Wisdom in Getting Up Early

James Richie’s Formula

1-      Get up early

2-      Work Hard

3-      Get Your Education

4-      Find Oil

5-      Make Your Mark

6-      Prepare to Serve/Give Back

It’s fun taking a college class when you’re 35, as I am.  I feel that I’m young enough to still have my choices now matter for a significant period of time, but I also feel that I’m old enough and experienced enough to value what I’m learning more than I would have at 21.

I see such great wisdom in the Formula James Richie presented.  I know from my own experience that getting up early and attacking the day is a must.  Up until last semester I was struggling with finding enough time to balance my work, school, family, scout and church responsibilities.  When registering for this semesters classes there was a quote by the study department on the bottom of the schedule that said, “Treat school as a 9-5 job.”  My first reaction was, “well I already have one of those, so that doesn’t work.” 

As I thought more about it though I realized that what it really meant was to make sure you have structured uninterrupted time every day.  My then current plan of coming home and doing homework at the end of the day wasn’t working.  I decided right then and there that I needed to completely change my order of things around.  I started getting up at 3:45am and getting to work by 5am.  This gave me three hours before work and before most people showed up to do homework at work.

It was this structure that allowed me the opportunity to pull my grades, which at the time had been 2 D’s and an F, up to two B’s and a C.  It’s also helped me so far this semester to help me stay mostly on track, despite a week-long trip to visit my parents.

It’s not always easy, but the benefits are undeniable and that is why I will continue to get up early despite my super comfy bed’s death grip on me.