The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma — Review — Regina Of Tech
The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life by Robin Sharma was first released in December 2018. It quickly became a best seller with millions of copies sold in 4 years, inspiring its readers to join the 5 AM club. It is written in fiction format with the heart of non-fiction.
Does the book contain beneficial information? Yes. Is the fictional form optimal? No. I’ll explain.
DISCLAIMER: The following review contains spoilers. Continue only if you are wanting a full review.
Who is Robin Sharma?
A world-renowned leadership expert ranked in the top 5 worldwide, Robin Sharma is mentoring the high performers among us. From Deepak Chopra to Microsoft and NASA, he is working his leadership magic. For over 40 years, Robin continues to help ambitious people find their greatness and join the top 5% of performers.
Along with being a leadership expert and mentor, he is also an international best-selling author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and Who Will Cry When You Die? books. Another hat that Robin wears is a humanitarian. He founded The Robin Sharma Foundation for Children (RSFC) charity. When/If you buy yourself a copy of The 5 AM Club, Robin donates a portion of his royalties to help children with leprosy. A feel-good purchase if you decide to get yourself a copy.
The 5 AM Club Overview
The 5 AM Club is a non-fiction book with a twist, it is told in a fiction or story format. We will follow Woman Entrepreneur and Male Artist as they travel around the world with the eccentric billionaire, Stone Riley. Stone, with the help of Spellbinder, teach entrepreneur and artist what it takes to be a part of their exclusive 5 AM Club. You will learn along with them protocols and practices such as the 20/20/20 formula, 10 tactics for lifelong genius, and 4 focuses of history-makers.
The 5 Am Club Negatives
Fictional Characters Flawed/Underdeveloped
Spellbinder
We are introduced to Spellbinder (yes, that is his name) at one of his conferences. He is an eighty-year-old man that is nearing the end of his career as a
“grandmaster of inspiration, a legend of leadership and a sincere statement helping everyday people realize their greatest gifts.”
The 5 AM Club (2019). page 3.
As I read the book (and maybe you as well) I couldn’t help but think Spellbinder is Robin. Spellbinder is the fictional representation of Robin within the world that he attempted to create.
My biggest issue with this character is that when he returns after a lengthy disappearance the entrance is a surprise. Every. Single. Time. The only time that I was caught off guard was after he collapsed at the end of his conference and then we meet him again on the beach thinking its someone else. That was a surprise! Not wearing a cloak with a hood in a catacomb waving a candle in circles or wearing a pilot’s outfit to fly a helicopter to Robben Island. Why the mystery? Why the dramatic entrances? Why a candle?!? A drone is used in the story, but a flashlight or headlamp could not be found by Stone’s many assistants. Just doesn’t make sense.
Summary
Spellbinder is a one-dimensional character that serves the sole purpose of helping to convince the entrepreneur, artist, and reader to join the 5 AM club. Oh and we also know he likes to fish…. a lot. It was mentioned several times but didn’t move the storyline along. If fishing helped to move the story along it would have been useful to know but, in the end, needless information in a book full of useful advice.
Stone Riley
The eccentric billionaire. And I mean eccentric. Think Tony Stark from Iron Man, but several levels crazier. He licks a journal. Yes, licks a journal while on the Spanish Steps in Rome. Later in the story, he alludes to the fact that he knows its crazy, however, he writes:
“Yes, in Rome I licked my journal. Its one of the rituals I run to actively heighten my aliveness by raising my appreciation of all the good blessings that have been given to me.”
The 5 AM Club (2019). page 285.
I still do not understand why licking a journal helps with appreciating your blessings. Maybe I’m missing something, but that’s something in my own opinion that should stay behind closed doors.
His purpose within the story is to be the mentor that Spellbinder was to him. Because of his constant presence throughout the book his character development went deeper. We find out that he had a wife named Vanessa (sadly she passed away a few years before these events), a daughter (we never officially meet her), and that he might possess magical powers. This was not confirmed nor denied but I’m leaning toward magical power. Doves and butterflies flutter around just his head and land on his ears, double rainbows appear when he is about to teach, his assistants show up out of nowhere with a summons, and he made a metal box levitate. Magic powers.
