The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Spiritual Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny

BOOK REVIEW:The Monk Who Sold his Ferrariby Robin SharmaAlmost fifteen years ago, my good friend Dr. Arnaldo recommended a book by Robin Sharma. He told me the story, written as a fable, was a fun, quick read. He said it was thought provoking and inspirational. And what really convinced me to pick up my own copy of The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari is that Dr. Arnaldo told me that the book changed the way he approached life. More than a decade later, I’ve just finished reading Sharma’s fable for a second time and my friend’s recommendation rings as salient as it did back then. We so often ignore the messages around us, but thankfully I paid attention to what Dr. Arnaldo had to say about this book, and I took his advice in reading it. Paulo Coelho, one of my favorite authors, wrote about this book: “A captivating story that teaches as it delights.¨ High praise from one of the world’s great literary figures, and well-deserved praise, I believe. The plot begins with a successful attorney, Julian Mantle, as he journeys on a search for meaning after suffering a heart attack in the courtroom. Mantle sells his Ferrari and discovers a group of sages in the Himalayas. These sages, the Sages of Sivana, especially the Yogi Raman, adopt Julian as a student and entrust him with wisdom, which they insist he should pass on to others when he returns home. Julian’s experience with the Yogis revives a long-lost sense of purpose in him, and he finds himself reinvigorated after his time in the mountains. When he returns home he shares his wisdom, as the Sages had instructed, with his new protégé, John. This relationship develops into the main dialogue of the story. The morality of the book, as exposed in this conversation between Julian and John, is rooted in the Seven Virtues of Enlightened Life. Julian reveals each of these one by one to his protégé. Overall, the gestalt of the message is that “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” Sharma privileges moderation, simplicity, positivity and goal-setting. Through Julian, he proposes simple suggestions for personal improvement. Julian urges self-awareness, happiness over success, ritual and meditation. He emphasizes the power of passion and the potential of the mind to attract health and happiness. In the book, Julian also introduces the notion of “blueprinting.” By drafting blueprints in our inner worlds, he explains, we create opportunities in the outer world. This is one of the driving metaphors of the fable, and it’s become of one of the driving metaphors of my life. Sharma writes, “Understand once and for all that your mind has the magnetic power to attract all that you desire into your life. If there is lack in your life it is because there is lack in your thoughts.” This idea is earth-shattering if you accept it. The novel is a love story to human potential. It flirts with the mystic in search of practical approaches to living. It challenges our notions of reality by exploring themes we often ignore in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. I encourage you strongly to take some time out of your day and pick up this book. You don’t have to sell your Ferrari and move to the Himalayas to reap the rewards of the main character’s words. It’s a fable the truest sense of that genre—entertaining and didactic. You’ll learn and you’ll enjoy learning. With December upon us, the urge to make resolutions is strong. But resolutions are fleeting. This book explores real mission-building. Blueprinting, as Sharma puts it, is about more than the traditional external goal. It’s about a mindset. It’s about finding purpose within and channeling that purpose to achieve happiness out in the world. That message is especially important as awe all prepare for the new year. Fifteen years later, I’m so glad Dr. Arnaldo first recommended this book, so now I’m recommending it to all of you. This was a message in my life and I hope it can be one in yours.Last December, I met Robin Sharma. I took a chance and signed up for his Titan's Conference in Toronto. I didn't know what to expect, but I ended up getting so much out of the event. I’m excited to attend that conference again this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing Robin there. Maybe I’ll be able to share some added insights with you when I get back!

Over the 76 years of my life I have read thousands of books on a wide range of topics. One of my favorite kinds of books includes self-help books with philosophical themes. I recently purchased this 198 page soft cover book (The Monk who sold his Ferrari: A fable about fulfilling your dreams and reaching your destiny by Robin S. Sharma) from Amazon for a bargain price after it was recommended to me by a friend.Once I began reading this book it reminded me of a previous book I had read many years ago called “Lost Horizon” by James Hilton which was also made into a movie. This is a story about a work driven lawyer named Julian Mantle who realizes his life did not have the purpose he has been seeking for so many years. He quits being a lawyer and begins a quest which would take him to the mystical mountains of the Tibet in search of meaning to his life. He winds up meeting a mysterious and wise Monk who leads him to a place called Sivana, which sounds a lot like the “Shangri-La” in the book and movie “Lost Horizon.”I never like to give away too much information and spoil it for the reader but the lessons in this book may inspire you to search for your own life’s purpose. There are 13 chapters covering the wakeup call, the mysterious visitor, the transformation of Julian Mantle, a magical meeting with the Sages of Sivana, the wisdom of personal change, a most extraordinary garden, kindling your inner fire, the ancient art of self-leadership, the power of discipline, your most precious commodity, the ultimate purpose of life and the timeless secret of lifelong happiness.Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Martial Art and Warrior Haiku and Senryu)

Great for anyone attempting to maintain a positive, productive focus on life's most important goals.

Great Author, great book. I’ve read the 5am club and the book really gives you useful techniques and stories that are great! Definitely recommend buying it.

The advice in this book is excellent and I think that anyone who implements it will greatly enhance their lives. Let me state that first because it is important to point it out that I am fully aware and accepting of that value. That being said, this is not good literature, the plot and characters are simple, shallow and full of cliche. None of these elements resonated with me. The book remains a bad attempt at combining storytelling with self-help, and so... it is none of them. Contrast this book with another one that targets this kind of melding: The Teachings of Don Juan. Now that is great storytelling! With very well defined and developed characters AND with some great life advice (if you can interpret symbols). There is no comparison between these two books. It would have been much better to show us the life of Julian, and how he became a monk, how he lived in the Himalayas, make the reader feel his conflict, his troubles, how he slowly finds his way. Instead he comes back "fixed" and summarizes what happened to him.

A very shallow piece of fiction stuffed with very superficial self help advice. If you really want to be inspired, even blown away, I recommend THE WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR by Dan Millman.

One of the best books I have ever read!Highly recommend it!I only leave positive feedback and reviews when the product meets my expectations. If this review has been helpful, please click “yes”, or if I've left anything out, feel free to ask.

This book was probably quite novel when it was written 25 years ago. It now feels dated, cliched, obvious and preachy. The whole narrative wrapped around the self help tips is excruciating to read - all about the 'mystical ancient land of India' which was already just a figment of the author's imagination in the 90s. I persevered for 30% of the book until I could stand no more and have it up. Do yourself a favour and give it a miss. There are much better, more recent books on the same subject.

Great little read. Was recommended to me by my brother. And I can say this, that although I personally prefer a , let's say a more adult, or complex use of the english langauge, as aforementioned it's a good little read, - Not too much thinking involved & like a bad tv programme keeps you hooked. That's for sure :) I mean, it's a best seller for a reason, & it does breath new life & optimism into living life. For person's like myself it was a breat of fresh air, whereby money isn't the be all'. If you liked the Alchemist, (by the way this is no way as good) I think you'll probably like this too, a simple read, few great points for us all to take on board (& apply) - Overall, worth the money! No regrets.