50+ Powerful life-altering quotes from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

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The Summary of The Alchemist

We are given a message through the fable of Santiago a brave and enthusiastic shepherd boy who has a thirst for travelling and uncovering the treasures of the world.

He has visions where he is told to travel to the Pyramids of Egypt to find a particular treasure.

A journey rendered treacherous on foot due to the presence of the vast unforgiving desert in the midst.

He encounters a fellow traveler who is in search of the alchemist – a man who can turn lead to gold. But the alchemist meets only those who understand the language of the universe and pursue their life’s path, not bothering about any gold.

During the excursion Santiago learns many lessons about life, love, destiny, dreams and God.

Here I share these lessons in the form of quotes from the book. They are vital motivational quotes and have the power to inspire readers to work towards their destiny.

50+ Quotes from The Alchemist

“Maktub" (It is written.)”

The World's Greatest Lie

“At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.”

“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”

“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”

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

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

“This is what we call love. When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you.”

“We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”

“Because true love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny”

“And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning.”

Quotes about Dreams from The Alchemist

“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

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

“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.”

“Don't give in to your fears. If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart.”

“People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”

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

“To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation.”

“People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them.”

Quotes about Life from The Alchemist

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

“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”

“Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”

“Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.”

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.”

“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.”

“Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.”

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

“And, when you can't go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward.”

“There is only one way to learn. It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”

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.”

“It is said that all people who are happy have God within them.”

“It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.”

“God only rarely reveals the future. When he does so, it is for one reason: it's a future that was written so as to be altered.”

“Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him.”

“Sometimes there's just no way to hold back the river.”

“It's not what enters men's mouth that is evil," said the alchemist. "It's what comes out of their mouths that is.”

If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. Life is the moment we are living now.”

“Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our souls, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.”

“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

“If good things are coming, they will be a pleasant surprise," said the seer. "If bad things are, and you know in advance, you will suffer greatly before they even occur.”

“There was a language in the world that everyone understood, a language the boy had used throughout the time that he was trying to improve things at the shop. It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.”

Quotes about Personal Growth from The Alchemist

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

“You must always know what it is that you want.”

“Your eyes show the strength of your soul.”

“Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.”

“Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”

“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.”

“When you possess great treasures within you and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed?”

“Whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth.”

“I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul.”

“But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of God, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here.”

 “If you start by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work towards getting it.”

Final Word

A lot of fellow readers have told me that they have read The Alchemist multiple times, and like old wine, you appreciate the tale better with every read. Have you read this classic mix of fiction, philosophy and travelogue?