As you know throughout the month of July we shall be discussing my book “The Alchemist”.
Throughout the week, I will be accessing this page 2-3 times a day in order to answer your questions until July 31st. I want also for you discuss among yourselves – since I’m very curious to see your reactions to the book.
I wrote a foreword for the 10th anniversary edition of the book and I would like to post it here as an introduction to the book:
Ten Years On
I remember receiving a letter from the American publisher, Harper Collins, which said that: “reading The Alchemist was like getting up at dawn and seeing the sun rise while the rest of the world still slept.” I went outside, looked up at the sky and thought to myself: “So, the book is going to be published in English!” At the time, I was struggling to establish myself as a writer and to follow my path despite all the voices telling me it was impossible.
And little by little, my dream was becoming reality. Ten, a hundred, a thousand, a million copies sold in America. One day, a Brazilian journalist phoned to say that President Clinton had been photographed reading the book. Some time later, when I was in Turkey, I opened the magazine Vanity Fair and there was Julia Roberts declaring that she adored the book. Walking alone down a street in Miami, I heard a girl telling her mother: “You must read The Alchemist!”
The book has been translated into 67 languages, has sold more than 65 million copies, and people are beginning to ask: What’s the secret behind such a huge success?
The only honest response is: I don’t know. All I know is that, like Santiago the shepherd boy, we all need to be aware of our personal calling. What is a personal calling? It is God’s blessing, it is the path that God chose for you here on Earth. Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don’t all have the courage to confront our own dream.
Why?
There are four obstacles. First: we are told from childhood onwards that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But it’s still there.
If we have the courage to disinter dream, we are then faced by the second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue their dream. We do not realize that love is just a further impetus, not something that will prevent them going forwards. We do not realize that those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.
Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream, suffer far more when it doesn’t work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: “Oh, well, I didn’t really want it anyway.” We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal calling is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journey. Then, we warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how.
I ask myself: are defeats necessary?
Well, necessary or not, they happen. When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.
So, why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?
Because, once we have overcome the defeats – and we always do – we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight. We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.
Having disinterred our dream, having used the power of love to nurture it and spent many years living with the scars, we suddenly notice that what we always wanted is there, waiting for us, perhaps the very next day. Then comes the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives.
Oscar Wilde said: ‘each man kills the thing he loves’. And it’s true. The mere possibility of getting what we want fills the soul of the ordinary person with guilt. We look around at all those who have failed to get what they want and feel that we do not deserve to get what we want either. We forget about all the obstacles we overcame, all the suffering we endured, all the things we had to give up in order to get this far. I have known a lot of people who, when their personal calling was within their grasp, went on to commit a series of stupid mistakes and never reached their goal – when it was only a step away.
This is the most dangerous of the obstacles because it has a kind of saintly aura about it: renouncing joy and conquest. But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of God, you help the Soul of the World and you understand why you are here.
So, let’s embark in the discussion of my book for the up-coming month.
Love
Paulo
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My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.”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.”
Now read this:
“When you feel afraid or nervous to do a thing then do it because the real harm that you may receive after doing it will be less than its expectation and fear.”
This is from ‘Nahjal Balagah’ or ‘The Peak of Eloquence’ considered as the second most holy scripture of Muslims after the Quran.
Isn’t your quote a mere copy of this one?
Hello Furan-
A lot of wise men throughout history have contemplated life and arrived at similar conclusions about what you wrote and many other things. Does it really matter who wrote or said it first? I think what is most important is what you DO with that the information. Wise words are still wise wherever they are written.
