If you asked the likes of Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and the rest of the tech bros about what their secret to success is, we imagine they'd all have very different answers.
These men represent the richest in the world, and while we know you can't always measure success with money, they must've done something right to get to where they are today.
But is replicating their winning formula as simple as copying a morning routine?
One YouTuber has found out the hard way that it's not as simple as no carbs before bed, waking up for a cold shower at 4 am, and hitting the gym before a 12-hour day in the office and a rice cake for lunch.
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Over on his YouTube channel, Will Tennyson tried out the supposed 'perfect' routine of a successful CEO – we assume not the shamed Coldplay guy.
Saying that everyone from Cristiano Ronaldo to Elon Musk swears by their morning routine (even humanoid robots have them), Tennyson took the habits of the world's top achievers and crunched the numbers to give us the optimum wakeup.
Given that Apple's Tim Cook starts at 3.45 am, we get off lightly here with a slightly later alarm.
Going to bed at 8 pm for a restful night's sleep, Tennyson explains how he's sleeping with the blinds open because Richard Branson likes to wake up naturally with the sun at around 5 am. There's not much sun in winter in Canada, so Tennyson takes the advice of retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink, who sets an 'escalating alarm' in the form of The Sword's "Iron Swan".
Tennyson also undertakes Simon Cowell's 150 pushups, Ronaldo's cold showers as 'sheer torture', and Warren Buffett's morning Coca-Cola, before going on Kevin Hart’s three-mile run.
Both Musk and Bill Gates apparently swear by the Pomodoro Technique, which breaks your working day into five-minute slots to focus on individual tasks. He also noted that pretty much all of those he looked at hit the gym in the morning.
Giving a special shoutout to Jeff Bezos, Tennyson tried out his gym routine of 45 minutes of weights a day. He also sent Bezos' trainer a DM to ask for his specific workout, but was told he's under an NDA.
Notably, such an early rise led to the YouTuber admitting he was 'starving' by 7 am. This is where Taylor Swift (bizarrely) comes into the story, as he tucked into her favorite dish of buckwheat crepes with ham, cheese, and egg. Unfortunately, he didn't have the budget for her imported truffles, so went with Walmart's truffle sauce instead.
Tennyson’s main complaint was his tiredness due to getting up so early, and ultimately, he admitted that this isn't for him.
Giving his advice to others wanting to undertake the 'perfect' CEO routine, he concluded: "I think I'm going to be off to hibernate for at least the next 3 days. But hey, they say if you win the morning, you win the day. So, everyone should have a morning routine."
We have to agree that buckwheat crepes and cold showers might not be for everyone, but as Tennyson says, having a routine gives you a sense of purpose that sets you up for the day.