The Alchemist: 1st of 15 Books to Read

It’s second Monday of January! Yehey, always happy and excited!  Aside from today is my niece Sheila Marie’s birthday(happy birthday! Mwaah! Mwaah!) I am also looking forward for the payday.  In two days time I will receive it.  I have amount to budget again.  Yey!

I’m glad today because I’ve done reading my first of my 15 BOOKS TO READ for 2014.  My number one goal for this year is to improve my reading habit.  I listed about 15 books and have to finish it within a year.  I’d like to enjoy the benefits of reading and believe that it will help me reach my other goals.

THE ALCHEMIST

It’s written by one of the bestselling and most influential authors in the world Paulo Coelho.  He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1947.  A Catholic and believes that religion is a way of having discipline and collective worship with persons who share the same mystery. 

He also wrote other bestselling books about Temptation-The Devil and Miss Prym, about Obsession-The Zahir, about Faith-The Fifth Mountain, about Hope-The Valkyries, about Courage-Warrior of Light(his biography), about Love-Eleven Minutes, about Redemption-Veronika Decides to Die and about Forgiveness-By the River Piedra I sat down and wept.

The Alchemist is about wisdom.  This story breaks down the journey we all take to find the most meaningful treasures in our lives into steps that are at once natural and magical.  It is about faith, power, and courage we all have within us to pursue the intricate path of a Personal Legend, a path chartered by the mysterious magnet of destiny but obscured by distractions.  The character shows how along the way we learn to trust our hearts, read the seemingly inconspicuous signs and understand that as we look to fulfill a dream, it looks to find us just the same, if we let it.

I admit, Nosebleed!   I repeated the lines most of the time for me to understand clearly and read between the lines.

I’d like to share to you my favorite lines in the novel.

“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.”

“The boy didn’t know what a person’s “Personal Legend” was.  “It is what you have always wanted to accomplish.  Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is.  At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible.  They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives.  But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend.”

“One great truth in 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.”

“The Soul of the World is nourished by people’s happiness and also by unhappiness, envy, and jealousy.  To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation.”

“That’s the way it always is.  It’s called the principle of favorability.  When you play cards the first time, you are almost sure to win.  Beginner’s luck!  Because there is a force that warns you to realize a Personal Legend; it whets your appetite with a taste of success.”

“Making a decision was only the beginning of things.  When someone makes a decision, he is diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”

“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future, I’m interested only in the present.  If you concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.”

“The secret is here in the present.  If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it.  And if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better.”

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

“It’s not what enters men’s mouth that’s evil, it’s what comes out of their mouths that is.”

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.  You’ve got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense.”

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

"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil.  And one can always come back.  If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.”

“There is only one way to learn.  It’s through action.  Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”

“Naturally it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you’ve won.”

“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, because every second of the search is a second’s encountered with God and with eternity.”

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

“Trust in your heart, but never forget that you’re in the desert.  No one fails to suffer the consequences of everything under the sun.”

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

“It’s true; life is generous to those who pursue their Personal Legend.”

I am truly touched by the journey of Santiago’s character.  He is an inspiration to all!