There are some books that we read in our lives that actually touches our heart and soul.  We don’t mind reading it again and again as it inspires us. Years back one of my friends gifted me a book to signify the start of our friendship.  The book titled, ‘The Alchemist’ by author ‘Paulo Coelho’.

This book is about a boy who sets off on a journey to discover the Pyramid and realize his dreams.  It’s so much like what all us do in our own lives and I could correlate to it completely.  There are many phrases in the book that I have captured and read it again.

Key Sentences – Part One

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.

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

If you start out by promising what you don’t even have yet, you’ll lose your desire to work toward getting it.

Everything in life has its price.  This is what the Warriors of the Light try to teach.

Principle of favourability – When you play cards the first time, you are almost sure to win, Beginner’s luck.

Life wants you to achieve your destiny.

The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.

Learn to recognize the omens, and follow them.

Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.

It Gets Better – Part Two

Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.

Sometimes there’s just no way to hold back the river.

Never stop dreaming.  Follow the omens.

The liquid part of the Master Work was called the Elixir of Life, and that it cured all illness; it also kept the alchemist from growing old.  And the solid part was called the Philosopher’s stone.

World has a soul, and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things.  I learned that many alchemists realized their destinies, and wound up discovering the Soul of the World, the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Elixir of Life.

Love – Something older than humanity, more ancient than the dessert.  Something that exerted the same force whenever two pairs of eyes met, as had theirs here at the well.

It was the pure Language of the World.  It required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time.

If you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Each day, in itself bring with it an eternity.

Every day was there to be lived or to mark one’s departure from this world.

Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World.”

Dessert tests all men: it challenges every step, and kills those who become distracted.”

It’s not what enters men’s mouth that’s evil.  It’s what comes out of their mouth that is.

You’ve got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense.

Show me where there is life out in the dessert. Only those who can see such signs of life are able to find treasure.

Love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny.  If he abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t true love…the love that speaks the Language of the World.”

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

Before this, I always looked to the dessert with longing.  Now it will be with Hope.

Men dream more about coming home than about leaving.

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.

They were seeking the treasure of their destiny, without wanting actually to live out the destiny.

People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them.

Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way.

The darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.

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

Your eyes show the strength of your soul.

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

When you are loved, there’s no need at all to understand what’s happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into the wind.

Everything that happens once can never happen again.  But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.

Life really is generous to those who pursue their destiny.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading the lines captured from the book.  After one reads the book, its hard to distinguish if it’s a Novel or ‘Self-help book’.  It made me think about myself and my inner desires.  If you did like the lines then I will urge you to get a copy and read.  Do share your thoughts in the comments.

More Information

The Alchemist (Portuguese: O Alquimista) is a novel by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho that was first published in 1988. Originally written in Portuguese, it became a widely translated international bestseller. Published in English – 1993.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alchemist_(novel)