Book Overview
In “The Alchemist”, the protagonist, Santiago, dreams of treasure buried beneath the Egyptian. He eventually sets off across the Strait of Gibraltar to pursue his dream.
Along his travels, Santiago encounters various people who help him. A king with no kingdom tells Santiago he must realise his Personal Legend. This is a dream that your soul insists you make real and won’t allow you peace until you do. He also meets a gypsy woman who advises him to follow his dream because it is the “language of the world.” Subsequently, Santiago meets an Englishman so absorbed into this books, that he will never discover his souls true dreams. He even meets a woman in the desert, who he is destined to love. Finally, while travelling with a caravan to the oasis, he meets the great Alchemist himself. The Alchemist help Santiago discover the Soul of the World. This is the truth to all the elements in the universe, which brings everything into balance.
“The Alchemist” encourages us to read the signs of the universe, to go with the flow of life, and to realise our Personal Legends. However, along the journey, challenges will arise to test our resilience. Therefore, the lesson is that if we fearlessly and resolutely pursue our Personal Legends, the universe will conspire to help us, but test us, too. At the end of his journey, Santiago learns a new truth about his Personal Legend and also develops a new perspective on the world around him.
Overall, this book left me feeling like we belong to something much greater than ourselves, which is both inspiring and humbling.
Key Takeaways
- Follow what your heart desires
Listen to your heart and follow what your soul desires. This is the way to make your dreams come true and live the life that you’ve imagined. “Your heart is the language of God” says Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist.
No matter what obstacles or fear you face, if you follow your heart you will always learn a lesson and come out the other side being one step closer to what your soul desires. You can never escape from what your heart and soul wants and needs. So give in gracefully and enjoy the journey of your life.
- Failing is part of the process
The path to achieving a dream is paved with lessons and memories that will stick with you and shape you for the better, no matter what the final outcome is. Because of this, there is no reason to be afraid of “failure”. The only true failure is failing to go after your dream at all.
- Maktub – It is written.
The belief being that all of your actions are fate, written by God and all you have to do is follow the path that is already laid out for you. Every person you meet, every conversation you have, everything you do each day plays a role in the universe, you just don’t realise how important one word to a stranger can be, or how your life shapes the world.
- Fear Is the biggest obstacle
Fear is a theme that pops up in The Alchemist repeatedly. For Santiago and other characters, fear is an obstacle that must be avoided. They must persevere to survive and achieve their goals.
I’m sure you know this from experience. Things we fear are never that bad once we experience them. However, our minds make fear a bigger thing than it actually is. This leads us to procrastinate, the fear gets bigger, so we procrastinate even more! What is the best way to get over our fears? Face them head on. Trust me, the reward far outweighs the risk.
- Find the extraordinary in the ordinary
Open your eyes. When you look out the window, really look at the trees that surround you. Really smell the coffee and feel smoothness of the coffee bean. When you go for a walk, really appreciate the greenery and sounds of nature.
Being grateful for the small things grounds you and gets you living in the present moment away from past events that can zap the joy from your soul. If you feel that one day is much the same as the next, break the monotony by noting all the good things that are happening, all the beauty that surrounds you, all the kindness around you. Look for the silver lining and you’ll find it, and feel it.
Favourite Quotes
- Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.
- I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.
- And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
- Why do we have to listen to our hearts? Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you will find your treasure.
- Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.
- Making a decision was 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.
- The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.
- There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.
- Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.
- When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.
