This is a powerful and transformative read that draws on ancient Toltec wisdom to provide practical steps for personal growth and freedom.

I almost feel bad giving this such a low review only because people that I love and respect really liked it. But I just hated it. And it's not that I completely disagreed with everything in it. I just thought it discounted major things, like HOW to put things into practice. Also, the fact that no man is an island. We live in relationship with other humans. Every negative thing that someone says about you is not all on the other person. Some of that stuff is about you. Also, the idea of never taking anything personally, whether good or bad, is just not possible. If someone you love tells you you're stupid and ugly it's going to hurt, no matter what you believe to be true about yourself. Granted, it's better to say only nice things and to always do your best, but is that new? This book didn't teach me those things. I could go on and on. In fact, maybe I will. I'll write my own book where I repeat over and over again that you should be nice to people and forgive and work hard. And then I'll make a bajillion dollars because apparently people think these thoughts are revolutionary. And then I'll buy a new car, which will give me the inner peace I'm looking for.

تکرار مکرررررات

غیبت نکنید تا دنیایتان زیبا شود...بیشترین تلاشتان را بکنید تا موفق بشوید...حالا پشت سرهم همه‌شو تکرار کن...مغزم رفت!!!!...بذار من یه نصیحت بهت بکنم آقای دون ميگوئل روئيز...نصیحتاتو رو بچپان آنجایت...مغز من کاروانسرا نیست!!!...ای دزد بی همه چیز...22 هزار تومن منو پس بده

كتاب رائع و خرافي
يحول مبادئك في الحياة و يعلمك اسلوب حياة جديد يعتمد على الحرية الشخصية و مبني على ٤ مبادئ

انصح فيه بشدة

مع الاخذ بالحذر انه هناك اعتراضات على كلام المؤلف بخصوص العلاقة بين الانسان و الرب

I have mixed feelings about this book. I thought there were some good messages spread throughout it but I had such a hard time getting past the author's writing style.

To me, it seemed like a lot of short sentences using similar words. For example, it starts, "What you are seeing and hearing right now is nothing but a dream. You are dreaming right now in this moment. You are dreaming with the brain awake. Dreaming is the main function of the mind, and the mind dreams 24-hours a day. It dreams when the brain is awake, and it also dreams when the brain is asleep." I would have liked it better if it said something more like, "Your mind dreams 24-hours a day whether you are awake or asleep."

Some of the thoughts I did like were:

"We create an image of how we should be in order to be accepted by everybody . . . but this image is not real."

"The way we judge ourselves is the worst judge that ever existed."

" . . . nobody has ever abused you more than you have abused yourself."

"Taking things personally is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about 'me'".

"You will know you have forgiven someone when you see them and no longer have an emotional reaction."

Şimdiye dek okuduğum en kötü kişisel gelişim kitabıydı. Buram buram satış politikası kokan, uygulaması hiç de kolay olmayan şeyleri basite eksik bir şekilde indirgeyerek milyonlarca satan bir kitap. Bunlar şöyle: Sözcüklerini özenle seç, kişisel algılama, varsayımda bulunma, daima yapabildiğinin en iyisini yap.
Baktığınız zaman başlıkların hepsi değerli duruyor ama açıklamaları o kadar yüzeysel ki... Beni rahatsız eden bu yüzeysellik oldu, adeta aforizmalardan oluşuyor. Herhangi bir arkadaşınız da size bu önerileri verebilir, nasıl yapılacağı açıklanmıyorsa hiçbir önemi olmaz. Bu kitapta geçenleri yapabilmek için inanılmaz sağlam bir irade lazım, irade için de konsantrasyon ve anda kalma yeteneği. İradeniz yoksa anca okur, gaza gelir ve arada hatırlamak üzere unutursunuz. Beşinci anlaşma çıkmış bi' de, altı yedi diye gidiyor mu bilmiyorum ama bu kitap gerçekleri yansıtmıyor, size duymak istediklerinizi söylüyor sadece o kadar. İnanılmaz bireyselci bir kitap ayrıca ki insanın kendini geliştirmesine engel bir durum bu. Okudukça aklıma Eckhart Tolle, Ernest Wood geldi, Şimdi'nin Gücü, Zihinsel Konsantrasyon (Yoga ve Meditasyon diye geçen kitap da aynısı) gibi kitapları okuyun. Anda kalın, iradenizi güçlendirin, gerisi bir şekilde gelecektir. Ezoterik öğretileri çok basit bir şeymiş gibi yalan yanlış yansıtanlara prim vermeyin.
Kısacası New Age akımının dibi, tek tanrılı dinleri kötülüyor falan, spritüelim diyen kitle arasında popüler olmasına şaşırmamak gerek. Takip edilecek çok daha güzel öğretiler varken oradan burdan alınarak birleştirilmiş bu kitaptan uzak durun.

