How 'The Alchemist' Can Help You Live Your Dreams

Paulo Coelho is an authority on the subject of living your dreams.

His book, The Alchemist, has sold 65 million copies.

Before it’s success, his defied his parents wishes, and his countries rules, to stay true to what he calls his, “personal calling.”

During his adolescence, he rebelled against his Jesuit schooling and was committed to a mental asylum by his parents on 3 occasions.

After brief stint at university, he spent many years writing songs criticising the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil at the time.

Such action resulted in him being incarcerated 3 times. He was also tortured while imprisoned.

Did this put an end to his dreaming and determination to stay true to what he felt was his calling?

No.

His long-held ambition was to be a writer and, after walking the Camino trail in Spain, he gave it his full commitment.

The results were astounding.

Within a year, he’d penned his masterpiece – The Alchemist – and a year after that, the book was published.

Should you be surprised by Coelho’s success?

Possibly not. It’s clear he knows what it takes to realise a dream and he shares this wisdom in a prelude to The Alchemist.

In this essay, he claims there are only 4 obstacles stopping us from living our dreams. They are . . .

1.Growing up in a system that tells us every dream we have for our lives is impossible to achieve.

Conditioning is a bitch.

It closes your mind to both yours, and the worlds’, endless possibilities.

2. The fear of hurting the people around us by going for our dreams.

Other people will call you selfish for acting on your ambitions. To counter this, let them know it’s a win-win if they support you because they get a happier and stronger version of you in their lives.

3. The fear of failure.

Failure is inevitable when pursuing your dreams. However, Coelho reminds you that the secret to success is, “to fall seven times, and get back up eight times.”

Ultimately, failure helps you learn and grow.

4. The fear of success.

Coelho remarks that he’s seen many people self-sabotage just as they were about to realise their dream because they fear isolation through success. He claims there’s a “saintly aura” connected with renouncing, “joy and conquest.” 

Don’t let this be you.

Understand that you can do more good in the world through allowing your light to shine. Playing small serves no-one.

What did you think of Coelho’s observations? Comment below.

For more wisdom from a best-selling book, check out my memo on The Celestine Prophecy.