The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho

It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.

“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. That’s the world’s greatest

The boy didn’t know what a person’s “Personal Legend” was. “It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is.

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

“People learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being,” said the old man, with a certain bitterness. “Maybe that’s why they give up on it so early, too. But that’s the way it is.”

If he sold just one of his sheep, he’d have enough to get to the other shore of the strait. The idea frightened him.

“That’s the way it always is,” said the old man. “It’s called the principle of favorability. When you play cards the first time, you are almost sure to win. Beginner’s luck.” “Why is that?” “Because there is a force that wants you to realize

‘The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.’”

“I’m like everyone else—I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does.”

He realized that he could do the same thing the old man had done—sense whether a person was near to or far from his Personal Legend. Just by looking at them. It’s easy, and yet I’ve never done it before, he thought.

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 boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it’s all written there.

people need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want.

“We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.”

“That’s the principle that governs all things,” he said. “In alchemy, it’s called the Soul of the World. When you want something with all your heart, that’s when you are closest to the Soul of the World. It’s always a positive force.”

“But, above all, I learned that these things are all so simple that they could be written on the surface of an emerald.”

“Because 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. You’ll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living right now.”

“If good things are coming, they will be a pleasant surprise,” said the seer. “If bad things are, and you know in advance, you will suffer greatly before they even occur.”

“There is only one way to learn,” the alchemist answered. “It’s through action.

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.

“Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.”

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

‘Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.’”