Ben Franklin
Photo courtesy of Famous Biographies https://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234
This founding father, scientist, inventor, farmer, and political revolutionary set a strict daily routine. He followed a 13-week self-improvement plan where he pinpointed one virtue per week and cycled through that 4x a year. Skip the New Year’s Resolutions and start small and tangible.
Elon Musk
Photo courtesy of Twitter @elonmusk
This founder and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motor schedules his entire day in 5-minute blocks. His tip for squeezing the most out of every day is to think logistically – he devotes Mondays and Thursdays to SpaceX, Tuesdays and Wednesdays to Tesla, and Fridays to both. What is the bigger task you are going to devote your days to?
Mark Zuckerberg
Photo courtesy of Twitter @MuckZuckerburg
This co-founder and CEO of Facebook wears the same t-shirt, pants, and hoodie every day. Minimizing his day-to-day choices by making as little decisions as possible leaves a lot of time for more important tasks. What is something you do every day that is unnecessary and takes up too much time? Is there a way you can change this or minimize the time it takes to do?
Bill Gates
Photo courtesy of Twitter @BillGates
This CEO and chairman of Microsoft read 50 books per year. Excellence comes from what we repeatedly do, a habit that helps us gain knowledge and learn whether it be concrete or abstract, success means that you must look for it.
Richard Branson
Photo courtesy of Famous Biographies https://www.biography.com/people/richard-branson-9224520
This founder of Virgin Group wakes up at 5am to kite surf, swim, or play tennis. He claims to get an extra 4 hours of productivity a day from regularly exercising. Exercise helps you stay productive and creative throughout the day, teaching you to push through barriers and improve your ability to solve problems critically.
Arianna Huffington
Photo courtesy of Twitter @ariannahuff
This co-founder of the Huffington Post relaxes in the evening by taking a bath with lavender oil, Epsom salts, and a candle and reads philosophy or poetry after laying down. Now students like myself may not have this luxury, so instead, wind down by taking a warm shower and reading (not on a device) in bed.
Sheryl Sandberg
Photo courtesy of Fortune http://fortune.com/2016/02/26/sheryl-sandberg-facebook-ad/
This Facebook COO and Lean In Foundation Founder, author, and activist teaches women to empower themselves by leaning in professionally to grasp those leadership positions.
Thomas Edison
Photo courtesy of Famous Biographies https://www.biography.com/people/thomas-edison-9284349
This great American inventor learned from failure and pushed the boundaries of innovation until a solution was found. If nothing is going right, it’s time to analyze what didn’t work with the solutions used in the past.
Peter Thiel
Photo courtesy of Founders Fund https://foundersfund.com/team/peter-thiel/
This Paypal co-founder, venture capitalist, and author often asks others “Why can’t you accomplish your 10-year plan in the next six months?” His biggest tip is to stay flexible and unplanned. Life is one big experiment, and you never know what comes next.