Be sure to at least read the last two paragraphs (they’re to you).
This may be the most challenging part of writing a book. Not because I am short on people to acknowledge, quite the opposite. There are so many people who have made a significant impact in my life and on this book that I think it may be impossible to thank them all in the next few pages. In fact, doing so could probably take up an entire book itself. The sequel to this book could be titled The Miracle Morning: Acknowledgments. I don’t know that too many people would buy it, but I would definitely enjoy writing it. ☺
First, I want to give a heartfelt thanks to the extraordinary woman who carried me around for 9.5 months and gifted me with the miracle of life—my mother, Julie Wilson. Mom, I love you so much! Thank you for always believing in me and disciplining me when I needed it. (Okay, I still need it.) Oh, and you need to come to visit more often!
To my father, Mark Elrod. Dad, of all my best friends, you are my best friend. I am the man I am today because of the father you have been for me my entire life. You have instilled so many values and qualities in me, which I am even more grateful for now that I know I will be passing them on to my children. I love you, Dad.
To Hayley, you’re the best sister ever. Hands down. No competition. However, you are not only a great sister but also one of my best friends. You are authentic, supportive, kind, and you’re almost as funny as I am! Seriously, I am so grateful that you are my sister—I couldn’t imagine a better one.
To my baby sister and our angel, Amery, watching over us from heaven. I miss you, Sis. Thank you for watching over all of us.
To my wife-for-life, Ursula. I still marvel at how perfect you are for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful to create and share our lives together. And how ’bout them cute kids we made, huh? Thank you for blessing me with Sophia and Halsten. With you at the helm, I know our family is destined for a lifetime of love and happiness.
To my daughter, Sophia (aka Sophinator). I love you so much!!! You are everything I ever hoped for in a daughter, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the joy and happiness that you bring to my life every day. You are kind, brilliant, creative, and so funny! And I’m so grateful that I am blessed to be your dad!
To my son, Halsten (aka Halstino), you are the kindest, most loving, and most generous human being I have ever met. Since you were two years old and able to talk, you’ve always looked out for the best interest of other people. I’ve always said that you seemed to have been born already exemplifying the values that I’ve worked a lifetime to learn. I love you so much, son!
To my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, I am so thankful for the immeasurable amount of love that you have always shown me. Some of my greatest memories are spending time with you. I love you all so much!
To my in-laws—Marek, Maryla, Steve, Linda, Adam, and Ania—I am grateful to be a part of your family.
To Tiffany Hammond, Chief Operations Officer of The Miracle Morning. You are family. You are also one of the kindest and most loyal, selfless, resilient, and hard-working human beings I have ever met. Who could have ever guessed that a chance encounter at Yard House would turn into a near decade of working together?! Thank you for all you contribute to my life, my family’s life, and our collective Miracle Morning Mission. You’ve shown up for me in ways that no one else has. I love you so much, Tiff!
To Brianna Greenspan, the O.G. MMer! You are an angel to me. You have not only been the most dedicated advocate and supporter of the Miracle Morning since the beginning, but you have been one of my best friends as well. From being on those Miracle Morning “Movement Maker” calls way back in 2012 to supporting me through my cancer journey, showing up for my family, and giving me brilliant advice when I need it (and we both know that I often need it), you are one of the most important people in my life. Most recently, you’ve dedicated yourself to developing The Miracle Morning in Schools program and are making a profound impact in the lives of educators and youth in ways I only dreamt of. Words can’t describe how much I love and appreciate you, Bri!
To Honorée Corder (also known as “the book whisperer”), I truly can’t thank you enough for all of your help throughout the years! You’ve been instrumental in helping me to bring the Miracle Morning to countless people through the book series, and I feel so fortunate that our paths crossed. You are truly one of the best in the world at teaching people how to write, publish, and monetize their books! And while you’ve contributed so much to the Miracle Morning Mission, what I am personally most thankful for is how you stepped up to help me after I was diagnosed with cancer. Thank you so much for your love, support, and friendship, Honorée. I love you, and I am eternally grateful to you!
To Josh Eidenberg, thank you for pouring so much of yourself into the Miracle Morning Mission and constantly thinking of ways we can better serve the Miracle Morning Community. Thank you for relentlessly encouraging me to allow you to finally create the long-overdue Miracle Morning app, which is now helping tens of thousands of people to elevate their consciousness every single day. Josh, you are as brilliant and creative as you are kind and generous, and I feel deeply grateful and privileged to be able to work alongside you to elevate human consciousness.
To Stephanie Blackbird, your years of unwavering commitment to supporting and moderating the Miracle Morning Community have been nothing short of extraordinary. You are fiercely loyal and have always gone over and above to serve. Thank you so much. I love you, Steph!
