⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Daily as You Roll Out of Bed What's the first thing you say, think or do when you wake up each morning? These queries can change your life -- and someone else's.

By Matthew Toren

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The morning is a powerful time to frame your mindset for the day ahead.

One of the best lifestyle practices you can get into as an entrepreneur is to start the day with some bold and optimistic questions to set the tone for how you're going to approach what comes next. This helps you to be prepared for opportunities throughout the day by keeping your eyes open to possibility when there are inevitable challenges.

Related: Your Most Important Morning Habits Revealed

Here are three questions you should ask yourself every morning as soon as you wake up to help you be a rock star entrepreneur.

1. Who can I help today? There's a famous Plato quote -- "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." It's easy to wake up and have your very first thoughts be, "I didn't get enough sleep" or "I'm so busy … how will I get it all done?"

While those thoughts are perfectly normal, they're not necessarily inspiring. Everyone has something to offer others. When you start your day asking how you can be of service, it is tantamount to you saying, "I've got something to offer. I've got something to give."

That's a more empowering place to come from in life: offering value. Spend a few minutes brainstorming ideas of ways you can help people and watch throughout the day as new opportunities to help will undoubtedly spring up.

2. What can I do better today? This can be as broad or specific as you want, but the point is to conceptualize what positive actions you can take today to be just a little bit better than the day before.

Related: Ways You're Sabotaging Your Mornings

Did you slack off and skip the gym when you know you really needed to go? How can you take a positive step to ensure that the gym happens today? Lose your temper with someone on the staff and you wish you would've handled better? Brainstorm how you can approach that person today with a better understanding, and if necessary, an apology for your bad behavior.

It's not about being perfect or fake -- it's about trying to make each day's efforts a little better than yesterday's errors. Just like success doesn't happen overnight for your business, you don't become an excellent leader or entrepreneur quickly. You lean into each day with more wisdom and a greater commitment to improve and excel at your own life.

3. How can I create value today? While this may sound similar to asking "who can I help," this question is about creating value through your work. It's important to think up the ways your daily work is providing value for everyone. What you do should make a lot of people better off.

It can be through the quality service or superior product you offer or even great content you share, the form isn't important -- the value is what's imporant. The value that you're motivated to create will instinctually tie to your mission for best results.

Related: The Secret Sauce of Successful Entrepreneurs? It's All in Their Head.

Matthew Toren

Serial Entrepreneur, Mentor and co-founder of YoungEntrepreneur.com

Matthew Toren is a serial entrepreneur, mentor, investor and co-founder of YoungEntrepreneur.com. He is co-author, with his brother Adam, of Kidpreneurs and Small Business, BIG Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right (Wiley). He's based in Vancouver, B.C.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Business News

Costco CFO Reveals Uncertain Fate of $1.50 Hot Dog and Soda Combo

CFO Richard Galanti reveals that the price will stay the same — but only "for a while."

Business News

The Most Unexpectedly Popular Side Hustle of the Decade Has Low Startup Costs and High Markups

A new report shows that vending machines are a popular investment — and the industry is set to grow up to $3 billion by 2031.

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.

Leadership

Former Interrogator Shares 5 Behaviors Liars Exhibit and How to Handle Them

Five deceptive behaviors to look for and how to respond to those behaviors when you encounter them.