Robin Sharma delivers a reflective mastery-session talk about discovering the true purpose of life. In this excerpt he frames the theme through personal biography: humble immigrant-family origins, entrepreneurial beginnings (self-publishing The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari), and durable parental influences. A central anecdote recounts a Tagore poem his father translated, which Sharma’s father used to warn against a "life half lived" — postponing meaningful work and passion by "being busy." The clip sets up a moral: actively choose purpose and avoid deferred living.
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This mastery session is all about a question I get asked from time to time. And it's Robin, what is the true purpose of my life? And I feel like saying, I don't know. The great thing about being a human being is you get to answer that question for yourself. But I want to take you back to my childhood. You know, I may have shared with you on a previous mastery session. I come from very humble beginnings. I didn't have a silver spoon in my mouth. My parents came to the nation where I live from as immigrants. Even the business I started and the books I've written and the things that I've done in my career. I started the Monk who Sold His Ferrari as a self published book. No one gave me much of a chance. But one of the things I've had in my life is a great blessing. Wonderful parents, parents who supported me, parents who believed in me, parents who encouraged me. And my mom is awesome, you know, thank God she is still with us. And my father at 77 is still with us, thank God, still gets up every morning, goes to his medical practice at 77. And I say, why aren't you retiring? And he says, because my patients still need me. And I must say to you or share with you with great respect, I'm my father's son and I hope I never retire. The point I want to share with you is when I was growing up, my dad took out this poem and he translated it from Sanskrit into English. And it was a poem from the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. And allow me to share it with you. It simply said, spring has passed, summer has gone and winter is here. And the song I meant to sing remains unsung. For I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument.
And my brother and I used to look at it every morning before we'd go off to school. But I never really understood it. And so when I got a little older, I said, dad, you know that poem you had on our refrigerator door?
What was it all about? And my dad looked at me, he said, robin, that was a poem written by a man whose heart was filled with regret over a life half lived. He said, robin, that was a poem written by a man who postponed his life. He always wanted to do something special. He always wanted to do important work. He always wanted to be loving in the world. He always wanted to be creative. He always wanted to see the world. But he got busy being busy.
Are you being busy being busy? Have you lost that connection to the life you wanted to live when you were a little kid. Are you so busy stringing your instrument that the song that your life was meant to sing has died or is dormant within you? My challenge to you is simply this, to do whatever it takes before you sleep tonight to reconnect with the best within you that you may have lost. Because one of the things I've noticed is this. There are too many amongst us walking the planet today who are sort of in a waking sleep. They have lost a sense of who they truly are. And your life will never work if there's a huge space between who you truly are and the person you know you're meant to be. Your life will never be flooded with energy, creativity, productivity and happiness if there is a large space between your life right now and your unlived life. And my request and encouragement and challenge to you is truly that you make things happen so that the person you are starting tomorrow is more of who you know you truly are. It makes me think of George Bernard Shaw. He was asked on his deathbed, what would you do if you could live your life over again? And he replied after a long pause, I wish I could become the person I know I was meant to be. And I suggest to you it's never too late for you to become the person you've always wanted to be. But don't postpone it for next year. Don't postpone it for next month. Start being that person, that human being, that creative force, that business builder, that mother or father, that athlete, that humanitarian, that force of good that you have always wanted to be. Beginning right now. Hi, it's Robin. I invite you to subscribe to this podcast and definitely go over to robincharma.com for more information, tools and resources on mastery, elite performance and living a world class.
