The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dream and Reaching Your Destiny
| Robin Sharma, 2003
What’s It All About?
Take a journey of enlightenment in The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dream and Reaching Your Destiny by motivational speaker Robin Sharma. This story follows a fictional character named Julian, a stressed-out perfectionist who leaves his high-pressure job to journey to the Himalayas and find the Great Sages of Sivana, who teach him eight rituals for finding peace, passion, and purpose. Once he masters all eight rituals, he teaches them to his best friend Peter—and to us!
- Link Paycheck to Purpose. Leadership isn’t just about getting a paycheck, but helping others liberate the fullness of their talents and pursue a meaningful vision.
- Manage by Mind, Lead by Heart. Keep promises, listen aggressively, be consistently compassionate, and tell the truth.
- Reward Routinely, Recognize Relentlessly. Hunt for good behavior and reward others with public, specific, and immediate praise.
- Surrender to Change. If you want to change your results, you might change the things you are doing.
- Focus on the Worthy. If you spend your days improving your communicate and building richer relationships, you’ll see fewer misunderstandings and less conflict.
- The Ritual of Self-Leadership. Don’t get so busy that you fail to devote time to the discipline of self-renewal.
- See What All See, Think What None Think. Shed the shackles of outdated thinking and find fun, smart new ways to do what you do.
- Link Leadership to Legacy. Leadership is not about looking good, but doing good.
Favorite Quote
“When you enrich the relationship, you enhance the leadership.”
Biggest Takeaway
I loved how this book is presented as a memorable parable. After I read this book—while on a plane from Nashville to a plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 2016—I especially embraced the second ritual, Manage by Mind, Lead by Heart. At this time, I was in the middle of transformation in both my work and personal lives. While I was compassionate at heart, I didn’t show consistent compassion through my behavior, and there was a gap in how I thought I was showing up and how others were actually perceiving me.
This book had a big impact on my mindset and behavior! Robin made me feel seen, like I was the main character in the book. I’m sure one of the eight rituals here will have the same impact on you.
Reviewed by: Trevor Blondeel, Jan 14, 2019
At Manufacturing Greatness, Trevor Blondeel works with manufacturers to connect the top to the shop. If you’re ready to improve your own organization, contact Trevor to learn how Manufacturing Greatness can help you build stronger leaders and develop a dynamic, high-performing workplace.