About the book
Wisdom to create a life of Passion, Purpose, and Peace
This inspiring tale provides a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance, and joy. A wonderfully crafted fable tells the extraordinary story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life. On a life-changing odyssey to an ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise, and practical lessons that teach us to:
- Develop joyful thoughts
- Follow our life's mission and calling
- Cultivate self-discipline and act courageously
- Value time as our most important commodity
- Nourish our relationships, and - live fully, one day at a time
About the Author
Robin Sharma is the globally celebrated author of 10 bestselling books on leadership and personal development. His work has been published in over 50 countries and nearly 70 languages, making him one of the most widely read authors in the world. He shot to fame with The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari which has topped international bestseller lists and sold millions of copies.
Robin is the founder of Sharma Leadership International Inc., a global consultancy that helps people in organizations Lead Without a Title. His clients include Microsoft, Nike, GE, FedEx, NASA and BP.
Robin's website, www.robinsharma.com, offers his blog, video coaching and podcasts.
The best lines or teachings from the book
Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson. Failure whether of the personal, professional, or even spiritual kind, is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of psychic rewards. Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is.
There are no mistakes in life, only lessons. There is no such thing as a negative experience, only opportunities to grow, learn and advance along the road of self-mastery. From struggle comes strength. Even pain can be a wonderful teacher.
On an average day, the average person runs about sixty thousand thoughts through his mind and 95% of those thoughts were the same as the ones you thought the day before.
When you 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 and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.
The secret of happiness is simple: find out what you truly love to do and then direct all of your energy towards doing it. If you study the happiest, healthiest, most satisfied people of our world, you will see that each and every one of them has found their passion in life, and then spent their days pursuing it. This calling is almost always one that, in some way, serves others. Once you are concentrating your mental power and energy on a pursuit that you love, abundance flows into your life, and all your desires are fulfilled with ease and grace.
Stillness is the stepping stone to connecting with the universal source of intelligence that throbs through every living thing.
The Chinese define image in these terms: there are three mirrors that form a person's reflection; the first is how you see yourself, the second is how others see you and the third mirror reflects the truth. Know yourself, Know the truth.
For new behavior to crystallize into a habit, one had to perform the new activity for twenty-one days in a row.
Never do anything because you have to. The only reason to do something is because you want to and because you know it is the right thing for you to do.
Kaizen - Japanese word that means constant and never-ending improvement. It's the personal trademark of every man and woman who is living a soaring, fully awakened existence. Success on the outside begins with success on the inside. If you really want to improve your outer world, whether this means your health, your relationships or your finances, you must first improve your inner world. The most effective way to do this is through the practice of continuous self-improvement. Self-mastery is the DNA of life mastery.
Ten Rituals of Radiant Living
- The Ritual Of Solitude
Ensure that your daily schedule includes a mandatory period of peace. It's purpose is self-renewal and this is accomplished by spending time alone, immersed in the beautiful blanket of silence.
- The Ritual of Physicality
It is based on the principle that says as you care for the body so you care for the mind. As you prepare your body, so you prepare your mind. As you train your body, so you train your mind. Take some time every single day to nourish the temple of your body through vigorous exercise. Get your blood circulationg and your body moving.
- The Ritual of Live Nourishment
As you nourish your body, so you nourish your mind as a poor diet has a pronounced effect on your life. It drains your mental and physical energy. It affects your moods and it hampers the clarity of your mind.
- The Ritual of Abundant Knowledge
It centers on the whole notion of lifelong learning and expanding your knowledge base for the good of yourself and all those around you. It requires that you use what you have learned in the classroom of your existence.
- The Ritual of Personal Reflection
The power of inner contemplation. By taking the time to get to know yourself, you will connect to a dimension of your being that you never knew you had.
- The Ritual of Early Awakening
Rise with the sun and start the day off well
- The Ritual of Music
Music makes you laugh, it makes you dance and it makes you sing. Never forget the power of music. It is one of the finest motivators.
- The Ritual of the Spoken Word
It helps you to be focused, strong and happy. For example, saying mantras, written affirmations. A mantra is nothing more than a collection of words strung together to create a positive effect. In Sanskrit, 'man' means 'mind' and 'tra' means 'freeing'. So a mantra is a phrase that is designed to free the mind.
- The Ritual of a Congruent Character
Take daily, incremental action to build your character.
You sow a thought, you reap an action. Reap an action,you sow a habit. Sow a habit, you reap a character. Sow a character, you reap your destiny.
When all your actions are congruent and aligned with the principles of industry, compassion, humility, patience, honesty and courage, you will feel a deep sense of inner harmony and peace.
- The Ritual of Simplicity
Live a simple life. One must never live in the thick of thin things. Focus only on your priorities, those activities that are truly meaningful. Your life will be uncluttered, rewarding and exceptionally peaceful.
Ancient Rule of Twenty - 80% of the results you achieve in your life come from only 20% of the activities that occupy your time.
When you control your thoughts, you control your mind. When you control your mind, you control your life. And once you reach the stage of being in total control of your life, you become the master of your destiny.
Seven virtues for a life overflowing with inner peace, joy and a wealth of spiritual gifts are contained within a mystical fable. The following fable has the essence of it all. Picture the following scene in your mind's eye-
You are sitting in the middle of a magnificient, lush, green garden. This garden is filled with the most spectacular flowers you have ever seen. The environment is supremely tranquil and silent. Savor the sensual delights of this graden and feel as if you have all the time in the world to enjoy this natural oasis. As you look around you see that in the center of this magical garden stands a towering, red lighthouse, six stories high. Suddenly, the silence of the garden is disturbed by a loud creaking as the door at the base of the lighthouse opens. Japanese sumo wrestler who casually wanders into the center of the garden. [The Japanese sumo wrestler is almost totally naked. He has a pink wire cable covering his private parts]. As this sumo wrestler starts to move around the garden, he finds a shiny gold stopwatch which someone had left behind many years earlier. He slips it on, and falls to the ground with an enormous thud. The sumo wrestler is rendered unconscious and lies there, silent and still. Just when you think he has taken his last breath, the wrestler awakens, perhaps stirred by the fragrance of some fresh yellow roses blooming nearby. Energized, the wrestler jumps swiftly to his feet and intuitively looks to his left. He is startled by what he sees. Through the bushes at the very edge of the garden he observes a long winding path covered by millions of sparkling diamonds. Something seems to instruct the wrestler to take the path, and to his credit, he does. This path leads him dowm the road of everlasting joy and eternal bliss.
The 7 Timeless Virtues of Enlightened Living
Master Your Mind - The Magnificent Garden
Follow Your Purpose - The Towering Lighthouse
Practice Kaizen - The Sumo Wrestler
Live With Discipline - The Pink Wire Cable
Respect Your Time - The Gold Stopwatch
Selflessly Serve Others - The Fragrant Roses
Embrace the Present - The Path of Diamonds
We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.
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