From Steve Jobs to Barack Obama: The morning routines of 8 of the world’s most successful people

Is there a secret to how successful people start the morning?

Hazel Sheffield
Thursday 08 October 2015 15:21 BST
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Obama reportedly keeps a strict morning workout routine of weights and cardio
Obama reportedly keeps a strict morning workout routine of weights and cardio

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Research has shown that some of us are hardwired to work better in the mornings, while others do their best thinking late at night.

If today was the last day of my life, would I be happy with what I’m about to do today?

&#13; <p>Steve Jobs' morning mantra</p>&#13;

Whether you get up early or late, you probably have your own little rituals. Some people need coffee before you they get out of bed, while others prefer to go to an exercise class before they eat any breakfast.

But what if you’re not doing mornings right? The website sleepypeople.com has collected information from the world’s most successful people to find out if there is a secret to jumpstarting your morning.

The biological father of Apple founder Steve Jobs was a Syrian migrant to the USA
  1. Steve Jobs

Co-founder of Apple

Net worth: $11 billion upon death in 2011

Notable moments: launching the iPod and iTunes and revolutionising the music industry

Morning routine: Every morning, Jobs would look in the mirror and ask himself, “If today was the last day of my life, would I be happy with what I’m about to do today?” If he responded ‘no’ too many days in a row, he knew something needed to change.

Mark Zuckerberg is the CEO of Facebook
  1. Mark Zuckerberg

Co-founder of Facebook

Net worth: $35.7 billion in 2015

Notable moments: Turning Facebook into the world’s most popular social network

Morning routine: Zuckerberg is well known for dressing the same way each day as he once claimed it gives him “one less decision to make”. He also starts the day on very little sleep, often staying up chatting with programmers until 6am.

Sir Winston Churchill pictured in 1964, the year before his death
  1. Winston Churchill

Former British Prime Minister

Net worth: unknown

Notable moments: Leading Britain to victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.

Morning routine: Churchill famously got up at 7.30am but remain in bed until 11am eating breakfast, reading the newspaper and dictating to his secretaries.

The deal is very good news for Barack Obama who got the US Senate to give him "fast track" authority over trade negotiations
  1. Barack Obama

President of the USA

Net worth: $6.9 million in 2015

Notable moments: Winning 69.5 million votes in the 2008 presidential election, the highest amount ever won by a candidate.

Morning routine: Obama keeps a strict morning workout routine of weights and cardio at 6.45am, before eating breakfast with his family and helping to pack his daughters off to school.

  1. Bill Gates

Co-founder of Microsoft

$79.2 billion in 2015

Notable moments: Playing a key role in the rollout of PC’s across the globe with Microsoft’s Windows operating system and building the business to be one of the world’s leading software companies.

Morning routine: Gates is known as an advocate of good health and spends an hour on the treadmill, watching courses from the Teaching Company while doing so.

Mr Cameron warned his party not to tear itself apart ahead of the EU referendum
  1. David Cameron

UK Prime Minister

Net worth: £3.2 million

Notable achievements: winning the 2015 General Election to beat Labour and come out of the coalition government.

Morning routine: Cameron has revealed that he and his family have a no TV rule in the mornings as he believes his children should be doing something. When out on the road, Cameron spends time reading newspapers and catching up on daily news, but when he is at home he spends the morning with his family.

Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos
  1. Jeff Bezos

CEO of Amazon

Net worth: $46.7 billion in 2015

Notable moments: Seeing an opportunity in the dot com boom and turning Amazon into a household name.

Morning routine: Bezos has said he hates early morning meetings. He prefers to stay home and have a healthy breakfast with his family.

  1. Howard Schultz

CEO of Starbucks

Net worth: $2.9 billion in 2015

Notable moments: Growing a small Seattle coffee shop into one of the world’s biggest and most successful brands.

Morning routine: Schultz revealed his early morning routine to Bloomberg Businessweek. “I get up at 4.30am every morning to walk my three dogs and work out,” Schultz said. “Around 5.45am I make coffee for myself and my wife using an 8-cup Bodum French press.”

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