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

40.
Cure Your Monkey Mind
To get the best from life, you must be completely present and mindful in every
minute of every hour of every day. As Albert Camus wrote, “Real generosity
towards the future consists in giving all to what is present.” Yet, on most days,
our minds are in ten different places at any one time. Rather than enjoying the
walk to work, we wonder what the boss will say to us when we get to the office
or what we will have for lunch or how our children will do at school today. Our
minds are like scampering puppies or, as they say in the East, like unchained
monkeys, rushing from place to place without any pause for peace.
By developing present moment awareness and an abundance of mental
focus, you will not only feel much calmer in your life, you will also unlock the
fullness of your mind’s potential. When too many distractions compete for your
attention, the power of your mind is dissipated in all those different directions
rather than concentrated on one point like the rays of a laser beam. The good
news is that you can practice becoming more attentive to the present and develop
this skill within a relatively short period of time.
One of the best ways to cure your monkey mind is through a technique I
call “Focused Reading.” Every time your mind wanders from the page into a
daydream or a worry, make a checkmark in the righthand margin of the page.
This simple act will increase your awareness of how poorly you concentrate and,
since awareness is the first step to change, help you to build the skills you need
for a clearer, quieter mind.

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41.
Get Good at Asking
“He who asks may be a fool for five minutes. He who doesn’t is a fool for a
lifetime,” goes the wise Chinese proverb. It makes me think of an ad I read in the
classifieds recently that said, “To the beautiful woman in the brown suede coat at
the drugstore at [street location provided] on Saturday, November 28 @ 4 p.m.
You bumped into me in front of the magazine section. I would love to meet and
chat.” The man who placed this ad then left his phone number. Destiny had
given him an opportunity—possibly to meet the woman of his dreams—and he
had squandered it. And now, after regretting the fact that he “did not ask,” he has
had to resort to placing an ad in the newspaper in the desperate hope of finding
this woman.
The more you ask, the more you get, but it takes practice to get good at it.
Success is a numbers game. As the Buddhist sages observed, “Every arrow that
hits the bull’s eye is the result of one hundred misses.” Over the coming weeks,
flex your “asking muscles” by asking for a better table at your favorite
restaurant, for a free second scoop at your local ice cream shop or for a
complimentary upgrade on your next airline flight. You might be surprised at the
abundance that will flow into your life when you just ask sincerely for the things
you want. Remember, the person who asks for what he wants at least has a
chance of getting what he wants. The person who does not ask has no chance.
One of the best books I have read on the power of asking is The Aladdin Factor,
written by my friend and speaking colleague Mark Victor Hansen along with
self-esteem expert Jack Canfield. Full of practical ideas and simple techniques,
the book also contains a wealth of inspiring quotes like this one from Somerset
Maugham: “It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the
best, you very often get it.”

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