50 Don Miguel Ruiz Quotes From Powerful Books

By Stephanie Kirby | Published June 7, 2022

These Don Miguel Ruiz quotes help break down where you need to focus to live your best life.

Don Miguel Ruiz was born in Mexico and trained as a surgeon until his life took an unexpected turn.

After being involved in an accident, he set out to gain wisdom and understanding.

This led him down a different path and he is now known as somewhat of a spiritualist.

His work has even been featured on Oprah.

Don’s words are simple, providing an uncomplicated way to live.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with his religious ideology, these Don Miguel Ruiz quotes provide easy-to-follow ways to help live a better life.

Don’t forget to also check out these Dan Peña quotes from the trillion-dollar man.

If you love this quote collection, read out our most popular quote article about short inspirational quotes for daily motivation.

If you need more inspirational quotes, check out our motivational quotes category page.

Don Miguel Ruiz quotes on living well

1. “Choose what you really want.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Sometimes getting the life we really want to live can scare us. This is because in order to get there we might have to remove ourselves from toxic situations or people. Other times, it might involve starting over and leaving our comfort zone. Only you can choose to make the changes necessary, but it is your choice to make!

You will also enjoy our article on Dragon Ball Z quotes.

2. “Trust yourself to make the right choices.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Having trust in yourself is essential to making the choices that are right for your life. If your trust in yourself is feeling a little weak you can rebuild it by developing a daily routine and practicing some self-care. Speak positively to yourself, showing yourself compassion, and make sure counteract your inner critic.

3. “Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive – the risk to be alive and express what we really are.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: The risk to being truly alive is great. It means you are putting yourself out there and taking risks to live a life of purpose. You might be afraid of failure, but you might also be afraid of success. Sometimes, it can feel less terrifying to keep living in misery instead of making massive changes. Do it anyway, and you will feel more alive then you ever have.

4. “Let everything we do and say be an expression of the beauty of our heart, always based on love.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Pay attention to your thoughts and actions, and make sure you have good intentions. Think before doing something and make sure it is a good representation of who you are. Doing things from a place of love will improve your life, and the life of those around you.

5. “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.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: How many times has a miscommunication caused you stress or discomfort within a relationship? Speaking clearly will help you avoid things like that happening. If something is bothering you, bring it up and ask for clarification, don’t just stew in your thoughts.

6. “Every human is an artist. The dream of your life is to make beautiful art.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Each one of us is more creative and capable than we think we are. Ruiz isn’t saying that we all want to paint, but rather that we all have a desire to turn our lives into something of beauty. What would your dream look like if life imitated art.

7. “Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Self-judgment and other forms of shame and regret are damaging to you mental health. Doing your best in any situation will allow you to let that go because you know that you did everything you possibly could. Now, the trick to this is to actually do everything you can. Do your best means giving it your all!

8. “There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: This is undoubtedly one of the biggest ways you can be free in life. Others people’s reactions stem from their own unique circumstances, opinions, and beliefs. When you recognize that nothing is personal, then you let people think, say, or do whatever they want, without having it weigh on your self-image.

9. “Find the courage to ask questions, and to express what you really want.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: There is no such thing as a stupid question. Ask what is on your mind and get any clarification that you need. Question yourself too, and learn not only what you really want, but why you want it!

10. “When we respect everybody around us, we are in peace with everybody around us.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Respecting one another should be something we just do. Treating others how you want to be treated is a simple concept that should not be hard to put into practice. Respect can do a lot to help resolve conflict and maintain peace.

11. “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.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: One of the easiest ways to stop taking things personally is to stop putting stock in what other people think. Everyone is always going to have an opinion, but that doesn’t make them right. Build your confidence because it helps create space between who you are and what people think. If you feel like you spend a large amount of time worrying about things, then pick up a new hobby or skill. Focus on you and your present and future.

12. “The same way that you are the main character of your story, you are only a secondary character in everybody else’s story.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Secondary characters are important. They help the main character grow, see different perspectives, and provide comic relief. However, this life is your story. And their life is their story. Don’t take things personally, and live your life based on your goals and dreams.

Don Miguel Ruiz quotes on being yourself

13. “Everything you think about yourself, everything you believe about yourself, is because you learned it.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: We begin to learn who we are as children and neuro pathways form in our brain. Each experience causes us to react in a certain way. We build our self-image based on what the experiences of our past have taught us. The good news is that just like we have learned things in the past about ourselves, be can learn new things in the moment. We can retrain the way we think, respond, and speak to ourselves.

14. “Go inside and listen to your body because your body will never lie to you. Your mind will play tricks, but the way you feel in your heart, in your guts, is the truth.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: The mind will believe what you tell it. It is not necessarily playing a trick on you, but rather flooding you with information based on your beliefs. The body’s physical reaction is another matter. When something feels off, listen to your heart and you gut.

15. “I will no longer allow anyone to manipulate my mind and control my life in the name of love.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Sometimes when people love us they try to influence our life and behavior. Most of the time this is done with good intent, like parents who think they are doing things for the benefit of their children. Regardless of the intent though, this is your life. Do not give your power away!

