Book Review: The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life

I was a little surprised when I began reading The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning.  Elevate Your Life by Robin S. Sharma.  I thought I was going to get a textbook like account of each of the steps required to becoming more productive.  Instead, the reader gets a story about a spellbinder, a billionaire initially mistaken for a homeless person, a struggling entrepreneur and an artist who isn’t doing his best work.  Initially, I wanted the story to end so I could get to the “good stuff.”  From some of the mixed reviews of the book I see that I was not the only one anxious to move beyond the story.

However, I was patient and, eventually got into the story and began to wonder.  Where would the characters travel to next?  What would the billionaire teach his two students?  What quote or bit of wisdom would the reader learn? I really enjoyed this book.  While it is a compilation of many different personal improvement theories, I feel that the author pulled this information together nicely through the story.  My only criticism is that it took a little too long to get into the tactics.  While I am sure that was intentional on the part of the author, it was a little off putting to me but I stuck with it.

As I read the book, I was on a five-week respite from the Florida heat.  As much as I tried to retain my routine, I was off track.  Reading The 5 AM Club gave me renewed energy and focus to get back on track when I returned home the following week.

As I mentioned, there are mixed reviews of the book but mostly because people were put off by the story format.  If you enjoyed any of Patrick Lencioni’s books that impart wisdom through a story then you will enjoy The 5 AM Club.