What time do you get up?

Maybe the better follow up is, what time do you start your work day?

If the answer is any time after 6am then you may not be on the path to CEO success.

It has been reported by Business Insider that many executives of highly successful organizations start their day long before you may dream of that first cup of coffee. Tim Cook, Tim Armstrong, and Marisa Mayer all ride well before the sun does and while you may think this is insanity they may say this is necessary. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John Gruden was famous for rising at 3:15 every morning and working on less than a few hours of sleep.

The question becomes, is it necessary to work this many hours? Do you need more sleep? All answers that will vary from the receptionist to the CEO.

If you want to get ahead, I suggest setting the alarm early, get to the gym, off to the office before everyone else, and see how that works out for a few months. Chances are your peers will notice and your company executives will too.