The other night I was watching the mentalist Oz Perlman on AGT. You can check it out on YouTube, but I’m going to be the spoiler. He asked everyone in the audience to close their eyes and think of a celebrity they would like to meet. Then he asked two AGT judges (the third one was backstage) to toss a couple of beachballs over their shoulders. The two people who caught the balls were given a white board and marker. When he snapped his fingers, he wanted the first person to write the name of the celeb she’d thought. The other person and the judge backstage were to write down the first thing that came to their mind. He was going to connect their minds.
Now, you may or may not believe in this kind of stuff. But there are millions of celebrities the audience members could have picked. Those beach balls could have been caught by anyone. So, when Heidi (backstage) flipped her board and it read Jay Shetty, and then the audience member flipped her board and it said Jay Shetty, I was impressed. The third person flipped their board. F7. Hmmmm. What? Well, F was the row and 7 the seat. You guessed it. Jay Shetty was sitting there! No way. I’ve watched the video a few times now and I just don’t get it.
What makes it weirder for me is that I really like Jay Shetty. For awhile now I’ve been thinking of writing a blog about him and his book, Think Like a Monk. I just never got around to it. So, seeing him on AGT last night was just, I don’t know. Creepy. Serendipitous. Coincidental? Whatever it was, it prompted me to sit down today and start this blog.
In case you’ve never heard of Jay Shetty, let me briefly introduce him. About 40 years ago, Jay Shetty was born to Indian parents and raised in London. When he was a child he had the chance to hear a monk speak and that event resonated with him. Years later, after completing a degree in Management Science, he traded his suits for robes and embarked on a three-year journey as a Hindu monk in India and the UK. During this time of self-discovery, he became determined to help others find their true purpose.
Since then, he has become a bestselling author and has a following of more than 65 million across social media platforms and 700 million monthly views. He has many received many awards and accolades, his podcast On Purpose has reached countless around the world, and he has had conversations with some of our time’s most influential and well-known people.
I first heard of Jay Shetty while I was listening to Calm when walking my dog. I was impressed—and excited—right from the start. I remember thinking, “Wow, this is someone who gets it.” He speaks to the normal person in understandable terms. None of the wishy-washy new age stuff that many others project. Jay is down to earth. Likeable. Humble. I guess that comes from living as a monk. Now I try to listen to The Daily Jay on Calm on a regular basis. Doesn’t always happen, but I’m never sorry when I do tune in.
Think Like a Monk is the first book authored by Jay Shetty. It was published in 2020 and became a Number 1 Bestseller. So did his next book, 8 Rules of Love: How to find it, keep it and let it go.
In Think Like a Monk, readers will learn how to develop mental discipline, focus and self-fulfillment. It’s a guide for everyone, whether you are trying to re-connect with your purpose, overcome anxiety, insecurity and negative thoughts, or just wanting an interesting read.
I love the idea of a personal audit. Shetty encourages you to track for one week how much time you give to family, friends, health and self. After you’ve done that, and been very honest with yourself while tracking, you can look at how your values reflect your actions. And realistically if your values are totally out-of-sync with your actions, you won’t be a happy camper. It takes awhile to figure that out, right? So, what do you do with that information? Re-align your actions. Put your values first. Live your life according to your values.
Living life according to your values is easier said than done. But it is not impossible and in fact, that is something we all should be doing, especially in this third chapter of our lives. Retirement is the opportunity to let go of the actions that don’t feed your soul and match your values. Or maybe you have some values that aren’t yours but belong to the past.
Throughout the book, Shetty provides encouragement, wisdom and things to try. There are so many “aha” moments in this book it’s almost exhausting to read it!
Take some time. Read the book. Do the work.
