Day 57 - Check out the beats I've made over the last few days! 🎈Check out the most recent cook-ups!

Ball-sy Claims…

You need context to understand why I’m so confident about this morning routine.

On the lowest of keys… I used to be a self improvement junkie 😂. 

• Think and Grow Rich (and a bunch more stuff by Napoleon Hill)
• The 4 Agreements
• How To Win Friends & Influence People (and a bunch more stuff by Dale Carnegie)
• The 10X Rule (and a bunch more stuff by Grant Cardone - f*** that guy btw, decent books doe)
• Atomic Habits
• The 4 Hour Work Week

and on and on… and on.

If it’s a popular self help book, I definitely read it. If it’s an obscure self help book, I definitely read it. If you wrote a self help manuscript on your laptop but never released it to the public… I’ve probably read it. 

Seriously, the stuff used to be like H***** for me. Would’ve literally injected it into my bloodstream if I could have. 

This is important prefacing context for the next thing I’m going to say.

Most self-improvement and self help information out there is

AT BEST: An organized synthesis of all the self-improvement information that the author has consumed throughout their life. That’s Literally what this blog post is, actually. 

AT WORST: It’s a completely grifted regurgitation designed to funnel you (or a percentage of purchaser/pirates) to a higher ticket product.

None of that means you shouldn't read as many self-improvement books as you need to become the Chad you’re destined to be. I just want you to have awareness when you're reading. Cause you're a homie and I love you. 

Disclaimers aside, here’s the morning routine (in order) I’ve developed from reading hundreds of self improvement books, reading hundreds more web articles, and watching possibly thousands of YouTube videos; 

1. Night time prep
2. Prayer & meditation
3. Journal
4. Make your bed
5. Read for 10-30 minutes
6. Facial care and oral hygiene
7. Finally check phone (important notifications only)
8. Workout
9. Shower (cold on monday) [optional]
10. Time in nature (+ coffee)
11. 60 - 90 minutes of focused work 💎

This is covered in way more detail in the Enchiridion: How To Succeed In Music Production By Becoming A Servant.

In this article, I want to give you a brief breakdown of each habit and the main benefit I’ve noticed from it. I’m aware that most people aren't professional musician business owners who can dictate their schedules, so I also included a tip on how to easily integrate each habit into daily life. 

I hope this helps you alot <3. 

⚡️Related ➡️ The Centerfold Drum Kit - Special 25% off deal!

NOTE: The shower being cold is what's "optional" for #9. Showering is definitely mandatory yo haha.

Night time prep

Breakdown: 

Nothing too serious here. The most important thing is to avoid blue light. I’m not going to tell you (explicitly) not to have screens and devices in bed - I find that hard to stick to even 60% of the time because high tech is interwoven into our lives in the 21st century. Fact. 

The key isn't to be hard on yourself about it; the goal should be awareness of what’s happening so you can make the best choices for you.

The blue light coming from modern LCD screens makes it really tough for our brains to go into ‘sleep mode.’ Making sure your blue light filters are activated on your devices at night is a great way to improve your sleep right away. 

Then just try your best to find a stopping point with your devices so that you actually go to sleep. Just passing out while using your phone or watching a show isn’t the best sleep hygiene.

Other things I like to do before bed are;

• Avoid fast food / processed foods - I honestly try to avoid food in general. 
• Brush teeth
• Facial care

Benefit:

The quality of my sleep is always better when I do this because my body begins to trust that it’s going to get enough rest each night. Deliberately putting your body to sleep is an act of kindness to yourself. 

That’s the way I view it. 

Integration: 

Make sure everyone in your life knows that your sleep/rest is a priority. You aren't going to be worth much if you're stuck at 50% of your best because you never get sleep. So prioritizing your sleep is actually a favor to everyone else around you. 

Also be disciplined! Put your phone down and go to sleep. 

