PDF Summary:The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin Sharma

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is a parable centered on Julian, a hotshot-lawyer-turned-monk, and his former colleague John. Julian shares with John what he’s learned from studying with a near-mythological group of monks in India who know the secrets to enlightenment. His lessons teach how to live a simple, fulfilling, and happy life.

In this guide, we’ll explore The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari as an introduction to spirituality and philosophy. In addition to examining Sharma’s teachings, we’ll build connections to other texts that explore certain ideas in more depth (such as The Power of Now explaining how to “live in the moment”), and to other philosophical traditions with similar teachings (such as Stoicism’s emphasis on understanding your purpose).

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Julian teaches John that finding his purpose, and focusing his energy on that purpose, is crucial to living a happy and fulfilling life. Other philosophical traditions—some of which are quite different from the Buddhist-based teachings that Julian’s sharing with John—also emphasize the importance of purpose. Thus, it’s clear that many different types of people thought it was important to find one’s purpose in life.

For example, purpose is also a key part of Stoicism, a philosophy that seems to be the polar opposite of Julian’s new philosophy. It suggests that you set aside any selfish thoughts or feelings, and devote every moment of your life to fulfilling your duty (whatever that duty might be). Stoicism’s dispassionate workaholism actually resembles Julian’s old life more so than his current one.

If you’re interested in Stoicism’s approach to finding your purpose, check out our guide to Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations.

Constantly Train and Improve, Like a Sumo Wrestler

The sumo wrestler is a metaphor for kaizen, a Japanese word that can be translated as continuous, endless self-improvement. In this case, it means constantly training and improving your inner self. Improving yourself is one key to improving your life.

(Shortform note: The word kaizen usually refers to improving a company, rather than a person. For example, Toyota is known for its company culture of kaizen. However, whether it’s applied to a multinational corporation or an individual, the principle is the same: improving a little bit every day.)

You can practice kaizen by continually pushing yourself past where you think your limits are. For example, if you’re afraid of being in front of an audience, try out for community theater; or, if you think that you can’t do a pull-up, buy a pull-up bar and try it (and, if needed, keep working until you can do pull-ups).

In short, identify what fears and worries are holding you back, then face them head-on. Confront your limits day after day until you break through them.

To understand this metaphor, remember that sumo wrestlers are athletes, even though they don’t have the trim and toned builds that Western cultures typically associate with athleticism.

Athletes commonly represent human perfection—ideals that people should aspire to. However, in this fable, Sharma is more concerned with how athletes become perfect: through constant training and improvement. Thus, the ideal that Sharma wants you to aspire to is endless self-improvement.

Kaizen means trying to be a little better each day. While it usually refers to a business practice, Sharma wants you to apply that same principle to yourself.

Build the Wire Cable of Discipline

The sumo wrestler’s pink wire cable is a metaphor for discipline. Wire cables are made of many thin wires wrapped around each other, and together those weak wires become very strong. Discipline works the same way: It’s made of many small habits and practices, all reinforcing each other to create immense inner strength.

You can strengthen your mind through appropriate exercises, just like you can strengthen your body at the gym. Little things—for example, doing chores when you don’t want to—will help to build up your discipline. You may be tempted to fall back into your old ways, but it’ll get easier every day as you keep building up your wire cable.

(Shortform note: You might already have some of the wires that will eventually form your cable. If you’ve begun practicing some of Sharma’s Rituals of Health and Happiness (for instance, exercising, eating well, and reflecting on your day), or if you have other habits that keep you fit and focused, then you’ve already begun building your wire cable of discipline!)

Watch Your Time

The watch is a metaphor for time. Time is your most precious resource, and those who spend it wisely will lead rich, fulfilling lives.

Eighty percent of what you achieve comes from 20% of what you do (the 80/20 Rule). Think about all the things you do in a day, then think about which of those things will have a lasting impact on your life. Most likely you’ll only come up with a few things that really matter in the long run; those are the things to devote your time and energy to.

The 80/20 Rule and the Size Instinct

In Factfulness, Hans Rosling explains that the 80/20 Rule (also known as the Pareto Principle) applies to everything from causes of death to items in a budget—20% of the items in each dataset cause 80% of the results in that dataset. One scientific study even suggests that the 80/20 Rule might be a result of the natural law of entropy.

Rosling also says that we recognize the 80/20 Rule when we overcome the size instinct. The size instinct is the human tendency to overestimate how important a single fact or piece of data is when it’s presented without context.

For example, if someone told you that Amazon’s stock price had dropped by nearly $15 yesterday, that would sound like an enormous amount of money to lose in a day. However, if they then told you that was only 0.45% of the stock’s value, you’d recognize that drop for the minor fluctuation that it really is.

Therefore, when you examine your own day-to-day life, look for the few things you do that have the greatest impact—and don’t get distracted by contextless events. For example, if you made an extra $50 one day from selling something on eBay, consider the time you spent and the money you made in the context of your entire day, and your entire income. How much of a difference did that sale really make, and how much time did it cost you?