OK. So. I liked several parts of this book very much. I love that happiness is a choice. I especially appreciated reading about the third agreement: Don't Make Assumptions because communication is something I can always work on. I loved the parts about accepting and loving yourself and others. There is some amazing advise in this little book and I can see how it can be life changing for many people.

But.

I'm going to be honest and admit that Ruiz almost lost me at "Everything is God" in the introduction. Even though it sounds very pretty when said by a dude made of stars and fog, "Everything is God" is a meaningless statement. That's just something people say to blow everyone's mind and make themselves appear deeper than they actually are. Believe what you like about God, but saying everything is God is just the same as saying nothing is God, in which case you ought to go ahead and say what you mean and be a respectable atheist.

He almost lost me again at the John Lennon quote, just before the beginning of Chapter One. Little known fact: John Lennon quotes are a pet peeve of mine. Who knew- right? And then again when he kept using the word "dreamy-dream-dreamer" to make everything sound super emotive and enlightened. Not that there's anything really wrong with that- just not my thing.

And I admit I was annoyed by his over-simplifications, his vagueness about the evils of "the dream of the planet" (societal expectations) and again by his many generalizations- especially about how NO ONE is free to be herself because we're ALL "domesticated" (brainwashed) by society and our parents and teachers and church leaders, ALL blind, ALL narcissists. Which, you know, isn't entirely true.

I'm certainly not a conformist, but I believe there needs to be a balance- some things you should conform to. Like not stealing. Or speeding through residential neighborhoods. Whether I'm personally feeling it or not, many societal expectations aren't relative. They're necessary. On the other hand, if by "the dream of the planet" he means cultural customs like judging people for their hairstyle or the music they like then I agree that "the dream of the planet" is bad news. See, it would be helpful if he were slightly less mysterious in his approach.

Once I managed to sort through the new-age incense and magic (Not my flavor), I actually agreed with the four agreements. Imagine that. It turns out I've heard them before from Mother Teresa, C.S. Lewis, Dr. Seuss, Steven Covey, Jesus Christ, and many others. Life is infinitely better when you're honest and courageous enough to accept yourself, communicative in your relationships, positive, open and loving, forgiving of yourself and others, and continually trying to do your best. That is how we become a happy person. That is what most religions teach. That's what most schools encourage. That's what science shows. Its no secret- its just surprisingly difficult to remember and put into practice. Props to Ruiz for reminding me of this and for writing a book to help others. While his writing style made me vomit a little in my mouth, still he meant well and has assuredly encouraged many on the path to happiness.

I would add, it is my personal belief that our reason for being- our purpose on earth is to learn to be happy. And truly happy people are always good people. Not perfect, but good. And I would add further that it stands to reason that the better a person is, the happier she becomes. Which is where religion takes the four agreements a step further, claiming that we are eternal beings and if so then we are day by day over an eternity either becoming more like God, or less like God. We are either progressing towards perfect happiness or perfect misery. Christianity also adds that we don't need to do this on our own, which idea rings true and logical and brings me comfort.

Wow. Ruiz inspired me to write my own book.

It's such a blessing when you find an opportunity, an unrecognized passion, a kindred spirit, and a good book at the exact moment you are ready to embrace it. The moment when you know you need it the most. The moment a particular song, a piece of writing, an incident, a conversation will resonate with you creating vibrations that will affect the rest of your life. When you're not searching for it but stumble upon it by accident. A very fortunate accident.

I don't believe in destiny or any such bullshit. Even though I'm an eternal optimist and a hopeless romantic, I have a cynical side. If bad things happen to you and you just shrug it off, saying, "everything happens for a reason," I need to question- What's the reason I'm suffering so much when I did nothing wrong? Why do bad things happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? Don't we all question these things?

Perhaps I'm not mature enough to handle situations that are out of my control. But I'm learning more each passing day. And at the exact moment of my existential crisis, I happened to find a book that spoke to me like it was meant for me, waiting to find me at the right time. It will color my decisions and shape my thoughts for years to come.

