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

67.
Be Unorthodox
Rousseau wrote, “Take the course opposite to custom, you will almost always do
well.” The brilliant ads for Apple computers inspire us to “Think Different.” Or
as I tell audiences at my leadership speeches, “If you follow the crowd, the place
you will most likely end up at is the exit.” To live a richer, more rewarding life,
it is essential that you run your own race. Stop bending to the demands of social
pressure at the expense of your uniqueness. When you study the lives of the
world’s most enlightened and effective people, you will see that they did not
care about what other people thought of them. Rather than letting public opinion
dictate their actions, they had the courage to let their hearts drive them. And in
taking the road less traveled, they found success beyond their wildest dreams.
One of the best quotations about the importance of being unorthodox comes
from Christopher Morley, who said, “Read every day something no one else is
reading. Think every day something no one else is thinking. It is bad for the
mind to be always part of unanimity.” And perhaps the very best one comes
from Emerson: “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy
in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the
crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”
Over the next month, rethink the way you do things. Don’t just do things
because everyone else does them. Do the things that are right for you. Being
different for all the right reasons is a wise way to live. Just ask Einstein, Picasso,
Galileo or Beethoven.

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68.
Carry a Goal Card
Time and time again, I have witnessed high-functioning, top-performing men
and women carrying a little goal card in their wallets that they can review during
the quieter moments of their day. The card simply lists their top life goals along
with clear deadlines for achieving them. The discipline of reconnecting to your
highest priorities, whether they are personal, professional or spiritual, is a smart
one.
Montaigne said, “The great and glorious masterpiece of men is to live to the
point.” The wisdom of life so succinctly expressed. And yet most of us live our
lives like one long air raid drill, filling our days with activities that seem
important in the moment but that count for little in the overall scheme of our
lives. As I wrote in Leadership Wisdom from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari,
the person who tries to do everything ultimately accomplishes nothing. Having a
goal card and coming back to it three or four times a day will keep your mind
centered on the things that truly count. It will foster the self-control you need to
concentrate only on activities that advance your goals, give you the discipline to
say no to all the rest and, in so doing, restore focus to your days. I promise you
that if you spend your life focusing on only the worthiest pursuits, it is certain to
end in complete joy.

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