Excerpt: These quotes from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari will remind you that there’s more to life than money—and that money is never worth your life.
Click Here to jump right to our list of Quotes from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari!
Introduction: The Power of Near-Death Experiences
In the book, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma we meet a high profile trial lawyer, Julian Mantle whose life is centered around power, prestige, and money. He’s the type who prioritizes three-thousand-dollar Italian suits, expensive meals at the finest restaurants, sexy young fashion models, and bright red Ferrari’s over gratitude, health, family, compassion, etc. and we quickly see how his life is on the fast track to some deep-seeded problems. Shortly into the book, while arguing a case in court, Julian collapses from a heart attack and nearly loses his life at the ripe age of fifty-three years old.
After being revived and given a second chance at life, he completely abandons his lavish lifestyle in search for one with greater meaning and significance and he heads to India for spiritual answers. Several years later, after his successful return, the fable follows Julian as he shares everything he learned with his former co-worker and friend who is still working at the law firm, destined to end up the same way Julian did on the courtroom floor. Twenty of our favorite tid-bits of wisdom are gathered together below for you to explore.
There’s nothing like a near-death experience to bring the preciousness of life into perspective.
Regardless of whether or not you have had a near-death experience, your ability to put yourself in Julian’s shoes (or in anyone’s for that matter) and mentally take yourself through the same experiences will allow you to take away the same life lessons and learned wisdom closer to heart. Otherwise, our invincibility mindset carries on and we live our lives as if they’ll continue to last forever. Remember, good judgement comes from bad judgement remembered—and if we can take the bad judgement from another person’s experience and apply it to our own life, we can obtain a significant win that saves us from some pretty significant pain and a ton of wasted time.
Take your time with the quotes listed below and pay close attention to any thoughts that stir your mind or move your head. If you find yourself nodding in agreement or frowning in dismay, sit with those words for a while and dig deeper into the why. Furthermore, as you make your way through the list, create your own list of action-able ideas that you apply to your life TODAY after you exit from this tab. Knowledge gained from this post without any action is the same as never having the knowledge from this post in the first place. May you always find the motivation to keep moving forward! Enjoy!
…Ready To (Finally) Put An End To The Self-Improvement Yo-Yo-Ing?
Our NEW Guide will teach you how to integrate self-improvement tasks into your life—for life—without requiring NAVY Seal level self-discipline or grit. Download now and get INSTANT access to:
- 30 Powerful, One Page Meditations
- 30 Pace Conscious Challenges
- 30 Original, Downloadable Illustrations
…Build habits that stick or your money back.
The List: 20 Deeply Insightful Robin Sharma Quotes from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“The quality of your life will come down to the quality of your contribution.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Self-mastery is the DNA of life mastery.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Self-mastery and the consistent care of one’s mind, body, and soul are essential to finding one’s highest self and living the life of one’s dreams. How can you care for others if you cannot even care for yourself? How can you do good if you don’t even feel good? I can’t love you if I cannot love myself.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“People who study others are wise but those who study themselves are enlightened.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Saying that you don’t have time to improve your thoughts and your life is like saying you don’t have time to stop for gas because you are too busy driving. Eventually it will catch up with you.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Success on the outside means nothing unless you also have success within. There is a huge difference between well-being and being well-off.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Quick-fixes do not work. All lasting inner change requires time and effort. Persistence is the mother of personal change. I’m not saying that it will take years to make profound changes in your life. If you diligently apply the strategies I am sharing with you every day for only one month, you will be astonished at the results. You will begin to tap into the highest levels of your own capacity and enter the realm of the miraculous. But to reach this destination, you must not get hung up on the outcome. Instead, enjoy the process of personal expansion and growth. Ironically, the less you focus on the end result, the quicker it will come.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Those who are truly enlightened know what they want out of life, emotionally, materially, physically and spiritually. Clearly defined priorities and goals for every aspect of your life will serve a role similar to that played by a lighthouse, offering you guidance and refuge when the seas become rough. You see, anyone can revolutionize their lives once they revolutionize the direction in which they are moving. But if you don’t even know where you are going, how will you ever know when you get there?”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Identify the things that are holding you back. Are you scared of speaking or do you have trouble in your relationships? Do you lack a positive attitude or do you need more energy? Make a written inventory of your weaknesses. Satisfied people are far more thoughtful than others. Take the time to reflect on what it is that might be keeping you from the life you really want to know deep down you can have. Once you have identified what your weaknesses are, the next step is to face them head on and attack your fears. If you fear public speaking, sign up to give twenty speeches. If you fear starting a new business or getting out of a dissatisfying relationship, muster every ounce of your inner resolve and do it. This might be the first taste of real freedom that you have experienced in years. Fear is nothing more than a mental monster you have created, a negative stream of consciousness.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Fear is a conditioned response: a life-sucking habit that can easily consume your energy, creativity and spirit if you are not careful. When fear rears its ugly head, beat it down quickly. The best way to do that is to do the thing you fear. Understand the anatomy of fear. It is your own creation. Like any other creation, it is just as easy to tear it down as it is to erect it. Methodically search for and then destroy every fear that has secretly slid into the fortress of your mind. This alone will give you enormous confidence, happiness and peace of mind.