This collection of inspirational quotes was created using passages from Paulo Coelho’s internationally acclaimed book, “The Alchemist”. Come back to it often for daily inspiration and enlightenment. If you haven’t read the book, we highly recommend it. Here is a link to purchase the book on Amazon.
1. What is alchemy?
“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.”
2. Can it help me achieve my dreams?
“There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth.”
3. Will it be hard?
“No heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”
4. Will it be worth 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.”
5. What if I don’t follow my dreams?
“The boy could see in his father’s gaze a desire to be able, himself, to travel the world – a desire that was still alive, despite his father’s having had to bury it, over dozens of years, under the burden of struggling for water to drink, food to eat, and the same place to sleep every night of his life.”
6. Is the struggle worth it?
“When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I’ve known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it.
When I have been truly searching for my 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.”
7. Should I follow my heart?
“Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him”, his heart said. “We, people’s hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate.
But unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them – the path to their destinies, and to happiness.”
8. Then why do people give up?
“Why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?” the boy asked the alchemist. “Because that’s what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don’t like to suffer.”
9. What else do I need to know?
“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.’ Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.”
10. Why are you telling me this?
“This is why alchemy exists,” the boy said. “So that everyone will search for his treasure, find it, and then want to be better than he was in his former life. Lead will play its role until the world has no further need for lead; and then lead will have to turn itself into gold.
That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
Paulo Coelho’s, “The Alchemist” is an invaluable story of faith, perseverance, and courage. It’s easy to read and provides strong moral lessons in the form of an amazing story.
If you haven’t read it yet, you can buy the book on Amazon for a penny, here! (If you use that link, we get approximately 1/6th of a penny… We legally have to tell you that, but clearly our motivation is not the 1/6th of a penny.)
Alternatively, you can listen to the book for free on Audible using the link below. It takes about four hours to finish.
