Long ago, when I started my first job in finance, the founder of the company had just written a book, sharing with the world his philosophies on career, life and giving back. Within a certain level of accomplishment, these biographies are ubiquitous, and may even seem obligatory, lacking in sincerity, or written by a hired gun to elevate the named author into the pantheons. But to that new employee, new to New York City, new to finance, her boss’s biography was consumed with unabated interest.
We all want to know the secrets to a successful career, and my former boss, a self-made billionaire, later became the mayor of New York, transforming for better what was already one of the country’s most beloved and visited cities. Now, once again, I have the good fortune of knowing another high-profile success story whose rightful owner has decided to share his philosophies on life and the art of living in his new book, Ageless: A Yogi’s Secrets To A Long And Healthy Life.
The core difference between the two book authors is that in India, from where Sharath Jois, author of Ageless, hails, philosophies are not merely claimed as one’s own. They are credited to a time-tested culture that has evolved over thousands of years and that contain the learned pillars for human contentment.
However, philosophies are nothing if not put into practice and this is the key to discovering and learning from any person’s story. What has been their unique experience that has led them to where they are now and why we would trust them or spend our precious time reading what they have to say?
I’ve had the good fortune of knowing and studying with Sharath Jois for 15 years and my biggest take-away is that he has lived a unique life. I know no one who has his extraordinary family experience, his formative years surrounded by doting and admiring foreigners, young seekers who explored the other side of the world for answers, and becoming a person unscathed by the ego’s temptations. Last week, this former Wall Street rube, the young woman who yearned for knowledge, once again became consumed with interest in yet another boss’s book, Ageless.
Sharath Jois, or Sharathji, as Indians comfortably say to show respect, is not my boss—although some students outside of practice like using that moniker for him in an endearing way—but I found he shares at least one quality that my other New York City boss has: Taking their inherent gifts and doing something more, something that is not founded in accomplishment strictly, but in giving, offering, and transforming something we now know into something better.
Related: Be sure to bring your copy of Ageless to Sharath Jois’ 2019 U.S. Tour (check out the dates and locations here) to have it signed by the author in person!
Attuned to their surroundings, these stories come from the heart of humanity. They are not strategized but rather flow from a natural source of conscious material. In fact, what is consciousness itself if not the clarity to see the truth without the ego’s cluttering? Sharathji’s book will undoubtedly inspire many to make those slight adjustments needed on the yogic path, so that we may all gravitate to the selfless, conscious, pure in nature beings that we all are.
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