Three things every entrepreneur should do at the start of each day

Success gurus Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic and Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post have some secrets about how they start their days. And we can get in on them.

In his post, “Three things every entrepreneur should do at the start the of each day”, Jack Preston reveals these simple secrets to the outrageous success of some of the world’s best known entrepreneurs.

The private island owning Virgin founder says, “Over my 50 years in business I have learned that if I rise early I can achieve so much more in a day, and therefore in life.” He added that like all habits, getting an early wake up habit going takes commitment, but he payoff in productivity is oh-so-worth it.

Another secret shared by the uber successful business owners is avoiding the phone for as long as possible in the morning. Arianna Huffington says, “I’ve become a sleep evangelist, whether I’m gently chiding HuffPost reporters and editors who email me in the wee hours or sending my friends the same Christmas gift as I did last year – an old-fashioned Pottery Barn alarm clock, so they could stop using the excuse that they needed their tempting iPhone by their bed to wake them up in the morning.”  Raise your hand if you use the “It’s my alarm clock” excuse for picking up your phone first thing in the morning. Yeah, me to. But, one thing leads to another and pretty soon, you’re returning emails before you’ve peeled both your eyes open, much less started the coffee.

Finally, Trace Bradbury, Forbes contributor writes that drinking lemon water in the morning is a technique used by well known entrepreneurs to increase energy levels and boost productivity. “Drinking lemon water as soon as you wake up spikes your energy levels physically and mentally. Lemon water gives you steady, natural energy that lasts the length of the day by improving nutrient absorption in your stomach. You need to drink it first thing in the morning (on an empty stomach) to ensure full absorption,” Bradbury writes. Just make sure you drink the lemon juice with water since it can be harsh on your teeth, not to mention your taste buds.  For those 150 lbs or less, juice of half a lemon in a cup of water is idea and a juice of a full lemon for those over 150 lbs.

While lemurs and entrepreneurs aren’t usually mentioned in one sentence, much less in a blog post about optimizing success, the adorable ring tailed animals do set a noteworthy example of how to start the day off right. They sit up, facing the sun with arms stretched out wide and appear to be soaking up the warmth as they meditate. Whatever you want to call it, I bet their lemur minds are calm as a result and that is an awesome way to start the day, no matter how you define a successful day.

Arianna Huffington's entrepreneur success secrets