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The strange daily routines of successful people won't bring you fame and fortune

BBC Science Focus

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February 2025

Punishing 2am workouts and fistfuls of supplements unlikely to help you get ahead in life.

- DR DEAN BURNETT

The strange daily routines of successful people won't bring you fame and fortune

Whether it's wealth, fame or power, it's human nature to mimic those we perceive as more successful than us in the hopes of achieving similar status.

Thankfully, many tech CEOs, celebrities and fitness influencers are willing to share their daily routines, often claiming their regimes ensure maximum productivity and continued success.

But whether it's Mark Wahlberg's 2:30am prayer-and-workout blast, Grimes's other-worldly wellness routine, Gwyneth Paltrow's oil pulling and sauna strategy, or Bryan Johnson's bleak immortality grind, such routines are often... rather extreme.

Being so incompatible with the average person's life - and, invariably, science why do the overwhelming majority of successful people seem to promote lengthy, complex and unobtainable daily routines?

It's odd to think that the rich and successful adopt such punishing daily routines because they desire 'control' aren't they powerful enough already? But psychologically, it can make sense.

For many high-profile people, their status often hinges on volatile factors, such as the stock market, economic shifts, trends and social media algorithms. These elements are unpredictable and constantly evolving, leaving even the most successful individuals at their mercy - a situation that can create a sense of unease and instability.

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