Book Review: The Monk who sold his Ferrari

I think twice about picking up this book initally because i felt that the title was a little 做作。

But it proved me wrong.

As the book cover says, it is a spiritual fable about fulfiling your dreams and reaching your destination.
The story kickstarts with the life of a high-profile lawyer, who one day, collsape in the courtroom due to overwork and the highly stresses of life. He then decides to take a hiatus and go on a spiritual trip to Himalayas to look for the Sages to seek for a purpose in life.

Then upon meeting the Sages, they presented him with some images that talks about the wisdom of life. Behind every image is some simple truth that we have been finding it so difficult to grapple with.

1. The Garden.
The first image was a garden. A beautiful lovely garden. Well-kept and maintaned. This garden represents our MIND.
Just like how the gardener takes care of a lovely garden, we have to take care of our mind by nuturing it. The first basic step is to only let positive thoughts flow through the mind. Easy? It seems easy but the challenge comes when one is in times of adversity, negative thoughts rampaged the mind very fast, just like how the weeds grow and grow in a unkempt garden.
I guess this is something similar to why we usually find it easier to complain and criticise than to give thanks and feel content.
Therefore, every single time you realise you are thinking of negativity, switch back fast enough. The author says do not give in to negative thoughts at all, not even for a milli-second. It manifest by itself and before you know it, everything just spirals downwards.
So therefore, nuture the mind. Let positive thoughts flow. Master this step well, and you might won half the battle.

2. The Lighthouse
This signifies our purpose of life. Because life is finite, it is important to concentrate on the purpose in life. Find something you love, and do it with love and passion. He teaches on the a "21 day magic rule". If you want to develop a good habit, do it continously for 21 days non-stop. Once you make it past 21 days, you realise it has become a daily routine.
Sketch down your life's goals into different sections and create a timeline for each one. For e.g: Family, Health, Career, Money. Have a specific goal (to have X amount of $ by 30 years old). Read it VERY OFTEN.


3. The Sumo Wrestler
This image represents KAIZEN.
Kaizen means the never ending and daily improvement of oneself. It is pushing the boundaries over and over again to strengthen and develop the mind, body and spirit in times of fear and adversity.


There are a few more good theories so I guess its time for me to end this post here and leave the rest to you to read it up. Go get the book today! Its GSS and major bookstores are having real good deals!!