-Akunna
There is only one wisdom and it has no language… Enlightenment comes upon us through the things with see, hear, read and experience.. We are free to express and share with others our own enlightenment… If people express their wisdom in similar ways or words and meanings, it’s because there is only one ultimate wisdom…*hv*
adorei o livro comprei ele num sebo .. nao saiu menos que 10 reais.. e é um livro maravilhoso … tanto que fez a minha irmã se interessar pela leitura … muito bom …
I went to the book store to buy a certain book I wanted to read but I did not find it, so I asked one of my friends to text me a book name that I can read, she text 2 books to my mobile phone, I was attracted to the name of the book ‘The Alchemist’ so I asked the lady in the book store to bring it and when I read the author’s name I remembered one of my friends suggesting I read for Paulo Coelho. I bought it and for the next 2 days I was reading the book in English, my native language is Arabic. Now I know that not finding the book I wanted to buy was an omen. I read this book when I was in a middle of self struggle whether to follow my heart’s desire or my family obligations and people expectations. I tried for the past year to do what my culture and family want me to do but I kept getting signs and omens telling me not to do so. I decided to follow my heart but there are moments where you question yourself whether you have made the right decision or not? I read this book and it gave me the strength to continue in the direction my heart has chosen for me as it showed me that people in pursue of their destiny they are challenged until they find their treasure and reach their goals in life. This book taught me not to give up. I’m grateful to Paulo and I admire his wisdom and knowledge in life that he shared with us to enlighten our lives.
Thanks Paulo.
It seems that all of humanity who crosses paths with the story of “The Alchemist” instills hope and encouragement in dreams that wash away with the sand slipping through the hourglass but if we can only overcome the first obstacle and not overlook our personal goal we can obtain a peace so fulfilling that nothing else would be needed in life. As most people contributing their stories say, I read this book at a time when my soul was lost and in search of something and after reading this book it is an omen for all of us, an omen to go out and seek our personal calling. Paulo Coelho is our king, the who opens the door persuading us to begin our journey and our stone is “The Alchemist” for when we lose our way, we only have but to read the story and be persuaded to continue. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us Paulo Coelho, it is so refreshing.
Dear mr. Coelho;
my dear friend went into contact with me 7 years ago. She found my e-mail address and reacted. We told eachother about ourselves and she advised me to try a book of you. I went to the bookstore and came back with a book she had’nt read yet. She decided to buy it too. We read it at the same time, far away from eachother. Every day we discussed it. I was making the best of it at the time, but untill now it was the most difficult time of my life. And the book helped me. We even thought of names that would tipify our lives, like the main character in the book asked the villagers of Sarefat, also called Akbar by its inhabitants.
Sometimes I had to put the book aside for a while because it came too close.
I fell in love with my dear friend, and wrote her a poem. Later, when I read the Alchimist, there was a sentence the same as I wrote it in my poem. And there were many other things I already did, although I had never read the Alchimist. Needless to say it made me happy. A confirmation of myself.
With me and my friend, things were not turning out so good. We both tried some relationships in our own countries which were ending soon. We still love eachother and I hope we can still start a long, deep and lasting relationship, so we can become eachother’s universe.
With kind regards
eu adorei o livro e escrevi um comentário no meu blog acerca dele :) é mais do que um livro!
bjs e abraços de portugal
Dear Sir,
I won’t call “The Alchemist” a book ,its the “life” confined in recto and verso of pages ..Its divine blessing bestowed upon human kind that teaches we really can live our dreams…
Thanking for the gift ..
Shuvashish
dear Slyvia,I just opened this website and while I was searching,I read your message (in generally I have obsession with reading and reading comes to me like a monster).I felt myself very close to you even we have difference of age(I am 21).I felt all these emptiness etc which is very closer to me..I am happy that you percepted the personal legend but I can’t find it.Briefly I can say that my obsessions about life pulls me down and I don’t have no more any motivation and I know that I have to take risks to deal with them to pass to the otherside of the wall .But there is something which makes me afraid and I can’t put the step,if overcome these obsessions will be my personal legend and if I will reach the oasis at the end,I started to feel like maybe this is my personal legend: to not be able to overcome these problems.I will be very happy if you contact with me about mr coelho’s books or anything else.
Dear Mr. Coelho,
Just two days ago I was crying while confessing to my best friend that I was empty. That I couldn’t find the sense or meaning of my life and I felt hopeless, depressed and confused. That I was feeling old and couldn’t see a future ahead of me, that nothing inspired me or motivated me anymore. She tried to console me by saying that I needed to be thankful for all I have, that so many people in the world were in such horrible situations like war, hunger, violence and sickness, and that I was blessed. I told her that I was tired of having to base my happiness on others’ misfortune, that I knew I had much compared to many but still could not find peace and joy even when I counted all my good fortune.
I’ve been in this ugly place many times in my life as I’ve been in “heaven” many others, but as I age (I just turned 50), I find it harder to stay in that heavenly place I know I can create inside me.
