I don't use alarm clocks - Jim likes to stay in bed a LOT longer than I do.
I just trained myself...Dad says that when he was growing up (he was a farm boy) they didn't use alarm clocks - they just woke up at the right time (I suspect that during the winter months it was GETTING OUT OF BED that was the real issue - their old farmhouse didn't have central heating to say the least!).
So that's what I did...I stopped staying up late watching teevee (really, is there ANYTHING worth staying up for these days??) and now we usually hit the sack by 9:00 or 9:30 tops. I was able to train myself to wake up - I just commit to waking up at a certain time and for some reason I just do!
I'm so accustomed to my early morning workouts that if I DON'T work out first thing, I just don't FEEL like I have that much energy...it definitely ENERGIZES me to get some sweat and endorphins goin' first thing in the AM.
And a little over three years ago...we adopted Chalupa Boy, followed the next year by Chubby Girl (our two kitties). They're VERY accustomed to having their first snack no later than 4 am...so if I'm ever late getting up, they make SURE I'm awake, trust me!
Bottom line...it's just a matter of practicing until it becomes a habit. And even if there IS a show that you feel you simply MUST watch...well...there's always TiVo.