Are you ready for a heaping dose of Monday motivation?
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari was recommended to me by my sister. If memory serves correct, I read it at a point in my life when I was in career crisis. I was working my first post-university job in an office that reeked toxicity. It was bad. Like, bursting-into-tears-in-the-wine-aisle-of-a-liquor-store-after-work kind of bad. Talk about un-happy hour. After two years, I had had enough. This was not an easy, nor comfortable decision; leaving without having another job to step into is financial insecurity. (When your colleagues ask where you’re going and you say, “Nowhere,” it really means you literally can’t stand to be there even a minute longer.) Anyhow, whether you’re looking for some sage wisdom or just a little up-lifting, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is hardpacked with inspirational, meme-able quotes. Enjoy!
*Apologies in advance that I wasn’t able to include corresponding page numbers.
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Foreward
As previously mentioned, I will be publishing an abbreviated collection of themes, ideas and direct quotes from podcasts and books that I find impactful. I hope it will be especially useful for those who can’t find the time to read a book cover-to-cover or dig through a two hour podcast. I will be titling them “reviews” but it is helpful to understand they are not necessarily “critiques”; they are simply notes with which to re-view the material in a concise manner.
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Media: Book
Title: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
Author: Robin Sharma
Published: 1996
Amazon synopsis: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari celebrates the story of Julian Mantle, a successful but misguided lawyer whose physical and emotional collapse propels him to confront his life. The result is an engaging odyssey on how to release your potential and live with passion, purpose and peace.
The weighty importance of your inner dialogue
Enlightened thinkers know their thoughts form their world.
The mind can only hold one thought at a time. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Over time you will see negatives ones will not hold any power.
The quality of your thinking determines the quality of your life. You truly can not afford the luxury of even one negative thought.
If there is a “lack” in your life it is because there is a “lack” in your thoughts.
Most people believe that thoughts just happen to them, and have never realized that if you don’t take the time to start controlling your thoughts, they will control you.
Daring to dream
Begin to live out the glory of your imagination, not your memory.
Date to dream that you are more than the sum of your current circumstances.
Kickstarting your dream + “risk taking’
She told me that the best time to plant a tree was 40 years ago. The second best day is today.
The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. (Ie: it’s easier to fantasize than form a disciplined habit or lifestyle change.)
Calculated risk will pay huge dividends. How will you ever get to third base with one foot on second?
The only limits on your life are those that you set yourself.
Decide to do the things you know you should be doing, rather than walking the path of least resistance. Start to fight the gravitational force of your habits and weaker impulses. Push yourself.
Goal setting
Credit | Hello I’m Nik
[On setting clearly defined objectives in life] You will never be able to hit a target you can not see. Never set a goal without attaching a timeline to it.
If you don’t know where you are going, how will you ever know when you get there?
It takes 21 consecutive days to set a habit.
The mind works though pictures. (Ie: visualization or visual affirmations, like vision boards, Post-it note reminders or desktop/wallpaper images can be powerful.)
Mindful living
The purpose of life is a life with purpose.
Stop living your life in compartments and understand…all that you do forms one invisible whole.
One of the most tragic things that any one of us can do is to put off living.
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
Comparison is the thief of joy
Never get in the petty habit of measuring your self worth against other peoples’ net worth. Every second you spend thinking about someone else’s dream, you take time away from your own.
Seek to be superior to your former self. Don’t race against others; race against yourself.
Wisdom
Stop majoring in minor things.
No experience is inherently painful or pleasant.
Time is the most important commodity.
On friendship: Make sure you keep them in constant repair.
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There are so many gems in this book. These are a few of my favourites…
Stop living your life in compartments and understand…all that you do forms one invisible whole. This idea was so influential when it came to making the decision to leave my job. I thought I could compartmentalize my 9-5. I tried to leave my emotions at the office but inevitably the toxicity leaking into my leisure hours. I’d go home and lament to Greg and I’d count down the hours to Monday morning with total dread. Eventually, I couldn’t tolerate the fraction of my day that was upending my whole life.
No experience is inherently painful or pleasant. I love this concept and use it to remind myself to re-frame tasks I’m not enthusiastic about. You assign how much pain or pleasure something gives you. The good news? You can reevaluate that pain or pleasure at any time.
She told me that the best time to plant a tree was 40 years ago. The second best day is today. This maxim allows us to acknowledge that sure, we should have quit that bad habit or formed that good habit some time ago, while encouraging us to let go of guilt in order to self-correct.
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Thoughts?
If something resonates with you, let me know by dropping a comment at the bottom of this page. Or, go ahead and make a recommendation if you think there’s a book, documentary or podcast you think I’d like and I’ll check it out.