But God, the Universe, or whatever you want to call that Force ‘out there’ (not meaning is detached from ourselves), always throws me something when I think I’m too lost to ever get back on track.
And so it happened this time that it was your book, “The Alchemist” that has reawaken in me all that I know in my core but so often forget or deny: that I need to follow what you call My Personal Legend.
There seem to be many obstacles to pursue it that overwhelm me and make me give up my dream very easily. But every time I deny it, I succumb to the darkness of apathy until ‘something’ reminds me that I won’t find that state of fulfillment until I find “my treasure”.
And that I must remember that everything good and bad has just brought me closer to it and has not been a waste. That I need to be more in the here and now and enjoy the learning process that life is.
So Mr. Coelho, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for being the instrument this time, to put me back on the road to my destination.
“GOD” does work in mysterious ways…there are NO coincidences!
Gracias de todo corazon!
Sylvia
I read ‘The Alchemist’ a couple of years ago and it was the first book in over 10 years that mesmerized me. I was amazed by the depth and connectedness that mystified and warmed me.
A fantastic read and I highly recommend it to everyone!
Karmel
hey mr coelho…..
your book really did inspire me and help me a lot …. thank you for your words that help us realize how lucky we are to be here….. and alive… i also read 2 more of your books…. hope you could visit our country(philippines)… bec. i also learned that you are a traveler….
Dear Mr. Coelho,
Good day to you wherever you are in this universe. My name is Zen Alexie from the Philippines.I’m sure you have heard about my country because of the recent calamities that happened here. Fortunate for me,the part that I am in is a different island. Located at the heart of the Philippines in the island named Cebu.
Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is that I have never dreamed to be a writer nor start writing something. I don’t even believe in myself that I have a calling in writing. It was then when I picked your book, “The Alchemist”, for the nth time. I have been reading it since 2004. Every time I read it, I can still find something new in it. The last time I read it,when I closed your book, i started to write. It was also my first time to write something in Cebu’s dialect, Cebuano. I then published it in my facebook account. I was very surprised of the response from my friends,relatives and anyone who have read it. I even had this friend whom I haven’t communicated for almost 20 years because he migrated to New Zealand writing me that suddenly he missed his home country because of it.My relatives urged me to do more of it.
It came to me then that it was my dream to show what I have seen only to be lost when my grandfather died. This could be my calling or just a hobby but it made me feel good. Some people in their twilight years asked me to interview them so I can write something about them and tell the younger generations the things they did. They don’t want me to tell the world,they want me to show the world about them. The universe conspires indeed to make us achieve something.
I will nurture this new found dream of mine and share it to everyone. Half way around the world or farther,your words reached me and gave a little tap to direct me back to that dream I had. Thank you,Mr. Coelho.
Another thing,here in the Philippines,my job is an ESL (English as a Second Language) instructor. One of my reading requirements to all of my students is your book,”The Alchemist,” and even if they are back in their own countries. I constantly check them on what they have read and their own realisations.That’s one of my ways too of sharing my dream.
Yours,
Zen
The Alchemist is the EVER BSET Book i have read so far. it is so aspiring!! Really a damn good book!!
Thnank you for this book Mr. Coelho.
ASV
Dear sir,
it was with suppressed anxiety and curiosity that i read your book.It’s something that one will wish to hold to one’s heart as “THE SPECIAL”. Thank you for this gift.
Senor Coelho,
your book has been met with so much appreciation here.
Oi Paulo ,
Tenho todos os seus livros como um bom fã deve ser ! Mas , sinceramente , o livro que mais gosto ( gosto de todos na verdade ) é o “O Alquimista” . Esse sim está comigo para onde quer que eu vá !!! Para você ter uma ideia tenho dois exemplares que ficam um em casa e o outro dentro do carro !!
Um abraço !
Dearest Paulo,
I’ve been thinking about the production of the alchemist. Is it going to be made? Has a script been projected and approved? I thought that, the alchemist is such a beautiful book that affects the lives of so many individuals, at any age and different paths. I thought that the magical atmosphere may be difficult to portray in a movie, thus encompassing both ideas may give you an amazing way of making the movie. For example, having different indivuals reading in the movie, giving one the opportunity to make the book seen magical in a sense and how it can affect that person’s life positively. It’s a bit difficult to explain exactly what i mean, but i hope you get the idea. I’m sure, you have looked at all the ways of making it.If you haven’t got a script, maybe you should run another competition, like the witch of portobello? it would be good actually :) One last question, when is Veronika decides to die, being released? I remembered it being in production last year.