Let me introduce you to a book that soothed me immensely when I was hurting a lot. It has acted as a balm alleviating my bruised heart and uplifting my vanquished spirit. When everyone in the world disappoints you, just be sure that you will find comfort in the pages where words weave magical tapestry; when hung on the walls of your heart, it will clear your vision and invigorate you to make the best of what you have.

Because you deserve the world, and to get it, you must make efforts to change yourself from within and let go of the fallible notions the world has instilled into you. You must change the very foundation of the belief system to change your reality. All you need to do is break the agreements you have made to yourself and make new agreements. I hope this write-up is enough to convince you to read this excellent book!

This quick read was interesting in that I gained a new perspective on how others view the world. The book itself is quite simply written and very repetitive, and although brief, could have been about 1/8 the length to get the main points across. There are definitely some good takeaways that we should all apply to our lives. I always struggle with individualistic worldviews, even if the goal is to love others, so that might have been difficult for me to get past. Additionally, the book was sprinkled with pot shots at various mainstream religions, but when they lack any substance, that also leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I'm glad I read it for insight into others' views, but didn't glean much additional deep insight into the world and was not impressed with the writing.

تقدیم به حلقه‌ی آتش؛ آنان که این راه را رفته‌اند، آنان که در راهند، و آنان که خواهند آمد تا قدم در راه بگذارند. کتاب این‌جوری شروع می‌شود. خیلی نرم و آرام می‌خزد زیر پوست‌تان و کلماتش بر تاروپودتان می‌نشیند. کتاب به‌تان می‌گوید که برای تمام زندگی چهار میثاق کافی است تا آن‌چیزی شوید که دوست دارید بشوید، یعنی نه یک آدم خیلی متفاوت، نه! فقط همین که خ��دتان باشید و خودتان بمانید. اصلاً هم راه و رسم پولدار شدن و مدیر خوب شدن و خیلی موفق شدن را به‌تان یاد نمی‌دهد، نمی‌گوید جمله‌ای جادویی را تکرار کنید فقط خیلی ساده شما را به چیزی برمی‌گرداند که هستید. خودِ واقعی‌تان.
کتاب به یادمان می‌آورد که چه‌قدر در حصار قراردادهای بیهوده اسیر شده‌ایم و خیلی از این قراردادها نادرستند و طوری دست و پای‌مان را می‌بندند که تبدیل به آدمی شویم که خوشایند و مطلوب دیگران است.

کتاب سادگی خاصی دارد که لابد به خلق‌وخو و آداب و رسوم تولتک‌ها مربوط است و همین باعث می‌شود کتاب را دوست داشته باشم. برخلاف کتاب‌هایی که می‌خواهند احساس خوشبختی و موفقیت را به خواننده تلقین کنند این کتاب می‌خواهد که داشته‌های درونی‌مان را به یادمان بیاورد.

I know this little book is the type of cliché self-help item that makes its way to the impulse-purchase-friendly shelves by the registers at Barns and Nobel around Christmas time and subsequently gathers dust on bookshelves across the nation unread by recipients because they are not the "type of person who reads self-help books."

But please don't judge this book by it's section.

The writing is a bit choppy and the use of repetition can be annoying initially, but the message is completely worth it. Although many of us have probably heard this type of logic before (you get what you give, negative thoughts only lead to negative things, etc) it is extremely easy to loose sight of that in the daily drama of our lives. I am still noticing the effect this book had on my life when I find myself gossiping less and holding my tongue when I want to be negative and judgmental. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for some perspective and hope.

This is my third time returning to this book, and each time I absorb it more in-depth and find further wisdom within the words. I love that it's a quick read, so it's easily doable in a day or on a long car ride home. It sounds simple to believe we can live our lives based on four main agreements to overcome things like frustration, anger, sadness, envy, or any other difficult emotion. That assumption would be correct in the sense that it isn't just about implementing the four agreements broken down within the book. It's also about breaking the agreements we've accepted from an early age, which takes years of repeated trial and error and overriding the impulse to please others.
This book is a definite read for anyone looking for a straight to the point pathway to transformation and inner freedom. Taking action on the four agreements within the book is a lifelong process. Still, even within the few moments of learning about the Toltec way, you'll be able to start mentally releasing any unnecessary burdens or suffering and begin walking a lighter path.
This one will always be a favourite I'll come back to throughout the years.