Build Better Routines: Inspiration from My Chosen Successful People

“Wear camo. It’s the hardest working outfit.” – Harris Faulkner

This quote can be taken to mean different things. Besides the more literal meaning in that the military wears camo when they are working – whether it’s in the field or in the classroom, “wearing camouflage” can also mean being adaptable to your surroundings. Getting the job done no matter what comes in your way. In this blog post I have chosen a handful of individuals that inspire me. I thought I would dig a little deeper and research each one’s habits and what has helped them become successful. What I found each one has in common is a stellar work ethic and a clear vision as well as taking pride in one’s body.

“Many people think they lack motivation when they really lack clarity” – James Clear

Each of these individuals I am going to discuss has clearly established what they want to achieve, and how they plan to get there. Let’s take a deeper look.

Tom Brady

Tom Brady is arguably the best quarterback of all time! He continues to excel in drastic ways and he just turned 44 this year. He credits his diet and sleep habits for his longevity and ability to continue playing at such an elite level into his forties. Brady prioritizes sleep: sleeping minimum of 8 hours per evening. He goes to bed at 830 and wakes up at 530 AM. He starts his day with lots of water, over 20 ounces, and drinks 2 gallons total each day! Brady eats a smoothie loaded with 36 grams of protein and nuts and seeds and fruit. He also has stated four mental habits that drive him daily: (1) starting each day with a positive attitude, (2) pouring his best effort into everything he does, (3) controlling his reactions in a positive way, and (4) learning from failure. I have personally said that each day I wake up I plan to do my best for the day as well as be positive and grateful! I love seeing that Tom Brady does the same thing.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Dwayne Johnson is a little different from Brady in that he claims he does not require much sleep at all! He gets around 3-5 hours of sleep each night. What he says is imperative in his daily routine is 2 hours of quiet/mental time in the morning before anyone else is up (even the animals! Oh, I completely get this!), and his daily workout. So he’s got to have his “mental time” and “training time” and then he is anchored for his day. Johnson, of course, eats a very clean diet but he certainly eats a lot to maintain such a stature. Five meals per day. He has stated he is extremely organized and prepared with his meals and mostly relies on beef, oatmeal, chicken, egg whites, rice, asparagus, broccoli, etc. Training is non-negotiable in his book – of course even if he’s out of the country he gets his workouts in. Johnson says his workouts help him battle jet lag.

Johnson makes sure he works to the best of his ability each day, similar to Brady and myself, and he aims to always be the hardest worker in the room. He credits his work ethic to his father who was up every single day at 5 AM and had coffee followed by a workout! Even on vacation – no matter where he was – his dad got that workout in.

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success.” -Dwayne Johnson

Johnson would take his challenges in life and use them to grow stronger rather than weaker. His key habits: wake up early and lift, be consistent, and be charismatic! Johnson has worked on his speaking so that he is eloquent and easy and fun to talk to.

Jennifer Lopez “JLo”

Jenny from the Block is ageless! At 52 she looks better than ever and she credits it to her strength training and cardio workouts as well as a Whole Foods diet. Lopez gets 8-10 hours of sleep each night – she says she can’t function on less than 8 hours of sleep. Lopez also has developed a strong mindset – even when she doesn’t want to workout she says “Just do it. It’s only an hour.” I love that! J Lo also avoid all alcohol and caffeine and meditates first thing in the morning (and avoids the sun to keep her skin young). Lopez also practices positive thinking and self-care in the sense that she tells herself multiple times a day “I am youthful and timeless.” Sometimes we have to be our own cheerleaders, y’all! I love that she does that because I do similar things with myself. If you don’t love yourself, how can anyone else?

Key tips to take from J Lo: Workout even when you don’t want to, get plenty of sleep, limit or eliminate alcohol and speak positively to yourself!

David Goggins

David Goggins is truly THE mindset coach of all time. I read his book Can’t Hurt Me and it was phenomenal. I have actually read it twice. It’s the kind of book you can constantly revisit to make sure you have not strayed from you goals and to keep yourself accountable. Goggins has stated that his habit is to “suffer daily.” Suffering exposes character and who we are is found in the struggle, Goggins says. “You also must live within yourself – you do not need external things to feel fulfilled.” I love this about Goggins and everyone should adapt this mentality. If you are constantly wanting to purchase things and “stuff” to make yourself feel good you will never feel good. Goggins says to work on your body and your mind instead.

