The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

Hi Folks

We all want that our life should move in the direction we show to it. But the problem is that we can't even control our mind, body and soul then how can we control our whole life. The life moves where these three managers asks it to lead. And these three managers have no leader above them. So they try to play with our lives like an amateur dancer dances in the absence of an audience. To control our lives one first need to control his mind, body and soul. You know what, people are very good managers, bosses and leaders in the outer world but when it comes to their own selves, their managerial and controlling skills doesn't seem like helping them.

Well... It's been a long time since I read any motivational or personal development kind of book and let me tell you that the book I read this time was nothing less than awesome, commendable and simply great. Some books are meant to be tasted, some books are meant to be chewed and, finally, some books are meant to be swallowed whole (this line appears in the book I'm going to talk about). The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, written by Robin S. Sharma, a renowned public speaker and leadership guru, is a book which should be swallowed whole. This book can change the life of a person personally, professionally, physically and spiritually provided one regularly applies the principles and techniques enumerated in the book. Don't worry about the techniques they are much simpler than expected and can be applied without much mental and physical efforts.

The book is about the story of a hot-shot millionaire lawyer who is obsessive about his work. It ruins his professional as well personal life. His health decreases constantly and finally the massive heart attack right in the packed courtyard becomes his wake up call. After recovering from the attack the lawyer (Julian Mantle) sells off all his material belongings including his bright red Ferrari. He moves to the east (India) to learn the art of happy living. There he meets the monks living high in the Himalayas. In the company of these monks the Julian Mantle learns the ancient principles and techniques for happy and healthy living which work for him. And then he again returns to west to meet his old professional colleague and the most close friend John. He shares his experience with John and tells him how he transformed.

I want to share some of the things which are mentioned in the book and may be applied in our life:

(i) Still for some time a day. It means one should observe silence each day even for a small amount of time. By this, it doesn't mean only verbal silence but also the mental silence i.e. to not to think even. Just keep your mind relax. It will give a new energy to your mind, body and soul. Don't say that you don't have time to stop for gas because you are too busy driving. Eventually it will catch up with you.

(ii) Think positive. Every time when a negative thought tries to enter the gates of your mind just be attentive and think the opposite. This technique is called the Opposition Thinking.

(iii) Every day imagine what you want to be in your life. Be it a perfect husband, a perfect leader, a businessman or anything else. Just see yourself where you want to be. Your imagination becomes your reality ultimately.

(iv) Don't fear dear. Just do the things you fear to do. Have you ever tried to run against the train. Well... don't try this. :-)

(v) Utilize your time effectively. Savor it. Don't waste it in doing the unnecessary things. Don't keep checking your cell phone for any possible missed calls or checking the junk mails or stuff like that. Rather you can do better things with the available time.

(vi) Have the courage to say 'no'. It is not necessary to take calls every time or say yes for every weekend party. If you respect yourself people will respect you too.

(vii) Maintain the deathbed mentality. By this, the book emphasizes to live in the present. Live every moment of your life. Take it as a gift from God and thank Him for every second of every hour of every day of your life.

(viii) Never sacrifice happiness for achievement. Don't run to achieve the things you don't like to do. Slow down and enjoy the things which gives you happiness.

(ix) Be simple, speak the words that soothe others, listen to good music.

(x) Wake up with the sun. Early awakening is the goal that most people try to achieve and I'm not the exception. But everyday I fail to accomplish the objective. The habit of early awakening can actually be very rewarding for you. It saves the time, it keeps us healthy, we can do the things which we couldn't do because of less time in our day schedule.

The book is worth giving a read. The author Robin Sharma has written many best selling personal development books like The Greatness Guide, Mega Living, Who Will Cry When You Die and many more apart from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. All his books are best sellers. Try anyone and believe me you will not be disappointed.

Point to ponder: Friends, I want to suggest that one should read daily. Cultivate the habit of reading in you. Reading for 30 minutes a day can improve your life in every sphere. A book is a best friend and this holds good even now. Read good books apart from your course material. Why to waste time in watching daily soaps or fast running cricket match between alien countries or chatting on the net with a person we don't even know. When you start reading you will find that it is your once lost friend which is meeting you again and then you will not like to lose it again.

Now it's time to say Bye. Buy a book and give it a try. (oh.. it rhymed.. hehehe)