Learning from the Monk who sold his Ferrari

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The Monk who sold his Ferrari is a wonderful book written by a great author, Mr. Robin Sharma. I have read this book several times and every time I feel delighted and inspired by doing so. So, I have tried to summarize the content of the book for motivating others to read this book.

It is a fable about a trial lawyer who was obsessed with his work and more precisely with his life.  He had all the worldly possessions one could dream of, yet he was unsatisfied because something was missing from his life .He sold all his possessions like his holiday home, Ferrari car, etc and decided to go to India on his personal odyssey due to a self-imposed exile.  He   was determined to find out  who he really was and what his life was all about before it was too late.

He decided to connect with India’s vast pool of ancient wisdom on living a more rewarding, fulfilling and enlightened life. He totally transformed his personality from a over worked tired man to an enthusiastic, radiant and enlightened human being by following the advice of the sages living in Himalayas in India.

In India he met several sages and from them he got 7 timeless virtues of enlightened living. (Under bold heading)

1.    Master your mind

Ø  Good gardener guards their garden like proud soldiers yet we put a lot of waste (like worries, fretting about past, self created fear) in our mind (garden).

Ø  We might not be able to control the weather, traffic or the mood of all those around us but we most certainly can control our attitude towards these events.

Ø  Stop being the prisoner of the past rather become the architect of your future.

Ø  Wake up early if possible.

Ø  Secret of happiness: It is to find out what we love and then directing all our energy towards doing it.

Ø  Saying that you don’t have time to improve your thoughts is like saying you don’t have time to stop for fuel because you are too busy driving.

2.   Follow your purpose

i)    Make clearly defined priorities and goals for every aspect of life.

ii)   Five steps in Goal setting

Ø  Form a clear mental picture of the outcome of your goal.

Ø  Then create positive pressure by informing your friends & family about your goals. This works because we don’t want to look like failures.

Ø  To breathe life in a goal a timeline must be attached to it.

Ø  The goal that is not committed to paper is no goal at all.

Ø  Passion-This is the word we must keep in our mind as we follow our mission.

3.    Practice kaizen

i)     Kaizen means constant and never ending improvement.

ii)    The only limits on our life are those we set ourselves.

iii)   Ten rituals of radiant living

Ø  Solitude- It involves nothing more than ensuring that our daily schedule includes a mandatory period of peace.

Ø  Physicality-Do some form of physical activity, take deep breathe at least 2 min daily as to breathe properly is to live properly

Ø  Live nourishment- Eat live, fresh food on daily basis, have salad, fruits, and vegetables in your diet.

Ø  Abundant knowledge- Expand your knowledge base as its good for our self as well as all around us.

Ø  Personal reflection- Retire in a silent corner of your home and think about all you have done  like meeting colleagues, client, got struck in a traffic jam, etc  and the thought which came at that time, think whether they were positive or not and  accordingly do what’s necessary. How can I ever improve myself and my life if I haven’t even taken the time to figure out what I need to improve?

Ø  Early Awakening- Sleeping is nothing more than a habit. We can change it according to our need. Ten minutes before sleeping and 10 minutes after waking up influence sub conscious mind so in those period think positive things.

Ø  Music- Listen soft music to relax.

Ø  Spoken words.- Words have power so recite what you want to feel, for example, when you need to feel motivated you might chant aloud that I am inspired energized and disciplined.

Ø  Congruent character- Our character must be congruent or aliened with principles of  compassion, humility, patience, honesty, courage

Ø  Simplicity-Focus on your priorities, unless your needs are reduced you will never feel fulfilled. Most people fail due to fear of failure, Never underestimate the power of simplicity.

4.    Power of self control & discipline

Ø  By practicing self government there will be no hurdle too high, no challenge too tough, and no crisis too hot for you to cool down.

Ø  Willpower inspires us to do what is right in any moment.

Ø  Words have power, by filling our mind with words of hope we became hopeful and so on

Ø  Start off small.

5.    Stopwatch (value your time)

Ø  Time mastery allows us more time to do things that are truly meaningful for us.

Ø  To be even more effective, took one hour on a quiet Sunday morning to organize your entire week.

Ø  Have the discipline to focus around your priorities.

Ø  Learn from the errors others have made.

Ø  Don’t let others steal your time. Be ruthless with your time. Learn to say no to small (less important) things so that you can say yes to big (important) ones.

6.    Selflessly serve others

Ø  Cultivate richer relationship.

Ø  Compassion and daily act of kindness makes life far richer.

Ø  Sincere words of praise to those who expect the least. Gesture of warmth offered to friends in need.

Ø  The small token of affection to your family members for no reason at all.

7.    Embrace the present

Ø  Living in the moment

Ø  Enjoy the special moments that everyday offers.

Ø  Enjoy the path of personal enlightenment; the journey is just as good as the end.

Disclaimer: - I have intimated the office of Mr. Robin Sharma regarding this post where I have summarized my learning from his book. They were very kind and have responded promptly with a positive response which can be read here