The 5 a.m. Club by Robin Sharma

I had reached a point of hopelessness and dissatisfaction with my life. This book fanned the flame within.

When I say that this book revolutionized my life, I wholeheartedly mean it. After 5 years of loss, defeat, and constant crisis, I felt completely stuck. I was in survival mode, just barely making it from day to day. Then, I found this book and my view of life changed dramatically, switching back to the hopeful lens I had always viewed life through prior to all of the prolonged stress. Perhaps I was simply ready to receive the information enclosed in this wonderful piece of literature, but I truly believe this book has the power to impact anyone willing to read it (or listen to it on audible).

For 35 years I detested the mornings and said there was nothing in the world that could make me get up at 5 a.m., or at least not be happy about it. I was wrong.

This book takes you on a beautiful journey with 4 main characters: The Artist, The Entrepreneur, the Homeless Man, and the Spellbinder.

The artist and the entrepreneur run into an odd character (the “homeless man”) at a convention where they hear an older man (the “spellbinder”) give a motivational speech. After engaging in intriguing conversation with the homeless man, they step out on faith and agree to meet him the following morning to board his private jet and visit his humble abode in Mauritius-a paradise. They half expected this to be a hoax, but to their delightful surprise, the homeless man was there and ready to take off at 5 a.m., and so was his private jet.

Following this, the homeless man is referred to as the billionaire, because clearly, they misjudged him as humanity tends to do.

Both the artist and the entrepreneur are struggling in different ways, but they find that they have much in common with one another regarding the dissatisfaction they are experiencing in their current circumstances and a burning desire for change. The billionaire then takes them on a journey, visiting Mauritius, Rome, São Paulo, and Agra, India. Each of these destinations correlate to one of the four interior empires, which Robin Sharma calls Mindset, Soul-Set, Health-Set, and Heart-Set.

Each destination teaches them a valuable lesson in learning to live life to its fullest and richest, never taking anything for granted.

When they arrive in Mauritius, their first destination, they are reunited with the Spellbinder, whom they had last seen when he fainted on stage at the convention. They realize that the billionaire and the Spellbinder are old friends and discover that the Spellbinder was in fact the billionaire’s mentor, once upon a time.

After much intimate time is spent together on this journey of growth, they all become very close friends, so they are shocked and saddened when they discover that the billionaire is very ill.

The biggest takeaway from this book isn’t necessarily that you need to wake up at 5am to be successful, rather, it is to display the importance of not taking your life, or anything/anyone in it, for granted. It is a story which highlights the importance of taking in and soaking up every possible moment to improve each day, whether that be your heart, your spiritual journey, your relationships, your mind, or your actions, to attain a life full of the wealth money can’t buy (which happens to be the title of another Robin Sharma book I’d recommend).

This book melds a fictional story beautifully with practical steps to guide and empower the reader to grow in each of the four interior empires: mindset, soul-set, health-set, heart-set, and the story powerfully displays the importance of each.

I’d be lying if I said I wake up every single day at 5 a.m., but this book set me on a much better path than the one I was on, so I try to wake up at 5 a.m. to carry out my “power hour” whenever I can. Through reading this book and implementing some small changes, I discovered the magic of using every moment of my day to input useful information, healthy routines, positive thinking, and transformative habits that lead to success over time.

The bittersweet ending of this story is impactful, as it represents the contrast between the brevity of life and the astoundingly beautiful moments that create it.

The story ends with love, as the artist and the entrepreneur get married, and when their very good friend, the billionaire, passes away shortly after their magnificent journey, he gifts them with his beautiful home in Mauritius, where the whole adventure began.

This is a must read for anyone, but especially those who are looking for hope and a new perspective on life.