THE MONK WHO MOVED MY CHEESE

I have been reading Robin Sharma's 'Who Will Cry When You Die?' lately. Had bought it for a friend's birthday. Since he already had it, i decided to keep it. Apart from 'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran, which i don't exactly thinks falls in this category, this is probably the first self help book i have read. Had heard a lot about them-- how enlightening and life changing they are, how they inspire towards better way of life, how they help you get in touch with the 'real you', etc.

And frankly, this read (or at least the part i HAVE read, for i confess i haven't read the entire thing), is enlightening! it has enlightened me as to exactly how pompous can one sound while still managing to earn brownie points with the public.

The author apparently endeavours to share and deliver wisdom and inspiration and maybe tries to help you attain that 'moment of truth', but honestly, the maximum he succeeds in achieving (with me at least!) is looking like a royal dolt.

Sure, introspection, talking with yourself and listening to your inner self is important. Even i believe in it (no matter how cynical i might be sounding right now, what with writing this post). But WHICH self respecting person would ACTUALLY go about reciting the 'mantra' "I am grateful that i am serene and tranquil person" in order to attain inner peace? or how about "I am grateful that money and opportunity is flowing my way" for material prosperity? And that too at least 200 times a day for 4 weeks?! what if you are able to do only about 190? Does the entire exercise go down the drain?

A new chapter where he states the importance of the first 30 minutes of the day being the most important seems promising. He states that this time of the day is most fruitful and inspiring, since it influences the rest of the day-- and i feel we are getting somewhere. That now he will actually suggest something worthy. But the suggestion to read profound books like 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius and 'Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin' by Thoreau doesn't exactly leave me elated. Or looking forward to getting up next morning. For one, what if the readers who decide to follow him and take up his suggestion are not able to understand the meaning hidden behind these words? Wouldn't it make them feel kind of silly? Most likely their day wouldn't go really well, considering they spent the first 30 minutes in a state of bewilderment and confusion.

In order to preach wisdom, to convince people tp believe in themselves, 'to reach a higher level of self awareness', is it necessary to give them highbrow examples like Thoreau or Herodotus or Euripides? How about picking examples from our own daily lives, or the author's own surrounding? Like the example about him having dinner with his son (and learning something deep from a simple act of scooping the warm soft center and leaving the hard crumbs behind).

Why is it that people believe if you quote Edison or Al Koran or any other apparently famous name you make yourself more believable, even though majority of the readers might not have even heard of their existence. One might say that truth seems more convincing when it comes from those who matter. Granted. But what if these people don't actually matter to most? Are they SUPPOSED to, simply because they are Greek and ancient?

No. Trust me. As a person who belongs to this category, a simple example picked from familiar surroundings (or at least a similar age!), something that i can relate to, makes maximum impact. Even more than the quotations by Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela, erudite though their company might be.

Its not that i am against these books or that they are worthless. Probably they help people discover things they never knew they had. Maybe they make sense to a lot more people than i believe they do. But then you have to be able to understand the basic meaning behind the big words. There's just something about these books that doesn't seem right. Maybe the fact that you have to look so far, step into the surreal-- just to get in touch with YOUR 'real' self?