Lessons from the book the Alchemist
We all have dreams, we all want to achieve big in life. We all talk about them, think about them day and night. Sometimes even plan our journey too but most of us fail. Sometimes we fail because we just plan and never step forward, sometimes we fail become even if we started and reached somewhere in the middle of our journey and can’t find any results, we lose hope and return back. And sometimes we even reach our destination, achieving all of our goals but still, that is not a win, you know why because we forgot to enjoy the journey.
The Alchemist, a book by Paulo Coelho is loaded with a lot of lessons. Book speaks about the importance of following your dreams and enjoying the journey rather than just reaching your destination.
Here are some life lessons we can learn from The Alchemist:
We are all Alchemists with the power to build our ideal lives.
Alchemy means to transform or create something through some seemingly magical process. Designing your own custom life from scratch, according to what was only a mental picture of it before, is nothing short of magic. How many people have successfully done this? Only a handful. But it’s the opportunity that lies in front of every single one of us. It’s imperative that we snatch it up and get to work!
Focus on the Present
“Because 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.”
There’s no purpose in living in the past and allowing it to define you, nor is there any purpose in being lost and worried about the future. When we talk about the present, that is the very moment where you can find a lot of possibilities to grow and how you engage with those will eventually direct your life.
Fear is a bigger obstacle than the obstacle itself
“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.”
Any new pursuit requires entering uncharted territory — that’s scary. But, as with any large risk, there is also a big payoff. All of your efforts will be rewarded by the experiences you gather while chasing your passion. Believe me, it’s gone be a lovely journey, you might stop too, confused, almost on the edge to quit but that is the only time you should talk to yourself, get up and start again.
Don’t Be Concerned With What Others Think
“In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own personal legends.”
A child never bothers about what others will think or say if he plays in the mud. When we were young, we all used to ask the weirdest questions, open up gadgets using screwdriver without any reason, run around driving imaginary Gypsy pretending to be a cop catching bad guys, all because we enjoyed it. But as we grow old, other’s opinions matter to us more than our desires. The irony is, due to our own insecurities, we want to feel secure — to be accepted by society.
Your success has a ripple effect
“That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”
Have you heard about the positive vibe effect? Growth, change, and evolution are weaved into the fabric of reality. Becoming a better version of yourself creates a ripple effect that benefits everything around you: your lifestyle, your family, your friends, your community.
Break the monotony
“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.”
Take time to think about and be grateful for what you have every day and try to find the good in each day. Life can easily become stagnant, mundane, and monotonous, but that changes depending on what we choose to see. There’s always a silver lining if you look for it.
It’s about the journey more than the destination
Many of us, myself included, get caught up in striving for a destination. “If I could just get…” “If I could just make enough to…” “If I can just reach…” This thinking is pointless because all we ever have is the present moment.
What this really means is that we’ll always have to be right here, right now. If we’re unsatisfied right here and right now, we’re fooling ourselves. We’re delaying gratification to a point that may never come. It’s powerful to reach and work towards goals on a daily and smash them.
The darkest hour of midnight comes just before dawn
If you have ever tried a hand at gambling you would know better, when you have lost everything and are about to give up, a weak hope tells you to try one last time and you win! Many times when you are looking for some address and after wandering several streets when you are about to quit, you decide to take one more chance and you take a turn and BINGO!! — You are there! Before we reach our goal, the universe tests us to be sure that we are worth the reward.
Focus on your own journey
“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.”
Everyone has his own journey, own ways to live their life. But it’s easy to be influenced by others, but you’ll be miserable if you end up living someone else’s life. There’s nothing wrong with taking advice and learning from others, but make sure it aligns with your desires and passions.
We must be able to make choices about how to move forward, and perhaps the best way to seek an answer from ourselves is to ask specific questions that require a yes-or-no answer.
There’s a point in The Alchemist when the shepherd receives two stones, one black and one white, signifying “yes” and “no.” The purpose of the stones is to help the boy “read the omens,” or understand the signs the universe is giving him as well as what his intuition is telling him.
People who have trouble making decisions sometimes put them off indefinitely, leaving themselves feeling stuck. There are signs or gut feelings we always have about something. But if we are confused and don’t really know how to proceed, it still bests that we make a choice. The point is to move forward. If we don’t choose, we are electing to stay still and let things remain the same. Not choosing is often the equivalent of not taking action.
When you ask questions of yourself regarding what to do, ask specific ones that reflect what you really want so that the concrete answers you generate propel you forward rather than mire you in further confusion.
The story of Santiago not only teaches some of life’s greatest lessons but also keeps reminding us that we are the Alchemist of our life. Make it great, eh!
