A short, helpful guide on adopting four principles that will help you live a more fulfilling life. The principles, referred to as "agreements" in the book are: Be Impeccable With Your Word, Don't Take Anything Personally, Don't Make Assumptions, Always Do Your Best.

It is definitely better to read the book and have them explained by the author, I did find the advice helpful and insightful. I don't know what took me so long to pick up this book but one night I was browsing bestsellers list and this one showed up on many, so I decided to buy and read it. And I recommend it.

Positives:
-It's good to be reminded not to assume why people treat you a certain way. It is often not personal.
-I liked the thought that if you shouldn't take negative comments personally, you also shouldn't take positive comments personally. Trying to believe one side and not the other is contradictory, and our views of ourselves should be maintained on our own.
Negatives:
-I felt there was a lot of filler fluff and repetition.
-The author tried to simplify religion to a point where it didn't mean anything. Seemed kind of like he was trying to take the easy way out instead of actually analyzing why different religions believe different things. Comments like telling me to forgive God didn't make any sense. From my studies, it works the other way around since I didn't make the rules. :)

چهار میثاق:
۱.با کلام خود گناه نکنید
۲.هیچ چیز را به خود نگیرید
۳.تصورات باطل نکنید.
۴.همیشه بیشترین تلاشتان را بکنید.
این کتاب به توضیح این ۴ اصل ساده اما بسیار مهم میپردازه و کمک میکنه که ما به اون آینه و حقیقت و نور وجودی برگردیم و از تصورات ،عادات غلط ، نظام انکار ،نظام قاضی و قربانی که زندگی مارو تبدیل به یک دوزخ کرده، رهایی پیدا کنیم و به اون سعادت حقیقی برسیم
بخش های ماندگار از کتاب:
حقیقت مانند تیغ جراحی است.حقیقت دردناک است؛ زیرا زخم هایی را که توسط دروغ ها پوشیده شده اند باز می کند، و آن وقت است که شفا آغاز می شود.این دروغ ها همان چیزی است که ما نظام انکار می نامیم.
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ما نیازی به توجیه عشق نداریم؛عشق یا هست یا نیست

Just like any other self-help book, it sounds like a cyclic-repetitive dance of words. Don't know if it intentional or that's how all the self-help books end up sounding due to brimming plagiarism. But this too for me was juvenile, banal and repetitive. This book is filled with platitudes about how one should go on condemning the prevailing and existing to set onto the journey of betterment.

I am not against it, but was expecting this book more on Shamanism, exposition of nature for self-healing and Toltec wisdom from this erudite who was a surgeon and then turned into a Toltec spiritualist.

Author Don Miguel Ruiz was born into a family of Shamans and went onto attending medical school to become a surgeon. His bloodline inspired him to explore more of his ancient ancestral wisdom. Four Agreements is a synopsis of his findings and ancient wisdom.

The concoction of the four agreements is -

1. Be impeccable with your word.

2. Don’t take anything personally.

3. Don’t make assumptions.

4. Always do your best.

The edifying journey of these many pages for knowing the above four principles from a well-known Shaman wasn't worth the effort for me. It was not volcanic or earth-shattering. We all are already aware of the principles, and these books definitely hep us to recall, remind and stay inspired to do better, but then I already have too many books doing this job.

I had better Shamanic expectations from Don Miguel Ruiz

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 reality, 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.

Don't be misled by the smallness of the book or the simplicity of its language.

The book is okay; it has some good advice. The only thing I didn’t like was that it’s way too spiritual for me, especially in some parts, though some people might enjoy that.
It’s short, so it doesn’t take much of your time. It’s worth a read if you want something simple with a few good insights.

I don’t like to include summaries in my reviews, but this might be helpful if you’re practical:

Be Impeccable with Your Word
Speak with integrity and say only what you mean. Avoid using words to harm yourself or others through gossip, lies, or negativity. Use the power of your words to create love, truth, and positivity.

