Book review: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

I have not read this, but it seems to be calling...anybody?

Book review: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

Post written by Leo Babauta.

Overview

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny, by Robin Sharma, is an interesting book — as the subtitle suggests, it’s a fable, and it’s one that will certainly make you give some thought to your life, your goals, your dreams and how your daily habits help you reach those dreams. In other words, right up the Zen Habits alley.

I can’t give this book my highest rating (see Conclusion for the rating) for several reasons I discuss below, but I did highly enjoy its discussion of a number of concepts. The author is a leadership expert and author, and he fills the book with a combination of life strategies. Many of these are useful, but whether they work in combination is the real question.

The Fable

The book takes the form of a fable about Julian Mantle, a high-profile attorney with a crazy schedule and a set of priorities that center around money, power and prestige. As such, Mantle represents the values of our society. The story is told from the perspective of one of his associates, who admires Mantle’s great success and aspires to be like him.

But when Mantle has a heart attack, he drops out of the game and disappears. He sells all his possessions and goes to India to seek a more meaningful existence. When he comes back, he’s a changed man. Really, it’s as if he’s a completely different person. He’s learned from some mythical Himalayan gurus who give him mystical and yet practical advice, which he shares with his former associate (and the reader).

The Concepts

The core of the book is the Seven Virtues of Enlightened Learning, which Mantle reveals one by one. Now, although the book presents them as actual Virtues learned from Himalayan gurus, it’s important to remember as you read that these are made up by the author — actually, he pulled them from other sources and put them together:

1.master your mind
2.follow your purpose
3.practice kaizen
4.live with discipline
5.respect your time
6.selflessly serve others
7.embrace the present

Each of these Virtues is discussed in some detail in separate chapters, each of them with a number of concepts and habits to develop. Most of them are very inspiring and potentially very useful. After reading the book, I incorporated several of them into my life, including the ones that involve positive thinking, visualizing goals and more. Again, these are not new concepts, and have been discussed in many other books, but the book presents a great collection of useful concepts that you might want to try out.

The Problem

After reading the book, I began to outline each of the Seven Virtues, because I was confused about all the action steps the book recommends taking. The truth is, each of the Seven Virtues encompasses a bunch of daily habits, and incorporating all of them into your life would be cumbersome. And some of them seem to me to be conflicting.

As an example of the large number of habits in every virtue, here are the ones I have listed for the first virtue, Master your mind:

•Habit: Find positive in every circumstance; don’t judge events as “good” or “bad”, but experience them, celebrate them and learn from them.
•Habit: The heart of the rose: find a silent place and a fresh rose. Stare at the heart of the rose, the inner petals, concentrating on the folds of the flower, the texture, etc … push away other thoughts that come to you. Start with 5 minutes a day, stretch it to 20. It will be your oasis of peace.
•Habit: 10 minutes of reflection on your day, and how to improve your next day.
•Habit: Opposition thinking – take every negative thought that comes into your mind and turn it into a positive one. First, be aware of your thoughts. Second, appreciate that as easily as negative thoughts enter, they can be replaced with positive ones. So think of the opposite of the negative ones. Instead of being gloomy, concentrate on being happy and energetic.
•Habit: Secret of the lake. Take a few deep breaths and relax. Then envision your dreams becoming a reality. Picture vivid images of what you want to become. Then they will become reality.
And that’s just with the first virtue. Each one has a number of habits to develop, and they’re not listed out like I’ve done here. If you tried to incorporate all of the habits in the book, your day would be very busy indeed. Also, I would recommend only trying to adopt one at a time — more than that, and your habit change will be hard to sustain.

Conclusion

Although I can’t give The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari my highest rating, because of the problem listed above, I still enjoyed it a lot and was highly inspired by it.

I give this book a buy recommendation for anyone who is interested in incorporating routines and habits that can transform their lives, help them achieve their dreams, calm them and make them more happy. Yes, it’s a jumble of too many ideas, but you can pick and choose, and the ideas contained within are potentially very powerful. Plus, it’s a fun and easy read.

If you’re interested, check it out here: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny.

http://zenhabits.net/book-review-the-monk-who-sold-his-ferrari/

Thank-you for this thread HigherLove. Can you picture Jesus driving a Ferrari, wearing a sweat-suit and a Rolex watch as He pulls out of His beach-house driveway? Most would recoil from such a thought! Some would say that to suggest this is irreverent and inappropriate. Once again, I am conflicted. I love Jesus, both historically and within my heart. However, I would love to have a Ferrari, a Rolex, and a beach-house! Could I have my Jesus, and my Ferrari too? Is this the Rich Young Ruler 2011? Allow me to suggest that if I ever became a Wall Street wizard, a best-selling author, or a song-writer and singer, it would be entirely appropriate, as a Christian, to have a Ferrari, a Rolex, and a beach-house. Gasp! Shock! Disbelief! Disgust!

Now that I'm in deep H2O, allow me to try to escape the do-gooder sharks! The money making activities listed, if done honestly and ethically, are entirely appropriate. If a lot of money is made, the books are properly kept, and the taxes are honestly paid (even though the Federal Income Tax appears to be unconstitutional), the car, watch, and home are just rewards of the free enterprise system. The Ferrari could be a $60,000 used F355, rather than a $160,000 F430. Likewise, the Rolex could be purchased from an estate sale instead of on Rodeo Drive. The beach-house could be a small, modest property, located far from Malibu. If purchased shrewdly, all of these items could be excellent investments, and yield large financial returns.