16. “It’s difficult to try and be what you are not. Being what you are doesn’t require any effort. When you become wise, you accept yourself the way you are, and the complete acceptance of yourself becomes the complete acceptance of everyone else.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Being true to who you are is always going to be an easier road to walk because it is in aligned with your nature. For instance, if you are an introvert who is trying to find the right work out program, a giant group exercise class might not be the best choice. The crowd and socialization will add extra stress to something that is already challenging. However, if you try running, swimming laps, or working out in the gym by yourself, it will be easier. Either way you are going to have to do the work, but do it in a way that is naturally better for you!

17. “Whatever happens around, don’t take it personally. Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

18. “Just imagine becoming the way you used to be, as a very young child, before you understood the meaning of any word before opinions took over your mind. The real you is just like a flower, just like the wind, just like the ocean, just like the sun.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

19. “When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: How much needless suffering have you endured because of the weight of other people’s opinions? The truth is that the opinions of others are not yours to carry. When you live your life doing what makes you happy and feeds your own sense of self, you will accomplish more and be a happier person.

20. “When the love comes from somebody else, we can feel it and it’s nice, but when we feel our own love, it is the best thing that can happen to us.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: Self-love is an essential component for living your best life. This kind of love in yourself will keep you focused on doing things that are good for you (and 9 times of out 10, that is also best for the other people you love). You will make healthy choices in life and live with a lot less stress!

21. “I am here and I’m alive. That’s enough.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Application: On the days when things are really tough and it seems like there is nothing to be grateful for, try remembering these words. You are here and alive and that means that no matter was in happening today, tomorrow can be anything you choose. That power alone is more than enough!

22. “All of the drama you suffer in your personal life is the result of believing in lies, mainly about yourself.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Inspirational Don Miguel Ruiz quotes

23. “The more you practice gratitude, the more you see how much there is to be grateful for, and your life becomes an ongoing celebration of joy and happiness.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

24. “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.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

25. “You can have many great ideas in your head, but what makes a difference is the action. Without action upon an idea, there will be no manifestation, no results, and no reward.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Everyday Applications: Ideas are like the compass; they provide direction and focus for where you want to go. However, if you do not take a step…then all you have is a compass. There is no journey, no adventure, and no reward without taking step after step and making the trek! Your ideas deserve your actions!

26. “The happiest moments in your life are when you are playing just like a child when you are exploring and creating just for fun. It is wonderful when you behave like a child because this is the normal human tendency.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Wise Don Miguel Ruiz quotes

27. “The whole world can love you, but that love will not make you happy. What will make you happy is the love coming out of you.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

28. “Life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance. Some will get angry when the rhythm changes. But life is changing all the time.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

29. “When we love each other unconditionally, our mirror is clean; we see others and ourselves as we really are, as beautiful beings.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

30. “You know that if you lie to yourself, surely other people lie to themselves. And if they lie to themselves, they will lie to you also.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

31. “Don’t make assumptions.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

32. “Love is unknown. To open the heart in trust is unknown. They say love hurts. It doesn’t have to.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

33. “Be skeptical, but learn to listen.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

34. “Without awareness, your domestication and attachments will corner you into taking actions that conform to the belief systems they have built.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

35. “People like to say that the conflict is between good and evil. The real conflict is between truth and lies.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

36. “Humans believe so many lies because we aren’t aware. We ignore the truth or we just don’t see the truth. When we are educated, we accumulate a lot of knowledge, and all that knowledge is just like a wall of fog that doesn’t allow us to perceive the truth, what really is.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

37. “When we believe in the lies, we cannot see the truth, so we make thousands of assumptions and we take them as truth. One of the biggest assumptions we make is that the lies we believe are the truth.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

38. “Whatever life takes away from you, let it go.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

More Don Miguel Ruiz quotes

39. “I am responsible for what I say, but I am not responsible for what you understand.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

40. “We have learned to live our lives trying to satisfy other people’s demands.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

41. “But it is not what I am saying that is hurting you; it is that you have wounds that I touch by what I have said. You are hurting yourself. There is no way I can take this personally.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

42. “True justice is paying only once for each mistake. True injustice is paying more than once for each mistake.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

43. “Respect is one of the greatest expressions of love.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

44. “I am the love of my life, the marriage between my mind and my body.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

45. “Before we were born, a whole society of storytellers was already here. Then storytellers who were here before us taught us how to be human.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

46. “In our development, as we grow throughout our lives, the structure of our beliefs becomes very complicated, and we make it even more complicated because we make the assumption that what we believe is the absolute truth.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

47. “The best way to say I love you God, is to live your life doing your best.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

48. “To become masters of love, we have to practice love.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

49. “Life is very, very simple and easy to understand, but we complicate it with the beliefs and ideas that we create.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

50. “Listen to other people tell their story, but don’t believe them. You know that it’s just a story that is only true for them, but listen because the communication can be wonderful.” – Don Miguel Ruiz