The goal is to wake up rested (usually after about 7-9 hours). Adjust your life’s schedule to allow for this amount of rest. Unfortunately, studies show poor health outcomes for adults who sleep less than 6 hours a night over extended periods of their life. 

Prayer & meditation

Breakdown:

It’s really simple here. If you believe it, practice it. It will work as long as you believe it will. 

I’ve practiced  a few religions and studied many more. They’ve all worked. And failed.

I’ve been a full-on Mercedes Benz pushing hedon. And I've been a near ascetic level minimalist. 

I’ve learned it all starts and stops with what you put your faith in.

As Saint Matthew wrote; “Wherever a man keeps his treasure, there too his heart will be found.”

Hopefully a word is enough for the wise. Feel free to hit me up in our discord if you ever wanna discuss this topic with us.

Benefit:

Faith is a hell of a drug.

Integration:

No one can convince you of it but you. So if you don’t want to do this particular habit… just don't. But I still encourage you to try a few times just to see how you feel. 

Experimentation can be fun. 

Journal

Breakdown:

There’s something about writing each morning that’s calming. It took me a long time to develop this habit but I was able to do it over time by starting small.

Start by writing a few sentences each morning. Don’t hold yourself to anything more than that cause then it just starts to feel like homework. 

I don't know about you but I always hated homework. 

Freestyle is the most interesting approach to writing if you ask me. No style is the best style lol. 

But ‘gratitude' is one prompt I’m very fond of. Writing a few sentences each morning about what I’m happy to have in life sets me up in a good mood for the day (I almost never have a bad day when I write a gratitude journal - and even if I do, it’s easier to work through).

Benefits:

After a while this habit allows you to basically become your own therapist. It’ll make more sense once it actually happens for you. But basically this process causes your brain to learn a hidden superpower called metacognition. 

In simple terms, you’ll have a system in your brain that is constantly aware of the quality of your thoughts compared to what you believe is your homeostatic mental state. 

This is incredibly powerful. But you just have to see for yourself. 

Integration:

Remember - start small. It’ll surprise you how far a few sentences each morning will get you over a couple of weeks/months/years. 

Make your bed

Breakdown:

Uhmm…. Just make your bed, bro. What are you, 14 years old?!

Nah 😂, I seriously still hear my mom screaming at highschool-Chu to clean his room (trauma). 

It took me a while to realize it’s just a boring task that needs to be done each day. There’s a lot of power in that kind of understanding.

Benefit: 

My room looks that much cleaner which just makes me feel nice. It’s also the first completed task of the day. It’s huge to know you can get such an easy first W each day 😈.

Integration:

It takes like 3-5 minutes. I just do it while planning my day outloud to myself or listening to some new music. 

Read

Breakdown: 

Over half of the US is prose illiterate passed a fifth grade level.

That’s like… really bad lol. 

Regular reading is the same exact thing as regular exercise. Except that I’d say it’s much worse to have a weak brain/mind than to have a weak body.

Let us read more books bros (and sister(s) lolz <3).

Benefit:

The benefits of reading are similar to journaling. 

You want to make your brain think. 

We want to cultivate the process of automatic metacognition - a sentry in our mind constantly guarding it from ignorance and negativity while it synthesizes itself into literal greatness. 

Reading does this in a way that no video or podcast can because of the process your brain has to go through. It breaks down the symbols (words) on the page down into base information you can comprehend (not the words, and not really thoughts either… energy perhaps…) before reassembling it into a new understanding determined by the lens you view life with (your thoughts in response to what you have read). 

It’s just lifting for your brain. Our minds have to be Chads too!

Integration:

Same as journaling. Start small.

10 minutes a day in the morning can be literally life changing. In my experience. 

