The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho

“Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you’re thinking about life and about the world.” “You

treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.”

Because a grain of sand is a moment of creation, and the universe has taken millions of years to create it.

Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed,

to be a threatening place.

“No,” the alchemist answered. “What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.’

There had been two thieves farther ahead who were planning to steal the boy’s sheep and murder him. But, since the boy hadn’t passed by, they had decided to move on, thinking that he had changed his route.

But they do help children, drunkards, and the elderly, too.”

“Your eyes show the strength of your

soul,” answered the alchemist.

“You already know about alchemy. It is about penetrating to the Soul of the World, and discovering the treasure that has been reserved for you.”

They forgot that lead, copper, and iron have their own Personal Legends to fulfill. And

“An alchemist,” said the alchemist. “He understands the forces of nature. And he wants to show you his extraordinary powers.”

“He needs three days,” answered the alchemist. “He is going to transform himself into the wind, just to demonstrate his powers. If he can’t do so, we humbly offer you our lives, for the honor of your tribe.”

“Your money saved us for three days. It’s not often that money saves a person’s life.”

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

That’s a lot better than dying like millions of other people, who never even knew what their Personal Legends were.

“You’re the one who may die,” the alchemist said. “I already know how to turn myself into the wind.”

And, one day, as I enjoy the fact that his game thrives on my surface, the falcon dives out of the sky, and takes away what I’ve created.”

And look how many things the wind already knew how to do! It created deserts, sank ships, felled entire forests, and blew through cities filled with music and strange noises. It felt that it had no limits, yet here was a boy saying that there were other things the wind should be able to do.

Each performs its own exact function as a unique being, and everything would be a symphony of peace if the hand that wrote all this had stopped on the fifth day of creation.

So each thing has to transform itself into something better, and to acquire a new Personal Legend, until, someday, the Soul of the World becomes one thing only.”

“That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”

The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles.

“Don’t say that again. Life might be listening, and give you less the next time.”

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

Along the way, he learned that the man he was seeking was the Son of God. He met others who had been cured by him, and they instructed your son in the man’s teachings.

“My Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed.”’”

But before they left, he came back to the boy and said, “You’re not going to die. You’ll live, and you’ll learn that a man shouldn’t be so stupid. Two years ago, right here on this spot, I had a recurrent dream, too. I dreamed that I should travel to the fields of Spain and look for a ruined

church where shepherds and their sheep

slept. In my dream, there was a sycamore growing out of the ruins of the sacristy, and I was told that, if I dug at the roots of the sycamore, I would find a hidden treasure. But I’m not so stupid as to cr...

It’s true; life really is generous to those who pursue their Personal Legend, the boy thought.