How did I get to this book?
During the month of November 2021, as I struggled to close what has been a very busy year, this book appeared in my own Kindle library and, seeking motivation, its promise renewed its appeal. Searching through my Amazon Kindle orders I discovered that I have had this book in my e-library since February 2018. Aside from the title and the overall concept – which is clearly laid out in the caption The 6 habits that will transform your life before 8AM – little of it has remained in memory, therefore reading it again gave me a great sense of novelty and enthusiasm.
The expectations were clear – I wanted to connect to a writer who could make explicit and shared the challenges I was facing: life stress of a working parent augmented by a pandemic, climate crises and conflict.
Does it keep its promise?
The book gave me exactly what I was seeking – words to described the feelings that were running scattered in my mind.
Did I ended up following the the Morning Miracle 30 days Life Transformation Challenge? No
What does the book promise? Discipline, Clarity and personal development as core element of a fulfilled life. It begins with a letter to the reader and a declaration of intent “There is at least one thing I know we have in common: we both want to improve our lives and ourselves.”
Inspiration comes from the session on visualisation and positive thinking: not a new idea in new age thinking but Hal Elrod brings it back to contemporary working lives.
“By waking up each morning and practicing The Miracle Morning you will begin each day with extraordinary level of discipline (the crucial ability to get yourself to follow-through your commitments), clarity (the power you’ll generate from focusing on what’s most important), and personal development (perhaps the single most significant determining factor in your success)”
Take away that won’t spoil your reading
The Miracle Morning habits are Six “Life SAVERS”: silence, affirmations, visualisation, exercise, reading and scribbling.
To complete in 1 hour, each morning, before the “rest” of your day begins. The books discussed the misfortune of the snooze button, the benefit of running and the therapeutic wellness of writing and reading.
The most impressive observations are about the GAP focus: when we focus on the gaps in our performance we injure our self-image and create feelings of not been good enough. The Gap Focus affects everyone – also the high-achievers – those who keep pushing themselves to be better and in the pursuit of excellence.
Elrod articulates very clearly the challenges that limit one’s own confidence and self-belief. He describes the daily ritual of visualisation as the antidote – when visualizing of one’s goals and desires we correct the negative impact. He quotes Marianne Williamsons : “There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’ t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.” (A return to love, M Williamsons – on Amazon)
Elrod asks about GAP Focus: “is it hurting or helping you?” and reflect that “it is almost impossible to maintain an accurate assessment of ourselves and our progress” (p. 118). The habit of journaling does help to create a structure approach to recognise and manage the feelings that GAP focus can bring.
I am already a believer in journaling and I took the time to really reflect how easy is to visualise the gap and negative outcomes – for example how nobody will be interested in reading my reviews – so that I am prepared for failure and disappointments. This change in perspective, visualizing success and how I would feel as a consequence of reaching my goals is something that I will be actively practising.
- About the Author
Har Elrod, is a role-model: someone who has overcome extraordinary adversities and realised his life vocation: to share his own realisation with humanity.
He is someone who has not stopped at “Base Camp” or even at “Camp 1” of his career and pursuits – he progressively sets new goals. The summit of his life journey and mission remains a work in progress.
We learn quite a bit about Hal Elrod in the first pages book – his success in sales and of the life changing car crash which guides his desire to be an example rather than an influencer. He shares the pictures of the crashed car and of himself lying in the hospital bed. On his website www.halelrod.com/about-hal we learn he is a cancer survivor. The message is load and clear: “if I can do it, so can you”.
Aside from these biographical details, however, we know little – marital status, family ties… where did he study? who influenced him?
Other reviews and comment
The book and its fame are supported by a large social media group with more than 56K followers on Instagram.
The book received 4.5 starts on an Amazon rating but no traditional Guardian or FT review are available on a quick Google search.