Don't Take Anything Personally
Understand that other people’s actions and words are a reflection of their reality, not yours. By not taking things personally, you free yourself from unnecessary suffering caused by others' judgments or opinions.

Don't Make Assumptions
Avoid making assumptions about what others think, feel, or intend. Misunderstandings often arise from assumptions. Instead, communicate clearly and ask questions to ensure mutual understanding.

Always Do Your Best
Your "best" may vary from day to day depending on circumstances, but strive to give your full effort in everything you do. No more, no less. By doing your best, you minimize regret, self-judgment, and guilt.

It was interesting to hear about human perception and the way we view logical understanding and what “dreaming” actually means. It’s not a dream of sleep but a dream of the world.

This book talks about agreements - or believe, faith, understanding.

A philosophical outline and introspective experience, this book helps to open your mind to a higher level understanding.

I recommend this novella length book to everyone!

"Happiness is a choice, and so is suffering." The Toltec wisdom of this book is commonsense which we all have heard, but do not always believe and apply every moment. As I read each section, specific relationships (of mine or others) came vividly to mind, esp. "negative" or "toxic" people I have had to walk away from; and the ones we can't leave (family) but can learn not to blame for their sickness. It's a very quick read, and I plan to re-read it at different stages. I think I will get something different out of it each time.

THE FOUR AGREEMENTS:

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.

DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

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.

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.

I almost gave this book three stars, but I decided it deserved more from me.

There was a few things about this book that I did not resonate with. Perhaps it's the timing that I picked it up, but I will say that I'm glad I read it.

I took some things away from reading it, especially in regards to the "don't take anything personal" agreement. So I would say this book supplemented some of my Buddhist studies and helped me grow and become a better and happier version of myself. For that, I am always thankful.

Към такива книги подхождам винаги скептично. Към биографията на авторите им - още повече. Всъщност не вярвам на нито една дума. В крайна сметка американският книжен пазар е движен от парите, и при добри изгледи за печалба приема всякакви шарлатани с всевъзможни пъстри псевдоними.

В случая с толтеките: тази стара цивилизация е загадка за археолози и историци и до днес. Колко от мъдростта им да е оцеляла, още повече пък непроменена?

Само че старите суеверия или народни практики не са за подценяване. Изворът им се губи във времето, смесва различни - противоречащи си - езически и християнски елементи, които често вървят ръка за ръка с идиотски от днешна гледна точка практики. Но... Но! И с някои позабравени истини, които се срещат във всички религии и култури - жилави и оцеляващи. Опората, която завръща човек от прекаленото му отвяваване в съвременния стресов (макар че коя ли епоха не е стресираща, като почнем със стогодишната война например?!) начин на живот.

Та така и с четирите споразумения. Като се абстрахира човек от по-екзотичните и метафизични моменти в книгата, които не са чак толкова много за 130 страници, тези кратички принципи са стари като света - от древните писания та до днешната бизнес литература, и понякога не е зле да си ги припомни човек:

Beautiful words, with practical ideas, to live a better life and to have more freedom.

A friend recommended this book to me a long time ago, but only recently I had the time to finish it. And it didn't disappoint me. However, I didn't like the book at the first sight, and it took me half of the pages to really immerse myself in it.

The Four Agreements includes the essential principles of life: be impeccable with your word, don't take things personally, don't make assumptions, and always do your best. I personally relate the most to the final part, as I find it to be precise with the current stage of my life.

Some words to remember: "Action is about living fully. Doing your best is taking the action because you love it, not because you're expecting the reward. If we like what we do, if we always do our best, we are really enjoying life. We are having fun, we don't get bored, we don't have frustrations. Forest Gump didn't have great ideas, but he took action. He was happy because he always did his best at whatever he did. Make doing your best a habit in life".

:چهار میثاق
.با کلام خود گناه نکنید
.هیچ چیز را به خود نگیرید
.تصورات باطل نکنید
.همیشه بیشترین تلاشتان را بکنید
...
.باشد که رستگار شویم