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Most people I have spoken to have no idea that they have the power to control every single thought they think every second of every minute of every day. They believe that thoughts just happen and have never realized that if you don’t take the time to start controlling your thoughts, they will control you. When you start to focus on good thoughts only, and refuse to think the bad ones through sheer will-power, I promise you they will shrivel up very quickly.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Thoughts are vital, living things, little bundles of energy, if you will. Most people don’t give any thought to the nature of their thoughts and yet, the quality of your thinking determines the quality of your life. Thoughts are just as much a part of the material world as the lake you swim in or the street you walk on. Weak minds lead to weak actions. A strong, disciplined mind, which anyone can cultivate through daily practice, can achieve miracles. If you want to live life to the fullest, care for your thoughts as you would your most prized possessions. Work hard to remove all inner turbulence. The rewards will be abundant.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“You are what you think about all day long. You are also what you say to yourself all day long. If you say that you are old and tired, this mantra will be manifested in your external reality. If you say you are weak and lack enthusiasm, this too will be the nature of your world. But if you say that you are healthy, dynamic and fully alive, your life will be transformed. You see, the words you say to yourself affect your self-image and your self-image determines what actions you take. Your self-image is a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“To live life to the fullest, you must stand guard at the gate of your garden and let only the very best information enter. You truly cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought – not even one. The most joyful, dynamic and contented people of this world are no different from you or me in terms of their makeup. We are all flesh and bones. We all come from the same universal source. However, the ones who do more than just exist, the ones who fan the flames of their human potential and truly savor the magical dance of life do different things than those whose lives are ordinary. Foremost amongst the things that they do is adopt a positive paradigm about their world and all that is in it.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Failure is not having the courage to try, nothing more and nothing less. The only thing standing between most people and their dreams is the fear of failure. Yet failure is essential to success in any endeavor. Failure tests us and allows us to grow. It offers us lessons and guides us along the path of enlightenment. The teachers of the East say that every arrow that hits the bull’s eye is the result of one hundred misses. It is a fundamental Law of Nature to profit through loss. Never fear failure. Failure is your friend.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Small victories lead to large victories. You must build on the small to achieve the great. By following through on a resolution as simple as getting up earlier every day, you will feel the pleasure and gratification that achievement brings. You have set a goal and you have realized it. This feels good. The trick is to keep setting the mark higher and raising your standards continuously. This will then release that magical quality of momentum that will motivate you to keep exploring your infinite potential.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“You must be ruthless with your time. Learn to say no. Having the courage to say no to the little things in life will give you the power to say yes to the big things. Shut the door to your office when you need a few hours to work on that big case. Don’t pick up the phone every time it rings. It is there for your convenience, not the convenience of others. Ironically, people will respect you more when they see that you are a person who values his time. They will realize that your time is precious and they will value it.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Busy, productive people are highly efficient with their time – they must be in order to survive. Being an excellent time manager doesn’t mean that you must become a workaholic. On the contrary, time mastery allows you more time to do the things you love to do, the things that are truly meaningful to you. Time mastery leads to life mastery. Guard time well. Remember, it’s a non-renewable resource.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“Have the discipline to focus your time around your priorities. The most meaningful things in your life should never be sacrificed to those that are the least meaningful.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“One of the most tragic things that any one of us can do is to put off living. Too many people are dreaming of some magical rose garden on the horizon rather than enjoying the one growing in our back yards. What a tragedy.”
Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
If you enjoyed these quotes from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari then definitely check out the book below. It comes highly recommended.
Book Overview: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny by motivational speaker and author Robin Sharma is an inspiring tale that provides a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance and joy. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari tells the extraordinary story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life, and the subsequent wisdom that he gains on a life-changing odyssey that enables him to create a life of passion, purpose and peace.
Buy from Amazon! Listen on Audible!
Not enough time to read/listen to the whole book? Check out the 13 minute Blinkist version of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and get the key insights here for free.
Read Next: 10 Osho Quotes On Money and How It Affects Happiness
Comment Prompt: Which of the above quotes from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari did you find most interesting and noteworthy? What action(s) are you going to take to apply what you learned to your life?
…Ready To (Finally) Put An End To The Self-Improvement Yo-Yo-Ing?
Our NEW Guide will teach you how to integrate self-improvement tasks into your life—for life—without requiring NAVY Seal level self-discipline or grit. Download now and get INSTANT access to:
- 30 Powerful, One Page Meditations
- 30 Pace Conscious Challenges
- 30 Original, Downloadable Illustrations
…Build habits that stick or your money back.
Written by Matt Hogan
Founder of MoveMe Quotes. On a mission to help busy people do inner work—for better mental health; for healing; for personal growth. Find me on Twitter / IG / Medium. I also share daily insights here. 🌱
It has taken me 1,000’s of hours to build this free library for you. If it has helped you, you can support my continued effort here. ☕️
