Who Will Cry When You Die?: Life Lessons From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

by Robin Sharma

I have found that it is not enough to know what to do — we must act on that knowledge in order to have the lives we want.

“Son, when you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries while you rejoice.”

George Bernard Shaw was asked on his deathbed, “What would you do if you could live your life over again?” He reflected, then replied with a deep sigh: “I’d like to be the person I could have been but never was.”

A meaningful life is made up of a series of daily acts of decency and kindness, which, ironically, add up to something truly great over the course of a lifetime.

Everyone who enters your life has a lesson to teach and a story to tell.

Writing down your daily experiences along with the lessons you have drawn from them will make you wiser with each passing day.

And keeping a journal will help clarify your intentions so that you remain focused on the things that truly count.

A journal is not a diary. A diary is a place where you record events while a journal is a place where you analyze and evaluate them.

Saying things we don’t really mean becomes a habit when we practice it long enough.

If it is inner peace and calm you seek, the phrase, known as a mantra, might be, “I am so grateful that I am a serene and tranquil person.” If it is more confidence that you want, your mantra could be, “I am delighted that I am full of confidence and boundless courage.” If it is material prosperity you are after, your saying might be, “I am so grateful that money and opportunity is flowing into my life.”

“When from our better selves we have too long been parted by the hurrying world, sick of its business, of its pleasures tired, how gracious, how benign is solitude.”

“It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is what are you so busy about?”

At present, you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.

“life is nothing more that a game of numbers — the more risks you take, the more rewards you will receive.”

Remember, there are no real failures in life, only results. There are no true tragedies, only lessons. And there really are no problems, only opportunities waiting to be recognized as solutions by the person of wisdom.

How high you will rise in your life will be determined not by how hard you work but by how well you think.

If you have not read today, you have not really lived today.

The real value of setting and achieving goals lies not in the rewards you receive but in the person you become as a result of reaching your goals.

At the first gate, they asked themselves, Are these words truthful? If so, the words could then pass on to the second gate. At the second gate, the sages asked, Are these words necessary? If so, they would then pass on to the third gate, where they would ask, Are these words kind?

“It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”

Thousands of years ago, it was believed that everyone who walked the earth was a god. But humankind abused its limitless powers so the supreme god decided to hide the godhead, the source of all of this potential, so that no one could find it. The question then became, where could such a thing be hidden? The first adviser suggested it could be placed deep in the ground to which the supreme god replied, “No, eventually someone will dig deep enough and find it.” The second adviser then offered, “What if we place the godhead at the bottom of the deepest ocean” to which the supreme god responded, “No, eventually someone will dive deep enough and find it.” The third adviser then chimed in, “Well, why don’t we put it on the top of the highest mountain?” which prompted the supreme god to reply, “No, I’m certain that eventually someone will scale that highest of peaks and find it.” After reflecting for some time, the supreme god found the solution: “I will put this source of all human power, potential and purpose inside the hearts of every man, woman and child on the planet, for they will never think to look there.”

“We first make our habits and then our habits make us,”

Make sure they are the kind of challenges that will force you to reach into your heart and bring out the best within you, helping you grow in the process.

My brother, an internationally known eye surgeon, once told me about a medical condition called amblyopia, a condition that occurs when a patch is placed over a young child’s healthy eye. When the patch is removed, the child has completely lost the sight of that once good eye. Covering the eye stunts its development and causes blindness. Many of us suffer from our own form of amblyopia. We go through life with blinders over our eyes, afraid to dream bigger dreams and do the things we fear. The result is always the same: like the child with amblyopia, we eventually lose our vision and spend the rest of our days within a very limited zone of movement.

Remember, it is never too late to become the person you have always wanted to be.