Are EARLY RISERS MORE SUCCESSFUL than those who sleep in?

[Shiloh Lundahl]

Admittedly, I am naturally an early riser. I naturally wake up at about 5 AM without the need for an alarm clock. This is haw I’ve been since I can remember.  I have read several books such as The Miracle Morning and others that talk about how successful people wake up early in the morning.  Benjamin Franklin also taught the same concept with his “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” quote. 

So hearing all of this reinforces to me the importance of waking up early to be successful. It does this to the point that I get bothered/annoyed/frustrated with people when they sleep in and waste away their morning. Now, my wife says that it is not true. In her opinion, waking up early has no correlation between being successful or not being successful. So I wanted to open this question up to the BP community. What has your experience been? Do the people you know in your life who are successful wake up early (say before 6 AM or earlier) or do they wake up later?

[Mike Dymski]

When I was single, waking up early did not matter.  There was plenty of time to work 60+ hours, exercise, manage real estate, and have a social life...it was easy.  With a wife and kids though, getting started on critical tasks early and priming the day is essential for my mindset and success.  It's also a common thread among successful entrepreneurs and executives.