To Veronica Vielma and Zach Eichler, your contributions to the Miracle Morning Mission have been invaluable. We are impacting more people than ever thanks to your efforts. I can’t thank you enough for how you show up for our team and our community.
To Celeste Fine. I don’t know if you’re an angel or a genie or what, but you’ve continuously created miracles in my life. On more than one occasion, I’ve written down a goal or a dream that was so big I had no idea how I would accomplish it. Then, suddenly, you showed up with the means to make my dreams come true. And you do it from a place of love, truly looking out for my best interest. I appreciate you so much, Celeste!
To Scott Hoffman, thank you for believing in The Miracle Morning and in me. Together, I have unwavering faith that we are going to positively impact many more lives.
To Glenn Yeffeth, CEO of BenBella and my chief editor for this book. Working alongside you to update this manuscript has been such a pleasure, and this book turned out so much better than I could have ever imagined, thanks to you.
To each of The Miracle Morning co-authors, thank you for contributing your love and wisdom to the book series! Let’s keep helping as many people as we can.
To Emily Klein, Elizabeth Pratt, Elaine Pofeldt, and Julie Strauss—my brilliant editing team—thank you for helping me to communicate my ideas in a way that will surely resonate deeply with readers. This book reads so much more clearly because of you, contributing your unique talents and perspectives.
To Dino Marino, ever since Honorée introduced us, you have been extraordinarily kind and supportive, using your talents with graphic design to make the Miracle Morning more eye-catching so that more people get to experience the benefits. Your contributions are invaluable and immeasurable.
To my closest friends—my circle of influence—any person would be lucky to have any one of you in his life, and I somehow ended up with all of you! We’ve shared a lot of great times together, but beyond that, it is who you are that makes me strive to be better. If it is true that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with, I’ve got nothing to worry about! For your lifelong friendship, I love you Jeremy Katen, Matt Recore, Jon Vroman, Jon Berghoff, Jesse Levine, Brad Weimert, Jeremy “Brotha James” Reisig, John Ruhlin, Justin Donald, David Osborn, and Mike McCarthy—and to my many friends that I may not have mentioned here, know that it’s not because I don’t love you. I do. I just forgot about you while I was writing this.
To my extended family at Cutco and Vector, I can’t thank you enough for the incredible contributions you have made to my life. So much of who I am today and what I wrote in this book wouldn’t be possible without the opportunity you provided me.
To my brilliant friend and the creator of BookMama.com, Linda Sivertsen—you are so talented and have such a gift for making any author’s book idea into a bestselling masterpiece. Thank you for contributing your gifts to this book.
To Kevin Bracy, I was sitting in your seminar just days before my first Miracle Morning, and your words were the catalyst for me to overcome my limiting belief that I was not a morning person. Just when I was about to give up, your words of wisdom reminded me that, “If you want your life to be different, you have to be willing to do something different, first.” I may have never attempted to wake up at 5 AM—let alone written this book—if it wasn’t for you.
To James Malinchak, when I shared The Miracle Morning with you for the first time, you were genuinely excited, and you expanded my vision of what was possible: “Hal, I don’t think you even see how big this is going to be, and how many people this is going to impact!” You have personally inspired me and tens of thousands of authors, speakers, and coaches to believe in our message, see it bigger, and impact more people. You did that for me, and I can’t thank you enough!
To J. Brad Britton, you taught me one of the most valuable lessons, which I continue to live my life by and share with anyone who will listen—do the right thing, not the easy thing. You don’t just teach it; you live it. Thank you for always bringing out the best in others like you did for me.
To everyone who supported the original launch of this book back in 2012, your selflessness and commitment to paying forward the benefits you’ve received from the Miracle Morning have left me speechless. First, I have to thank the Miracle Morning Launch Team—what a blast it was working with you to promote this book. I will forever be grateful and indebted to you. Special thanks to Kyle Smith, Isaac Stegman, Geri Azinger, Marc Ensign, Colleen Elliot Linder, Dashama, Mark Hartley, Dave Powders, Jon Berghoff, Jon Vroman, Jeremy Katen, Ryan Whiten, Brianna Greenspan, Robert Gonzalez, Carey Smolenski, Ryan Casey, Peter Voogd, and Greg Strine.
Finally, to you and every member of our collective human family, I believe that we all have infinitely more in common than the perceived differences that far too many people cling to. As a part of my family, I love and appreciate you more than you know.
All right, now it’s time to stop reading and start creating. Never settle. Create the life you deserve to live, and help others do the same.