Sara Niles's Blog: Sara Nile's Blog - Posts Tagged "perseverence"

Paulo Coelho is an internationally famed author, mainly because of his 1987 book, The Alchemist, which has sold over 150 million copies and had a 315 week run on the New York Times best seller list. That is over six continuous years as a best seller.

The Alchemist tells a tale that became almost autobiographical for Coelho: that of a young shepherd boy on a quest for what would become the most valued thing in his life. In Coelho’s case, his personal quest was to become a writer. From the time Coelho was a young boy in his native land of Brazil; his dream was to become a writer, even though it was scoffed at by others. Writing was his dream. In The Alchemist, Coelho wrote “When you want something, the whole universe conspires to help you”, and those words inspired him to not give up when the first publication of The Alchemist flopped.

If Coelho had listened to the first publisher who decided the book was not worthwhile after the first printing sold less than a dozen copies, or if he had listened to his mother who questioned the logic of becoming a writer, there would not have been The Internationally renowned Paulo Coelho, nor The Alchemist, which has won over one hundred awards. There would have been no time spent on the New York Times best seller list, and I would not be writing about Paulo Coelho.

The lesson learned is to never give up on your dream, even if you are your only fan.