Thank you for being
Yajna
Dear mister Coelho,
I got the alchemist from my best friend for my 19th birthday.
She had forbidden me to read the book at once (as I read all my other books). I had to read it one chapter at the time, and only when I was traveling to school.
That is a hard thing to do for me, usually I read a very big book in one day, without a lot of thinking. I just dream away in the moment.
This time it was different. After reading one chapter I started contemplating in the train, the story really got to me, mainly becouse I had to stop reading. And after a few years I still read the book from time to time and think about it.
I still am gratefull for this gift. It was the perfect book for me at that time, and at this time :)
All the best,
Sanne
thi0s book is amzing!!
Dear Mr Coehlo,
This book has touched my life in a most profound way. It was one of your first books that I read. That was a while ago, but even today, I do not remember the exact words in the book, but I still feel totally inspired by your writing. It is not in the words only, but the impression that stays long after the book is done that has made me one of your biggest fans.
‘It is written’ has become my encouragement in times were life seems unsteady and unpredictable.
Thank you so much for The Alchemist.
Sincerely,
Lindsay
paulo
as we/me are suffering from our desire,its the FATIMA
who inspire us to grab ur destiny …..
its the KISS OF BREZE
THAT INSPIRE US TO READ
its the LANGUAGE OF WORLD i say it consiousness………
that show us to how to live
how much we are running …..
ITS THE MAKHTUB
that lead us to u
THE ALMIGHTY.
thank you very much to realise that still we are alive ..
thanking you
TANMAY(shawon)
I think that you are so right. This book has touched me in so many ways. This is a inspirational book and I am and will tell everyone I know about this book.
Love,
Twavion Graham
You’ve been searching for me all your life long Paulo, be glad that that person exists, that soul flies. Thanks for all of your efforts.
Love…
Dear Paulo,
I read the book it confused me alot. How could Fatima and Santiago be together it’s against Tradition as you said in the book. If he marries Fatima they will not be accepted in the oasis and Santiago will not be the counselor of the oasis. And how could the alchemist drink wine it’s still forbidden wine makes you unaware of your actions which makes you say evil things like you said in the book. Other than that it was an extremely confusing book and it made feel crazy trying to understand it but the story was nice. Oh and did you really meet an alchemist did you learn how to change your self to wind or change lead into gold?
Dear Paulo
It is really amazing to think that a novel of such simple prose and content (in terms of word count)can be so inspiring and can propagate positive energy inside the human soul.
I was wondering…
> was it all the media hype that generated the insterest in me to imagine the unseen in the book?
> was it that I was primed to expect new meanings & inspiration within the covers?
> was that we are all informed that this book holds the guinnes record for the highest number of prints by a ‘living author”?
No,No,No – this book is magical, simple and takes the reader by holding the hands through the journey of the sheperd boy.
I really opened my eyes to look back into my child hood – what where my dreams; what gave me happiness – why I was so enthusiastic then? -I am the same man today – but the soul is frustrated , scared and clueless now.
Once again I want to dream and chase those dreams – like chasing the beatiful, colorful butterflies – catching them intact, without hurting them , without killing them.
Thanks Paulo
V.SIVAKUMAR
I will soon enter Santiago’s world. The Alchemist has been coming in and out of my life for about two years now. I never picked it up! Since day one, the book would pass me by and I can still remember those moments, I ignored them. I just ordered it today and I am sooo excited to get on my journey! :D
Love and Light
Indy
Paulo,
I don’t know if you read this but thank you so much. You are beautiful, someone once told me that I made then WANT to be a better man, I was 12. I read The Alchemist when I was 16, you MADE a better women. I’m now struggling with my own dreams of traveling the world.
Muchas Gracias, Senor Coelho.
With love,
Lynne
dear paulo,
I come from the philippines which is one of the countries regarded to belong to 3rd world countries. I have red the alchemist for the nth time. I glead when you said in your likr the flowing river that a book should be shared to other people. I’m happy to tell you teht my mum, dad, sister, aunts and 3 of my friends already red it and was empowered by it. As for me, I will always consider it as my very first heart to heart communication with an author. Big thanks!!!