Illness
Toward the middle of the story, he starts to cough aggressively. This continues until the very end. We know that something is wrong with him due to his coughing fits but also he reminisces more about his past with his wife (not so much his daughter). We do not find out about his illness until the epilogue. This may be the answer to why the billionaire wanted to pass on his 5 AM club teachings. This is the only reason I can find why Stone Riley, a busy empire builder, would take on two randomly chosen individuals from his mentor’s conference. He’s facing his mortality.
Summary
Stone Riley is a multi-dimensional character that expectedly does the unexpected. He does not conform to how we would normally envision a billionaire to behave. He licks journals, twerks in penthouses, and tries to fly a helicopter without a copilot after ‘some time’ from his last flight and almost crashes (Maybe this is how billionaires behave?). His mind is full of quotes, so many quotes that at times I was overwhelmed. He’s a developed character whose flaw is that he made the story seem too outlandish.
Woman Entrepreneur
Woman Entrepreneur is her name and she is introduced darkly on the first page in the very first paragraph. She is contemplating how to commit her death.
“A gun would be too violent. A noose would be too ancient. And a knife blade to the wrist would be too silent. So, the question became, How could a once-glorious life be ended swiftly and precisely, with minimum mess yet maximum impact?”
The 5 AM Club (2019). page 1.
It is an alarming and jolting way to start the book, but I think that is the point. To get your brain in a state of desperation. To understand why she decided to seek help at the Spellbinder’s conference and also to go along with a stranger’s idea of going to an island to learn about the 5 AM club. She’s in a desperate state due to internal and external pressures.
External Pressures
We find out that she is the founder of a successful tech company that has grown rapidly. She is a Zuckerburg type, where during college she started a company in her college dorm room. It had its IPO and with that investors have taken over and committed mutiny. They convinced several of her employees that she is not fit to serve the company and needs to leave. We are not given much more than that, besides the investors are not above murder. They are not subtle in letting her know that they are going to kill her.
In all caps, the following stark words appeared:
LEAVE THE COMPANY. OR ELSE YOU DIE.
The entrepreneur fumbled with her phone. Then she accidentally dropped it into the sand. Soon she was gasping for air.
The 5 AM Club (2019). Page 79.
In that moment, the entrepeneur’s attention was stolen by her phone as the screen lit up. Stunningly, the following words showed up in lettering that resembled blood dripping, leaving her trembling and shaken:
A killer IS coming
The 5 AM Club (2019). Page 146.
Ominous and keeps you on the edge of your seat rooting for her to use her new 5 AM Club powers to conquer all.
Purpose
This external pressure’s purpose is to create intense drama throughout the book and to keep us, the reader, in a sense of desperation. Not sure if it truly served that purpose, but it kept me reading trying to figure out why they want her desperately gone. Is she a bad leader? Was she taking too much money? Did she know that they were going to kill her and that is why she thought about taking her life?
It’s a little confusing and muddies the water in her character development.
The Solution
The solution for the evil investors does not come from the Woman Entrepreneur herself, but from Stone Riley, the billionaire. The reader does not get the satisfaction or the validation of joining the 5 AM club by her solving her problems at the break of morning, but by throwing money at it. Stone ends up buying the investors out and saving her.
So the lesson I got from that is that the ‘Victory Hour’ is to enhance yourself enough to become friends with someone who has ‘f*** it’ money. Not great advice from a book that is meant to show you that the 5 AM club will enhance your life.
Summary
Woman Entrepreneur is not a developed character in regards to her being a main character. We follow her through her journey of joining the 5 AM club, but get little from her. She does not become her own hero, but she does find love along the way. She is a rom-com-type character that has Tony Stark rescue her from dangerous situations.
