Review of "The Monk who sold his Ferrari" by Robin Sharma

This book is written in a very simple conversational style that grabs your attention. I think the USP of the book is the fable that the author uses as a mnemonic aid to impart the timeless lessons.

The fable is simple - talks about a beautiful garden with a lighthouse, a heavy-weight wrestler wearing only pink cable wire who comes out of the lighthouse , falls on a watch and goes into unconsciousness. He gets revived by the sweet smell of yellow flowers and then sees a path full of diamonds and proceeds towards it.

That is it ! Sounds simplistic but therein lies the beauty of the book.

The garden exemplifies the mind - which should be tended to without allowing the weed of negative thoughts into it ( He makes the point in a better way of course ! ) , the lighthouse represents the need for distinct goals, the heavy weight-wrestler stands for "Kaizen" - which means continuous , small improvements, the pink cable represents discipline, the watch depicts time and the fact that it should be utilized wisely , the sweet scent of the flowers symbolizes acts of kindness and the path of diamonds is the path to enlightenment.

The only place where I think the book gets a little tedious is when he talks about the 10 Rituals of Radiant living. Not that the points are not relevant but the presentation could have been better I think.

There are numerous nuggets of wisdom throughout the book but to re-iterate , it is the unpretentious depiction of ageless principles that is the clincher. Definitely a good read.

My favorite learning from the book though is this "On an average day the average person runs about 60,000 thought through his/her mind. 95% of these thoughts are the same as the ones you thought the day before" !!! Talk about being stuck in a rut !!!

Some quotes/learning's/inspirational points from the book

-- Worry is a toxic waste into the fertile garden of the mind.

-- A worrisome thought is like an embryo, it starts off small but grows and grows. Soon it takes on a life of its own.

-- "Success like happiness cannot be pursued. It must ensue. And it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself" - Viktor Frankl

-- There is nothing noble about being superior to some other person. Try true nobility lies in being superior to your former self.

-- What lies in front of you and what lies behind you is nothing when compared to what lies within you.

-- The ten minutes period before you sleep and ten minutes period after you wake up are profoundly influential on your subconscious mind. Only the most inspiring and serene thoughts should be programmed in your mind at those times.

-- We don't laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh.

-- You are what you think about all day long.

-- People have liberty but no freedom.

-- It is the busiest people who have time to spare.

-- We are spiritual beings having a human experience.

-- Happiness is a journey not a destination.

-- On an average day the average person runs about 60,000 thought through his/her mind. 95% of these thoughts are the same as the ones you thought the day before.