ON ALCHEMIST:
really an amazing work by paulo………..
i sat only once to finish it off
felt as a safari ride.. with ALCHEMIST
Dear Sennor Coelho,
According to my own opinion, I think that The Alchemist is the best novel that I’ve ever read. Perhaps, when you wrote it, your hand are under controlled by Invisible Hands who creates the universe.
What a great novel.
The most important point here is The Alchemist inspires me to struggle, follow, and reach my dream and believe in miracle of The Creator itself.
A bunch of thanks for this great novel, Sennor Coelho… GOD bless you.
Terminé de leer el libro con una sonrisa, con la convicción de que uno puede alcanzar sus metas y la felicidad
Bellisimo libro, un regalo para la humanidad
G R A C I AS
There are actually two books that changed my life and help me to find my true happiness and love in particular. One of them was Richard Bach’s “Bridge across forever” which I read by accident and was pretty shocked because the way the man wrote was exactly how I though, so basically I read my own story, however with solution to it. And even broke down in tears on one page (which I usually never do despite the fact of being a girl and a “sensitive” artist :)))
Anyways, a lot of my friend read the “Alchemist” and tried to make me read it. I however did not because it felt to me to be something like “pop” literature so I though that I would rather read it one day when it is out of fashion :))))) The moment of it “being out of fashion” never came. The moment when I was completely lost and desperate did came though… (those moments somehow always come in the right moment :)))) So my friend left the book in my room and in the end of the day I decided to read it… If it was any other moment in my life the book would have never made such an impression on me… But on that particular day, after reading it nonstop without a couple of hours all the pieces of the puzzle came together and I knew exactly what I should do with my life now! It had a really massive impact one me…
The beauty of books in general and the Alchemist, Bridge across forever or the Veronika decides to die and so on…or actually any other book including non-philosophical stuff at all (however it’s a questionable thing anyways, what’s philosophical… is there always a philosophical idea in he most primitive story????) the beauty of it… it’s to find a book that is suitable exactly for the very moment in your life you live in, that can help you to solve your problem, help you out or simply will fit your momentary feelings…
I also read Zair afterwards. I however did not really like it that much. Although I really felt the personal grow’s of yours (the writer), and that the idea of freedom was quite changed since the Alchemist :)))) By the way, if I read the Alchimist now, it would not impress me in the same way, because I already passed that part of my life :))) Veronika decided to die is quite timeless though.
Wanted to write one thing… and wrote something completely different, as usually…. :)))
What I actually wanted to say, dear Pablo? I was really impressed by your ideas about fee information! As a person who grew up in a society that was going to build communism, I feel really frustrated about all this capitalistic idiotism that in fact burns its own furniture in it’s own room for feeling a bit warmer…
Alchemist is my bible of life. it has inspired me in many ways. It makes you stand up & fight against every odd… It makes believe in one self & god… I know that I will be paid for my work & my belief in my self one day.. One day.. for sure… Thanks SIr Paulo… for such a valuable creations… Especially because I see Santiago in my self… Thanks again…
Dear Paulo,
It was 2001 and I was stuck and sinking into the depths of despair. Everything was dark and dismal, to be honest I had lost hope for life. A friend of mine with whom I used to discuss mostly on philosophy handed me money (I didn’t have enough to pay for a cup of tea then) and told me to buy The Alchemist. In a single reading I read it all and that was the day I really believed in me, I also realized the same day that I had even lost myself as a being.
One thing more I’d like to share and thats each character in the book acts as a mirror. People reading the book find themselves in a character, either it’s Santiago, the crystal merchant or the Englishman, each character depicts our lives as we ought to be in the different phases of life.
i just started reading your book .. ive always been curious about your works .. bought a copy of alchemist last summer and starting to buy your books and reading and sharing and giving it away … as books are not to be kept in the shelves … but to be shared …. you have wonderful lines …. i wish i could collect all your book tho … il try … but it is better shared that is .. but i guess id still be keeping some …. or be buying some for some that i have shared and passed on … i just finished your warrior of the light … after reading like the flowing river …
thank you … such beautiful lines … and id still be reading more …
I haven’t read all your books. But I really love your books. I like your way on thinking and seeing the world that you write in your books. It’s so interesting. I tried to read The Fifth Mountain for the first time. And then, I borrowed The Alchemist from my father. I also have read The Devil and Miss Prym and By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. Right now, I’m reading The Winner Stands alone. Actually, even tough everybody said The Alchemist is the best, my favorites right now is The Devil and Miss Prym and The Winner Stands Alone.