Rather than spend a stressful day scrambling to catch up on all the things you have to do, take 15 minutes the night before to plan your next day. Better yet, take an hour on your day off to plan your entire week. Don’t just schedule your professional obligations, either; make time for friends and family, for meditation and self-improvement, and for rest.

Write your schedule down, and make sure you stick to it. It’s human nature to put off or avoid unpleasant tasks, but the happiest people are those who accept short-term discomfort for long-term benefits.

Also, be careful around people who will try to steal your time. These are the people who interrupt you on your lunch break, or call you at home when you’re in the middle of something important. Don’t be afraid to tell them “no.” Protect your time ruthlessly, including your time to rest.

(Shortform note: This section’s lesson is simple: No matter who you are or what your current situation is, you have the same 24 hours a day as everyone else. Mastery of that time leads to mastery of your life.)

Give Roses of Kindness to Others

The roses are a metaphor for serving others. An old Chinese proverb says that a bit of perfume will stay on the hand that gives away a rose. In other words, by being kind to others you’ll improve your own life as well.

The sumo wrestler from the fable—who fainted when he realized that his time was limited—smells some nearby flowers and immediately wakes up, showing even more energy and vigor than he had before. This is because he now knows what to do with his limited time: help others. He’s energetic because he’s happy with his new purpose, and excited to get started on it.

Thus, in keeping with the Chinese proverb, Sharma’s saying that you can live a happy and fulfilling life by devoting yourself to doing good deeds for others.

No matter how rich you become, after you die you’ll have nothing. Therefore, serving only yourself is ultimately pointless; the real reason people exist is to serve others.

Take a little time every day to think about the good that you can do for others. These don’t have to be huge, dramatic things; small favors like letting a car pass you, or giving a friendly smile to someone, will add up to major changes in your life and the world around you.

One of the best ways to improve your own life is by helping your friends and loved ones, and keeping your relationships strong. Those people, in turn, will enrich your experiences.

In short, see yourself as part of a larger, interconnected world, rather than as an individual.

(Shortform note: It would be impossible to tell you exactly how to help the people in your life. Everyone has different needs and different talents to help meet those needs. That’s why this section emphasizes relationships, rather than specific actions—by maintaining your friendships, doing kind gestures for one another, and practicing open, honest communication, you’ll come to understand the best ways to help each other.)

Follow the Path of Diamonds in Every Moment

The path of diamonds is a metaphor for living in the moment. People who give themselves fully to the present, without being distracted by regrets about the past or fears for the future, are constantly reinvigorated by everything they do.

The path of diamonds is a reference to Vajrayana Buddhism (vajrayana can be translated as “diamond path” or “diamond way”). Vajrayana teaches that there’s no clear distinction between what people might call good and bad, or holy and profane—it teaches you to accept things for what they are, instead of judging and labeling them. By doing so, you remain present and focused, rather than lost in your own thoughts and judgments.

In simple terms, the path of diamonds represents Sharma’s belief that being fully present in each moment as it happens is like walking down an endless, impossibly beautiful road. According to Sharma, you’ll never reach the end of the path of diamonds, but you’ll be happy for as long as you’re walking on it.

Live your life now, not at some uncertain time in the future like after you retire, or after you win the lottery. Money isn’t the key to happiness; living in the present and appreciating all it has to offer is. Many of the previous lessons will help you to focus on and appreciate the present, without being distracted by intrusive thoughts or worries.

The reason it’s a path is that happiness is a process, not a destination. It’s important to have goals and dreams, as we’ve discussed before, but don’t sacrifice life’s little joys and pleasures to achieve those goals.

“Live in the moment” is a lesson that bridges many different schools of thought, and therefore one that’s worth thinking about.

• Stoicism would argue that, rationally, there’s no benefit to worrying about the past or the future; all you can do is make the best choice possible in the present moment.

• Hinduism and Buddhism would say that you mustn’t let events take root in your mind. Instead, you should experience each moment as it comes, and then let it go when it’s over.

• Any number of secular self-help books suggest the same thing: Dwelling on the past or worrying about the future is a waste of time and energy.

Lori Gottlieb’s memoir Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is all about how she learned to live in the moment, and why that skill was so important as she struggled with an unexpected breakup and a midlife crisis.

The end goal of all these lessons is reaching Nirvana, a perfect state of being. A person in Nirvana is perfectly happy and content, sees the beauty and divinity in every little thing, and experiences no pain or fear.

In both Buddhism and Hinduism, Nirvana is the ultimate goal of every living being. However, while Sharma describes Nirvana as a state of perfect peace and happiness, more traditionally it means the end of your individual existence.

According to Buddhism and Hinduism, reaching Nirvana means that your soul unites with God, and you’re freed from the cycle of death and reincarnation. In other words, the lifetime in which you reach Nirvana will be your last.

Those religions see life—and therefore reincarnation—as suffering; they seek to free people from that suffering. In contrast, Sharma is trying to make the life you have more meaningful and enjoyable.

Anyone can attain Nirvana through small, incremental steps, as laid out in the preceding lessons. All it takes is a bit of time and effort every day, and an open mind to learn all the lessons that life has to teach.