Discover Your Destiny with The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: The 7 Stages of Self-Awakening. Robin Sharma
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wall, you will never—ever—discover personal freedom. Freedom lives on the other side of your fears. How often do you think most people are frightened?”
“I have no idea,” I replied honestly. “Maybe once every few months.”
“If you do not feel some fear on a daily basis, you are living life within a safe harbor and clinging to the shore. Do you know the story of how Columbus came to the New World?” Julian asked warmly.
“No, I don’t, Julian. I used to read a lot of history but I have no idea what the answer to your question is.”
“He went perpendicular,” said Julian as he brought his bronzed hands together to form a “T.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Before Columbus, all previous adventurers sailed close to the shore, within sight of land. That was the accepted way to sail. Columbus dared to be different. He refused to do what all others had done. He took a risk: he sailed perpendicular to the shore—straight out to sea. And because he let go of the known and had the bravery to sail out into the unknown, he became one of our greatest heroes. You see, my friend, heroes are revolutionaries. All progress of humankind has been made by people who refused to think, feel and act like everyone else. John F. Kennedy stating he would work hard to put a man on the moon was the talk of a revolutionary, one who refused to follow the crowd and play small. Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of freeing a nation was the fantasy of a revolutionary who refused to let his fears run him. Mother Teresa’s goal of ridding Calcutta of the shackles of poverty was the ideal of a revolutionary who refused to listen to the shouts of the naysayers telling her it could not and should not be done. George Bernard Shaw said it so very well: ‘The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one tries to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.’ That’s such an important point of wisdom. All progress comes from unreasonable people, people who follow their hearts and the instructions of their consciences rather than the commands of the crowd. All progress has come from risk-takers and men and women who were willing to visit the places that scared them.”
“That is a great point, Julian,” I agreed. “All human progress, all of the advancements in the world—ranging from the discovery of fire to the creation of the personal computer—have come about by people who had the courage not to listen to the crowd but do what they felt was right, regardless of the fact it provoked uncertainty and fear within them.”
“To take risks is to provoke fear, amigo. But to take risks is to be most alive. I deeply feel that we are most alive when we are taking risks, being bold and visiting the unknown spaces of our lives. ‘Big risks, big life. Small risks, small life,’ is the way I view it. If you want to live greatly, you must also be willing to risk greatly. To get to the pearls, the diver needs to be willing to go deep and visit the places that the timid souls would never visit.”
“Good example.”
“When you ask for something you’ve never asked for from someone and your heart starts beating rapidly, that’s when you are truly alive. When you want to say something to someone but the very thought of doing so sends butterflies through your stomach, that’s when you are most alive. When you do something that you’ve never done before but follow through on it because you know in your heart it’s something that will make your life richer and better, that’s when you are most alive. Papa Wallenda, the great high-wire walker, said it so well when he observed: ‘Life is on the wire. The rest is just waiting.’”
Julian continued with a level of enthusiasm that is rare in our world today. “So see me as your life coach. All smart businesspeople have coaches to help them get where they want to go. Every elite athlete has a coach to help them play at their best. Well, think of yourself as an elite performer on the playing field of life—you need a coach to guide, inspire and champion you as you evolve into who you are destined to become. I knew you’d be here at the seminar tonight. That guy was pretty good out there—I really liked what he had to say. I hope I didn’t frighten you by the way I drew you to me.”
“Oh no, Julian, you didn’t,” I lied.
Julian continued. “It’s just that the people I work with must be people willing to take some risks. At each step along the journey of our lives, we have choice. We can confront the things that we are resisting, and in doing so grow as human beings. Or we can choose not to stretch ourselves and, in doing so, remain stagnant and small. In other words, our choices either free us or they limit us. So I placed a few little challenges in your way to see how you’d respond. And you did great.”
“Well, Julian—and I hope you don’t mind me calling you Julian…”
“Of course not, Dar. We’ll be getting to know each other quite well over the coming weeks. Let’s do away with any formality,” replied Julian as he sipped from a bottle of Evian water.
“I’d love to have you as my life coach. Actually, I’m very honored that you would choose me as your next project. You’re right. I have a great sense that I am ready to discover my destiny and live my true life. Something miraculous happened to me yesterday that opened up that awareness within me. I can’t really get into it right now, but let me simply say that I’m beginning to appreciate what a treasure this gift of life is. I’m also starting to realize that each of us has far more potential for greatness than most of us can fathom.”
“Very true,” Julian affirmed.
I continued. “Julian, let me ask you a basic question that I think a lot of people are wondering about: how does one actually go about discovering his destiny?”
Julian ran a hand along the embroidery on the front of his robe. He closed his eyes, as if he was seeking guidance from a higher source. After a long silence, he spoke.
“No one discovers their destiny, Dar. Your destiny will discover you—it will find you, provided you have done the preparation and inner work required to seize the opportunity when it presents itself. Carlos Castaneda said it so well: ‘All of us, whether or not we are warriors, have a cubic centimeter of chance that pops out in front of our eyes from time to time. The difference between the average person and a warrior is that the warrior is aware of this and stays alert, deliberately waiting, so that when this cubic centimeter of chance pops out, it is picked up.’”
“Neat.”
“Here’s the key. Stop worrying about finding your destiny. Spend your time getting to know yourself. Tear down the façade you show to the world and do the deep inner work on yourself needed to know who you really are. Focus on rebuilding your self-relationship. Get to know your deepest and truest values. Get to know your preferences and priorities—not those that others have taught you are the most important but those that you feel to be of the highest value. Get to know what genuinely makes you feel happy. Bring the subconscious patterns and ways of reacting to things out into the light of your awareness, so they can be healed. Get to know your fears and how you came to make them your own. As you come to know who you are, you can then claim your destiny as it draws closer to you. As you get to know who you truly are and what you are really all about, you will be able to seize that ‘cubic centimeter of chance’ when it pops out in front of you. And trust me, it will.”
“Okay. Makes perfect sense. I’m open to doing all this ‘inner work,’ as you call it—even getting to know my darkest fears.”
“Someone gave you your fears, you know? Someone taught them to you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. At the moment of your birth, you were truly fearless. At the moment of your birth, you were pure perfection. Henri Amiel once wrote that ‘Childhood is blessed by heaven because it brings a piece of paradise into the cruelties of life. All these thousands of everyday births are fresh additions of innocence and purity which fight against our spoiled nature.’”
“So true, Julian. Children do come to us more highly evolved than adults to teach us the lessons we need to learn. I know I’ve forgotten that lesson many times. In so many ways, children are