing into the person capable of creating the life of your dreams.

Increasing Your Wake-Up Motivation

On a scale of 1 to10, most people’s motivation level for waking up starts at a 1 or a 2. However, you can make waking up easier by gradually increasing your “wake-up motivation level” with a series of simple “snooze-proof” steps:

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With everything ready, you’ll be able to jump into your Miracle Morning without delay.

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5) Be present in the moment. If you have trouble quieting your thoughts, focus on a word or phrase, repeating it to yourself as you inhale and exhale. (For example, “I breathe in peace… I breathe out love.”)

Think of your daily meditation as a mini-retreat from your problems. Although your problems won’t go away, you’ll be able to handle them more calmly and effectively.

At first, sitting in silence may be difficult, but you can master it with practice. Start with about five minutes. It won’t be long before you begin to experience the benefits. (Shortform note: For a deeper exploration, read the Shortform summary of Mindfulness in Plain English here.)

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In reading the book Think and Grow Rich, he realized how this thinking was limiting him, so he created his first affirmation: “I let go of the limiting belief that I have a horrible memory. My brain is … capable of healing itself and my memory can improve …” He repeated it daily.

A few months later, a friend asked him to remember to call her, and he responded without hesitation, “Sure, no problem.” His affirmation had begun changing his mindset and his memory improved.

Create Your Own Affirmations

Here are five simple steps for creating affirmations. Affirmations need to be in writing so you can post and read them aloud frequently. You can download free Miracle Morning affirmations here.

1) Specify what you want. Spell out what you want your life to be like in every area (write an affirmation for each)—for instance, health, relationships, career, finances, contributions, and spirituality.

2) Explain why you want it. Everyone wants to be healthy, happy, and successful, but you need more than just desire to achieve success. Knowing why a goal is important...

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2) Visualize the results you want and see yourself achieving them: Use your senses to see, hear, feel, touch, smell, taste every aspect of your dream. The more detailed and real you make the mental picture, the more motivated you’ll be to take action. Then, envision yourself achieving your goals (in the way Elrod visualized people enjoying and recommending his book). Imagine how good it will feel to have followed through and achieved your goals.

3) Visualize the person you need to be and what you need to do: With a clear mental image of what you want, imagine yourself changing, living, and acting in ways that enable you to achieve your vision. See yourself studying, writing, making calls, or doing whatever you’ll need to do to reach your goals. Picture yourself with a look of confidence or determination on your face.

You may also want to create a vision board as an additional visualization aid. A vision board is a poster board on which you post images of what you want to become, have, and do. You can use photos, magazine cut-outs, internet printouts, quotes and inspirations representing your purpose and ideal future.

This technique is described in the book and film,...

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While everyone knows it’s important to exercise consistently to maintain good health and increase your energy, it’s easy to make excuses for not exercising—for instance, feeling tired or not having time. However, the Miracle Morning routine provides a structure (a designated time when you’re not tired) that eliminates these excuses so you can make exercise a habit.

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3) Re-read good self-improvement books. You can’t retain and apply everything of value after a single reading. You need repetition to embed the ideas in your subconscious.

It can be more useful to re-read a book that you know can help you than to start a new book before mastering the ideas of the first one. Elrod maintains a special shelf for books he wants to re-read. Try it with this book—commit to re-reading it to reinforce the Miracle Morning concepts and practices.

(Shortform note: We created Shortform in large part for this purpose—to bring you a book’s most important points for easy reference in the future.)

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However, making journal writing part of a Miracle Morning routine is more successful because the routine provides a consistent time and a structure for writing.

There can be a downside to reviewing your journal, especially if you’re a perfectionist or high achiever: focusing too much on how far you have to go (your potential gap). This can lead to minimizing your accomplishments and beating yourself up for not making enough progress. To avoid this, make a point of being grateful for what you’ve done, then tell yourself you’re doing the best you can in the moment and will continue to do better.

Writing in your journal should remind you that you do many more things right than you do wrong. Always record what you accomplished, what you’re grateful for, what you’re committed to doing better. This should keep things in perspective as well as motivate you.

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When and What to Eat

Digesting food takes energy—the more you eat, the less you feel like doing. Forgoing breakfast until after your Miracle Morning routine ensures that you’ll be alert and focused—your blood will be going to your brain instead of your digestive system.

But if you need to eat first thing in the morning, start with something light and easily digestible.

Eating for Energy and Health

Many people choose what to eat based on taste, convenience, or dietary restrictions they may have. We get emotional enjoyment from the way foods taste—for example, fried chicken, fast food, ice cream, or soda. However, for more energy and better health, it’s better to choose foods based on those criteria. Food that’s healthy and gives you energy can still taste great—for instance, fresh fruits and vegetables.

Elrod created a Miracle Morning fruit smoothie to provide a healthy, energy-boosting breakfast. It includes protein, antioxidants, Omega 3 essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals.

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 cup water, orange iuice, or almond/soy milk
• 1 banana (can be frozen)
• 1 handful of spinach (can be frozen)

Optional additions:

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Phase 2: Uncomfortable (Days 11-20)

Having survived the first phase will generate confidence, but you still need commitment and discipline to get through Phase 2. You’ll be tempted to backslide into your old behaviors—for instance, sleeping in instead of getting up early to exercise. However, you can overcome the temptation by focusing on and looking forward to the next phase, in which change will prevail.

Example: Elrod’s second phase of running was a bit less painful, he hated it less, and getting up and running every morning started to feel normal.

Phase 3: Unstoppable (Days 21-30)

In the first two phases, you’ve formed and established a new habit, but you’re not done yet. (Many people think they’re done after twenty days.) Phase 3 is important because it sets you up to sustain the new habit. Completely replace the pain of first twenty days with positive reinforcement and enjoyment of the new habit, and it will become part of your identity. You’ll move from trying to living the habit.

Example: In this phase, Elrod forgot that he had hated running and began to enjoy it. Instead of battling mentally to keep going, he occupied his mind with...