Today’s Question by Aart Hilal
The Paulo Coelho Institute concentrates on helping the children and the elderly. Why are these two groups specifically important to you?
For a writer, to be famous is very abstract, because he does not have a direct contact with the readers. Therefore, the only visible change is that I know that several doors are open, and I have to choose the good ones. For example, I choose to participate on the Rainbow Project, supporting young people whose countries are at war, as I choose to engage myself into a Unesco program that tries to create a bridge between different cultures. And that’s why I also created the Paulo Coelho Institute, which takes care of 430 children in Rio de Janeiro. If you understand Saint Paul’s motto “sic transit gloria mundi” (the glory of the world is transitory) you may do your best to use the success as a tool, not as an end itself. As for money, I have what I need to live a comfortable life, and this is the fruit of my work, which I am very proud of.
