Life lessons to learn from the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Lesson #1 : We All Have a Treasure Worth Finding
Throughout the book, Coelho has weaved the consistent message about the importance of discovering, and then realizing your “Personal Legend”. You can call it your destiny, your calling, your dream your, purpose, or your mission in life.
“…there is one great truth on this planet : whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth.”
“Then you’ll die in the midst of trying to realize your Personal Legend. That’s a lot better than dying like millions of other people, who never even knew what their Personal Legends were.”
So, I ask you, what’s your Personal Legend?
Lesson #2 : The Universe Speaks its Own Language
…except most of us fail to hear it, or understand it. One of the most comforting and powerful lessons “The Alchemist” taught me is that the Universe, God, Source–is always on your side. When you set out a heart-felt desire, it wants you to realize it. There are so many great quotes in this book about this concept, here are some of my favourites :
“And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”
“How do I guess the future? Based on the omens of the present. The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, what comes later will also be better.”
“The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life…”
“If a person is living out his Personal Legend, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve : the fear of failure.”
Lesson #3 : There’s a Price to Pay when Pursuing your Personal Legend
Following and realizing your Personal Legend has a price attached to it. It is not out of greed or a punitive spirit that a price is required. It is a form of testing your commitment and resilience for your dream. Here’s how Coelho so elegantly phrases this lesson in his book :
” ..before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just as the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.”
In Conclusion
“The Alchemist” was the very first really deep and introspective book I ever read. In a nutshell.. it’s an intricate and masterful story that’s one big metaphor on how to live life purposefully, vibrantly and joyfully. I don’t know how much of it I really grasped 20 years ago–except that it struck a chord in my soul. I picked it up, totally by accident, and on a whim–not realizing what a classic and massively successful book it already was. Of course, if you have had the pleasure of reading this book already, you would know that nothing ever happens by accident. Whatever caused me to pick up that book, I am forever grateful for the lessons and insights it has imparted back then and now on me–and for the author who had the courage, gift and vision to create it and share it with the world.
