Rating: Excellent
The Alchemist blurb excerpt: This story, dazzling in its simplicity and wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way, he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. 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. My opinion: Although this book is fiction and doesn't fit the mold of a great Personal Development Book, it delivers in spades. It's beautifully written, captivating, and filled with thought-provoking statements. Despite having a number of religious references (which I am impartial to) the overall message is powerful and well worth the read.
An excellent read and one I strongly recommend. A top 10 book in my opinion.
Lessons from The Alchemist:
There are four obstacles;
First: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible.
The second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream.
The third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. Fear is often a bigger obstacle than the obstacle itself.
The fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives.
Key Messages;
What is “true” will always endure.
Embrace the present. When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises. When you cease to live in either your past or your future you can fully connect with the present and appreciate all that is available to you.
Success breeds success. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too. “If you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better.”
Commitment builds belief, but action builds momentum.
Be unrealistic. Notable achievements and innovations begin with a mindset that ignores the impossible.
Keep getting back up. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.
Pursue your own personal legend and remain true to your heart. “If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”
You control your own destiny. The world's greatest lie is that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.
Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.
You should never promise what you don't already have. “If you start by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work towards getting it.”
Learn from your mistakes. Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time
The Alchemist Best Quotes:
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it.”
“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say.”
“It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.”
“It's not what enters men's mouth that is evil, it's what comes out of their mouths that is.”
“We are afraid of losing what we have."
“Give yourself the freedom to try out new things. Don't be so set in the ways that you can't grow.”
“It's true; life really is generous to those who pursue their destiny”
“Nobody is worth your tears, and the one who is won't make you cry”
“We have to take advantage when luck is on our side, and do as much to help it as it’s doing to help us.”
What Next:
If you are interested in this book, you may want to check out our list of The Best Personal Development Books.
My personal recommendation for those who loved this book would be Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel or The Courage To Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
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