‘The 5 AM Club Book Review: a game-changer by Robin Sharma

Reading is truly one of the rarest gifts we have at our disposal. The sad part, however, is that most of us have forgotten how to reap the blessings from this magical habit. And the culprit, as we all know, is digital technology. Don’t get me wrong; I do admit that technology has a huge range of benefits. But rather than how it was supposed to make our lives easier, it has just made us even busy (doing nothing!), depressed, and unfit in the overall sense.

A few days back, I was stuck in a situation when I couldn’t use my mobile phone, the one I use for over 5 hours a day! Feel like that’s unbelievable? Well, go to the ‘Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls’ section in the ‘Settings’ of your phone. You’ll find out how many hours you unknowingly spend in front of your cell phone. And if that number is anything less than 2 hours for you, then kudos! You are actually living your life, rather than pretending on social media that you are.

So, as I said, I was stuck in a situation where my phone’s battery had died out and so was left completely bored and frustrated for an entire half of a day. But that amount of time did help me observe how much I have grown addicted to this digital device. A decade ago, as a kid, I spent a lot of time reading comics and storybooks, science articles, and newspapers in my free time.

Today, if I can pen even one good sentence, it is because of the richness of the books I read back in the day. That’s when I realized that I need to read more. I need to disconnect from my digital devices and connect back to the world of reading again. And so began my journey of challenging myself into reading 52 books, one book a week, for a year. And here I am, today, happy to share my experience of reading my very first book of the challenge.

Note-Our writer Anjali Kesavan has taken 52 weeks Reading challenge, so we will be publishing book reviews for all the readers out there! -Team Godofsmallthing. You can also check out some more book recommendations from our end like and hey! Each link will open in new tab so you don’t have to miss out on reading this review 🙂

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How I came across ‘The 5 AM Club’, and Robin Sharma, as a mentor

Robin Sharma is one of the most influential and successful life-coaches existing today. A former lawyer, he began his journey of writing a few decades ago. He has ever since written and published 12 best-selling books and has inspired the world to become the best versions of themselves through these wonderful creations. I personally am not new to his work. At the age of fifteen, after completing high school, I was gifted a book as a token of appreciation from one of my elders. It was ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’. Ever since I have been a huge fan of Robin’s work and consider him as one of my mentors on my journey of self-realization. Not so surprisingly, I have been following him on social media and knew of the book ‘The 5 AM Club’ all through his updates since the time of its creation.

I bought this book, last year, on my birthday, as a gift to myself (for surviving another year in this world! Just kidding!). Though I had read the first few chapters the moment I put my hands on the book, I had to postpone reading further due to several other engagements that kept crawling their way into my life. And when I thought of the reading challenge, guess which book came first to my mind? The 5 AM Club! So, for the very first week, I decided to read this marvelous piece of literature.

‘The 5 AM Club’ Book review

I’m all praise for this amazing book written by Robin Sharma. Like all his books, this one too uplifts the reader to live a fulfilling existence. If anything, I’d say, this perhaps is the best work he has ever crafted. If I were to give ‘The 5 AM Club’ book summary, I would say that it is a book which, like the name suggests, helps you to install the early waking habit. But that’s not all. Here are the four things that this book truly assists you at:

1. Guides you through the importance of waking up early in the morning, at 5 AM.
2. Actually helps you to install this habit with a detailed set of rules and techniques, if when followed will help you reach your maximum potential.
3. Gives you a detailed idea not just about waking up, but what must be done in the first and finest hour of your morning to excel at everything you do.
4. The principles mentioned in this book can be used to help install any good habit, not just waking up early, because installing good habits take more effort than sliding into bad habits.

So, to put it precisely, this book is a life-changer if you follow everything mentioned it with sincere discipline.

Genre, style, and narrative of the book

‘The 5 AM Club’ by Robin Sharma is a book of the self-help and motivational genre. The prime idea that it focuses on is habit installation. In my personal opinion, this book is highly relevant in today’s time where most of us have been forgetting to live life to our fullest potential and choose rather to get distracted by silly failures and heartbreaks. ‘The 5 AM Club’ book rules are guidelines to excellence in every area of a person’s life.

To talk about style, the author uses fictional characters to express his point. Honestly speaking, it is the journey of two strangers who meet a “weirdly wise” man at a conference and then embark on a journey with him that will completely transform their lives. The reader grows to associate with the characters right from the beginning, as their challenges resemble what we all go through in today’s reality. Like most of his other books, the author himself is the narrator of this book; i.e., it uses the third person omniscient narration. Although written in a period of four years, the book serves as a guide for a lifetime to its readers.

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and Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, and more: List of Best George Orwell books Sorted By Reviews. (Each link in the article will open in New Tab so you can open and switch to another tab later 🙂 )

Some lines and excerpts from the book that I found most appealing

“Those who hurt others silently loathe themselves.”

“You’ve talked about how the great ones leverage periods of isolation. I’ve read that many famous geniuses had a habit of sitting in solitude for hours with nothing more than a pad of paper and a pen for capturing the insights that would start flashing across the screen of their imagination.”

“a wishbone without a backbone doesn’t really get you very far,

dreams and desires are just wishbones. Rising before daybreak is your backbone to get them done.”

“Failing to keep self-promises is one of the reasons so many of us don’t love ourselves.”

How much would I rate this book?

If I were to decide a figure on a number scale that describes how much I adore this book, I would say ‘8/10’. Do I recommend ‘The 5 AM Club’? Oh, yes! I truly believe that each of you can benefit from the marvel that is this book.

About the Author

Robin Sharma is a Canadian writer and widely respected humanitarian. He is among the top leadership experts in the world today, whose clients include big names from fields like business, sports, music, space science, and even members of royalty. He is also a famed key-note speaker and a true inspirer to thousands. Sharma writes in the self-help genre and has authored twelve books till date. This includes several #1 bestsellers like ‘The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari’ and ‘The Leader Who Had no Title’. Many of his books, originally written in English, are available in over 92 languages. Needless to say, he is one of the most-read writers in today’s world.

Where to get ‘The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life’?

This popular game changer book is available in most book stores across the globe. But, if you find it difficult to browse through bookstores keeping in mind the current pandemic situation, you can also the buy the book online.

For whom is this book for?

As a concluding note, I would like to point out for whom this book is ideally suitable. If you are someone who wants to do something exceptional with your life, then this book is a great addition to your personal library. If you are a person who takes time to observe and introspect the direction of your life, and if you know that there are areas that need improvement, but could use the help of a friend or a guide to making those improvements, then this book can act as that friend or guide for you. That being said, I’m truly revered that you took out the few minutes to go through this humble book review. I hope it helps you in your own reading journey. Thank you!