The book title is catchy isn’t it? My first thought when I caught the book title was the book must be on self-improvement, probably someone who came from riches and finally realized the importance of living well spiritually. That exactly is what this book is about.
I didn’t actually pick up the book from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari title, but from the name of the author, Robin S. Sharma.
Robin Sharma is a celebrity of sorts, a worldโs famous motivational speaker and author of 10 major international bestsellers.
Attending his talks will cost thousands of ringgits. ๐
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari has 13 chapters, and it’s not an autobiography, although Robin himself was a lawyer. The book started with the story of a lawyer named Julian Mantle who was extremely stressed out with his work, had a near-fatal heart attack in a packed courtroom and then disappear only to come back looking younger and wealthy spiritually.
This book is a narration of the conversation between Julian and John, who is another litigator who joined Julian’s company and was his best partner in work. Julian saw John as himself, and thus returned to share his knowledge that he gained from the spiritual teacher he met in the Himalayas, Yogi Raman of Sivana.
Spending months learning from Yogi Raman and the people, Yogi Raman of Sivana finally shared with Julian the 7 timeless virtues of enlightened living in the form of a fable. (Hence ‘A Fable About Fulfulling Your Dreams And Reaching Your Destiny‘).
- Master Your Mind
- Follow Your Purpose
- Practice Kaizen
- Live With Discipline
- Respect Your Time
- Selflessly Serve Others
- Embrace the Present
Initially I felt boring just after reading the first few chapters, because it was really slow, as it was written in a form of conversation with details explaining each virtues.
If you like motivational and self improvement books, like Chicken Soup for the Soul series, this book is for you.
However, for the business type of person where efficiency and priority is of importance, I got a feeling that you might just put it off after the first few chapters. You might probably just skim through it.
The good side though, it has a lot of very valuable quotable quotes, and for those who are working extremely hard accumulating wealth but not happiness, this book should be well enlightening for you.
Some of the quotable quotes:
Willpower: It is willpower that allows you to hold your tongue when a less actualized person insults you or does something you disagree with. It is willpower that pushes your dreams forward when the odds appear to be insurmountable. It is willpower that offers you the inner power to keep your commitments to others, and perhaps, even more importantly, to yourself.
When you learn to take control of your thoughts and vividly imagine all that you desire from this worldly existence in a state of total expectancy, dormant forces will awaken inside you. You will begin to unlock the true potential of your mind to create the kind of magical life that I believe you deserve.
Most of us sleep far more than we need to. The average person can get by on six hours – and remain perfectly healthy and alert. Sleep is really nothing more than a habit and like any other habit, you can train yourself to achieve the result you want; sleeping less in this case.
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny
Books, Review
Books, motivational, reading, Robin S. Sharma, self-improvement