The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your heart.

Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens."
-Carl Jung-

It was in Cebu City where I found this gem of a book. There must have been more than a thousand books in Fully Booked but I had no intention of buying anything because it has been ages since I last finished a book.

As always, I looked for the "inspirational" section and found it on the second floor. Then I saw a book that had a funny but interesting title - "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams And Reaching Your Destiny" by Robin S. Sharma.

It wasn't the beautiful cover that caught my attention but my favorite author's comment: "A captivating story that teaches as it delights.- Paulo Coelho"

So I checked the synopsis on the back cover, which read:

"Here is the story of Julian Mantle, a superstar lawyer whose out-of-balance lifestyle leads him to a near-fatal heart attack in a packed courtroom. His physical collapse brings him into a spiritual crisis that forces him to confront the condition of his life. Hoping to find happiness and fulfillment, he embarks upon an extraordinary odyssey to an ancient culture, where he discovers a powerful system to release the potential of his mind, body and soul and learns to live with passion, purpose and peace..."

That did it. With no second thoughts, I went straight to the cashier.

This is the story of a man whose old life mirrored mine (my old life, that is). I can perfectly relate to these words in describing that existence:

"My many years in the conservative legal world, doing the same things every day with the same people who thought the same thoughts every day had filled my cup to the brim..."

"I couldn't remember the last time I had read a book that didn't deal with law. The profession was my life. I began to realize that the sterile world I had grown accustomed to had dulled my creativity and limited my vision."

"To be really honest with you, most days I wish I could just stay under the covers. It would be so much better than facing the traffic, the angry clients, the aggressive opponents and the ceaseless flow of negative influences. It all makes me feel so tired."

This was exactly the same realization that led me to leave the only world I have known in my entire professional life. I am no superstar lawyer with a flamboyant lifestyle and exaggerated courtroom theatrics, like this book's protagonist. But then, I would still have easily ended up just like him - "He collapsed right in the middle of a packed courtroom" - as the spark of life in me started to flicker.

No new principles were taught in this book. In fact, they would all be familiar to you if you have read books on self-help and spirituality in the past. But what made it unique was the way Robin S. Sharma crafted his tale, weaving therein the age-old teachings on living a simple life with greater balance, strength, courage and abundance of joy, and making that story linger in the minds of his readers.

Here are some of my favorite quotes (lessons) from this book:


"It is only when you have mastered the art of loving yourself that you can truly love others. It's only when you have opened your own heart that you can touch the hearts of others."


"We might not be able to control the weather or the traffic or the moods of all those around us. But, we most certainly can control our attitude towards these events. We all have the power to determine what we will think about in any given moment. This ability is part of what makes us human."


"An event that appears to be a tragedy to one might reveal the seeds of unlimited opportunity to another. What really separates people who are habitually upbeat and optimistic from those who are consistently miserable is how the circumstances of life are interpreted and processed."


"No matter what happens to you in your life, you alone have the capacity to choose your response to it. When you form the habit of searching for the positive in every circumstance, your life will move into its highest dimensions."


"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."

"How can you really know the joy of being on the summit of the mountain unless you have first visited the lowest valley?"