This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with John Morgan, an attorney and entrepreneur, who is based between Hawaii and Florida. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I’m an attorney and entrepreneur best known as the founder of the law firm Morgan & Morgan, which I started with former partners Stewart Colling and Ron Gilbert in 1988. I also own entertainment attractions, hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and other businesses across the US.
The law business gives me purpose because I get to help people during difficult moments, while my other businesses give me balance because they’re centered on people having fun with their families.
I’m based in Hawaii and Florida, but I’m constantly traveling. Here’s what my typical workday looks like.
I usually wake up around 8 a.m. without an alarm
I used to wake up to an alarm every morning — sometimes as early as 4 a.m. Now, I wake up when I want to, and I have blackout curtains to make sure the sun doesn’t wake me too early. I like to sleep.
The first thing I do is grab my iPad while I’m still in bed and spend about 30 to 45 minutes going through the numbers from all my businesses.
I look at ticket sales from my attractions like WonderWorks, sales from my restaurants, hotel numbers, and the new intakes at my law firms nationwide. Then I check Yelp reviews, Google reviews, texts, and emails.
By the time I get out of bed, I already know what happened overnight and what problems need attention. There are always fires to put out. One morning recently, I found out somebody had put a sign on one of my law offices in LA saying walk-ins were not welcome, which isn’t true.
I go for a long walk around 9 a.m.
After I get out of bed, I usually go for a walk and start putting out fires. I typically walk four or five miles each morning while I return calls.
I use an app called Slydial, which sends your call straight to voicemail. If there’s someone I need to respond to but don’t necessarily need a 30-minute conversation with, I leave them a message and keep moving.
A lot of my work is delegation. I have what I call “send delete people.” Those are people I trust enough to forward something to and immediately forget about because I know it’s handled.
I’ll eat breakfast around 10:30 a.m.
I’ve had exactly one sip of coffee in my entire life. My wife loves coffee, but it doesn’t do anything for me.
Instead, I buy mini Cokes at Costco and keep a whole flat of them in the refrigerator. I like the small cans because they’re only about 90 calories, they cost maybe 50 cents each, and they don’t get warm before I finish them.
I’ll have one can in the morning, usually with some peanut butter crackers or a small candy bar. Then, I’ll go back to responding to messages and emails — they never stop coming.
If I’m at my home in Hawaii, where I spend four to five months of the year, by the time I’m done with breakfast, most of the East Coast workday is already winding down because of the time difference. That’s a great feeling.
I’ll usually keep working from home, outside by the pool or the beach, continuing to answer emails and messages and think about new business ideas while listening to music (I like all types — Jimmy Buffett, Jackson Browne, Andrea Bocelli, church music, and country). That’s also where I found time to write my new book, “Life is Luck: Lessons From a Paperboy and How to Improve Your Luck.”
I can still actively practice law, but these days I primarily focus on what energizes me most: growth. That includes bringing in new cases, spotting opportunities, marketing, and building something bigger.
My attraction businesses give me a completely different feeling from the law business. In the law business, people are hurt, angry, and fighting insurance companies. Helping them feels purposeful to me. In my attractions, restaurants, and hotels, people are laughing and spending time with their families. I’ve created places where people go to enjoy themselves, and that gives me a different kind of satisfaction.
I don’t have typical hobbies — I don’t golf, hunt, or fish. My hobby is hunting money. I like figuring out what people might enjoy, building it, and then seeing if I was right.
I try to never eat lunch alone
Most of my lunches are business lunches. I read a book years ago called “Never Eat Alone,” and it stuck with me. You’re not going to create opportunities sitting by yourself eating peanut butter and jelly at your desk.
I use lunches to meet with people who send me business, people working on deals, or people connected to opportunities I’m interested in. Most of those lunches last an hour and a half because I like having enough time to actually talk and get something accomplished.
If I’m in Orlando, where I’m based when I’m not in Hawaii, I usually go to Hillstone because the food is consistently good and the service is fast. My go-to order is the salmon and Broccolini.
I’ll work until about 6:30 p.m.
My wife and I often eat dinner together, watch the news, and then watch a series on Netflix or BritBox. We especially like British mysteries.
Later in the evening, I take marijuana gummies, which help me sleep, and then we’ll have dessert — my wife usually eats yogurt with berries, and I go for ice cream.
Before I go to sleep at around 11 p.m., I say an act of contrition, the Lord’s Prayer, and prayers for a few people on my prayer list. Then I start thinking about all the blessings in my life and usually fall asleep before I finish the list.
I still work seven days a week. Even on weekends, I’m checking emails, answering messages, and thinking about new opportunities. It doesn’t feel like work anymore.
My family has always been the center of my life
I spend weekends going to my grandsons’ baseball games and spending time with my family. I built houses close to my children because I wanted us all near each other. One of my sons lives directly across the street from me, and my three children in Winter Park live close enough to paddleboard to each other’s houses.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve spent more time thinking about faith, family, and what actually matters. A lot of those ideas ended up in my book, which is about how much of life comes from putting yourself in a position to find opportunities and how quickly success can disappear if you become arrogant.
I’ve also spent more time thinking about how to give back. My wife and I set up a foundation and support projects focused on food, water, shelter, medicine, clothing, and dignity. We’ve funded food banks, water wells, wheelchair charities, and organizations serving women and children. I believe that peace doesn’t come from making money alone — peace comes from giving it away and trying to help people with it.
I don’t plan on retiring. Years ago, American college football coach Bobby Bowden told me that once you retire, there’s only one more big event. I never forgot that.
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