I interviewed a billionaire who told me his entire empire was built on one morning principle — "I never let someone else's emergency become my first thought of the day" — and that sentence rewired the way I approach every single morning

Last month, I sat across from someone whose net worth could buy a small country.

We were in his surprisingly modest office in San Francisco, and I'd asked him the question every writer dreams of asking: "What's the one thing that made all the difference?"

He leaned back, took a sip of his black coffee, and said something that completely caught me off guard.

"I never let someone else's emergency become my first thought of the day."

That was it. No complex strategy. No elaborate morning routine with seventeen steps.

Just one ironclad principle that he'd followed for thirty years.

He went on to explain how most people wake up, grab their phones, and immediately get hijacked by other people's priorities.

An urgent email from a client.

A text about a "crisis" at work.

Social media notifications pulling you into someone else's drama.

"Every morning," he said, "you have a choice. You can start your day reacting to the world, or you can start it by choosing what matters to you."

That conversation happened six weeks ago.

Since then, I've completely restructured my mornings around this principle, and honestly?

It's been transformative in ways I didn't expect.

The psychology of morning hijacking

Here's what happens when you check your phone first thing: your brain immediately shifts into reactive mode.

You're responding, not creating.

You're playing defense, not offense.

Research shows that individuals with higher construal levels allocate more time to important tasks and prioritize them over urgent but less important ones.

But when you start your day with someone else's urgency, you're operating at a low construal level – focused on the immediate, the concrete, the "fire" that needs putting out.

Think about it.

How many times have you woken up with a clear plan for your day, only to check your messages and suddenly find yourself stressed about something that wasn't even on your radar five minutes ago?

That's not an accident.

It's the natural consequence of letting other people set your morning agenda.

I've mentioned this before, but the most productive period of my day used to be completely random.

Sometimes I'd crush it in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon.

There was no pattern.

Now I realize it depended entirely on whether I'd protected my morning or given it away.

Creating your own "tiger time"

Amy Porterfield, the online marketing strategist, has this brilliant concept: "I do something called 'tiger time' in the morning because I'm best in the mornings. I block out three or four hours just for content creation. And that might mean record a podcast, work on a webinar, interview somebody for a podcast … I'm creating content in one way or another. I always have to have that tiger time … [I call it that because] I'm fierce about nobody can touch it. No meetings, nothing, because my success is in the content I create."

You don't need three or four hours.

Even thirty minutes of protected morning time can change everything.

For me, it starts with my oat milk latte and absolutely no phone for the first hour.

I write. I think. I plan.

Sometimes I just sit at my favorite Venice Beach coffee shop and watch people, letting my mind wander where it wants to go.

The emails are still there when I check them later.

The "emergencies" somehow resolve themselves or turn out not to be emergencies at all.

But that first hour? That's mine, and it sets the tone for everything that follows.

The compound effect of morning ownership

What's fascinating is how this principle compounds over time.

When you consistently start your days on your own terms, you begin to see patterns in what actually matters versus what just feels urgent.

Research from the University of Wyoming indicates that disruptions to morning routines can lead to decreased focus and productivity throughout the day.

But here's what that research doesn't capture: it's not just about having a routine. It's about who controls that routine.

Charlie Day, an entrepreneur, puts it perfectly: "I am up at 5am every morning and I have a fixed morning routine. Meditate, gratitude journal, running, writing. It sets me up for the day and brings massive benefits. I am more productive; I have more energy and above anything I feel like my happiness levels are through the roof."

Notice what's not in his routine? Checking messages. Responding to emails. Solving other people's problems.

Different approaches, same principle

Everyone implements this differently, and that's the beauty of it.

Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of Bumble, keeps it simple: "I have a yoga mat and a huge bottle of water next to my bed so when I get up, I drink that and then try to stretch and do some form of a morning workout. I do my best to avoid the direct-to-phone dive, because once that starts it's nearly impossible to escape."

Oprah Winfrey takes a more philosophical approach: "I have never set an alarm, I don't believe in them. They are…alarming! I put the number in my mind, and I wake up before that, usually between 6:02 and 6:20, because the dogs are trained to go out around that time. My first thought in the morning is, 'Oh, I'm alive. Thank you!'"

Even Kevin O'Leary, who checks markets first thing, does it intentionally: "I wake up at 5:45 a.m. and check the Asian and European bond markets. Afterward, I do cardio while watching business TV." He's not responding to messages – he's gathering information that matters to his work, on his schedule.

The common thread? They all protect their mornings from becoming someone else's priority list.

The real test: when everything feels urgent

Last week, I woke up to seventeen "urgent" messages.

Old me would have grabbed the phone immediately, heart racing, diving into problem-solving mode before my feet hit the floor.

New me? I saw the notification count, put the phone back down, and went to make my coffee.

Were some of those messages important? Sure.

Did any of them require a response before 8 AM? Not a single one.

Here's what I've learned: urgency is often just poor planning wearing a disguise.

When everything is urgent, nothing actually is.

And when you train people that you're not available for their emergencies first thing in the morning, something magical happens – they start solving problems themselves.

Wrapping up

That billionaire I interviewed?

He built his empire by understanding a simple truth: your morning thoughts become your daily actions, and your daily actions become your life's trajectory.

You don't need to wake up at 4 AM.

You don't need a complicated routine with meditation, journaling, exercise, and a cold plunge.

You just need to protect that first slice of your day from becoming someone else's priority.

Start small. Tomorrow morning, wait thirty minutes before checking your phone.

Use that time for something that matters to you.

Write. Think. Plan.

Or just drink your coffee in peace.

Because here's the thing: every morning, you're making a choice.

You're either starting your day as the author of your own story, or you're starting it as a character in someone else's.

Which one will you choose tomorrow?