MAKTUB!Thank you.
I have not red many books of you, Mr Coelho…but yes Alchemist is really an eye opener for those who just lead it as they hvae to..& i am on eof them..but i hope i will try to work on myself to be in a better position to control my life fr once. thnks n regards Arti
its the story which takes you to world of understanding and dreams,the bottomline is one has to read then feel joy!!
El libro eE Alquimista debiera ser leído por todos los adolescentes en la secundaria como currículo de la materia de lengua y literatura. Gracias a Dios tuve la oportunidad de leer este libro cuando apenas era una adolescente. Recuerdo ser una adolescente triste, tímida, y sin sueños. Después que leí El Alquimista mi vida cambio por completo, dio un giro inesperado y todo para bien. Es entonces cuando empiezo a soñar tal como Santiago lo hizo, soñé y soñé que logre mi sueño de adolecente; ahora mi sueño es otro, convertirme en una escritora que al igual que fui inspirada por escritos, los míos puedan hacer lo mismo. Gracias Paulo por dejarnos disfrutar de tu talento y de tu grandiosa e iluminada alma.
Dear Paulo,
Your book “the Alchemist” is really a self-awakening one. Iwas confsed about the paths to choose in my life. But this book has showed me the way to realize my destiny. Thanks for helping thousands of people like me with this book. It has really directed me into a right path. Thank you again.
With best regards
Silton
Dear Paulo,
Just read what you write above about following one’s path and the 4 points. I have been on and of my path all my life and have battled with many situations to get ahead on my path, but each time when I have conquered my fears and am going forward and am actually progressing I start to sabotage it. I have been searching for years now inside to understand why I do this and what I can do to take the next step to overcome this awful part of me that sabotages me. I want to make the next steps but I keep taking seven and falling ten it seems. The closer I get the deeper I fall. I know I will keep trying but it scares me what goes on in my head sometimes. Does anybody else have this too and what do you do in situations like this?
Much love
Hi Butterflymuur, Mr. Coelho and to anyone else who is reading.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this page. It made me think a lot, I will share my story. Hopefully, it may help you on your “journey”. Or maybe I am writing this to myself.
Many years ago, I read the Alchemyst. I thought it was a beautiful book, I loved it, but it didn’t change me or affect my daily-life in a huge way.
About ten years later, completely unrelated to this book I walk the Camino de Santiago. I have never felt any attraction to Spain, or to the action of walking, so the the wish to go there, must have come from somewhere deeper, within me.
On my 5th day of walking, I suddenly remembered this book, and I understood for the first time what it really was about, what it really had meant, and I stopped for a moment and cried of happiness.
After I finished my weeks of walking I felt cleansed, healed and very confident about what it was I wanted to do with my life. I saw all the potential that I had in myself, and I saw that I had the power to release it, and feel truly free.
Now, half a year later, I do not feel free at all.
My life is very safe, it is warm and healthy, I have good people around me, but I am very unhappy. I have no passion, many worries, fears, and most of all, feel a huge amount of guilt for the way I am spending my time and energy. It is awful to be in this state of mind, but at least I know I was not put here by anyone but myself.
I feel it is harder for me to accept this now, because of the sublime happiness I have experienced earlier this year. All I want, is to retrieve that feeling of bliss, of peacefulness and freedom, but all I am doing in my actions, is taking me further away from it.
I have like you, asked myself why this is happening. I think clinging to this memory of the past, is not helping me at all.
When I was walking I accepted my life, all the things I could not access such as, my good friends, my home, dancing, listening to music, etc. Still, I was happy with my situation, I accepted it, and most importantly I accepted myself.
Today, I do not accept myself, because I never achieve the goals I have.
I think it is important to learn, what things in life makes you happy, and to make it possible for yourself to do those things.
I came up with an image full of clichés, but it explains how I see the situation.
