"Let me ask you, John. What do you do before you go to sleep
every night?"
"I watch the news with Jenny, the same as most people I know."
"I kind of thought so," replied Julian, with a mysterious
twinkle in his eyes.
"I don't get it. What could possibly be wrong with getting a
little shot of the news before I go to sleep?"
"The ten-minute period before you sleep and the ten-minute
period after you wake up are profoundly influential on your
subconscious mind. Only the most inspiring and serene thoughts
should be programmed into your mind at those times."
"You make the mind sound like a computer."
"That's a pretty fair way to look at it — what you put in is what
you get out. Even more important is the fact that you alone are the
programmer. By determining the thoughts that go in, you also are
determining precisely what will come out. So, before you go to
sleep, don't watch the news or argue with anyone or even go over
the day's events in your mind's eye. Relax. Drink a cup of herbal
tea, if you like. Listen to some soft classical music and prepare
yourself to drift off into a rich, renewing slumber."
"It makes sense. The better the sleep, the less I will need."
"Exactly. And remember the Ancient Rule of Twenty-one: if
you do anything for twenty-one days in a row, it will be installed as
a habit. So stay with the early-rising routine for about three weeks
before you give up because it feels too uncomfortable. By then it
will be a part of your life. Within short order you will be able to rise
at 5:30 a.m. or even at 5:00 a.m. with ease, ready to savor the
splendor of another great day."
"Okay, so let's say that I am getting up every day at five-thirty.
What do I do?"