Living with the Monks: What Turning Off My Phone Taught Me about Happiness, Gratitude, and Focus

I loved the author's first book (Living with a Seal) so I was real excited for this one. But I have to admit, I feared it might be a letdown and just more of the same. I didn't have to worry -- it was just as good, if not better than the first! And it's different - I think "Seal" has more laugh out loud moments, while "Monks" is consistently enjoyable and thought-provoking throughout.Both books draw you in and make you feel like you're experiencing a life challenge together with the author. As Jesse leaves his fast-paced life to spend time living with monks, you find yourself rooting for him to make it through and also stopping to think how his experiences apply to your own life. I particularly loved the 10 real world benefits at the end - you can only fully appreciate them if you read the book, but they are set off in a separate ending chapter to make it easy to refer back to them in the coming months. Overall, I highly recommend this book!

Totally disappointing. I finished it in less than two hours—not because it was a fascinating read, but because there was little substance among the double-spaced pages. I wasn’t interested in his many stories about him and his buddies throughout. The “spiritual” and supposedly thoughtful takeaways, to me, were trite and nothing you haven’t read or heard before. This should have been a long magazine article not a book.

I read the author’s first book and thought he was insane! I still think he is insane, but now I think he is balanced. Warning! Don’t start this book late at night...you will not be able to put it down. It stinks when you finish only to find out that the birds are chirping and the sun is starting to rise. Work? Oh no! Now I have to double up on vitamins and avoid hitting a wall at 2:00 PM....Jessie is entertaining and his words are sincere. His wife must be a Saint!

Jesse Itzler is a true force of nature who lives his life by his gut -100%. If you haven't read Living With A Seal I suggest you buy both of these books right now. While they are very different books - they are both thought provoking, hilarious, quick reads. The best part is that in between the laughs and the Jesse-isms, there are some true life lessons, All of our limits are self-imposed. We are so comfortable in the daily humdrum we forget to live. Jesse's journey helps outline the importance of living MOMENTS not minutes. Jesse's books are a reminder to be present and remember - we didn't come this far to only come this far. Turn off your phone and READ THIS BOOK - you will not regret it! Shhhhhhh!!!

Not in the same league as Living with a SEAL. The author obviously struggled to come up with enough material to fill the book. I'm sure he will sell a lot of books to people (like me) who loved the first one, but without that first success, this one likely wouldn't do very well. That said, there is some wisdom there, though it's nothing you couldn't get from one of the hundreds of books on mindfulness. And those other books would be more instructive and helpful.

This is an easy read with some good takeaway lessons. ‘Remember tomorrow’ is my new mantra meaning you should consider how you will feel tomorrow as you do whatever you are doing today. Don’t quit or put in a lesser effort because tomorrow you will be disappointed in your choice to give less than you could have today. Slowing down, being present in whatever task you are doing, taking pride in your work- including the mundane task of life, smiling and finding joy in the simple things, meditating/praying...there are so many good reminders for those of us that feel too busy all the time (all of us!). It was fun to live through Jessie’s experience at a monastery but his other takeaway point is to go create those adventures or experiences for your life resume for yourself- don’t just read the books and go to the seminars. That is why I signed up for his 29029 challenge with my husband. Let Jesse and this book inspire you to do more with your life and to build your life resume!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK!!!Jesse is a MASTER STORYTELLER!!! The stories are very engaging and funny, there were places in the book where I was on the floor laughing ... this book has so much humor and yet is also LOADED with simple and profound wisdom, at times I couldn’t decide which one was greater!Few of my favorite elements in the book were “Billy, the bully”, “Lenny the intern”, monks asking Jesse to “LISTEN”, “If I die tomorrow” and “Mr Sara Blakey”To deliver invaluable nuggets of wisdom in such a humurous way is so charming!!Jesse’s first book was amazing... but this one is even better!!!

I enjoyed his seal book, so I bought this one. This experience is different, but the experience is forced (too short) and the writing was forced. So I wasn't really enjoying this book.Then the author mentioned the futility of reading about other people's experiences. Well, he sold me. I put the book down and focused on my own experiences. And now I wrote about this one.