Want to learn more about Garrett’s Producer Power Hour?
The Producer Power Hour will give you tools to discover your Soul Purpose, and ultimate maximize your productivity and happiness in life. It consistently creates the most favorable conditions for you to live the life you love, while being supported in developing and utilizing your Soul Purpose in an efficient, powerful way. The Producer Power Hour also give you the ability to defeat the consumer condition on a daily basis, and creates a solid platform for greater prosperity.
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How a Daily Power Hour Turns You into a Force to Be Reckoned With
Sometimes investing in yourself requires writing a check, literally or figuratively.
I’ve invested as much as $25,000 a year for just one mastermind group because I knew it’d make me more valuable and powerful in my Soul Purpose. And throughout my career I’ve invested heavily in expensive courses and trainings to build my mental capital.
But arguably the best way to invest in yourself doesn’t require any money at all. Instead, it’s a daily habit to help you become the best version of yourself — the one who is most prepared and ready to fulfill your Soul Purpose.
I’ve met many successful people over the years, and nearly all of them practiced this in some way and to some degree.
In this article, I’m going to share my version of this daily habit that will turn you into a powerful producer — along with some good tips and advice from experience for adding the habit to your life. But be prepared — when you commit to this daily habit, I promise you’ll amaze even yourself when you discover what you’re truly capable of.
At one time I was the host of a daily radio show. Often I’d invite successful entrepreneurs and NY Times bestselling authors on the air to discuss the “secrets” to their success — and do you know what the most common answer was?
Over and over again I discovered that successful entrepreneurs have a daily habit to help them produce at their best and stay centered in abundance. The actual habit varied from person to person, but the themes were similar. They all dealt with staying mentally, physically and spiritually fit.
This was very affirming to me, because I had my own daily habit that I continue to this day.
I call it The Producer Power Hour, or just “Power Hour” for short.
The Power Hour is about improving yourself every single day — mentally, physically and spiritually. It’s about staying in abundance and protecting your mindset. It’s about clearing space for new ideas. It’s about adding to your mental capital. It’s about freeing your mind of stress. It’s about being more productive. It’s about tuning out excess noise that surrounds us every day.
And ultimately, it’s about empowering yourself to share your Soul Purpose with the world.
So if you make the Power Hour your daily habit, I promise you that you’ll be transformed into a force to be reckoned with.
To add a daily Power Hour to your life, just follow the 3 Es: education, exercise and enlightenment.
Exercise (Body)
Every day, exercise or, on rest days, listen to podcasts, read books or consume other materials to improve your knowledge around health.
Typically, we think of exercise as a way to lose weight and/or stay healthy, but it goes far beyond that.
Harvard Medical School psychiatrist, John Ratey, is widely quoted as saying, “Exercise is the single best thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory, and learning. Even 10 minutes of activity changes your brain.”
WebMd.com agrees that exercise boosts brain power and adds that it can “melt away stress,” give you more energy, ward off disease and strengthen your heart.*
The Mayo Clinic says that exercise even leads to better sleep.**
So in the end, exercise isn’t just about getting and staying physically fit, it’s about reaching your optimal mental performance as well.
Educate (Mind)
Every day, feed your mind by studying your passion, whether that’s through books or audios or meeting with a mentor.
If you read 10 pages a day in your area of expertise, that’s around 300 pages a month. If the average book is 250-300 pages, then you’re reading 12-14 books a year. That’s far more than most people read.
Whenever I make this a habit, I notice new ideas come to me quickly and effortlessly. Combined with exercise, this transforms me into a force to be reckoned with in my business.
And it’s smart to read a book with a pen or pencil so that you can mark important passages or take notes in the margins. I’ve even known some people to compile all their book notes into one document — either on paper or on a computer.
Remember that you can also read books on your phone or other handheld devices which usually allow you to take notes digitally.
For some people, audiobooks are the easiest way to consume information. I often listen to audiobooks in my car so I can listen while I commute — it’s also a good way to pass the time if you’re waiting in the car for a child to be done with school or sports practice.
A good tip with audiobooks is to have a way to jot down notes so that if you hear something you want to remember, you have it written down for later. It’s easy to scan notes, it’s not so easy to scan audio. (Obviously, don’t write notes while you’re driving, pull over.)
Finally, sometimes meeting with a mentor can be your method of study for a day. If it increases your knowledge base, then it counts as education.
Enlightenment (Personal)
Everyday, practice your preferred spiritual discipline. This can mean meditating, contemplating, praying, reading scripture or exercising gratitude – whatever helps you become centered and the best version of yourself.
I suggest starting with 7 or so deep breaths to bring yourself to a higher level of calm and relaxation. Breathe in. Breathe out. And each time you breathe out let go of any stress or tension that’s weighing you down.
Then breathe normally, continuing to focus on each breath — breathe in, breathe out — to become more and more relaxed.
Doing this each day will reset and clear your mind, preparing you to be your best and most powerful self for the rest of the day.
I also like to spend 5 minutes or so contemplating the things that I’m grateful for. One great way to do this is to pick up a Five Minute Journal.
Or I might simply ask myself these questions:
- What am I grateful for financially?