Facial care and oral hygiene

Breakdown:

There’s more detail about this in the Enchiridion  so let’s limit this to, first, a few of important points; 

1. The human mouth is very dirty, scientifically speaking.
2. Teeth are already yellow and continue to yellow naturally as we age no matter what you do.
3. Mouthwash actually makes your breath worse. 

and, second, a brief outline of my facial care and oral hygiene routine;

1. Rinse with 1 tsp of baking soda
2. brush/scrap tongue
3. Brush teeth - front 45 seconds, top & bottom 45 seconds, backs 45 seconds. Alternate working the brush in circles, side to side, and up and down
4. Floss
5. Rinse with 1 more tsp of baking soda

Benefits:

Less acne on my face made it easier for me to approach women (shoot me). And fresher breath made me a generally better kisser (no seriously, shoot me). 

I’m in it for the ladies and I’m not ashamed to admit it 😭 (but there’s ABSOLUTELY a forefront element of self love too, of course haha). 

Integration:

Aye man. You’re either gonna take this one seriously or you’re not. But I'll say that I think this habit is worth every bit of time and effort. 

Finally check phone (important notifications only)

Breakdown:

I like to wait for this to be my first “big phone usage” of the day. And I like to limit it to a few minutes devoted to important notifications only.

Benefit:

Less fragmented focus in the morning. Also it’s less likely to see something on social media that might upset me before I can even start the day (domino effect baby). 

Integration:

RESIST! (But be merciful to yourself when you cannot haha).

Workout

Breakdown:

30-60 minutes 2-4 times a week is all you need. Getting up to do it is far more important than what you actually do for the workout.

If you wanna see an overview of my workout regimen, check out the free Saiyan Body Guide.

And consider becoming a channel member to stay updated with my workouts from day-to-day! 

Benefit:

Girls love hunks yo!

Integration:

A little goes a long way. 20 minutes is better than 0. 

Shower (cold  [optional])

Breakdown:

Gotta take showers lol. Nothing deep to explain here (hopefully). But I will make a note of some areas that men (98% of my audience is male) tend to miss;

• Behind your ears 👂
• Groin crevices 🍆
• Butt crevices 🍑
• Feet 🦶

I treat my showers like I’m detailing a Ferrari. I think you should do the same, homie.  

Benefits:

Knowing you don’t have any rank body odor at all is a damn super power. You cannot tell me otherwise. 

Integration:

Don't rush a  shower unless the world is ending. Take your time, it’s worth it. Note: I do cold showers on mondays

Time in nature (+ coffee) - “Me Time”

Breakdown

Yes. I am a coffee addict. But, to be fair, it’s only coffee and not caffeine. 

I just love a cold brew w/ caramel and coconut milk after a nice shower man. That, plus a nice lap or 2 around my neighborhood block, puts me in the PERFECT mood to make bangers (and just be generally happy)

Benefit: 

It makes me happy. 

This could technically be anything for you as long as it puts you in a peaceful state. “You Time.”

I drink coffee… cause I love coffee. But the walk is to;

1) get some time in nature

• There’s a trail/park where most of this walking happens for me), 

and 

2) get some sunlight

• Most westernized humans are vitamin D deficient which is really bad. We get vitamin D from the sun but even with my walks I still assume I’m deficient and supplement with vitamins because the issue is really that bad for humans right now). 

Note: Lacking vitamin D is a SEVERE issue. Here are just a few things that happen when humans are vitamin D deficient:

• Fatigue.
• Not sleeping well.
• Bone pain or achiness.
• Depression or feelings of sadness.
• Hair loss.
• Muscle weakness.
• Loss of appetite.
• Getting sick more easily.

Integration:

10-30 more minutes to yourself before you get started on your adventure for the day, do something pleasing. I strongly recommend getting some sunlight! 

60 - 90 minutes of focused work

Gems, gems… GEMS 💎.

My approach to focused work is discussed in detail in the Enchiridion  . I also wrote this post  yesterday detailing why focused work is pivotal for musicians and cover a few tips you can use to make better use of your attention.

Thanks for reading and I hope this helped a lot!