Male Artist
Male Artist has some troubles of their own. He is a procrastinator who seemingly doesn’t have time to enhance his skills. He goes to the same Spellbinder conference as Woman Entrepreneur and that is how they meet. Through him, Stone Riley is given the opportunity to talk to the new friends because Woman Entrepreneur wanted nothing to do with either of the strangers. He is the catalyst for the start of the journey.
Male Artist is not developed much past learning that he is a procrastinating artist. All he talks about is his art and how he wants to become the best of the best, which is great but gets dull after a couple of chapters. His character quickly becomes the love interest of Woman Entrepreneur. They start holding hands after a couple of chapters, get engaged a couple of chapters after that, and then married with a child at the end. Nothing more than that.
Once I got to the end of the book, his presence did not make sense. It comes off that he is not meant to be seen as a real person, but as the creative side of Woman Entrepreneur that she is rediscovering through the 5 AM club.
Summary
Male Artist is a character that does not enhance nor destroy the story. His character would not be missed if removed from the story or hated if left in. His flaw is that he is in the story from beginning to end without any character development. He is dull.
The Fiction Format Is Not Optimal
The fictional vessel that the author chose to use for delivering his message is rushed, predictable, and overused. There is a rich unconventional thinking hero, a damsel in distress, a love interest, and a subject matter expert who all get up at 5 AM. The story can be boiled down to that and can be pieced together based on that description.
Rushed Love Story
Within 4–5 days of the story’s timeline, the Woman Entrepreneur and Male Artist are saying ‘I love you’.
…”And I really like who you are. Actually,” said the artist candidly, “I love who you are.”
He leaned over and kissed the entrepreneur.
”What took you so long to say that?” she ask.
The 5 AM Club (2019). Page 152.
Their quick love romance comes off as a survival and convenience pairing with a big helping of cringe. Not one where they are actually growing together and finding the best in each other. On top of the romance blossoming in a rushed cringe-inducing manner, Male Artist isn’t even the hero! No, neither the Woman Entrepreneur nor the Male Artist are heroes in their own story. They learn habits to help create a happy life that we learn about in the page and half epilogue, but Stone ends up being the hero by simply having his guards kick butt and then buying out the investors. WHAT?!?
Undermining The Message
Towards the end of the story, the group is attacked by hitmen hired by the investors of the Woman Entrepreneur’s company:
The entrepreneur took step by careful step while staring directly into the eyes of the gunman. She now had a soft smile on her face. Such was the grade of her newly earned bravery. So was the degree of her considerably enhanced confidence.
…
“I did what I did because of the powers I’ve developed as a member of the 5 AM Club. That’s how I was able to do what I just did. It all really works. All of it….”
…
“Are you serious?” asked the arists, loudly. He wasn’t pleased with what he’d heard.”Of course not! I’m just playing babe,” laughed the entrepreneur. “I adore you. I’d give my life for you…”
The 5 AM Club (2019). Page 245.
This prompts Stone to buy out the investors and save the entrepreneur and artist. Not the kind of conclusion I was hoping for from a self-help book that is trying to convince me to join a club. I was hoping for a Lion King moment where Stone welcomes her to pride rock to hear her roar after taking down the investors with her newfound 5 AM powers. Not just throw money at the problem.
In the end, the story itself did not showcase how joining the 5 AM club would benefit the reader. The story took over the message and at times undermined the importance that the author was trying to convey in joining.
Lack Of Data
Throughout the book, not a single study was referenced. Several times in the story characters would say:
“…Researchers now call this kind of a core behavior that multiplies all your other reulgar patterns of performing ‘a keystone habit’…”
The 5 AM Club(2019). Page 78.
Which researchers started dot call it a ‘keystone habit’?
…developed by eminent psychologist James Flynn. The valuable in sight he conceived is that what makes a legendary performer so good isn’t the amount of natural talent they are born into but the extent of that potential they actualize — and capitalize.
The 5 AM Club(2019). Page 107
How did James Flynn come to that conclusion?
“… Very good scentific data confirms that your cortisol levels are highest in the morning.”
The 5 AM Club (2019). Page 208
What scientific data?