- What am I grateful for in my business?
- What am I grateful for in my education and mindset?
- What am I grateful for in my health?
- What am I grateful for socially — meaning my relationships, vacations and outings?
When I take the time to contemplate and acknowledge what I have, it allows me to start my day from a place of abundance.
Commit to Doing This for 52 Days
This is a bit unscientific, but it’s what I recommend: if you commit to a daily Power Hour for 52 days — 30 days to reverse a habit, 21 days to create a habit and 1 day to grow on — you will experience amazing results for yourself.
Remember that everyone has tough days, so focus on showing up and making progress rather than being perfect every day.Even if you do each of these things for just 10 minutes a day, or 5 minutes a day in the beginning, it will add up over time.
After 52 days of improving yourself mentally, physically and spiritually, you will be head and shoulders above others in your industry. After a year or more, you will be ready to change the world. I truly believe that. * http://www.webmd.com/men/features/exercise-benefits ** http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389?pg=2
Your Power Hour Starts When You Go to Bed
If you start your Producer Power Hour in the morning, I can almost guarantee that you’ll stop the habit. The secret of a successful Power Hour is to commit to it and plan it the night before.
It starts with the conversation you have with yourself as you’re preparing for bed. Do you find yourself thinking, “I’ll do my Power Hour if I feel good in the morning,” or something like that? If you let those thoughts win, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Instead, set yourself up for success by creating the right conditions and environment. This principle applies to any endeavor. For example, an alcoholic sets himself up for failure by spending time in bars. Maintaining the right environment is critical to helping him govern his habits.
So put your workout clothes and shoes next to your bed. Set your alarm if needed to give yourself plenty of time. If you work out at home, make sure your workout space is cleaned up and ready to go so you won’t have any excuses.
In addition to planning the night before, here are a few more ways you can create conditions for a successful Power Hour:
- Keep an MP3 or CD player in your bathroom or other strategic locations and load them with audiobooks.
- Purchase exercise DVDs to use in your home on the days when you wake up late or are otherwise unable to make it to the gym.
- Keep educational listening materials in your car to listen as you drive.
- If you exercise at home, install a TV so you can watch educational DVDs while you workout.
- Set up a special room or area in your home where you can have private time for prayer, meditation, reading or other personal development activities
And because reading ideas are not enough, right now, take some time to write down what you can do to create the right conditions for a successful, consistent Power Hour. Done is better than perfect.
How to Increase Your Odds of Success
One of the most effective ways to stay consistent with your Power Hour is to do it with a friend and hold each other accountable.
Not only is this more fun and a way to build deeper relationships, but it’s also backed by empirical evidence.
Gail Matthews, psychology professor at Dominican University of California, performed a study showing the power of accountability partners.
Matthews recruited 267 participants between the ages of 23 and 72 from a wide variety of businesses, organizations and networking groups throughout the United States and overseas.
Participants were assigned to one of five groups.
Group 1 was asked to simply think about the business-related objectives they hoped to accomplish within a four-week block. Groups 2 was asked to write their objectives down. Group 3 was asked to write their objectives down AND write action commitments for each one. Group 4 had to both write goals and action commitments and also share these commitments with a friend. Group 5 went the furthest by doing all of the above plus sending a weekly progress report to a friend.
Broadly categorized, participants’ objectives included: completing a project, increasing income, increasing productivity, improving organization, enhancing performance/achievement, enhancing life balance, reducing work anxiety, and learning a new skill.
Specific objectives ranged from writing a chapter of a book to listing and selling a house.
Of the original 267 participants, 149 completed the study. These participants were asked to rate their progress and the degree to which they had accomplished their goals.
At the end of the study, the results were clear.
The individuals in Group 1, who simply thought about objectives, accomplished 43% of their stated objectives.
Those in Group 4, who wrote down objectives and action steps and shared them with a friend, accomplished 64% of their stated objectives.
Group 5 was the clear winner. They did everything Group 4 did plus gave weekly updates to a friend and managed to accomplish 76% of their objectives — making them 33% more likely to achieve an objective than Group 1.
APPLICATION COMMITMENT:
Find a friend who will commit to a daily Power Hour. You don’t necessarily have to do it together, but at least share your routine with each other.
Commit to calling, texting, or emailing each other after you’ve completed your Power Hour each morning.
You could even add a consequence, where you owe each other money, meals or favors for each time you don’t complete your Power Hour — or if one of you outperformed the other at the end of the week.
In Closing…
Can you imagine the positive changes in your life if you committed to a daily Power Hour?
What new profitable ideas will you bring to your business after just a few weeks of studying in your area of expertise?
What new breakthroughs will you have after a few weeks of focusing your mind on abundance?
Can you imagine how you’ll feel — mentally and physically — after just a couple weeks of daily exercise?
It does take a commitment, but it’s not nearly as difficult as you think when you do it with an accountability partner.
And the rewards are incredible. When you improve yourself each day — mentally, physically and spiritually — it doesn’t take long to transform into a master of your Soul Purpose.
So why not call or email a friend right now to see if they’d like to start doing a daily Power Hour, too?
Build the Life You Love,
Garrett Gunderson
