# The Alchemist (book) - Author(s): [[Paulo Coelho]] - Link: https://amzn.to/3UM9SPY # Key quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #quotes AND [[The Alchemist (book)]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #quotes AND [[The Alchemist (book)]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[Act and be like a lake that reflects the sky and has no doubts]] - [[All past events are just steps of your personal legend]] - [[Always know what you want. Do the work. Dreams are not free]] - [[Be free like the wind, nothing stops you]] - [[Curiosity is a deep and powerful human drive. It pushes us to explore and grow]] - [[Death makes us more aware of life and its beauty]] - [[Decisions are only the first step, the beginning of something new. Decisions open doors, but you still have to go through those to reach your destination]] - [[Don't abandon yourself to despair]] - [[Don't be impatient about realizing your dreams or you might miss signs that could help you. Don't focus too much on the future. Just let it be. Come what may]] - [[Don't let yourself get distracted. Keep following your path]] - [[Don't think about what you've left behind. The only way to learn is through action. If you want to learn, then act. Do]] - [[Everyone thinks they know how we should be living. They want us to conform and try to influence us consciously or not. But no one knows how life should be lived, whether it's their own or someone else's]] - [[Focus on now, make it better and the future will get brighter as a result]] - [[Focus on what gives meaning to your life. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it fulfills you and gives you joy. As long as there is deeper meaning, there is profound happiness. Days may look the same, but every step of the journey is meaningful]] - [[Follow the signs along the way. Pay attention to those and notice those]] - [[Have faith in your life and in your destiny]] - [[If you can always live in the present, you will be happy. You can only live in the present, not in the past nor in the future]] - [[If you don't achieve your dreams but have actually tried, you will die in a much better position than all those who never pursued those]] - [[It's never too late to explore a new path in life, to start a new journey]] - [[It's normal to be scared about exchanging a dream for everything you have already obtained and achieved so far]] - [[Let opportunities do their thing give yourself a chance]] - [[Listen to your heart, go where it guides you and you shall be happy]] - [[Listen to your soul. You're the only one able to decipher it. If you don't, you risk living someone else's life]] - [[Live every single day fully, so that when the time has come to leave this world, you won't have regrets]] - [[Make a dent in the world make it a better place transform something into something better]] - [[Many people see the world as full of dangers and for that reason it becomes dangerous to them]] - [[Most people are unable to choose their destiny, let alone fight for it]] - [[Never give up on your dreams because your heart never will and you will forever feel a void and will regret not pursuing those and regret is far worse than failure]] - [[People are scared of achieving their dreams because they believe they don't deserve to, or fear not being able to. Their beliefs and fears hold them back]] - [[People care way too much about status. They are stuck playing status games]] - [[People don't even realize that they keep following new paths every day. Every day is an opportunity to explore, discover, learn and grow, for every single path is unique]] - [[Simple things are the most extraordinary]] - [[Sometimes in life, things change and we don't have time to adapt and get used to those]] - [[Take your own decisions, don't let others or inaction decide for you]] - [[The boat is safe in the port, but it's not for that that boats were built]] - [[The closer we get to realizing our dreams, the more our personal legend becomes our reason to live]] - [[The darkest hour is the one right before dawn]] - [[The fear of suffering is worse than suffering]] - [[The mirror reflects a perfect image because it does not think]] - [[The past is no more and the future doesn't exist. Live in the present moment with the lessons you learned in the past and the dreams of your future]] - [[The possibility of turning dreams into reality is what makes life interesting]] - [[The quest always starts with beginner's luck and always ends with the challenge of the conqueror]] - [[We accept truth only because we have rejected it in the depth of our soul]] - [[We all fear losing what we have, but that fear disappears when we realize that we can rebuild and regain whatever we had before, if we really want it]] - [[We all see the world as we'd like the things to happen, and not as they actually happen. We look at the world through a distorted lens]] - [[We must always be ready to face the surprises life puts on our path. We need to welcome and embrace those with gratitude]] - [[We never notice the treasures that are right in front of us because we are unable to believe it]] - [[What happens once cannot happen again. What happens twice is bound to happen a third time]] - [[When one thing evolves, everything around it evolves as well]] - [[When there's no way back, all you can do is focus on the best way to move forward]] - [[When we try to become better and improve everything around us improves as well]] - [[When you really want something, the universe conspires in your favor]] - [[When you're young, you dream fearlessly, ambitiously. But as you age, doubts creep in and you stop believing that you can actually achieve your dreams]] - [[Where your heart lies, your treasure lies. Listen to it and follow it. Enjoy the journey]] - [[You always have the possibility to achieve your dreams. If you believe it, if you have enough willpower, are on the right mindset, then the sky is the limit]] - [[You can choose to look at the world as a victim or as a hero. It's a choice]] <!-- SerializedQuery END --> # Key ideas Life is short. We must follow or dreams, or live in regret. It's our responsibility to make our dreams a reality. In doing so, we will fulfill our "personal legend", and be happy. Moreover, by focusing on the present, paying attention and being grateful, we can make each day better, enjoy the journey, and prepare a better future for ourselves. And as long as we don't give up on our dreams, there will be nothing to regret. Fear shouldn't stop us. Inaction should be avoided, and we should not fear achieving our dreams. It's possible, and we do deserve it.