It’s a bestselling book that has sold millions of copies around the world and stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for years.

The four agreements are as follows:

1. Be Impeccable with Your Word: Speak honestly and kindly. Don’t say hurtful things about yourself or others, and avoid gossip.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally: What others say or do is about them, not you. When you stop taking things personally, you won’t get upset by other people’s opinions.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions: Don’t assume you know what others are thinking. Instead, ask questions and be clear to avoid misunderstandings.

4. Always Do Your Best: Try your best in every situation. Your best might change depending on how you feel, but doing your best helps you feel good about yourself.

Overall, the book can help you feel more peaceful and ready to make positive changes in your life.

Ruiz used to be a surgeon, until he fell asleep at the wheel one night and crashed into a wall. He recalls being outside of his physical body pulling two people from the wreckage. The near-death experience woke Ruiz to the teachings of his people, The Totecs, and thus renewed his original commitment to learn the Four Agreements.

This book spoke to me on a universal level because its principles are in harmony with the methodology of many other transformational techniques, and most importantly, with God himself. Ruiz breaks down the four agreements into simple language with spiritual undertones. He stresses that just doing your best in everything you do will help you keep the other three agreements: 1) Being impeccable with your word, 2) Don't take anything personally, and 3) Don't make assumptions.

Reading this book will touch, move, or inspire you with its possibilities for living a powerful and happy life.

خیلی لذت بردم چون واسم مثل تلنگر بود. به همچنین گوشزدی احتیاج داشتم و همینطور توی بدترین شرایط روحی خوندمش. واسه همین بیشتر منو وابسته خودش کرد.

This booklet left me speechless …. Maybe this is a good thing!

Jau antrą kartą skaičiau šią knygą, nes tiesiog norėjau vėl pasisemti iš jos išminties. Tai nuostabi knyga. Rekomenduoju visiems visiems ją perskaityti nors kartą gyvemine. Suteiks išminties, atskleis svarbias ir kartu paprastas gyvenimo tiesas. Padės kitaip pažvelgti į gyvenimą, sunkumus ir laimę. Paprasta, bet kartu išmintinga ir gilu. Ar norite jos pagalba susikurti rojų žemėje? Sau? Tai būtinai perskaitykite. Net jei viso to neįgyvendinsite savo gyvenime, net jei ji nepadės, manau, vis tiek bus ne veltui praleistas laikas.Tai perlas, kokių ne taip dažnai pasitaiko :)

The Four Agreements was a great read. This book explains how we are wired through our culture and though domestication with punishment and rewards method. It teaches the four agreements we are to take to become a happy fulfilled person.
These four agreements are colorfully illustrated with examples and wonderful descriptions. They are as follows:
Agreement 1. Be impeccable with your word.
Agreement 2. Don't make assumtions.
Agreement 3.
Agreement 4. Always do the best you can.
You will have to read the book to find out what the third agreement is. I recommend this self help book to anyone who is looking to improve their lives.
Be Blessed.
Diamond

Be impeccable with your word. (mean what you say, keep your promises, don't talk shit)
Take nothing personally. (the opinions of others are none of your business)
Make no assumptions. (harder than it looks)
Always do your best. (impossible to know what that is unless you actively push yourself toward greatness.)

The parentheses are my interpretations, informed by the text of the book. I'm not going to throw this book in anyone's face. As with all personal growth and guides of a more spiritual nature, they're either going to resonate or they're not. I love the ideas of this book and would love to strive to live by them but I don't have the discipline as yet, or an unbroken heart--since I'm being honest--that could not take hurts and betrayals personally.

So I give it five stars for the world that is possible should we all harmonize with its message entirely. But I'll do my best, and come back for a check-up. :)

Re-reading ( on 27th April, 2021) and applying this book and it is giving me so many shivers. Gosh! I can’t explain the overflow of love I am feeling for people ( large and small, hateful or loving)

"The whole world can love you, but that love will not make you happy. What will make you happy is the love coming out of you."----Don Miguel Ruiz

Applying this daily and I cannot tell you how true it is! :)

Only few books have had any real capacity of altering my life and this is one of them!...

I came upon this book after reading an article in the Rolling Stone about Jeff Bridges. I liked the way he referenced it in relation to his life. I'm normally not one who can stomach much of things that are categorized under New Age (violation of Agreement #3: Don't make assumptions), but I found a few things here that were very helpful in thinking about problems my 23 year old son is facing and problems that I am facing in my own life. The crux of this book are the four "agreements" that you make with yourself: Be impeccable with your word; don't take anything personally; don't make assumptions; always do your best. Simple, but powerful if you take the time to follow Ruiz's explanation of each. I'm not one who feels the need to believe in God, but it is easy enough to get beyond Ruiz's appeals to a deity (a very diffuse sense, ultimately having more to do with a Buddhist sense of love than the grand bearded father), and find a spiritual sense that celebrates a freely lived life in the acceptance of death's inevitability (cf. George Harrison's "the art of dying"). My only complaint is the essentially individualist nature of this "path", and the difficulty of linking it to a sense of social and political action, but then Ruiz would say that is my dream and no one should take it personally.

