Key Lessons From ‘The Alchemist’

The power of our dreams.

The Alchemist 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 near the Pyramids. His quest leads him to riches far different, and far more satisfying, than he ever imagined. 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 search for treasure. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to overcome the obstacles along his path. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly possessions turns into an ultimate discovery of the treasure found within.

Santiago’s story is a lasting testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts. Santiago’s journey reminded me about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and to, most importantly, follow our dreams.

I have always been a dreamer and this book spoke to my playful spirit. Santiago’s quest for treasure led him to dig deeper inside himself and to ultimately enjoy the journey and not just the destination. A reminder I think we all need in an era of ‘instant gratification’ and future-orientation.

I also love the idea that we all have a personal dream or legend, and that it’s up to us to truly hear our heart and continue to listen to it. Paolo writes, “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.” I believe that is easier said than done though, given social conditioning, societal pressures and cultural expectations. We often drown out our heart’s true desires to fulfill what we should do or what’s perhaps a more certain or secure path. I myself struggled with this. Growing up on the East Coast in a traditional town, the path seemed pretty clear; you could become a lawyer, doctor or business person. The financial security of investment banking was appealing and my junior year of college I found myself with a full-time offer at a bulge-bracket global investment bank. After 8 years of investment banking and financial consulting however, I finally listened to my heart which was calling out for more. More depth. More heart. And more soul, for me and no one else. I left finance and finally followed my passion for people. I’ve never stopped talking to my heart ever since.

“Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life.”

The key takeaway for me in rereading this book is to never stop listening to my heart, for it’s always singing and I just have to hear it. Sometimes fear or the need for certainty silences its song, but if I proactively still the mind and listen more intently, my heart sings loudly again.

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say.”

Other Key Takeaways

1. “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”
2. “[P]eople are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”
3. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
4. “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.”
5. “It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.”
6. “And, when you can’t go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward.”
7. “I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.”
8. “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
9. “Don’t give in to your fears. If you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart.”
10. “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 encounter with God and with eternity.”
11. “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
12. “The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times”
13. “[M]aking a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”
14. “There is only one way to learn. It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”
15. “One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”
16. “Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.”
17. “I saw that everything really was written there before me, and that the doors had only been closed before because I hadn’t realized that I was the one person in the world with the authority to open them.”

Thank you, Paulo Coelho, for this eternal gift. And to you, readers, please take the time to stop and listen to your heart’s longing song. It’s always there, a beautiful melody, if you listen carefully and take the time to engage with it deeply.

Prime Movers Lab invests in breakthrough scientific startups founded by Prime Movers, the inventors who transform billions of lives. We invest in seed-stage companies reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation and computing

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