Where do I even begin?! The Alchemist book by Paulo Coelho is easily one of the best books ever written! It is so compelling and has a fantastic story! Keep reading to discover 5 things you will absolutely LOVE about this book!
This book is very surprising! As mentioned, it is a top choice on people’s book recommendations. In fact, it was recommended to me and I’ve been encouraging EVERYONE to read this book ever since!
You are about to learn why this book is a top recommended choice, 5 things you will love about this book, and ways this book can change your life and ultimately help you become a better person!
This post is all about The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
Book Facts | The Alchemist
First and foremost, this book was written by Paulo Coelho who is a Brazilian author. There are 171 pages in the book, so it’s a pretty small book.
Also, it is a fiction novel originally written in 1988, but its message can have you thinking you’re reading a philosophy type of book or even self-help.
It only took Paulo a few weeks to write this amazing book, like… what?!
Although he wrote it quickly, it took YEARS for his book to reach an audience. The book was primarily written in Spanish, so not many people were reading the book.
It wasn’t until an American tourist found the book and aimed to help Paulo get it translated into English. How cool!
The Alchemist has now sold over 65 MILLION copies worldwide and has been translated into at least 60 languages… imagine! It was listed as a New York Times Bestseller for at least 315 weeks!
Guess who else was pictured with the book? Former President Bill Clinton. The book was given to him to read and he thoroughly enjoyed it – according to Paulo himself.
Obviously, this book has a lot of success behind it. Here are some things you will LOVE about this book:
5 Things You Will Love
1. The Major Conflict is SO Relatable
The major “conflict” of this book is about Santiago being on this journey to find a treasure – which he believes to be his Personal Legend.
Now, in order for him to find his treasure, he must travel all the way to Egypt. Well, let’s just say it’s not necessarily the easiest trip.
He is met with so many obstacles along the way -such as life- just to reach his Personal Legend. He fought the idea several times to just stop the journey and remain where he was because he could have easily lived a comfortable-yet complacent- life.
He’s already earned some treasure along the journey, shouldn’t he just stop there and relish in the treasures he’s already found?
This is what most people in the real world will do. You have a dream as a child to be whatever it is you want to be.
You grow up with this goal of being this thing, but along the way you get distracted by everyday life and the need to be comfortable, so you stop striving for that goal and just become complacent.
2. We All Have a Personal Legend | The Alchemist
What is someone’s “Personal Legend”? “It is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is.”
When you are younger, everything seems possible. You are unafraid to dream and yearn for things you would like to see happen in your life.
Can you remember what it was like when you were younger and you had dreams of becoming blah, or traveling the world or doing this amazing thing? What happened to those dreams?
One could argue that the world changes you. The next point on this list is why and how.
3. You Discover the World’s Greatest Lie
“Everyone believes the world’s greatest lie… 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.”
We live our lives on autopilot. Living to work instead of working to live or living to see out our dreams. It’s mentioned on the back cover of the book that realizing one’s own destiny is a person’s only obligation.
You must see it through or you will fall into the category of everyone on Earth who has a Personal Legend or dream that never came to fruition.
So, how can you go out and seek your Personal Legend? Well, the next point may help.
4. There is One Great Truth | The Alchemist
There’s a force that appears to be negative, but it actually shows you how to realize your Personal Legend.
Here is the one great truth: “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.”
One question I always wonder is like how do we find out what our Personal Legends are? In other words, how do I find my purpose in life?
Well, the universe tells you. That gut feeling or intuition, OR the dreams you have when you are a child when everything feels possible.
5. Here’s What Happens When You Really Want Something
“When you really want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
Lastly, something that really resonated with me was when a king tells the main character, “He never realized that people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”
You hear people say all of the time, “when this happens, I’ll do this.” When I make a certain amount of money, I’ll start this company. When I move to this location, I will be more blah.
When the new year starts, I’ll work out more. Maybe when something happens then I’ll shift… well, just do it now!
See, what happens is people wait to make a certain amount of money for example, and once they start making this money, they never leave the job because they become COMFORTABLE making this money.
So naturally, nothing ever changes and they always remember having this dream of doing this thing.
THIS IS SO RELATABLE! What’s crazy is that this book is a FICTION book, but it is filled with TONS of workable knowledge and insight on how to live your best life!
Closure
If these 5 things in this book don’t make you want to go out and read this book immediately, then we are very different people, and that’s okay!
I hope I didn’t spoil anything for you. I don’t think so because you need to discover what the character’s Personal Legend is, what happens to him on his journey, and you need to find out if he lives out his Personal Legend.
There’s A LOT that I am leaving out… that’s for you to read. If you’ve read this book or if these things have resonated with you, leave a comment below and let me know!
I’d love to hear your take on things.
This post was all about the 5 things you’ll love about The Alchemist book!
Related Content:
Here is a list of recommendations that may interest you – more books!