its message is simple
How is the message to the reader?
There is something truly unique about don Miguel Ruiz's "The Four Agreements."  While it reads like a cross between a religious text and a science fiction novel, its message is simple, clear and powerful."The Four Agreements" is about simplifying and taking ownership of your life.  It's a practical "how to" guide for casting off the social expectations and standards that you've collected and made "fact" over the course of your life.  Ruiz coins this web of overlapping societal truths as the dream of the world; suggesting that - just like we have created our own belief system as to what we're capable as individuals - so to have we, as a global entity, created a mass belief that people should act in a certain way and (with rare exception) are only capable of certain things.  Ruiz shares that while this belief system is strong (and widely accepted, making it easier to submit to than to challenge) it is invalid and extremely limiting to us as individuals.Ruiz teaches that the way in which we see and interact with the world is entirely created through thousands and thousands of tiny "agreements" - situations we experience, form an opinion on and then solidify in our minds as actual fact.  An opinion is not a fact.  It is simply an opinion; one way of viewing the world.So, to clarify an important new term here: Ruiz defines an "agreement" as an effective "thought habit"; something you've been told so many times, or repeated to yourself so many times that you believe it to be irrefutable fact.Ruiz hypothesizes that we make and reinforce thousands of these agreements every day and, unfortunately, a lot of them are negative.  We have preconceptions and criticisms of individuals, organizations, events or ideas that we allow to color our experiences.  As an aside, the film "Traffic" does a great job of exploring this topic  Ruiz suggests that while we have been "programmed" by thousands of little agreements we've made with ourselves and society, the active pursuit of mastery of four key agreements can counter balance the lot of them.  The purpose of doing so is in creating an "authentically you" lifestyle.  Think of the timeless bliss of five year olds in play.  Those kids are authentically themselves.  They don't know how to be any other way.  And they're happy.  This is what we're working towards.FAVOURITE TAKEAWAY: Over the course of his smart, quick little book, Ruiz identifies the four key agreements we can make with ourselves that will have the most dramatic impact on the happiness in our lives. Those agreements are as follows: The first agreement is to be impeccable with your word. The second agreement is don't take anything personally. The third agreement is don't make assumptions. The fourth agreement is about the action of the first three: Always do your best.While the agreements themselves are extremely simple in nature, they are also brutally challenging to master.  Society teaches us to gossip.  To criticize.  To cut corners.  To exaggerate or outright lie.  Mastering these four agreements take time, patience and an incredible strong will.  Ruiz's belief, however, is that the effort is worth it.  With these four agreements in place, we can learn to "roll back the fog" of our existence and live the life we were truly meant to lead, rather than plod along on the path dictated to us by social programming and peer expectation.  While we don't have time to go into all four agreements in detail, here are a couple key thoughts for mastering these agreements."The Four Agreements" is different.  While I don't believe this book (and Ruiz's writing style or language) is one that everyone will be comfortable with, I do strongly feel the message is universal and can be lived by everyone.  We do submit to societal pressures and expectations.  Unconsciously, we conform to what the world tells us we should be and do.  We're typically not happy about it, but we end up blaming everyone else for that - our bosses, our parents, our partner - it's always someone else's fault.  The message of this book is clear - you need to take ownership for your own life and destiny.  You choose the path, and the way you want to live your life.  My personal opinion is that the four agreements are collectively a powerful set of tools for setting you down the right path; your path.  As I said, not for everyone, but powerful stuff for the spiritually inclined.--Visit ActionableBooks for over 170 summaries, author video interviews and easy ways to implement the concepts for managers and their teams. 