"The First of the Four Agreements"

WOW, "Be impeccable with your word"!! That is a pretty huge statement if you actually give it some thought. Impeccable is a word used to go beyond perfection to include immutable style. Here's some synonyms used by Google: flawless, faultless, unblemished, spotless, immaculate, pristine, stainless, perfect, exemplary; sinless, irreproachable, blameless, guiltless.....Again; WOW!! Beyond perfection, that's a "tall order".

I don't think Don Miguel Ruiz could have made a more powerful statement in making this his first "Agreement"! What was the Reason behind Ruiz writing these Four Agreements? He wanted to find a Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. I would say he did a nice job of finding a suitable, tangible means of fulfilling his goal towards Self-Actualization reliant on God. I'm sure he had divinely inspired help from above!! At the end of the article I'll list all four of the "Agreements" in their entirety but for now here are just the four titles. 

• Be impeccable with your word.
• Don’t take anything personally.
• Don’t make assumptions.
• Always do your best.

Much has been written concerning these “Agreements as scholars try to break down not only the meaning, but WHY did he choose these four Agreements in particular?? 

This first agreement, "be impeccable with your word", is more than enough to think about much less write about. How many times have you just blurted something out without thinking? Worse, how many times have you thought about what you would say and blurted out some inane (insane) comment just the same? And Ruiz main point; how many times have you told someone you'd do something and didn't? I have and I'm here to tell you I have been less than impeccable with not just my words but more importantly....... giving "My Word" (His Point Exactly)!! 

I love this quote to the right! It serves as a reminder of what is going on in the spiritual realm given the issues I raised in the last paragraph. It is quite thought provoking to think..."Character vs Reputation", hmm! At first glance they appear they go together right, Character would build a good Reputation. But Lamb is saying that if you give your word then you keep it, even if it's not popular. In today's world, not popular means a reputation of "No Good" to the doomsayers of any type of "Societal Revival" orchestrated by the divine in the Person of Almighty God!!

In fact, even if it's not what's best doesn't mean it's not what's right! Telling someone you will throw them out of your house if they say another word about your wife may not win you many friends BUT if you don't follow through you'll go through the world known as someone who "threatens" rather than someone who "honors". Integrity is not a popularity contest, it may cost you everything, including your reputation. But your "impeccable word" had better mean everything to you.....it had better be your BOND because that IS the defining moment of your Character, or lack thereof!

Let's see what the content of the FULL "1st Agreement" have to say line by line;

Speak with integrity; say what you mean and mean what you say! This the same as "Your Word is Your Bond" to me. Be known as the man or woman who states only those things that will come to fruition. "If Tim said it then you can take it to the bank, it will happen". That is who I want to be known as; a man of my word! Our company has a "Culture of Integrity". If I hire someone and tell them they will be in a certain position in a year if they complete their part of the transaction; then it WILL happen. My partner and I make sure that our company is THEE place to work. It is a fun place to be around people of excellence even when times get tough. You have faith and can trust "All Will Be Well" if you're told by ownership "all will be well"!

Say Only what you mean; Don't just go off speaking without thinking through what will be said. You can't take something back once it passes your lips. People's lives have been irrevocably damaged by some rumor that flew around with not a shred of truth in it. Even if there were, is it your job to be your "brother's keeper"....I think not!! Don't make promises you can't keep or make a promise you haven't fully thought through. I have made the mistake of thinking "well this is no big deal, we'll just do this instead". Who am I to decide if x is better or the same as y if x is what I promised. In other words; make sure you can deliver the original agreement unless mutually discussed!!

Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others; I broke up the complete sentence on purpose because the two statements are that powerful. So let's look at "Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself"! Notice how Ruiz capitalizes Word!! Ruiz is keenly aware of how the spiritual world plays a huge role here on earth and it is powerful! The Word in scripture WAS Jesus....the "Word became flesh". You cannot know love without knowing hate and vice versa. Satan cannot read your mind BUT he can hear what you say or watch what you do. He can see if his lies have any effect on you.

