So you’ve learned about the 5 a.m. Club and the 20/20/20 Formula. What’s next? A very simple but important idea that Robin Sharma calls the 90/90/1 Rule. The concept behind this is that you don’t want to use the best hours of your day for your lowest-energy activities, yet this is what just about everyone does.

What I mean by this is that whether you work from home or at the office, when you first get to work, it should be showtime. Your first few hours are not the time to gather around the water cooler for gossip and talk about your evening, your kids, your weekend… You get the idea. It’s not even the right time to check your emails and notifications or let yourself get distracted. Rather, during the first few hours of the day, you need to go into your office, shut your door, and focus on the single biggest opportunity that will set you apart from everyone else in your industry.

First thing in the morning is when you have your highest level of focus, your highest level of energy, your highest level of willpower. I’ll give you an example: During my first ninety minutes every morning, after I finish the 20/20/20 Formula, I sit my butt in my chair and dive deep into marketing so that I can nail down ads and always stay current on changes in the publishing industry. For authors, marketing is a daunting affair. You may be surprised to learn that very few authors are able to quit their day jobs, because they have never been able to make a survivable living selling books. I’ve been doing so successfully since 2012 even with all the massive changes in the publishing industry, and you want to know why? As others have pointed out to me, the obstacles I’ve faced as a single mother of a child with autism are likely the reason I have enough drive and ambition and sheer determination to have said, “No fricking way is this not going to happen!” Yet I’ve listened to so many authors around me who continually recite the excuses for why they can’t make it. Remember, excuses are part of the victim mentality.

What I want you to do is imagine this: Your mental focus is more valuable than your intelligence right now. Willpower is another one, because you may have big dreams and goals, but if you can’t execute them via willpower, you’re not going to get anything done. Then there’s your physical energy. You can have great ideas, but if you don’t have the energy to get them done, well, then you’re just not going to do them. When are these three elements highest for you? First thing in the morning. What I’m saying is that what most people do first thing in the morning when they get to work is check their emails, chit chat, and get distracted—and when you get distracted, it sucks your energy away.

So, for the next ninety days, join me in focusing on your single biggest opportunity, whatever your industry is. Focus on that opportunity every morning for ninety minutes, and shut out the rest of the world, the distractions. Really move yourself so you rise in your industry to a level you never thought possible. You can do it. Everyone can do this.

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