The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho

“I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.”

But when he thought to complain about the burden of its weight, he remembered that, because he had the jacket, he had withstood the cold of the dawn.

We have to be prepared for change, he thought, and he was grateful for the jacket’s weight and warmth.

But ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, and this was much more important to him than knowing God and learning about man’s sins.

“Amongst us, the only ones who travel are the shepherds.” “Well, then I’ll be a shepherd!”

I couldn’t have found God in the seminary, he thought, as he looked at the sunrise.

They don’t see that the fields are new and the seasons change. All they think about is food and water.

It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting,

Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.

“This is an important book, but it’s really irritating.”

“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 lie.”

The boy didn’t know where Salem was, but he didn’t want to ask, fearing that he would appear ignorant.

Sometimes it’s better to be with the sheep, who don’t say anything. And better still to be alone with one’s books.

The boy was getting irritated. He wasn’t asking for help.

“It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is.

when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth.”

To realize one’s Personal Legend is a person’s only real obligation. All things are one.

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

There are other things I do, too, but most of the time people don’t realize I’ve done them.”

“If you start out by promising what you don’t even have yet, you’ll lose your desire to work toward getting it.”

when each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.

The boy felt jealous of the freedom of the wind, and saw that he could have the same freedom.

“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.”

I’m going to become bitter and distrustful of people because one person betrayed me.

As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure.

But the crystal merchant had no choice. He had lived thirty years of his life buying and selling crystal pieces, and now it was too late to do anything else.

I’m afraid that if my dream is realized, I’ll have no reason to go on living.

I don’t want to change anything, because I don’t know how to deal with change. I’m used to the way I am.”

every blessing ignored becomes a curse.

I’m going to feel worse than I did before you arrived. Because I know the things I should be able to accomplish, and I don’t want to do so.”

It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.

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.

It was only the Englishman who was unaware of all this; he was, for the most part, immersed in reading his books.

It was something that I thought could happen only to others, never to me.

“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.”

“Everyone has his or her own way of learning things,” he said to himself. “His way isn’t the same as mine, nor mine as his. But we’re both in search of our Personal Legends, and I respect him for that.”

“When I’m eating, that’s all I think about. If I’m on the march, I just concentrate on marching. If I have to fight, it will be just as good a day to die as any other.

“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.

It seemed as if what the old king had called “beginner’s luck” were no longer functioning.

In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage.

“Don’t be impatient,” he repeated to himself. “It’s like the camel driver said: ‘Eat when it’s time to eat. And move along when it’s time to move along.’”

Now, I’m beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I’m happy at least that I didn’t wait twenty years.”

When you are in love, things make even more sense, he thought.

“Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World.”

“It’s not what enters men’s mouths that’s evil,” said the alchemist. “It’s what comes out of their mouths that is.”

“Then, sometime during the fourth year, the omens will abandon you, because you’ve stopped listening to them.

“You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend.

“Men dream more about coming home than about leaving,”

The desert will give you an understanding of the world; in fact, anything on the face of the earth will do that.

“Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.”