The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, tells the story of a boy named Santiago who has a recurring dream of a treasure awaiting him in Egypt. He struggles to decipher what it means, but ultimately decides to pursue it.
The book follows Santiago from his hometown of Andalusia to where he ends up, stopping at several key places along the way. At each stop, he learns something that helps him get to the next point, relatable to our own lives’ journeys. The story comes full circle at the end.
The Alchemist is a must-read because some of our greatest struggles are a result of fear and lack of fulfillment. Coelho does a remarkable job of diving into the perspective that if we were to follow our hearts instead of focusing on time, fear or anything else that may be stopping us, then we may be more successful than we had imagined starting out.
This book is ideal for anyone with any dream, no matter how big or small.
11 Gems from this Read:
- “…when each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to realize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”
- “Don’t forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else.”
- “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
- “You must always know what it is that you want.”
- “Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.”
- “…making a decision is only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”
- “…people need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want. We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.”
- “…when you can’t go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward.”
- “There is only one way to learn. It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”
- “…the world we live in will become better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse.”
- “Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will return there.”
Photo by lilartsy