The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho

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

“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.”

He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have.

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.

A shepherd may like to travel, but he should never forget about his sheep.

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

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it,”

every blessing ignored becomes a curse. I don’t want anything else in life.

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.

Yet the boy felt that there was another way to regard his situation: he was actually two hours closer to his treasure … the fact that the two hours had stretched into an entire year didn’t matter.

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.

Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living right now.”

The boy had met the alchemist.

“When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream,”

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

“When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.”

“What is an alchemist?” he asked, finally. “It’s a man who understands nature and the world. If he wanted to, he could destroy this camp just with the force of the wind.”

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

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

“Be aware of the place where you are brought to tears. That’s where I am, and that’s where your treasure is.”