Throughout the story, not a single superscript was used to denote a citation. It was frustrating that this non-fiction book charading around as a fictional book was not citing its sources for its conclusions. I understand that going into the study would ruin the flow of the story, but having a citation so that I could look at your source would be beneficial.
Summary
Halfway through the book, I found myself slowly increasing in volume saying “Show me the data”. I was about to put the book down because the author did not reference any studies. It was definitely off-putting that we should take what he says as fact instead of providing studies to back up their claims. Being able to verify what is being stated would help to cement the importance of the habits that the author is trying to convey. Or even help the reader to tweak an element of a 5 AM club practice that would align better with their lifestyle but still keep the point of the original practice.
The 5 AM Club Positives
The 5 AM Is Full Of Great Advice
Distilling the story out of the book, the advice given is phenomenal. The 5 AM Club is a book overflowing with great practices and protocols to help get you back on track with your ambitions in life. Robin Sharma gives us the 20/20/20 formula, the 4 focuses of history-makers, along with the habit installation protocol.
Stone Riley, the mentor to the two main characters, says over and over to make everything you learn into something that works for you. Just keep in mind that what you put in is what you will get out.
“Life is very equitable, … ” said the mogul, sounding quite philosophical and now looking much stronger. “You’ll receive from it what you give to it. …”
The 5 AM Club (2019). Page 223.
I personally found the 20/20/20 formula and the 10 tactics of lifelong genius enlightening. When you first wake up that first hour can be as basic as getting dressed and brushing your teeth. However, the 20/20/20 formula gives you structure for that first hour so that you know exactly what you need to do to be the best version of yourself. Using the second set of 20 minutes during the formula you can implement the 10 tactics. The 10 tactics are protocols that need to be planned for the day/week and during the reflecting stage these can be implemented.
There are many more practices that he gives us, but that is for you to find out if you decide to read the book.
Visuals Are Well Utilized (Kind Of)
Throughout the 5 AM Club book, Robin includes many visuals for the protocols that he is proposing. The visuals for the protocols are extremely helpful in understanding what Stone or the Spellbinder are communicating. Also, the images help the reader with associating useful granular data with an area of an image.
The only downside to the visuals is that some of the story images that are used to help the reader be present at the moment are confusing. Several are cryptic images of an island with dolphins that Stone drew or of a phoenix flying out of flames. Another is of a wishbone placed on the Spanish Steps. Even though the story-focused images could be removed I can’t say it’s a negative due to we as readers can easily skip over those.
The images focused on the 5 AM Club protocols are extremely helpful and easy to copy to a journal for easy reference.
Final Thoughts
After finishing The 5 AM Club book by Robin Sharma I do not hate or like this book as one. Separating it into its fiction and non-fiction form for grading might be easier.
Fiction
Let’s start with the fictional side of the story. I would have to give that a D+ in its implementation. The characters were not developed by the end of the book and the story was trite. By the time I finished the book, I wished that the fictional story had been expanded to tell a complete story or just not used at all. It took away from the point of the book, to learn how to join the 5 AM Club.
Non-Fiction
On the non-fiction side, I give that a B. The protocols made sense and could easily be implemented into the readers’ life they wanted. The only reason that it did not get a perfect score is that no sources were cited. If a superscript was given (not a breakdown) of the study or resource to reference it would have been a great starting point for a fiction-non-fiction mash-up. Just as long as the story is told in its entirety with character development and some sort of believable conclusion that reinforces the importance of implementing what is being taught.
The 5 AM Club Final Score
It’s not a bad book, but it’s not good for what it is. I can see why reviews either hate this book or like it. If you were to ask me if I would recommend it I would have to ask “Do you read with an open mind?” and “Are you a data-focused person?”. If you answer “Yes” to being open-minded and “No” to being data-focused I would say go for it. You may enjoy it. If you answer in any other combination of answers then I would say that you wouldn’t like the book.
Final Score: C
Until we learn again,
Regina
Originally published at https://reginaoftech.com on March 26, 2023.