If I want to climb a huge mountain, and I never manage to, I think it is also important to ask yourself why it is so important to climb it. Is it because other people have managed and you should too, because it’s only there you can see the sunrise, because you want to be strong or because you see yourself there on the top and you think it will make you happy.
I am learning that some day, I will climb that mountain. But I cannot do it with my bare feet and hands. I need to learn the right climbing skills, have the equipment, the experience, and the right people to guide me up there, because otherwise I will fail.
Today, I will have the top of the mountain in my mind, but I will also try to remember the joys of preparing for the hike, and the joys of learning all of those other things. Because maybe, if I loose myself in the moment, I realize that it is all these experiences, planned and surprising ones, that will make my journey up to the mountain to be all that it can be. And it will be all those experiences that will make me sit on top of there and cry of happiness, because I dedicated myself to do them with patience and love. If I would fly up there with a helicopter, I wouldn’t feel a thing, and it would all be a waste.
Please feel free to write back, if anyone has a comment to this.
Best wishes,
Bekka
Dear Paolo,
Thank you so much for passing on this energy in such a comprehensible way.
Bless you my friend.
Eli
Dear Paulo,
I have read many of your books and you will be surprised which one I found the most inspiring ‘Veronica decides to Die’.
This story was a great surprise to me. Having your life start all over just when you believe it is ending was a message that I needed at that time. I love writing too. I have been addicted to writing since I was probably 6 years old. I never published anything as I write in English and I am a native Arabic speaker, so most publishing houses in Egypt are not interested in English texts.
I would love if you consider having a look at some of my writings and telling me your honest opinion. This would mean so much to me. All my life I have envisioned myself as an author but am I one? may be you can help me answer that question?
Best Regards,
Angie Eissa
i love your books,and am touched by the interest and kindness you show your readers.I first read the alchemist,then the devil and miss prim-which my teenage sons enjoyed when i read it out,then my eldestson bought me a collection ofyour stories,then i read the witch of portabello,which my daughter has claimed.Thank-you for these books,thank-you for the story at christmas and thank-you for your blog ,i love it and it is good company when i’m stuck working on my computor and wish to escape.I read your statutes and loved them so much i read them out to my son,last week before he left to university.Iwish you well,I think you are a good positive influence in my world.
>> it was unplanned when i read the book. i find the title interesting so i picked it up and read the first part which was about NARCISUS. that was even the first time i ever knew paulo coelho. i am not actually fun of reading such kind of novel for i love suspense and thriller but i just don’t know then… i found myself halfway of the novel… i learned a lot and it made me feel and realize what life really is..after that, i recommended it to my friends.
hello paul
its been 3 years back from nw..when i read The Alchemist.. and i was liven up indeed afer reading it…and it still lingers on in my mind..the favourite quote…”the whole world conspires to let you achieve what you want”…and i experienced it too..and i have started believing in myself firmly..it changed the whole perspective for me…
Dear Sir,
I have a story.
This relates to my workplace and dates few months back when this current recession was at its peak. My project had finished and there was no further work in my area of expertise. I was under huge pressure to work in areas I had no interest in. One ‘fine’ day, the manager called up for a face-to-face meeting where I was supposed to say a final ‘yes’ or ‘no’. In the meeting, he randomly picked 2 ink markers to explain the situation to me.
“The left marker is a new work from a client.. though you might not be liking the area, it will be a good exposure with good travel involved and new things to learn. You will broaden your horizon and develop more expertise.” said the manager.
“On the other hand, this is your current area of expertise..”, he continued while pointing to the other ink-marker he was holding. “You know a lot about this, you have performed excellently in the past and the previousclients are very happy and am sure can do wonders while staying in this area. BUT, we don’t have any work in it right now. So you decide.”
I have no idea what made me said this but my reply was a question, “Sir, Do you believe in omens?”
Obviously this was unexpected and he didn’t reply. I continued.. “the first pen you were holding to describe an area I don’t like is RED. The one you used to describe my area of liking is GREEN. Red is STOP. Green is GO. I will go with green. I insist on remaining in my area of liking.”
He looked amazed. After gaining back control, he said “But it was random.. me choosing the GREEN pen for area of your liking and RED pen for the other work.”
“That it was random is what makes it an omen. I will go with the omen.” I replied. While moving out of the meeting room, I told him about ‘The Alchemist’ and you, Mr. Coelho.
