The Monk who Sold his Ferrari –Review and takeaway

Just finished reading The Monk who sold his Ferrari & for me this is not just a book but a concept of ageless living. You can learn so many life-changing concepts by reading this amazing motivational Book. Concepts like opposite thinking, methods to follow before you go to sleep, and your mind is a garden full of beautiful flowers are simply awesome. Trying to describe the same in short through The Monk Who Sold is Ferrari review.

Just like concepts of Deep Work, Shallow Work, and Work Shutdown mentioned in the Book Deepwork by Carl Newport the concepts given in this book are of Self-Help.

The Monk who sold his Ferrari Review is given below.

This self-help book by Robin Sharma is about a workaholic wealthy American Lawyer Julian Mantle who has all the material possessions of life. One day during a Court Hearing he has a Life-threatening Heart Attack that changes his life in a positive way.

After his Heart Attack, Julian realizes that no matter how much money you earn, how many girls you date, and how many parties you attend, in the end, if you don’t have good health all these materialistic possessions count for nothing.

So Julian decides to find the true meaning of life & heads to the Himalayas in India ( a country in the east famous for its rich culture) to know about the Sages of Sivana & their ageless concepts for a happy life. Julian gets lucky to meet Yogi Raman the leader of the Sages of Sivana & learns various ageless concepts from the yogi.

The Monks of Sivana don’t have any materialistic obsessions’ & they live an enlightened life for a long span of time in the natural paradise of the Himalayas. These Monks follow certain rituals religiously which Yogi Raman insisted Julian to follow for an enlightened life.

Julian being an obedient student followed all the teachings of Yogi Raman.  He gained some magical timeless knowledge from the Yogi. One of the important concepts was to be in a good shape Physically, Mentally & spiritually to enjoy the riches of life.

 Some of the concepts like Pure-Veg simple diet, the power of opposite thinking which means whenever you get a negative thought replace the same with a positive one. Our Mind tends to have more negative thoughts than positive ones, are simply outstanding.

The concept of getting up early along with the sun & its advantages is the thing which we can follow for sure. Meditating for a few minutes before you go to sleep, spending some time alone once you get up in the morning & thinking about your daily tasks in a positive way is also good concept to apply in our life.

Another interesting concept of the Sages of Sivana is spending some time in silence. If you have Short Temper spending some time in silence or avoiding speaking unnecessarily on every topic goes a long way in controlling your anger.

Yogi Raman explained these ageless concepts to Julian Mantie by referring to a Fable.

In a fable, there is a garden full of beautiful flowers. A strong, heavyweight Sumo Wrestler walked out of the lighthouse in the middle of a beautiful garden with nothing more than a pink wired cable covering his private parts slipped on the shiny gold stopwatch & fell to the ground. After what seemed like a long time, the Sumo Wrestler finally regains consciousness when the marvelous fragrance of the yellow roses reached his nose. He then jumped to his feet in delight & was astonished to see a long winding path studded with millions of tiny diamonds. Sumo Wrestler took this path & doing so he lived happily ever after.

Julian at the start did not understand the meaning of the fable & how this fable will help us to find the purpose of our life. But Yogi Raman explained the fable beautifully to his favorite student.

According to Yogi Raman, the magnificent garden with beautiful flowers signifies our mind. So master your mind & fill it with beautiful flowers i.e. positive thoughts.

The towering lighthouse mentioned in the fable signifies the purpose of our life. As Yogi Raman rightly mentioned in one of the cards he gave to Julian which read

“When we are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction & you find yourself in a new, great & wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties & talents become alive & you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed to be.

The sumo wrestler in this fable represents kaizen which means improving yourself each day through constant cultivation of your mind, body & soul. Some of the practices you follow are getting up a bit early, reading every day for 30 minutes, learning about new concepts in your field, changing to a healthy diet, doing things you fear doing & so on.

The pink wired cable covering the sumo wrestler’s private parts is a symbol of living with discipline. The more you nurture the embryo of self-discipline the more it will mature. Another important aspect is willpower. As mentioned in this book if you plan to get up early & if you have willpower then you will surely get up when the alarm rings at 6 AM on a chilly December Morning. Instead of snoozing your alarm & going back to sleep, you can visualize the benefits of getting up early like going to the Gym for a fit body, increasing your knowledge by reading books & more. This willpower will take you out of your bed for sure.

The Gold stopwatch in the fable signifies the importance of time. Time is your most precious commodity & it is non-renewable. Simplify your life by focusing on your priorities & maintaining balance. Also, have the courage to say “NO” to people & to things that are just wasting your time. The Deathbed mentality which means treating every day as your last day on this planet & making the most of that day is also worth contemplating.

“Time slips through your hands like grains of sand, never to return again. Those who use time wisely from an early age are rewarded with rich, productive & satisfying lives. “ – The Quote from the Book

The fragrance rose in the fable which the sumo wrestler smells to regain consciousness is a virtue of selflessly serving others. The quality of our life ultimately comes down to the quality of our contribution. By elevating the life of others your life reaches its highest dimensions.

The path of diamonds that the sumo wrestler takes to live a happy life at the end of the fable signifies the importance of “embracing the present” or living in the present moment. Savor the journey of this beautiful life & live each day as your last on this planet.

“WE ALL ARE HERE FOR SOME SPECIAL REASON. STOP BEING THE PRISONER OF YOUR PAST, BECOME THE ARCHITECT OF YOUR FUTURE” – The Monk who sold his Ferrari.

The above quote is the best one that I found while reading this book so mentioning in bold in The Monk Who sold his Ferrari Review..

After learning about the ageless concepts of living from Yogi Raman, Julian decides to go back to his hometown in the West & spread this beautiful wisdom among his friends & other people who are living a stressful life in the west by just running behind money & ignoring their health, family & mental peace.

 So after coming from Sivana, Julian Mantle visits his old friend John one night & explains these ageless concepts to him. John at first doesn’t recognize Julian as Julian now looks younger, and fitter & he is in a traditional robe which is worn by the Himalayan Monks. However, John is completely fascinated by the ageless concepts of happy living shared by his friend & senior colleague Julian Mantle & decides to apply the same in his life.

To end this long ageless concept packed Blog or Monk who Sold his Ferrari Review sharing the Last Para of the Book which is full of some inspirational & motivational words-

“A life overflowing with wonders is built day by day, block by block. Small victories lead to large victories. Tiny incremental changes & improvements create positive habits”. Positive habits will create results. And results will inspire you towards greater personal change.  Starting today, learn more, laugh more & do what you truly love to do. Do not be denied your destiny. For what lies behind you & what lies in front of you matters little when compared to what lies within you”.