Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist (1993), ISBN 978-0-06-112241-5
Will Smith’s favorite book of all time, The Alchemist is an exquisite parable and story. If you have not had the pleasure of reading the book then do, if you have already read Santiago’s tale then re-read it. The story aside, the lessons and teachings in between the lines can touch all aspects of someone’s life. This is perhaps the greatest beauty of The Alchemist. Not only are the teachings so powerful but they can also be deeply personal. Personally, on the second time reading, I found completely different aspects just as interesting as other elements that I identified the first time through. This is perhaps indicative of the deeply personal ‘Language of the World’ that Coelho weaves throughout Santiago’s journey.
The Alchemist is a story about realizing a Personal Legend. In equal parts, spiritual and mystical the journey depicted offers lessons for any reader of any religion and disposition. The book also provides an inordinate amount of clichés. Clichés to me though are statements that only make sense once you have experienced them, for example, love clichés that can only be understood once you have truly been in love or parents sayings and actions that only make the most sense once you yourself have children. Similarly, as Santiago learns, it is only through the journey itself that you learn everything you need to know.
You have got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense.
The Alchemist, p.116
The Alchemist is so utterly quotable that this post could simply have been a collection of the best citations. I also do not want to ruin the story by giving away details of Santiago’s journey. Nevertheless, the best takeaways from the book are lessons that can be applied to life just as much as they are relevant to the Personal Legend of Santiago within the story.
It is no surprise The Alchemist is Will Smith’s favorite book, it preaches the values of manifesting your own dreams and chasing them. Perhaps one of the most iconic quotations that can be taken from the book is that:
When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it.
However, more than this it also preaches the virtues of acting without fear and overcoming obstacles.
There is only one way to learn… It is through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.
The story focuses on finding treasure but as seen it is the journey to it in which the true treasure is found. Every person has a unique and beautiful Personal Legend and it through action that this can be realized. The Alchemist is full of the idea of following your heart and perhaps if your heart is seemingly pushing you away from something consider that, ‘naturally it is afraid in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you have won’ but that ‘you will never be able to escape from your heart. So its better to listen to what it has to say.’
Wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure
The Alchemist, p.128
Rather than worrying about the future, Santiago’s journey teaches that the fear of suffering is much worse than the suffering itself.
If you pay attention to the present, you can improve it. And if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better.
The Alchemist, p.103
Perhaps you have difficult decisions ahead, this story preaches that this is simply another obstacle on the path to reaching your treasure and achieving your Personal Legend. When you look back at the most difficult or stressful periods of your life how often do these become part of your own personal narrative? Ultimately if everyone was to give up when the journey got tough then no one would ever truly reach their dreams. Take chances when they come up, follow your heart, ‘every blessing ignored becomes a curse’.
It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist, p.11
Cheers, and here is to more people achieving their Personal Legend in 2020. (Make reading The Alchemist a priority!!)
As always feedback and comments are much appreciated, look forward to another popular book next week in Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
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