My 8 Favorite Paulo Coelho Quotes

It was about two weeks ago when I made my first blog post after about a five month hiatus. Why did it take me that long to update? Where did I go? Here’s a little glimpse into the inspiration behind my comeback.

Rewind back to about 2 weeks prior to that, I was sitting on the couch with my roommate watching Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday with special guest Paulo Coelho. My roommate was more excited that I was as she has read Coelho’s most notable novel “The Alchemist”. She was interested in learning about his life and how he came to write the book. I on the other hand wasn’t that interested because I had never read The Alchemist…always heard about it but never read it for myself.

I was up for the show, because as we all know Oprah can never have a bad episode, so I knew I would feel somewhat enlightened at the end of the show.

Once the show started, I immediately became captivated by Coelho’s story about his life and how he came to write The Alchemist. When the show ended, I decided that I needed to read this book like yesterday. I was two seconds away from ordering the book on Amazon when my roommate mentioned that the book was actually sitting right in front of me in our library. I ran to grab it and began to read it instantly. It took me about three days to finish it and I was as expected blown away, inspired and motivated all in the same breath. I now understand why everyone say’s “The Alchemist is my favorite book.” If you haven’t, you should really read it for yourself.
 
Coelho writes in reflection of writing The Alchemist:

…A man sets out on a journey, dreaming of a beautiful or magical place,
in pursuit of some unknown treasure. At the end of his journey, the man
realizes the treasure was with him the entire time. I was following my
Personal Legend, and my treasure was my capacity to write. And I wanted
to share this treasure with the world.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes that I will always take with me from the novel and most importantly what I attribute my desire to start blogging again to….

1. “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

2. “So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.”

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

4.“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”

5.“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”

6.“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.”

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.“Maktub” (It is written.)”

Journey beautifully my friends.

Have you ever read The Alchemist? If so, what is your favorite quote?

xo

(photo via | tumblr)