The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream is the global best-selling story about the journey of an Andalusian shepherd boy, named Santiago, and his quest to follow his dream. The story begins with Santiago, who keeps having recurring dreams of a young child telling him that there is a treasure in the Egyptian Pyramids. Since the dream comes to him on numerous occasions, curiosity motivates Santiago to follow his dream and begin a journey to find the treasure.
Along his way to follow his dream, Santiago meets individuals that teach him lessons throughout the journey. A key lesson that Santiago learns in the beginning of his journey is the idea of Personal Legend. This concept is introduced to him by a wise king named Melchizedek, who explains to him the idea of Personal Legend is that at a young age, everyone knows their dream, and what they are meant to accomplish in their life. The old king also goes on to explain, "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it". The Personal Legend is intertwined throughout the book and is the underlying theme throughout Santiago's journey.
Another individual he meets his named Fatima, and she teaches him to follow his heart, and that when one follows their heart they will find their fortune. An alchemist meets Santiago later in his journey and goes into further depth about Personal Legend and how it is essential to fully understand one's own dream. More individual's throughout the story teach Santiago key lessons in his quest to find the treasure.
The story of Santiago's journey is meant to awaken an individual's aspirations and inspire them to pursue their own dreams. The idea of Personal Legend is the main theme of the story and how by wanting something the universe will help us conspire to achieve that dream.
Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and by his early teenage years knew his own Personal Legend was to become a writer. Due to his parent's negative reaction to the idea, he went to law school instead of pursuing his passion for writing. After enrolling in law school, he quickly dropped out and lived an off the grid life, filling his life with travel and self-development. He soon had a spiritual awakening and decided to follow his dream and become a writer. In following his dream, he wrote The Alchemist, which has gone on to become an international best seller, and has been translated into more than 70 different languages.
“My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.
“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams.”
Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho’s charming fable will continue to enchant and inspire even wider audiences of readers for generations to come.
The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert. Along the way he meets a gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago toward his destination.
No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way, but what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a meditation on the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.
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