Goggins also meditates and says you have to believe that you are great! He wakes up at 3 AM and runs almost 3x a day, lifts weights and does bodyweight exercises, and rides his bike to and from work. He also stretches around 2 hours per day and says this helps tremendously with his imbalances. One day per week he rests, Sundays, to allow his body to recover from the training he puts himself through. Of course we do not have to be just like Goggins – but even taking small tips of his habits would improve our lives, too! If you can’t stretch 2 hours per day (who can??) perhaps you can try to stretch for 15 or 20 minutes.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

I loved reading about Arnold’s daily habits and what I didn’t realize is that he is a super clean freak. His regimented approach to training and nutrition is also applied to other areas such as his home. He stated that when he was younger and just moved to the states and was living in an apartment with a bodybuilding buddy, they would keep the apartment immaculate! He said they were always vacuuming, put away all dishes and things, made the beds and straightened up the house before either left for the day. He says his place was cleaner than anyone else’s he knew – men and women combined. Arnold also stated that these habits were easy to cultivate, “the more you do it, the more automatic it becomes.” He had a very clear vision of where he wanted to go when he was doing strict bodybuilding workouts – so he just got the job done.

“My confidence came from my vision because I am always a big believer that if you have a very clear vision of where you want to go then the rest of it is much easier. Because you always know why you are training five hours a day, you always know why you are pushing and going through the pain barrier, and why you have to eat more, and why you have to struggle more, and why you have to be more disciplined.“

Now, Arnold says he gets about 6 hours of sleep per night compared to 9 hours when he was younger. He still lifts weights and works out of course, just not nearly as heavy as he used to lift and he does more repetitions now. Arnold’s key tips: “Say out loud what you want to make a habit. The key about a routine is that you don’t have to ask yourself should I, shouldn’t I, you just do it.”

Robin Arzon

Lastly, I discuss Peloton’s Robin Arzon. Arzon is a lawyer turned Peloton Star and says the key to success is small, concrete steps. She calls them “nibbles of hustle”. Arzon begins her day with lots of water and lemon, pink salt, cayenne, and apple cider vinegar and a massive smoothie. Arzon, 39, who is now a mother of a baby girl, says you are the CEO of your body and she schedules all of her workouts on her calendar as though they are meetings and appointments with herself. She says she only thinks one year in advance, max, in terms of goal setting because otherwise it gets “unwieldy”. She drinks over a gallon of water per day and prioritizes 8-9 hours of sleep each night. She says that is why she doesn’t have a social life. Also, when traveling, Robin still keeps her diet in check and says half of her carry-on luggage on a plane is food! “I refuse to eat like crap or I will have no energy,” she says.

Robin had her baby in March and says it’s been an adjustment trying to get back to her pre-pregnancy workout routine. She says she is honoring her body by listening to it. and “slowing down to speed up”, in other words she is prioritizing stretching and recovery and taking it slow. Tips for prioritizing stretching and foam rolling, if you find it boring, Arzon says to use a tv show or something similar as a “treat” to bribe yourself to accomplish the task. Using that trick got her to be more consistent with her recovery sessions, and that is a great tip we can all take from her! Strong recovery sessions help her stay free from injury as she wants to be in this training game for a long time.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about this exact method: using bribery treats to get something done that we don’t necessarily want to do. It’s a method of creating a habit. You will begin to associate watching your favorite show at night with stretching and recovery, so it becomes habitual and routine.

Summary

I hope you were able to find some inspiration from these individuals and if anything perhaps you are now motivated to go workout or clean your house or hit the grocery store and buy healthy foods for the week. Sit down with yourself and write down things you would like to change and figure out what it is you want to achieve in this world and the best steps to get there. Wake up earlier so you can accomplish more in your day. Write your own list of inspirational individuals and look up their tips and tricks or if they have written books perhaps you could order their book. Never stop learning and never stop bettering yourself!