Episode 7: Own your Morning...Starring Russell Doup
Back when I was teaching, I can vividly remember dark winter mornings being jolted awake at 6 AM by my alarm. I can also remember fumbling away at my clothes and mindlessly shaving and then packing up to head for school. I also remember feeling something similar when I was a student, but being a teacher is higher stakes. You’re the show, and if you’re off your game, it’s miserable for everyone. I can particularly remember one bleak morning many moons ago. I was getting ready to walk out the door and before I left, I patted the heads of my two dogs. They were both comfortably ensconced on their shared dog bed. I always felt bad when I left them each morning. They really loved me, but not this morning. They looked too darned comfortable and stared up at me with indifference. It was particularly annoying because they were spooning, which was understandable because the temperature outside was frigid. Their contentment was annoying. I thought, Dang—I would actually trade places with my dog today. When I retire, I’m going to sleep in as late as I want. I didn’t used to be a morning person.
Well, as I explained in Episode 4, my post-employment sleepfest hasn’t materialized. But, although one wouldn’t guess this from the first paragraph of this narrative, now I am a morning person. I like mornings. It’s quiet. I feel energized. I get my best ideas in the morning. I like to workout in the morning. I’m productive in the morning. But even though my mornings were pretty solid, they lacked structure. Routine is important for a retired person. And this is the problem for this episode:
Retired folks still needed some routine.
To help solve this problem, I’m going to utilize an unlikely resource. Russell Doup is only 29, he's wise beyond his years. He and I have an informal book club and we frequently share ideas and workouts, as well as books. In this episode we evaluate Robin Sharma’s fascinating book The 5AM Club. And what’s a book club without wine? Russell and I decided to have a glass or two while we yakked about this book. This is a great read for a retired person.
Russell played on the 2014 National Championship football team at Ohio State. He’s a certified financial planner at Maxwell Financial Management in New Albany, Ohio. Oh, and full disclosure, he’s also my nephew.
What you can do About it:
- Create a book club of retired friends.
- Read Robin Sharma’s book The 5AM Club.
- Buy a great bottle of wine. Russell brought Dueling Pistols. I highly recommend it!
- Sip some wine and discuss how you could apply his ideas to your mornings.
If you’re like me and you can’t sleep-in much, you may as well capitalize on this magic part of the day by creating an awesome morning routine.
