The Alchemist Inspires Me

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”. This powerful quote from Paul Coehlo’s The Alchemist, is just one of the book’s messages that changed me. In this story, Santiago, a young shepherd, decides to give up his current life and follows his dream of finding lost treasure. By reading Santiago’s adventures, I was given the words to describe something I had always felt, the power to make my life what I want it to be. Through this majestic tale, Coelho provides the title for a work of art, but leaves it to me to paint the picture for myself. The Alchemist speaks about the importance of seeking to fulfill our dreams for life. As we grow older, people begin to forget about all these wonderful aspirations that make being a child so magical. We lose sight of our hopes for the future. Every child has amazing fantasies of what they want to be when they grow up, and Coehlo calls this our “personal legend”, or a person’s purpose for living. When your personal legend is revealed to you, nothing can stand in the way of achievement. By following his legend, Santiago learns from others that life is about the experiences we undergo, and these events lead us to our goals. This book spoke to me as no book has ever spoken to me before. Every morning when I walk out my door, I know that it is in my control to make that day unlike any other one. I realize that in order to grasp the full picture of life, I first need to pay attention to the smaller things that make our world so magical. Much like the phrase carpe diem, The Alchemist inspired me to make everyday something new and special. A life of habits and patterns has no excitement; it lacks the spirit and intensity that make human life so amazing. When I look back on my life, I want to be able to recall a million different accomplishments that I achieved in my lifetime. I don’t want life to be monotonous, but to be a process of creating memories