Do you know what happened in next few days?
Very next day, a colleague who was working in my area of liking resigned from the firm. I was the one who was asked to replace him! The Green Signal worked!
The incident didn’t end here. A month later, the work being described with the RED pen was abandoned as the client decided to call off the project due to recession. The whole team was disassembled! Had had I joined it, I would have had nowhere to go!
Thank you Mr. Coelho, Thank you for bringing the Alchemist to our lives. You have taught me to identify omens.
I was wondering how people would reply to a review like this one:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/814449/a_critical_review_of_paulo_coelhos.html?cat=38
A true work of genius holds up to both positive and negative criticism, right?
Dear Paul,
I am a Canadian with roots to the Maternity in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I was given a book by a friend called the Alchemist. Wow! I get it. I am now reading the Witch of Portobello and I am reading about myself. I love the way that you write. It’s magic. Thank you. In reality I feel lost. But spiritually through your writing…I am found.
I recently read this book for the first time.
My reactions to it were mixed. On one hand, it’s a well written story, full of powerful imagery; but on the other hand, it’s a bit too simplistic. The main characters are too one-sided; therefore, it’s hard to relate to them. It works nicely as a fairy-tale in my opinion, especially because the author never really tells us what time the story is set in.
On to the message of the book. It’s about following your dreams, right? But what if your purpose in life is to stay exactly where you are and not go anywhere? Or does the author think that every single person’s purpose in life is to go away somewhere far to discover something near? That’s impossible in my opinion. Some people are born to journey, some are born to stay where they are; both can be happy and fulfill their destiny that way.
But I think I became a little happier after reading that book, before I read it I kinda thought my life was over (I recently turned 30 :) ), but now I guess I see there’s more stuff to strive for, plus it’s kinda cool to think that every single thing in this world serves its own purpose in some way. Now if I could only find my own purpose that would be awesome but there are no kings coming my way just yet :)))
Anyhow, this is my first book by the author, I will try to read more works by him, would anyone recommend something else?
Dear Anna,
I have recently read the same book The Alchenist and I think I can comment your doubts.
First of all this is not a documentary and is written rather in form of proverb to be easily undesrstandable to everyone independantly on education and life experience. Secondly truth IS simple and sofisticated things often are far from being truth. This idea is well reflected in another Author’s book -The Magician’s Diary (something like that) which I also liked a lot.
Also I don’t think that the Author literally means that everyone has to travel. This book rather has a figurative meaning of souls movement in a search of your dream and personal growth. Pleas let the Author correct me if I am wrong.
Kind regards
Alexander Kiyashko
Paulo, prazer enorme enviar algumas palavras a quem considero um amigo. Seus livros me trazem uma grande paz, porque busquei toda a vida uma resposta. Sua narrativa me emociona, não pelo contexto mas sim pela simplicidade e objetividade. Diário de um Mago, meu preferido, deu-me a luz no momento exato. Quero parabenizá-lo pelo sucesso e humildade ao permitir que leitores enviem suas palavras. As minhas serão de agradecimento, sempre. Um grande beijo e sucesso.
Милый Пауло Коэльо!
Спасибо!!!
Я прочитала Вашу книгу в 39 лет…
и полностью изменила свою жизнь: ушла с работы хорошо оплачиваемой, переехала в Минск и рассталась с парнем, с которым прожили около 9 лет.
Когда я завершила последнее изменение(а именно – переезд),наступил вечер – я испугалась и рыдала…уТРОМ ВСЕ БЫЛО ПО-ДРУГОМУ. Солнце приветливо улыбалось и сверкало, пели птицы – а я была одним из счастливейших человек в мире.Самое главное – все, что со мною происходило – было естественно,ненадуманно,легко. Я не просто все рвала в жизни, а что-то ткала-хорошее,родное и близкое.
И это не прекращается до сих пор.Теперь мне 40 лет и васе в моей жизни по другому.
Я очень рада за Вас ПАУЛО,что Ваши труды(в отличие от других) признаны и осознанны сразу.
Татьяна,
Paulo свою первую книгу написал когда ему исполнилось 40 лет. А это значит, что у Вас тоже все еще впереди! И это так прекрасно, не так ли?!
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