Who Will Cry When You Die? Summary

1-Sentence-Summary: Who Will Cry When You Die? helps you leave a lasting legacy of greatness after you’re gone by giving specific tips on how to become the best version of yourself and the kind that makes others grateful for all of your contributions to their lives and the world.

Read in: 4 minutes

Favorite quote from the author:

Life keeps moving at a faster pace every day. We’re always connected through our devices. There are new ideas and emails and all sorts of things for us to follow and learn from. 

Somewhere in the mix of all this, however, we’ve began to struggle with finding meaning in life. It’s great to improve ourselves, but we have to remember that we’re not doing this just for our own benefit. 

The impact we can have on the world is only as good as how much we influence the lives of others for the better.

That’s just what Robin Sharma, author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari teaches us about in his book Who Will Cry When You Die? If you’re looking to reconnect with your purpose and make a difference for the better in the world, this is the book for you.

Here are just 3 of the many great life lessons I’ve learned from this book:

1. Being honest and knowing how to put failure into perspective will help you be happier.
2. Imitating children and taking care of your body are two great ways to rediscover the joy in life.
3. Stop complaining by adopting a more proactive mindset and looking more at what you can contribute than what’s wrong.

Worry no more about what people will think of you after you’re gone because we’re about to find out how to have a meaningful life! Let’s go!

Who Will Cry When You Die? Summary

Lesson 1: You’ll be happier if you’re honest with yourself and others and learn how to maintain the right perspective about failure.

Don’t you hate it when someone promises to do something and they never follow-through? It’s disappointing and discouraging, and it undermines the trust you have in them. 

Well, when you fail to stick to your word, this is how others feel about you. Living happily gets difficult when that’s what you’re known for — which is why it’s so important to be honest with others. 

Start by writing down the times that you lie throughout the day. Not only that but record when you make promises to help yourself keep them. 

Also, try committing to being 100% honest for an entire week. You’ll be surprised how hard it is to follow even the promises to yourself that nobody knows about. But you will quickly discover the power it has to make you happier as well.

It’s equally important to recognize that you’re going to experience failure and difficulties in life. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy. Just look at all of the people whose illnesses have made them better people, for example.

Recognizing the hidden benefits of hardships is the first step to getting through them well. It’s also helpful to recognize when you’re apprehensive to do something because you’re afraid of failing. You never know what you can do until you try!

Lesson 2: It’s easy to rediscover the joy in life if you imitate children and take care of your body.

I look at my kids and wonder how they manage to find so much joy in just about everything. At some point while growing up, each of us lost this wonder for life we once had as children. 

Just think about how a child will pick out the center of a piece of bread and throw away the crusty parts they hate. We might find this annoying, but we can learn a lot from their total focus only on what makes them the happiest. 

As adults, we waste so much of our energy hating things we have to do. Cleaning the house, paying off credit cards, doing taxes — there’s an endless supply of drudgery if we look for it.

To beat this defeatist thinking, remember what brings you joy, or even try doing again what you liked as a child.

Another disappointing affect of aging is that we tend to stop being so active. We begin to let our bodies waste away in front of the TV. One of the easiest ways to get happiness back into your life, and make you more likeable, is to get moving again.

Exercise even makes you live longer. Research on 18,000 Harvard graduates confirms this. On average, a grad added three hours to their life for each hour of exercise they completed. Just find what you like to do and get moving and you’ll be well on your way to a better and longer life!

Lesson 3: People will like you better if you focus more on what you can contribute than on what’s wrong in the world.

Have you ever noticed how draining it is to be around someone who complains a lot? It’s hard not to get frustrated with things that bother us, but it’s an awful waste of our time and energy.

To get out of your negative mindset, just try to be a little more proactive. If you’re always complaining that you don’t have time, for instance, get up an hour earlier. 

Or maybe you’re constantly griping about the economy or climate change. Stop worrying about what’s wrong and look to what you can do to make things better for yourself and the world around you. 

You’ll also find yourself living with more purpose and happiness if you choose your career wisely by focusing on the positive difference you can make in others’ lives. 

Making sure that you’ll have an impact for good is a simple way to guarantee fulfillment.

Even if you’re already in your career, it’s not too late. Take some online classes, learn some new skills, and prepare yourself in other ways to make a better difference on the world in your career.

Who Will Cry When You Die? Review

I really enjoyed Who Will Cry When You Die? for a lot of different reasons. The advice it gives makes me feel good and motivated to become a better person and have a better life. It’s a great reminder of how to take the insignificant worries out of living and truly have a life that you love and that others do too!

Who would I recommend the Who Will Cry When You Die? summary to?

The 56-year-old CEO who is too often grumpy and isn’t sure whether their employees like them, the 27-year-old that would like to establish healthy habits for life, and anyone that wants to become more likable and have more meaning in their life.

Last Updated on December 5, 2022