Actually, my morning routine already starts the night before, as I am firmly convinced that a good night’s sleep is essential for every top athlete – whether that be in the world of sports, or in the corporate world. And I am not alone: numerous studies have shown that sleep deprivation has a serious impact on your cognitive performance. The actual number of hours of sleep that any given person might need might vary, but I do believe that we humans do need at least 7 to 8 hours of it. For me, this means going to bed early, because I get up at 5 AM. Most days, I naturally wake up earlier than that, but just in case I don’t, I leave my alarm clock in the bathroom: that way, I simply have to get out of bed to switch it off! Fun fact: my alarm goes off playing Lou Reed’s Perfect Day – that way, the tone of my day is immediately set… :-)

The first thing I tend to do, is drink a cup of coffee and take 10 minutes of time to jot down what I am grateful for. I picked out a beautiful big notebook and a fine fountain pen from our gift store and use it to write down what I am grateful for: things that are already present in my life or have already taken place, but equally things that haven’t manifested yet! To do this, I work with the power of visualisation: I dare to dream, and create and call on images in my mind. These images then translate themselves into feelings, which then in turn can be picked up by my subconscious mind.

Ever heard of the power of “autosuggestion”? Autosuggestion means awarely and consistently feeding yourself with the right positive affirmations, so as to positively influence your subconscious mind. This ritual of mine is one way of the doing exactly that… and by doing so, I create such a lovely flow for myself, right at the very start of my day!

After my “gratefulness exercise”, I take about 45 to 60 minutes to read. Constantly learning new things is of vital importance to me, as I never want to stop evolving and growing: neither professionally, nor personally. And this habit of mine has paid off! I has made for the fact that I have become the most consulted expert in my field, in spite of the fact that I never continued my education beyond secondary school.

I strongly believe in the power of the following formula: II = IO >  Ideas In equals Ideas Out

In other words: you can only continue to grow and come up with new ideas, if you regularly feed yourself with the right content and approach life with an openminded and marvelling attitude.

Have you ever imagined what investing just 1 hour a day in your intellectual development can do for you? After 1 year, you will have gained 365 hours of extra knowledge. After 5 years, 365 hours will have become 1825 hours of newly gained insights. And after 10 years, those 1825 hours will have turned into no less than 3650 hours of extra mental luggage. This will boost your self-confidence beyond belief – just like it did for me – and give you an incredible head start in life!

After I’m done reading, I get into my sport outfit and venture out into nature with my dog. 6 days a week I pick a running route of approximately 10 km, making sure I never run the exact same route twice in a row as variation is key for me! The physical strain nudges me to let everything go, helps me raise my vibe and equally stimulates my brain, which means that I regularly come up with brand new ideas during my run. But also, the raised oxygen levels that come with running are of immeasurable value: they help boost your immune system and stimulate the excretion of toxins.

Even after 25 years, this morning ritual of mine remains a difficult one to stick to – especially in wintertime. But my personal secret is to not think about it and just go for it! After all, the reward outweighs the difficulty by miles and miles, time after time.

During my run, I randomly pick a spot for a 2-minute break to connect with God, The Universe, my Higher Self, the Infinite Intelligence, … What’s in a name? You know what I mean!

I take a short break from running – usually somewhere by the water or underneath my favourite tree – to set my intention for the day. I reach out to the sky above, connect with the surrounding nature and pray that I may grow into a good and loving person. Just as I pray that every person that crosses my path that day may be blessed. And I express my gratitude for every miracle – great and small – that I get to experience almost every day. While I say these little prayers, I make sure to feel them resonate deep in my heart…

After this short ritual, I continue my run and make my way back home.

Once home, I take 3 minutes or so to do some stretching and then hop in a cold shower. Cold water stimulates body and mind, and boosts your immune system. This morning ritual truly makes my energy levels soar! On top of that, these kinds of showers are good for your cardiovascular health and improve the working of your lymphatic system, helping your body excrete built-up toxins faster.

After getting dressed and all set to go, I walk into my home office, where I light 2 candles, put on my favourite classical music and read out loud the little notes that are up against my office walls – little notes related to our mission and vision, to ideas I strongly believe in and to things I am grateful for.

I then make contact with a couple of people I feel very closely connected to, but who aren’t amongst us anymore. I briefly address them, and express my gratitude for them having been a part of my life.

I finish off by running through my most important priorities for the day: the things I have to do for me to generate the greatest leverage and bring me closer and closer to my goal.

All of this doesn’t take more than 7 minutes!

After that, I find my way to the kitchen to put together a portion of healthy, wholesome food for lunch and leave for the office, where I tend to arrive no later than 8.30h to start my work day fully charged.