Robin Sharma

I read this book for a challenge. One of the worst things I have ever read.

A badly written, ultra-orientalist regurgitation of common sense, factual inaccuracies and downright dangerous declarations.

1. Most of the points of "wisdom" in this book are everyday commonsense points repackages for credulous readers.

2. The Eastern Mysticism bit is so overblown - everything is 5000 years old, everything is mystic - its utter rubbish. India is not the land of wise sages dispensing ageless wisdom - show more sure we have our share of philosophers, but so does most cultures. This entire "bunch of ageless people living on the top of the mountains" is a very old, very overblown myth.

3. Some things are hilariously inaccurate - no sandalwood does not grow on top of the Himalayas, and no vegetarianism is not "how nature intended things to be" All those carnivores are supernatural or something?

4. Some things are downright dangerous

a. be totally fearless. No. Fear can be healthy. It often functions as a survival mechanism.

b. Sunbathe in the Indian Sun. No. If you don't have a lot of melanin, that's how you get cancer. Even if you do, and you try this at anytime except winter you will die of a neat combination of sunstroke and dehydration.

c. Do not think negative thoughts, don't even allow them to enter your mind. No. That's how you become narrow minded. Rather consider the negative, find out whats causing it, examine it in detail, find out how to deal with it. See? I can write self help book too!

5. Weirdly enough in this entire lecture this book never talks about how this magical monks get things to eat. Do they practice agriculture? Hunter gatherers? Not really stated. As a fantasy reader such shoddy worldbuilding offends me.

6. Also among so much advice, there is nothing about sex or relationships except the standard "spend time with your loved ones" line. Seems to be a pretty glaring omission in a book about life.

So in conclusion, this book does not deserve the status of a book. show less

I read two books for my Black Belt Test: Mindfulness in Plain English, by Bhante Gunaratana and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, a Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny by Robin S. Sharma. I will be reviewing the latter book.

This book tells the tale of Julian Mantle, a lawyer whose life was unfulfilled and out of balance. He suffers a heart attack, a wake-up call, and abandons his life in search of meaning. He travels far and ultimately winds up studying with the Great show more Sages of Sivana. After learning many lessons, he returns to the United States to share his newfound wisdom with his former legal associate, John. The practical lessons within this jewel of a book teach us to:

• “Develop Joyful Thoughts
• Follow Our Life’s Mission and Calling
• Cultivate Self-Discipline and Act Courageously
• Value Time As Our Most Important Commodity
• Nourish Our Relationships, and
• Live Fully, One Day At A Time.”

Although the writing can be somewhat forced at times, the pearls of wisdom far outweigh any stylistic flaws. The structure of the book is an all-night conversation between Julian and John. Julian relates a story, which goes something like this:

You are sitting in a magnificent, lush, green garden. It is tranquil and silent. In the midst of this beauty you notice a tall towering lighthouse. From a door at the base, out stumbles a nine-foot-tall nine-hundred-pound Japanese sumo wrestler. He is clothed in pink wire cable. He finds a shiny gold stopwatch, but slips on it and falls, knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he is greeted by the fragrance of roses. He goes to the bushes and then sees a long winding path covered by millions of diamonds. Something tells him to take this path.

Each of these elements in the story represents a lesson to be learned. For example, the lush garden represents the mind. Just as we would yank out any weeds growing in our garden, so we must guard against them in our mind. The weeds of the mind are negative thoughts. They stand in the way of our true potential and happiness. The lighthouse represents your purpose in life. It must be tall and bright for you to see it, for you cannot hit a target you cannot see. The sumo wrestler represents self-mastery or Kaizen and the wire he wears stands for self-discipline. The clock he trips upon reminds us not to waste time, for it is precious. The roses remind us to selflessly serve others and the diamonds on the path symbolize the jewel of living in the present.

At the end of each lesson, Sharma has included a summary page sharing the symbol, the virtue learned, the wisdom behind it, the techniques to use and a quotable quote. For me, the first lesson about the garden was particularly significant and provided immediate confirmation that the lessons within this book are important and true. I had been having difficulty remembering the sequence of some of the Taeguk forms and I realized while reading this book that I had a negative voice in my head telling me that I couldn’t learn them. Within a day of silencing this nasty voice and replacing it with the positive twin “could,” I was able to master my forms. There were immediate benefits and lessons from each of the symbols, but obviously they are lessons that must be learned and practiced continually in order to see changes in my life. In fact, the book states that any desired change must be practiced for 21 consecutive days before the new thought/attitude/behavior will stick.

While reading this book, I dog-eared many pages and highlighted lots of passages. I am quite sure I will be reread this book many times. Below I have shared just a few of my favorite words of wisdom from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. (I could go on for pages!)

• Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is. *
• There are no mistakes in life, only lessons.
• Begin to live out the glory of your imagination, not your memory.
• The price of greatness is responsibility over each of your thoughts. –Churchill
• Stillness is the stepping stone to connecting with the universal source of intelligence that throbs through every living thing.
• Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.
• Imagination is more important than knowledge. –Einstein
• The only limits on your life are those you set yourself. –Yogi Raman
• Failure is not having the courage to try.

And most interestingly:

• The Chinese character for “crisis” is comprised of two sub-characters: one that spells “danger” and another that spells “opportunity”…the ancient Chinese knew that there is a bright side to the darkest circumstances—if you have the courage to look for it.

Obviously, I highly recommend this book! It will bless your life.

* If no author is listed, the quote is attributed to Julian. show less

I’m conflicted, so I’m not putting a rating.
It’s awful, but life-changing at the same time.

This is one of the most over-written books I have ever picked up. It was almost painful to read. So many unnecessary adjectives. Needed a more vigorous editor, or a ghostwriter. It made me feel sorry for primary school English teachers - they have to read writing like this every day.

But, the flip side is that some of the messages landed hard. As one of the characters says on page 24; “We show more only hear what we’re ready to hear”.

For me, the lessons were worth wading through the syrup. show less

You must have read many self-help books. I have too, but I always prefer biographies to self-help books. The reason being they all sound the same. So I am pretty surprised with this book. It has actually helped me with my goals. One particular quote from the book which really worked for me is, "Stop managing your time and start managing your focus." Isn't that true? I mean, don't we talk about time being the most valuable thing. Well, what is the use of being disciplined if you don't know show more what you want in life. Now, how has this book helped me? Well, I am member of The 6 AM Club now but I am definitely on my way to join The 5 AM Club. See you there. show less