I had several disagreements with this book (pun intended).
As I had mentioned in an earlier status, the First Agreement (be impeccable with your word) is generally a great idea and I really appreciate the author's urges to be kind and careful with your words and thoughts, however, I felt that further details were misleading and could easily lead to confusion and disappointment. Statements such as "If I love you, then you will love me" (p. 32) are just simply not true. I know that from repeated, daily experience.
The Second Agreement is to not take anything personally, and again, while I agree to an extend, I beleive that Ruiz simply goes to far. For example: "Even when a situation seems to personal, even if others insult you directly, it has nothing to do with you. What they say, what they do, and the opinions they give are according to the agreements they have in their own minds." Ruiz also discusses a term he calls "domestication" which basically describes a generally collective though, like societal norms or assumptions. He speaks of this very negatively, while I would argue that there are some societal agreements that have a purpose and exist in order to create a more positive world for those in that society. Thus, if one simply never takes anything personally, they never take a personal inventory of their own faults and weaknesses, and will fail to grow. Oftentimes one needs to take something personal for change to occur. Throughout this entire book I thought about the circumstances of my career in child protection. If the adults who have abused their children do not take my words personally, they will continue the abusive behavior which is incredibly harmful and unfair to their children.
The Third Agreement is not to make assumptions. This is a beleif that I have held for so long, but has recently been strongly challenged. I was firmly set in the post-modernist thought that we create our own truths and that reality is relative. I was not quick to make assumptions, even when all signs seemed to be obvious. However, this has caused issues in my career. For the safety of children, I needed to learn to make assumptions and err on the side of caution when making decisions regarding such things as placement, visitation, supervision, etc. I still struggle with this idea.
And, last, the Fourth Agreement is always do your best. Yet again, while this is a great idea, I think it's very difficult to determine. How do we know what is our best? How do we know just how much we can acheive? If we base our best on past performance, we will never move ahead. If we base our best on what we believe we can achieve, are we overexerting ourselves? I know that I could easily convince myself that my best on a Thursday evening could be sitting on my couch in front of the television all evening if I didn't ask God for the strength to do what needs to be done.
Ruiz also discusses in the Fourth Agreement that if one takes action simply because they have to (instead of doing it because you want to) that you will never do your best--don't do something if you don't want to! Well, damn. I never want to do dishes, laundry, shower, take out the garbage, or sweep. I never want to take children away from their parents, argue at court, or work until midnight to finish that report. How disappointing that I can never do my best at these tasks! I simply disagree with the author. I believe that though I don't enjoy doing them, if I ask God for satisfaction and strength in these tasks, that that will suffice.
One statement that I greatly appreciated from this book is this: "The best way to say 'I love you, God' is to live your life doing your best" (p. 83). Not only do I agree with this, but I believe that God will help you do your best, that you're not alone, and that you will be given everything you need to do your best if you sincerely ask and accept.
I also was very much in agreement with the idea that one ought not to be stuck in the victim role. This is absolutely not to disregard or belittle the trauma of the life we live, but to encourage one to move forward and to forgive (another great suggestion from Ruiz) to live.

It’s another trendy, highly-loved book that proves most people are... Well, most people have questionable taste in books. It’s bland, unremarkable, and lifeless. It’s just common sense packed in a pretty package of “Toltec wisdom.”

Well, let me tell you the “wisdom” that was shared here:
1. You shouldn’t be mean to yourself or others (what if I or others are awful?).
2. You shouldn’t be overruled by the sense of self-importance (should I be overruled by anything really?).
3. You should communicate clearly and avoid making assumptions (what about the right assumptions in critical situations?).
4. You should be a good person who does good things not for the rewards but because you want to (what’s good? also, responsibility?). You should also always do your best (what’s best?).

Ah, so much to criticize. I won’t dwell on this. It is too simplified to be enriching for anybody.

I will end it with a “wise” quote from the book:

“We don’t need to know or prove anything. Just to be, to take a risk and enjoy your life, is all that matters. Say no when you want to say no, and yes when you want to say yes. You have the right to be you.”

If we all did that, our society would collapse the next day.

I've read the book and listened to the audio version. The audio is my favorite. Wonder what the four agreements are?

1) Be Impeccable with Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2) Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

3) Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4) Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.