Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32564 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Jack Valentine is having a very bad day. He's chronically unhappy, unfulfilled and broke; his girlfriend has left him; and he's just been hit by a truck. Still, when he wakes up in a hospital covered in bruises, he's certain it's all happening for a reason. As Jack recovers, his dying hospital roommate, who happens to be Jack's long-lost father, imparts some final advice: the only three questions that matter are whether one has lived wisely, loved well and served greatly. He sends Jack on a journey around the world to meet three teachers (the saint, surfer and CEO), who guide him through a spiritual transformation and help him answer the three questions. Sharma, a motivational speaker and "life coach," has attempted a spiritual allegory … la Paulo Coelho's classic, The Alchemist. Unfortunately, Sharma's book lacks any narrative drive, the characters are thinly rendered and the dialogue is almost comically wooden ("You're getting to be a pretty good surfer there Jack." "It's become a passion of mine Moe"). Readers seeking Sharma's brand of advice (e.g., "see your life as a fantastic growth school" and "be true to yourself") will lose nothing simply turning to the last page, where the book's lessons are laid out in 10 succinct bullet points.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Robin Sharma is one of the world’s premier thinkers on leadership, personal growth and life management. The bestselling author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, ISBN: 0062515675, sold 40,000 in US; Who Will Cry When You Die?, ISBN: 1-4019-0012-7; and The Saint, the Surfer, and the CEO hardcover, ISBN: 1-4019-0016-X. and four other books on self-transformation. Robin Sharma is in constant demand internationally as keynote speaker at the conferences of many of the most powerful companies on the planet including Microsoft, Nortel Networks, General Motors, FedEx and IBM. He is a resident of Ontario, Canada. For more of Robin’s knowledge, visit robinsharma.com, one of the Web’s most popular resources for success in business and in life.

Customer Reviews

Good read
The story is heart-warming and a lot of the philosphies are very practical and helpful. I felt the book was a little preachy at times and looked at everything from a high perspective. I think that is what you get with a book like this- a broad, broad range of advice. You can not incorporate everything you learn but if you can take a few points, it is very beneficial. I like a lot of the quotes that were used. Very thought-provoking. All in all, good advice, the story itself is a little unbelievable but a fun ride.

Worst Book I've Ever Read
There is nothing worse than buying a book only to have your time wasted, which is how I felt after having forced myself to finish this book. I should have known better. The only good chapter is chapter one, which mislead me to believe the rest of the book would also be good. The characters are poorly developed and I had to wonder if the author had ever taken a writing class. The main character, who is on a journey to discover the meaning of his life and his heart's desires, never really quite gets there. He spends time with a saint, surfer and CEO, hence the title of the book. But throughout the book we never really see or feel the main character's development. We are just lead to believe in the final chapter that the main character was somehow suddenly transformed. The main character's dialog is lame with quite a few meaningless one-liners, such as, "that's unbelievable," and "how insightful." I would have enjoyed feeling the main character's development and how he applied the wisdom that was shared with him. While I think you can find some inspirational quotes and messaging in the book, the story line itself was disappointing. Admittedly, I bought the book for the clever title while on a vacation retreat of my own. However, this is a good example of the fact that you can't judge a book by its cover. Not only do I not recommend this book, but I would never buy another book written by this author.

A lesson for me?
I enjoyed this book. It is a compilation of helpful and inspirational thoughts and ideas from all the other books and tapes currently marketed. Kind of a "cliffs notes" of self-discovery.

The author sets the fictional story in a hospital where an accident victim is recovering. He is met by his father, who he has not seen in decades, and his father gives him some advice and a letter before the father passes away. The letter contains details on three life coaches the son must go meet so he can learn and uncover his true self.

The first coach is a priest in Rome. The priest teaches him how to live wisely, using a metaphor of a stained glass window. You see life colored by your perceptions, like looking through a stained glass window you see things colored by the glass. Change your perceptions and life changes.

The second coach is the surfer, who teaches him how to love well. He teaches him to stop living in his head and start living in his heart. Live in the moment and enjoy what is happening right now. Everything you do comes from a place of love or a place of fear. Where are your thoughts coming from right now.

The third coach is a CEO of a brokerage firm. She teaches him how to serve greatly. Telling him you can get anything you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want, and you must conduct yourself with the utmost integrity.

The majority of this book I have read or heard in other places. Its not new material, but it is presented in a new way. One part of the book talks about how every meeting with another person is your chance to learn something new. If you keep meeting up with people who are filled with problems or complaints, its because they are being sent to you so you can learn a lesson that you need right now. They will continue to be sent to you, UNTIL you learn these lessons.

I guess that makes sense. Maybe this book came my way because it contains a lesson I still need to learn?