The fourth agreement but no fourth way

The Four Agreements continues to be written in the same tone and with the same diction as a cheesy motivational speaker. But. The fourth agreement itself ("always do your best") is something that I find interesting and energizing.

Ruiz explains the agreement as simply as the statement itself, but adds the twist that your best will fluctuate. He notes that it will wan when you're sick, wax when you're well-rested and feeling empowered, and bounce around the charts for every state in between. This added facet to an otherwise simple statement gives it depth that I can appreciate, and as something of a perfectionist the idea that my best fluctuates really speaks to me. Plus, I'm always a fan of philosophies that encourage you to do what you want to do, to follow where your passions lead. Though, I'm also well aware of the complications implicit in doing so as an adult.

Ruiz touches upon the difficulty that adult responsibilities bring to his simple imperative, and turns them aside by taking a page from another work of pop philosophy, The Secret: work and act for the job or action itself and not the reward and you'll get rewarded anyway. Couple this approach to the problem of rent and bills and balancing incomes with expenses with Ruiz's brief explanation of fears and the need to overcome them, and you've got a potent note to finish on.

At least on the surface.

The meat of The Four Agreements comes in the last few chapters, the first of which deals with the "how" of the book. How do you go about enacting these agreements to change your life? He offers somewhat adequate answers, but anyone looking for a step by step guide should look elsewhere. This section of the book seems to be especially plagued by the "create-a-crisis-then-offer-a-solution" pop philosophy formula, and so Ruiz' answers and advice are interesting but too angled for my liking.

In a nutshell, the three ways that he puts forth (making me wonder if there's a Fourth Way available) are to face your fears one by one to undo your bad agreements; to starve what he calls the parasite of your internal Judge and Victim by taking control of your emotions; or to live with the constant knowledge that you could die at any time and so must strive to keep from dying while unhappy (which, in Ruiz' formulation, is the state of those who are not self-aware and not striving to return to a state of true freedom).

Ruiz treats each of these ways with perhaps as much depth as the agreements themselves, which does much to strengthen his book as a whole. However, much more of the coverage of these ways is actual discussion and explanation rather than anecdotes and rhetoric, leaving the book, as of the end of chapter six, feeling uneven.