Discover Your Destiny with The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: The 7 Stages of Self-Awakening. Robin Sharma
all too often forget that. In business, for example, we fail to act in win-win ways. We buy into the false assumption that someone has to lose for us to win. We guard our territories and refuse to operate from a frame of reference that sees the value in helping all those around us succeed. There’s no truth in that. As a matter of fact, the best way to lead the field in business is to devote yourself to adding more value to your clients and customers than they have any right to expect. The true leaders in business understand who puts food on their tables and, therefore, treat their customers like royalty. They serve, cherish and love their customers. Love is an incredibly powerful business tool, you know?”
“I’ve never thought of it that way.”
“Well, it’s true, my friend. And before anyone will lend you a hand, you must touch their heart. Be like the sun: the sun gives all it can give. But in return, all of the flowers, the trees and the plants grow towards it. In your business life alone, by dedicating yourself to delighting and loving your clients, you will create an army of goodwill ambassadors who will run out into the world and tell everyone they know about what you do and who you are. Even when it comes to your so-called competition, try to do whatever you can to help them. Forge alliances with them. Develop friendships with them. Business is all about relationships. Help them get what they want and the ancient law of reciprocity will kick in—they’ll begin to help you get what you want. Giving begins the receiving process.”
“Very nice point,” I agreed, sensing the power of this man’s words.
“So, as I say, the bit about the difference I’m making in that article makes me feel good about myself since it reminds me I’m blessing lives, in my own small way. But I don’t take all the recognition I’m getting too seriously. No one takes you seriously when you take yourself too seriously, you know.”
I smiled on hearing that line. This guy was good.
“I can’t believe they’re calling me a sage,” he continued, lifting a speck of banana off his pristine robe. “What do I know about that kind of thing? I’m just an ordinary man who has, with the help of some very powerful teachers, discovered a philosophy that will lead anyone who chooses to adopt it to a beautiful life. Every human being needs to carve out the time to articulate a philosophy for his or her life—it’s one of the most important things a person can do. Every person, to live truly and greatly, must define how he wants to live and what his brightest life will look like. We all need to have a statement on a piece of paper that we can revisit every morning while the rest of the world is asleep that will serve as a moral compass to direct the choices of our day. This will serve as an anchor to lock us into our best moves. Without such a statement of philosophy, you will live your life by accident, reacting to whatever pops up within your days. Living like that is a recipe for disaster—you’re just begging for trouble when you live like that. Makes me think of a saying: ‘If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.’”
“So I need to take some time to think about what I want my life to stand for?”
“Absolutely, Dar. This is one of the musts of life. Successful and fulfilled people make the time to think, plan and reflect. They are awake to their lives because they know that each day is an incredibly precious gift. If you don’t believe that, walk into a hospital on the way home and talk to someone in the cancer ward. Ask them what they would give for an extra day of life.”
What Julian said shot through me. I had taken so much of life for granted. I had never viewed each day above ground as a gift and an opportunity to create something great or make a difference.
“Most people spend more time planning their summer vacations than they do planning their lives. What a shame. Be thoughtful about your life. Ask yourself: ‘How am I meant to live?’ Question what you are meant to do, what things you will no longer tolerate in your life and what standards of excellence you will hold yourself to, on a go-forward basis. Living life without a devotion to excellence dishonors the priceless gifts and talents that have been given to you.”
Julian continued, taking a few steps as he spoke and raising his hands into the air for effect. “Without a philosophy that reflects your truth in terms of how you want to live and what you aim to be, how can you make choices that are right for you? Without a philosophy, you will live your life according to other people’s wishes. You’ll be like those lemmings, following the crowd as they walk off the cliff to their deaths. Without a philosophy, you just might find yourself on your deathbed and wonder ‘what if my whole life was a lie?’”
“That explains the writing on the card. The line about ‘Stop living your life as a lie.’ I assume you were the one who left that for me, Julian?”
“Of course. What fun is life without a hint of mystery? What joy is life without a little adventure? I was trying to inject some wonder into your life. This path you are interested in walking is not for the faint of heart, my friend. It requires great courage. You must confront your fears and then move through them. It will not be easy but it will lead you to the place that the deepest part of you is hungering to know. Anyway, as I was saying before, I can’t believe people are calling me a guru. I’m just a student of life who has some pretty powerful insights to share. Think of me more as a guide. I drop into people’s lives to guide them in the right direction. I look for people who have a willingness to make some big changes in their lives because they know, deep within, that there is so much more to life than what they are currently experiencing. Makes me think of what Rumi once said: ‘Whoever enters The Way without a guide will take a hundred years to travel a two-day journey.’”
I chuckled, appreciating the depth of wisdom being shared. This must have been Julian Mantle. Who else could share what he was sharing? I relaxed even more, releasing the last bit of uncertainty about this unusual man’s identity.
“Maybe a better way to look at what I do is to consider me a life coach. I coach people on becoming their highest selves and help them play their biggest games as human beings. I help people discover their destiny and live their dreams. It’s hard to believe that we live in a world where most people are more concerned with following the crowd and doing what everyone else is doing than living their dreams. I’ll tell you something I pray you never will forget: One of the greatest regrets a person can ever have is getting to the end of their lives and realizing they did not do their dreams. Getting to the end or even the middle of your life and waking up one day to the understanding that you did not dare, that you did not reach for the stars, that you did not realize even one-tenth of your potential will break your heart. Trust me on this one—I see it all the time. At the end of our lives, what fills our hearts with regret are not all the risks we took. Instead, what causes us to feel immense sadness is thinking about all the risks we didn’t take, all the opportunities we did not seize, all the things we did not do. Do not live your life as a timid soul, my friend. Get into the arena, forget about the critics and play big with the gifts of your days. Life is short and the years will slip away very quickly, like grains of sand passing through your fingers on a hot day at the beach. You were meant to shine and let your talents see the light of day. There is but one failure in life and that is the failure to try. The greatest failure in life is the unwillingness to play your highest game and walk towards the places that frighten you.”
“I agree, Julian. I completely agree. I regret so much of the way I’ve lived up until now.”
“Be gentle with yourself. We grow from our mistakes. What’s that expression—good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from making mistakes and mistakes come from bad judgment. I’d rather be willing to experiment with life and make a few mistakes than forego growth by refusing to step out of the confines of my comfort zone. So you made some mistakes. Forgive yourself and move on. The past is a grave and it makes no sense to spend your life living in a grave. Every ending represents a new beginning. Or to put it another way, you cannot move forward in life if you’re stuck looking in the rearview mirror. As Cicero noted: ‘The souls of wise people look to the future state of their existence; all of their thoughts are concentrated towards eternity.’ The key is to learn from your mistakes and build a foundation of wisdom. Blend self-responsibility