Masterful Mindsets

“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 Miguel Ruiz

A while back, I received an email from a reader who was struggling with a difficult co-worker. She described someone who was consistently rude, disrespectful, and unpleasant to be around. Every interaction left her feeling hurt, frustrated, and emotionally drained.

As I read her message, I immediately thought of the Second Agreement from Don Miguel Ruiz's book The Four Agreements: Don't Take Anything Personally.

Now before we go any further, let me be clear about something. Not taking things personally does not mean allowing people to treat you poorly. It does not mean tolerating disrespect, ignoring bad behavior, or pretending that hurtful actions are acceptable.

What it does mean is recognizing that other people's behavior is often far mor...

 “You can only be you when you do your best. When you don’t do your best you are denying yourself the right to be you.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

If someone handed you a practical guide to personal freedom and told you that following a few simple principles could dramatically improve your life, would you be willing to try it?

I know I would.

In fact, that's one of the reasons I was so drawn to The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz when I first read it years ago. It's a simple book with a powerful message. And although there are countless personal growth books out there, very few have had the lasting impact that this one has because it’s simple to remember the key ideas, and if you follow them… so very powerful.

Recently, I found myself thinking about it again. Actually, that's not entirely true...

It feels more like the book has been calling to me from my bookshelf.

Maybe it's because of the world we're living in right now. It seems like everywhere I look, I see people carrying arou...