‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho is well-known and worth the read. The book is short enough to be read in one sitting if you’re ambitious enough. I was fortunate to be gifted the book a few years ago – and keep the copy at my desk.

With the extra time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, I recently had the opportunity to re-read Coelho’s work. The book likely means different things to different readers. In many ways the lessons and insights are timeless and some messages undoubtedly mean more at certain points in life.

I wanted to take the opportunity to share what ‘The Alchemist’ means to me and offer the messages I found most insightful. I hope my words inspire you to think and ponder. Now is always the best time to pause and reflect on things. Life is serious, as recent world events have certainly reminded us. Get serious about the questions you ask – they could change your life one day.

To me ‘The Alchemist’ is about living a life with purpose. The book is a reminder that the pursuit of purpose, what Coelho calls a ‘Personal Legend,’ is in itself the meaning of life. Living with purpose is what really matters.

When we go after our dreams we get better – we have to in pursuit of making our dreams come true. And when we get better, those around us get better. When we improve, we help the people and things around us improve.

Pursuing our dreams and living a purposeful life isn’t easy. It’s not meant to be easy. We all experience adversity. We’re all severely tested, especially when we have the courage to go after something. The main character is challenged over and over again. The point isn’t that it’s easy or supposed to be. It’s the opposite. Adversity is the way, the only way, to a life of deep meaning, value, and impact.

Some are afraid to fail – at some level we all have the fear of failure. But perhaps even worse is the fear of success. The fear of trying and it actually working out. The fear of standing out, of being different, of getting too big. We all experience thoughts. We all tell ourselves stories. Best to be very careful of what thoughts and stories we CHOOSE to believe. If we get convinced of the wrong things it could jeopardize our future.

And finally, it’s a book about the treasures we all have within. The talents, passions, and dreams that make us unique. The greatness that lies deep within. Like the main character, we can realize that we don’t have to go searching in far off lands to discover what is already buried within our own backyard. This discovery requires discipline. It requires self-reflection, carefully, over time.

I’ll leave you with my favorite quotes for your own consideration. And wish you best of luck on your own personal journey. May you find purpose, meaning, and the treasure buried within.

• “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it”
• “Every blessing ignored becomes a curse”
• “There is only one way to learn. It is through action”
• “People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams because they feel they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them”
• “The darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn”
• “Every search begins with beginners luck. And every search ends with the victor being severely tested”
• “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too”