Lots of great takeaway lessons from this man. The first time I heard about Paulo Coelho was from a Will Smith interview. He said "The Alchemist" was his favorite book and now I can see why.

Fear of Suffering. That section hit me like a ton of bricks. And the funny thing is that the fear is actually what brings about the event so in being fearless there is nothing to fear! haha.

This brings back memories of when I was real little my oldest brother was a rebellious teenager in a very religious Christian house. He spray-painted "NO FEAR" on his bedroom wall and I distinctly remember my mother making an emotion filled comment about how its not right to have no fear and that you have to fear God. Looking back on that now is very enlightening. I can now let go of some of the programming from my past! What a release! Why should I fear God??? God is within me! LOL.

It's weird to think that something you believed in so strongly when you were younger can seem so distant and untrue. I feel like I am outside the box of religion looking in now. Cool experience and I'm grateful for the lessons that religion taught me and eventually I got what I needed and moved on.

That memory has been buried in there for a while and I'm grateful to Paulo and Brian for helping me bring it out in the open :).

Even in a book that is focused on become more financially abundant it always comes back to the idea of improving yourself inside to improve your results on the outside. Love it.

Playing to win, not playing to not lose. A powerful concept. What do I want? Not what do I not want. I already know plenty well what I don't want! I don't need to reinforce it. "What you resist persists."

Fruits And Roots. You need both. One is not greater than the other but they each serve their individual purpose perfectly.

COMPLAINING... This is so prevalent everywhere it seems haha. I need to lessen the load and not contribute to this bad habit.

I love the roots and fruits analogy as well. Why do we get caught up in either/or situations? I guess its the whole "you cant have your cake and eat it too" belief. Although, I wouldn't want to eat the cake anyway... LOL. But point being it doesn't have to either/or it can be this AND that. Great lesson.

I agree very strongly with that statement to bless the people who have what you want. It's one of the points that really stuck out for me.

It is popular in our culture to demonize the top income earners, the successful, and famous and always look for their faults to make us feel better about ourselves like saying oh look at Tiger Woods... seeee money doesn't buy happiness, all rich people are bad/evil, or whatever other limiting belief is stated.

We like to point out faults rather than acknowledging the great accomplishments of people. I want to BE one of the people living a life of luxury and happiness so WHY would I NOT bless them?! Very eye opening :).

I think most people have the idea channeling is weird, including me initially. It's kind of a taboo in our culture but it seems like it is becoming less so as the years progress. I always see whether I feel if the information resonates with me or not. You know, take it for the checking. And Abraham's message is definitely all good for me ;). I found that as I explore deeper within myself less things become weird and off limits and more of just a different viewpoint. Another point I'll add is what makes Abraham and some other teachers great is the fact that they say don't believe anything we say. Try it out for yourself. Question everything. Always a good place to come from.

I like the feeling of liberation that I get when I realize there is nothing that I HAVE to do but rather what I CHOOSE to do. No fate, no karma, no fear of death, no worry of getting it wrong. I feel that life is a spiritual experience but obviously very physical at the same time. I am very excited to see how all of these works tie in together.

Wow to be a visionary... that is huge. Especially in today's world. There is a lot to turn your focus to the negative but the visionary thrives in all times. I'm definitely a fan of thriving :).

I like the reminder that along with Jesus' quote that the kingdom of heaven is within you Dale Carnegie adds that is where hell is as well. It reminds me of the choice and decision I have in whether I experience hell or heaven. They are both equal choices within me its just which I'd rather like to experience.
As a way of relaxing before I become tired I will start a meditation practice in the morning. Seems like a good way to start the day on a positive note :).
I need to stop giving myself the leisure time to worry about useless things and instead focus on acting out what gives me the greatest pleasure in the moment.

Habits are definitely a powerful force in life because the majority of our lives are controlled by them. By instilling some good foundational habits I think the effects of each will be synergistic like in the example of 1 1=3.
I feel that sometimes there is so much information, aka information overload, that I get stuck in a state of paralysis. I find that a habit of mine that I need to focus more on is continually reading more and more self development material that is excellent but rather than internalize the concepts I just move onto the next book, course, or video. It's a lot easier to read about something and think well that's a good concept but its another to actually internalize and apply what you are discovering.
I think its more important to do what you can one bit at a time rather than trying to apply every concept at once and therefore burning out or giving up.
I need to remind myself to follow my own intuition and inner guidance set up rituals and habits in my daily life that will propel me towards never ending success, joy abundance, and evolution. :)
Also I need to remind myself to relax, loosen up, and have fun because life is a game and there is no right way to play it.

Well Id say its good to start with the basics. The simplest things are often the most useful and most difficult to do. The domestication quote in the beginning really stuck out for me. It makes so much sense as to how we are tamed from being our free wild selves. Every self conscious doubt and fear we have has been programmed into us by society, culture, religion, the govt, etc. I am really trying to let go of the past programming and find out who I really am and who I can be in this life.

Well Id say its good to start with the basics. The simplest things are often the most useful and most difficult to do. The domestication quote in the beginning really stuck out for me. It makes so much sense as to how we are tamed from being our free wild selves. Every self conscious doubt and fear we have has been programmed into us by society, culture, religion, the govt, etc. I am really trying to let go of the past programming and find out who I really am and who I can be in this life.
As for the four agreements. I like the term agreements rather than rules or laws. It's more of a choice to the individual whether they want to uphold the agreements. It's not based on should or shouldn't or punishment but rather based on agreements that you keep with yourself. I like the feeling of freedom. We need to escape from domestication :)!