The Alchemist

• Book Title: The Alchemist
• Author: Paulo Coelho
• Year written/published: 1993
• Book Source: Google Books, Library
• Some extracts:

There are 4 obstacles:

1. We are told from childhood onwards that everything we want to do is impossible.
2. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream.
3. Fear of defeats we will meet on the path
4. Fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives.

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.

lie

What’s the world’s greatest lie? It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.

destiny

The boy didn’t know what a person’s “destiny” was. It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their destiny is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny.

want something

And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

decison

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.

present moment

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.

every search

Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You’ve got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense. All you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation. Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there. 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. Every search begins with beginners luck and ends with the victor’s being severely tested. Love never keeps a man from pursuing his personal legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t true love.