"A captivating story that teaches as it deiights." -PAULO COELHO, author of The Alchemist ROB INS. S H ARM A THEMoNK A FABLE ABOUT HOSOLD FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS HIS FERRARI AND REACHING YOUR DESTINY PRAISE FOR THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is a treasure — an elegant and powerful formula for true success and happiness. Robin S. Sharma has captured the wisdom of the ages and made it relevant for these turbulent times. I couldn't put it down." Joe Tye, author of Never Fear, Never Quit "A magnificent book. Robin S. Sharma is the next Og Mandino." Dottie Walters, author of Speak and Grow Rich "Novel approach to self-help makes advice easy to take." The Liberal "A wonderful story sharing lessons that can enrich your life." Ken Vegotsky, author of The Ultimate Power "Filled with insights about following your passion and living your dream. A good read!" Justine and Michael Toms, cofounders of New Dimensions Radio and coauthors of True Work: The Sacred Dimension of Earning a Living "Robin Sharma has created an enchanting tale that incorporates the classic tools of transformation into a simple philosophy of living. A delightful book that will change your life." Elaine St. James, author of Simplify Your Life and Inner Simplicity "A fun, fascinating, fanciful adventure into the realms of personal development, personal effectiveness, and individual happiness. It contains treasures of wisdom that can enrich and enhance the life of every single person." Brian Tracy, author of Maximum Achievement "Robin Sharma has an important message for all of us—one that can change our lives. He's written a one-of-a-kind handbook for personal fulfillment in a hectic age." Scott DeGarmo, past publisher, Success magazine "A captivating story that teaches as it delights." Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist PRAISE FOR MEGALIVING! "MegaLiving! teaches you how to make your life MEGA- MAGNIFICENT in only 30 delightful days." Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul "I highly recommend this remarkable book to anyone truly inter­ ested in personal excellence and successful living." Peter Hanson, M.D., author of The Joy of Stress "MegaLiving! 80 Days to a Perfect Life is perhaps the ultimate in self-improvement books." Northwest Arkansas Times "A brilliant book! Follow its wisdom for personal and spiritual success. Your life will change." Ken Vegotsky, author of The Ultimate Power "Robin S. Sharma . has collected the best life strategies from mystics and wise men alike." Family Circle "For over ten years Robin Sharma has studied the success strategies of people leading unusually satisfying lives. He's culled their routines and stories into a 30 day program which promotes lifelong success." Reviewer's Book Watch "The perfect blend of East and West." The Kingston Whig-Standard "Change your life in 30 days!" Eastern Eye "MegaLiving! is a gem—a great book for those who want to discover the power within." Investment Executive The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny Robin S. Sharma HarperSanFrancisco A Division of HarperCollins Publishers THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny. Copyright © 1997 by Robin S. Sharma. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022. HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets Department, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022. HarperCollins Web Site: http://www.harpercollins.com HarperCollins®, and HarperSanFrancisco'" are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers Inc. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. FIRST HARPERCOLLINS PAPERBACK EDITION PUBLISHED IN 1999 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sharma, Robin S. (Robin Shilp), 1964- The monk who sold his Ferrari: a fable about fulfilling your dreams and reaching your destiny/Robin S. Sharma. — lst ed. p. cm. Originally published: Toronto: Haunsla Corp., 1996. ISBN 0-06-251560-S (cloth) ISBN 0-06-251567-5 (pbk.) I. Title PR9199.3.S497M6 1998 813'.54—dc21 98-13247 CIP 03 •RRD 20 19 To my son, Colby, who is my daily reminder of all that is good in this world. Bless You. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari has been a very special project, brought to fruition through the efforts of some very special people. I am deeply grateful to my superb production team and to all those whose enthusiasm and energy transformed my vision of this book into reality, especially my family at Sharma Leadership International. Your commitment and sense of mission moves me. I express special thanks: • To the thousands of readers of my first book, MegaLiving!, who graciously took the time to write to me and share how it changed their lives. I also thank all those who have attended my public seminars across North America as well as Sharma Leadership International's many corporate clients, who have been such wonderful sponsors of my speaking programs for their employees. • To my editor, John Loudon, for your belief in this book and for your faith in me. Thanks as well to Margery Buchanan, Karen Levine, and the rest of the superb team at HarperSanFranciseo for investing your energies in this project • To Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hansen, and my other colleagues in the self-leadership field for your kindness. • To Kathi Dunn for your brilliant cover design. I thought nothing could top the Timeless Wisdom for Self-Mastery cover you did for us. I was wrong. • To Satya Paul, Krishna, and Sandeep Sharma for your constant encouragement. • And most of all, to my wonderful parents, Shiv and Shashi Sharma, who have guided and helped me from day one; to my loyal and wise brother Sanjay Sharma, M.D., and his good wife, Susan; to my daughter, Bianca, for your presence; to my son, Colby, for your spirit, and to my wife and best friend, Alka. You are all the light that shows me the way. Life is no brief candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. George Bernard Shaw CONTENTS 1 THE WAKE-UP CALL 1 2 THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR 8 3 THE MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATION OF JULIAN MANTLE .. 12 4 A MAGICAL MEETING WITH THE SAGES OF SIVANA 24 5 A SPIRITUAL STUDENT OF THE SAGES 27 6 THE WISDOM OF PERSONAL CHANGE 32 7 A MOST EXTRAORDINARY GARDEN 41 8 KINDLING YOUR INNER FIRE 72 9 THE ANCIENT ART OF SELF-LEADERSHIP 93 10 THE POWER OF DISCIPLINE 144 11 YOUR MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY 159 12 THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE 173 13 THE TIMELESS SECRET OF LIFELONG HAPPINESS 181 The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari CHAPTER ONE The Wake-Up Call He collapsed right in the middle of a packed courtroom. He was one of this country's most distinguished trial lawyers. He was also a man who was as well known for the three-thousand-dollar Italian suits which draped his well-fed frame as for his remarkable string of legal victories. I simply stood there, paralyzed by the shock of what I had just witnessed. The great Julian Mantle had been reduced to a victim and was now squirming on the ground like a helpless infant, shaking and shivering and sweating like a maniac. Everything seemed to move in slow motion from that point on. "My God, Julian's in trouble!" his paralegal screamed, emotionally offering us a blinding glimpse of the obvious. The judge looked panic-stricken and quickly muttered something into the private phone she had had installed in the event of an emergency. As for me, I could only stand there, dazed and confused. Please don't die, you old fool. Its too early for you to check out. You don't deserve to die like this. The bailiff, who earlier had looked as if he had been embalmed in his standing position, leapt into action and started to perform CPR on the fallen legal hero. The paralegal was at his side, her long blond curls dangling over Julian's ruby-red face, offering him soft words of comfort, words which he obviously could not hear. I had known Julian for seventeen years. We had first met when I was a young law student hired by one of his partners as a summer research intern. Back then, he'd had it all. He was a brilliant, hand­ some and fearless trial attorney with dreams of greatness. Julian was the firm's young star, the rain-maker in waiting. I can still remember walking by his regal corner office while I was working late one night and stealing a glimpse of the framed quotation perched on his massive oak desk. It was by Winston Churchill and it spoke volumes about the man that Julian was: Sure I am that this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond my endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an uncon­ querable will to win, victory will not be denied us.