Have you ever read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz? I recall reading the book not long after it came out. That was back in 1997. My younger self remembers thinking the book was pretty simplistic in its message. And, after recently re-reading it 28 years later, my opinion hasn’t changed.
The Four Agreements is a useful introduction to spirituality for beginners. It’s the book to recommend to the friend or relative who seems interested in SBNR subjects, but isn’t quite ready for The Power of Now or The Untethered Soul. I often suggest Dan Millman’s No Ordinary Moments as well.
Life is about the “agreements” we make—and the ones we don’t.
Ruiz writes that during our lives we make thousands of agreements, with our family, with society, and with God. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. It’s these agreements that determine who we are in life. Are we a person of honor and character? Have we developed self-mastery?
In The Four Agreements, Ruiz outlines a code of conduct—or four agreements. They’re based on teachings from the ancient Toltecs, an indigenous people that flourished in Mexico before the Aztecs. He promises that “if you can begin to live your life with these agreements, the transformation in your life will be amazing.”
The Four Agreements
- Be Impeccable with Your Word. Mean what you say. Speak with honesty and integrity. Never gossip.
- Don’t Take Anything Personally. Whatever other people do or say, don’t take it personally. It’s based on their reality, not yours.
- Don’t Make Assumptions. Don’t think that everyone sees the world the same way you do. Communicate clearly. Ask questions.
- Always Do Your Best. Give life your very best effort, even if it’s not perfect. It’s the key to steady personal growth.
Now that you’ve had a refresher on the four agreements, let’s look at another set of teachings with a related message. It comes from the author Napoleon Hill and it approaches conduct and character from a slightly different perspective.
Napoleon Hill has his own list
Hill is best known for the positive-thinking-for-capitalists screed Think and Grow Rich. But you may not know that Hill wrote a follow-up to that book decades later at the age of 84. It was called Grow Rich: With Peace of Mind, and as the title indicates, Hill had seen the light and begun preaching the idea of work/life balance.
Now the weird part here is where Hill gets his information. It comes not directly from him, but from a group he calls “The Great Schools of the Masters.” Hill claims the great schools are a secret organization that has existed for ten thousand years and “is the great central reservoir of religious, philosophical, and spiritual knowledge.”
Various teachers from “the great schools” would visit Hill in his study, often with little notice. Only they weren’t physical human beings. They were spirits who would “disembody themselves” and travel from thousands of miles away. It appears they came from the Himalayas where the school was started.
During one such visit, a “Master” of the schools proceeded to reveal to Hill “a Supreme Secret” regarding the challenges we face in everyday life. He says that the master spoke to him in a musical voice saying:
In the journey through life there is a Jungle of Life, a Black Forest through which every individual must pass alone. In the Black Forest he overcomes enemies and his own inner opposition and turmoil.
Our goal in life is to pass through the Jungle of Life safely by defeating what are called “The 26 Enemies of Life.” If you’re committed to self-mastery, check the list below and determine how many enemies you’re still fighting. Since Hill capitalized the twenty-six enemies in the book, I’ll do the same here.
The 26 Enemies of Life
- FEAR
- GREED
- INTOLERANCE
- EGOTISM
- LUST
- ANGER
- HATRED
- JEALOUSY
- IMPATIENCE
- CRUELTY
- MERCILESSNESS
- INJUSTICE
- SLANDER
- GOSSIP
- UNDEPENDABILITY
- DISHONESTY
- DISLOYALTY
- REVENGE
- DECEIT
- FALSEHOOD
- INSINCERITY
- VANITY
- WORRY
- ENVY
- HYPOCHONDRIA
- INDECISION
You don’t have to strain to see a parallel between the teachings of Don Miguel Ruiz and those of Napoleon Hill. While the list above announces the traits to avoid, by flipping them around you can see the importance stressed on attributes like honesty and sincerity and steering clear of fear and worry.
Hill advised that we check the list-of-twenty-six once a year. He wrote that “as long as one enemy remains, you still wander in the Jungle of Life. When every enemy has been accounted for, you have passed through the Jungle.” The reward for mastering the list? According to Hill, that person will receive additional, advanced instruction from the masters.
It’s clear that both Ruiz and Hill, despite different approaches and origins for their wisdom, agree on a fundamental truth: the path to a richer, more peaceful life is conscious self-mastery. Whether you’re making agreements with yourself, or battling inner enemies, the goal remains the same—to align your actions with your highest self. The approach you take is up to you.
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