Then, the majority of the income of all of the above could be donated to a variety of worthy causes. And one could drive said Ferrari to a Habitat For Humanity project, and pound nails for 8 hours. And the upper crust friends one would make on the job and on the golf course could be encouraged to go and do likewise! And they would have the resources to make a huge difference in this miserable world. Have you heard of Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Warren Buffet, Jimmy Carter, Bono, et.al.? I'm not sure that they started out to be Christ-like, but they sure are giving away lots of time and money! Maybe we Christians have been too narrow in what we define as Christ-like! I know I have...and I'm trying to change.

The Ferrari dealers make money to send their kids to college while people enjoy the nice cars. The Rolex employees make money for the necessities of life while people enjoy wearing these nice watches. Likewise, the construction and real-estate people make money to make their mortgage payments, while buyers enjoy their nice new homes. Part of the rationalization for this materialistic daydream is that good, ethical people should be well rewarded for their success. The bad, unethical people should not be well rewarded! They should be stripped of what they have, and locked up! I know I'm living in a dream-world. Having said this, one probably doesn't need a Ferrari collection, or 3 waterfront estates throughout the world! And one should never, ever be unethical or dishonest in the pursuit of money! People should pursue money and then become philanthropists. And they should never, ever look down on anyone. They should never, ever stop being nice to everyone.

I like the ancient Egyptian body position of reaching up with one hand, and reaching down with the other. Taking and giving. I also like the phrase, "Stand tall, and lift!" Striving for success and then helping others to climb higher! We must not neglect the top or the bottom. And the middle-class should be getting larger instead of smaller! How about one big, happy, stratified middle-class, with incentives, but without extreme wealth or destitute poverty? So, yes, I think it is possible at least, that Jesus would drive a Ferrari, wear a Rolex, and live in a beach-house! He probably would do it incognito to avoid misunderstandings. But Jesus hung out with just about everyone, from rich to poor...and maybe we should too!

As an afterthought, it should be just fine to not have a car, a watch or sweat-suit, and live in a studio apartment with no view! I have! The historical Jesus didn't even have a house! We shouldn't look up to others, or look down on others! We should all look straight ahead at each-other as children of God!

All quite valid and reasonable statements. With all of the information out there on laws of attraction, "abundance" has taken on new meaning. The concept of there being enough for everybody is quite a game-changer (I'll have to include that in Monk's Life Magazine).

I have not read the book, but would have it as an impulse buy (yes, impulse), but they do not have one for the Kindle app. I downloaded.

I have had two mortgages, and let both of them go, along with a relationship. I have lived in some really nice places.

However, I am currently in a somewhat rustic setting (the electronics look out of place). But it is cozy.

One of the coolest times of my life was living in a garage that did not have any windows. It had been remodeled, but I did not realize I did not have a window until I moved in. This led to me leaving the door open, which drew the attention of the dogs in the back yard, who opted to tear down their gate to get to me.

For $600.00/month, I thought it a bit steep, but it was the bay area.

Soon, however, I realized how blessed I was, because two of those dogs (and a cat) became my best buds. Eventually I just left the door open while I was gone, so that they could get to my room. They completely adopted me and softened my heart, big time. They even let me keep sleeping on my own futon.
______

Thanks again for your thoughtful response and wisdom.

Namasté

Actually, a 90 square-foot apartment/office would be just fine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZSdrtEqcHU

Indeed.

Is that unreinforced masonry? LOL

But for a a 6-foot, country boy (and after winning the lottery or something):

I remember buying the book .. reading a few pages and abandoning it .
It just did'nt appeal to me but I am completely unable to tell you why.
I guess you'll have to read it HigherLove and see for yourself

Love from me
mudra

mudra wrote:I remember buying the book .. reading a few pages and abandoning it .
It just did'nt appeal to me but I am completely unable to tell you why.
I guess you'll have to read it HigherLove and see for yourself

Love from me
mudra

You would not steer me wrong, either. I know this.

I just love books - looking, touching, smelling...let alone the reading part. lol

I will pass on this one. Thanks for saving me some cash. I think I can use it to support one of our members on iTunes.

____________
Monks were not meant to have debit cards.

Big Hugs, Mudra!

HigherLove wrote:

You would not steer me wrong, either. I know this.

I just love books - looking, touching, smelling...let alone the reading part. lol

I will pass on this one. Thanks for saving me some cash. I think I can use it to support one of our members on iTunes.

____________
Monks were not meant to have debit cards.

Big Hugs, Mudra!

LOL unless someone comes in and says this book was great I'll acknowledge your wise decision HigherLove.
If you have'nt read the following one yet than you should have a you great time doing so :
Dan Milman : " Peacefull Warrior "
http://www.themistsofavalon.net/t863-the-peacefull-warrior#15200
Forget about the movie go straight for the book.

Hugs back at you HigherLove

mudra

This inspiring tale provides a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance and joy. A wonderfully crafted fable, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari tells the extraordinary story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the Spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life.


On a life-changing Odyssey to an Ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise and practical lessons that teach us to :

1. Develop joyful thoughts

2. Follow our life's mission and calling

3. Cultivate self-discipline and act courageously

4. Value time as our most important commodity

5. Nourish our relationships, and - live fully, one day at a time .

Love it. Thanks for the scottaleger.