The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I can't believe it. I read this book in 3 hours. Couldn't put it down really.

This is a story about how our dreams transform us and the importance of listening to our hearts. The author has written many other novels about the journey of life. This one is about wisdom.

A poor Spanish shepherd boy has a dream about finding a treasure at The Great Pyramids. The story is about his journey to discover this treasure - his personal calling (or Personal Legend as its called in the story). Throughout the journey he meets many people and sees many omens all of which help lead him to his treasure. The storytelling is simple, yet powerful. The story is great because of the beauty in its simplicity. It has been compared the The Little Prince, another fable about a boy who leaves home in search of great things and learns lesson about love and life along the way.

Underneath the story the author weaves in lessons about following our dreams. He believes that we don't have the courage to confront our dreams, or our personal callings, because of 4 obstacles:
1) We are told from childhood that everything is impossible.
2) Love. We know what we want to do but are afraid of hurting those around us and abandoning them in pursuit of our dream.
3) Fear of defeat.
4) The fear of realizing the dream for which we fought our whole lives. (The guilt and fear of getting something that we really want.)

Think of this as a self-help book, artistically masked by a beautiful story that encourages us to find the courage to achieve our dreams.

Some of my favorite passages:
It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.

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

No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it.

...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 worlds greatest lie.


One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.