A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny
, by Robin Sharma, is an interesting book — as the subtitle suggests, it’s a fable, and it’s one that will certainly make you give some thought to your life, your goals, your dreams and how your daily habits help you reach those dreams. In other words, right up the Zen Habits alley.
, by Robin Sharma, is an interesting book — as the subtitle suggests, it’s a fable, and it’s one that will certainly make you give some thought to your life, your goals, your dreams and how your daily habits help you reach those dreams. In other words, right up the Zen Habits alley.
The author is a leadership expert and author, and he fills the book with a combination of life strategies. Many of these are useful, but whether they work in combination is the real question.
The Fable
The book takes the form of a fable about Julian Mantle, a high-profile attorney with a
crazy schedule and a set of priorities that center around money, power and prestige. As such, Mantle represents the values of our society. The story is told from the perspective of one of his associates, who admires Mantle’s great success and aspires to be like him.
The book takes the form of a fable about Julian Mantle, a high-profile attorney with a
crazy schedule and a set of priorities that center around money, power and prestige. As such, Mantle represents the values of our society. The story is told from the perspective of one of his associates, who admires Mantle’s great success and aspires to be like him.
But when Mantle has a heart attack, he drops out of the game and disappears. He sells all his possessions and goes to India to seek a more meaningful existence. When he comes back, he’s a changed man. Really, it’s as if he’s a completely different person. He’s learned from some mythical Himalayan gurus who give him mystical and yet practical advice, which he shares with his former associate (and the reader).
The Concepts
The core of the book is the Seven Virtues of Enlightened Learning, which Mantle reveals one by one. Now, although the book presents them as actual Virtues learned from Himalayan gurus, it’s important to remember as you read that these are made up by the author — actually, he pulled them from other sources and put them together:
The core of the book is the Seven Virtues of Enlightened Learning, which Mantle reveals one by one. Now, although the book presents them as actual Virtues learned from Himalayan gurus, it’s important to remember as you read that these are made up by the author — actually, he pulled them from other sources and put them together:
- master your mind
- follow your purpose
- practice kaizen
- live with discipline
- respect your time
- selflessly serve others
- embrace the present
Each of these Virtues is discussed in some detail in separate chapters, each of them with a number of concepts and habits to develop. Most of them are very inspiring and potentially very useful. After reading the book, Leo Babauta incorporated several of them into his life, including the ones that involve positive thinking, visualizing goals and more. Again, these are not new concepts, and have been discussed in many other books, but the book presents a great collection of useful concepts that you might want to try out.
The Problem
The truth is, each of the Seven Virtues encompasses a bunch of daily habits, and incorporating all of them into your life would be cumbersome. And some of them seem to be conflicting.
The truth is, each of the Seven Virtues encompasses a bunch of daily habits, and incorporating all of them into your life would be cumbersome. And some of them seem to be conflicting.
As an example of the large number of habits in every virtue, here are the ones listed by Leo Babauta for the first virtue, Master your mind:
- Habit: Find positive in every circumstance; don’t judge events as “good” or “bad”, but experience them, celebrate them and learn from them.
- Habit: The heart of the rose: find a silent place and a fresh rose. Stare at the heart of the rose, the inner petals, concentrating on the folds of the flower, the texture, etc … push away other thoughts that come to you. Start with 5 minutes a day, stretch it to 20. It will be your oasis of peace.
- Habit: 10 minutes of reflection on your day, and how to improve your next day.
- Habit: Opposition thinking – take every negative thought that comes into your mind and turn it into a positive one. First, be aware of your thoughts. Second, appreciate that as easily as negative thoughts enter, they can be replaced with positive ones. So think of the opposite of the negative ones. Instead of being gloomy, concentrate on being happy and energetic.
- Habit: Secret of the lake. Take a few deep breaths and relax. Then envision your dreams becoming a reality. Picture vivid images of what you want to become. Then they will become reality.
And that’s just with the first virtue. Each one has a number of habits to develop, and they’re not listed out. If you tried to incorporate all of the habits in the book, your day would be very busy indeed.
Conclusion
This book a buy recommendation for anyone who is interested in incorporating routines and habits that can transform their lives, help them achieve their dreams, calm them and make them more happy. Yes, it’s a jumble of too many ideas, but you can pick and choose, and the ideas contained within are potentially very powerful. Plus, it’s a fun and easy read.
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