PLEASE avoid speaking Death into yourself.....you have the power to speak life or death into yourselves or others. Not just life to others but to yourself as well. I don't get sick!! Sick as in the flu, colds, even food poisoning.....why, because I say out loud "I DO NOT get sick! I say it often and I believe it 100%. Unfortunately each has a measure of faith and I have other issues and unwittingly I speak "Death" into myself simply by believing the worst and then saying it out loud!! This applies to the workplace as well. Do not say; "I'm no good with...."fill in the blank". You have just spoke death into yourself and are sure to fail.

The second half of that sentence is; "Avoid using the Word to gossip about others". Again, you are using the WORD (God) to spread falsehoods about others. Even if there were some truth in what was said it no longer comes out as fact but your interpretation of the facts!

I have written four articles to date, all having to do with "higher state of being". While writing each one I realize on a daily basis I fail to live up to those standards more than I care to admit IF I had to be perfect. However, the slander and gossip I have been the subject of for writing these articles is staggering! Standing up for something you know is fallible in nature takes courage. It is tiresome defending a concept barely understood and out of one’s reach. Yet I would much rather stand up for some lofty personal goal than sit on the sidelines throwing stones (gossiping) at the thinkers of the world, the dreamers of the world and the doers of the world like Don Miguel Ruiz.

Those throwing stones are the gossipers of the world. They are "Lukewarm" and use their Word to speak badly about others because they inspire nothing, acquire nothing and therefore project hateful venom onto others for their own inadequacies. God can do anything with hot or cold BUT lukewarm; well "Indifference" is the worst of all human conditions!! Jesus inspired Love or Hate, nothing in between. And yet look at what He accomplished on the cross. While saving the world He never gossiped or slandered another human being for being imperfect; instead He died for them.

The point Ruiz is making is not attaining perfection, the aim is to build-up character while pursuing that lofty goal. Being impeccable with your Word, doing what you say you will do and doing it when no one is watching; all these things build outstanding character by virtue of the integrity and trust you start to gather for yourself. Then measure your progress through the eyes of others. In the pursuit of progress not perfection; we should "overuse" the words "I'm sorry" and "I'll do better". People respect the process as long as you follow it up with demonstrations that you are always doing your best you can; the last of the 4 agreements.

Now lets visit the work environment; Telling someone they are a screw-up just killed them spiritually. "Negative Motivation" does not exist; In fact it is an oxymoron! And now you have done damage to another that may never be undone. People ask me, is it ever warranted?? NO..... correcting a problem by helping someone is very different than reinforcing negative thoughts in their heads by your words. I do my best to think long and hard before I push send on an email when I'm angry... Many times I have another person read it first before sending. It is that serious people; we are messing with another human being's life and well-being!!

Use the Power of your Word in the direction of truth and love; Once again, please look at the way Ruiz phases and capitalizes his words in this sentence. We get back to God and the spiritual world when we see Word (Christ) and TRUTH & LOVE!!! Again, if you know scripture or anything about God or Christ at all HE is the embodiment of Love and His way is Truth! Of course that is the direction of our words; the choice of His WORDS is carefully and masterfully crafted. In the DIRECTION……….The direction of what and where? You POINT people in the way that ALWAYS lifts them up and loves them. The power is in Love.....You can seriously LOVE people into doing a great job. The TRUTH of who they are NOT what they do will have more to do with how well they do than all the training in the world.

You can't train someone to Love but you can give it away, nurture it and help it grow. That means you can nurture someone into a model employee who literally loves what they do, loves their boss, loves where they work and never has anything but awesome things to say about their employer to anyone!! There is NO better "Recruiter" in the world than God, Love, the Word and Truth....try it, it may surprise you. It won't surprise me because our entire company has been founded on life giving, loving feedback to people who were hired strictly on their character more than skill set. Give me a person who loves where they work and has incredible character and integrity and I can teach them anything.....we do it every day!!

I hope you were able to get something useful from this topic because it is more than a topic to me; it is the God given tool to initiate, motivate and cultivate! If you know me, really know Timothy Gibb; you know everything I said I believe with all my heart and I practice everything I talked about in this article. The POWER of your WORD is truly a wonderful gift. If I did nothing else; I hope I inspired you to THINK. Certainly the only power I have as a writer, unless you "let me in", is to cause a reaction that may or may not cause you to think and/or ask questions!! All the best in your quest to BE the BEST!! 

As promised; the "Four Agreements"

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.