Paul Coelho was born in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.(1)  His father was an engineer, and his mother was a maker of the home.  As a teenager, Coelho realized that his dream was to become a writer.  At age 16, an introverted Coelho was admitted into a mental institution by his parents due to his opposition in living the traditional life that his parents expected of him.(2)  Coelho would escape from the mental institution three times before his release at age twenty.(3) 

            Following his parents’ wishes, Coelho abandoned his dream of becoming a writer and enrolled in law school.  His time at law school would be short-lived.  After a year at school, he dropped out and chose to live life as a gypsie.  He became involved in the drug culture of the 1960’s and lived life as a hippie, traveling through Mexico, Europe, South America, and North Africa.(4)(5)  After his travels, Coelho returned to Brazil where he worked as a songwriter for several artists, including a Brazilian icon named Seixas.  In 1947, Coelho was arrested by the ruling military of Brazil for “subversive” activities.  The government claimed that Coelho’s lyrics were associated with Satanism and occultism; therefore, considering Coelho to be Left-wing and dangerous.(6)(7)  In the years that followed, Coelho worked as an actor, journalist, and theatre director before pursuing his dream of becoming a writer.(4)

            In 1986, Coelho encountered a turning point in his life.  As he walked the five hundred mile Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, he had a spiritual awakening.  It was on this road that Coelho realized that although he had all the things that he needed, he was not following his dream.(8)  This is the point in which Coelho decided to leave his career as a songwriter and follow his dream of becoming a full time writer.(9)

            In 1982, long before his journey to The Road of Santiago, Coelho published his first book, Hell Archives which failed to make any kind of impact.(6)  In 1986, shortly after his awakening, Coelho wrote The Alchemist which was published through a small Brazilian publishing house who made an initial print of nine-hundred copies with no intention on reprinting.(10)  Once Coelho was finished his next book, The Brida, he looked for a bigger publishing house to print the book.  This is when The Alchemist became known to the people, was made to be a bestseller.(10)  Since that time, The Alchemist has been translated in seventy-one languages and sold over sixty-five million copies, making it one of the bestselling books in history.(6)  Altogether, Coelho has published twenty-nine books, and sold over one hundred million books in over one hundred and fifty countries worldwide.(5)

            In 1996, Coelho founded the Paulo Coelho Institute, which provides aid to children and elderly people with financial problems.(11)  In September 2007, the United Nations named Coelho a Messenger of Peace.(12)  Paul Coelho is now a member of many organizations worldwide such as:  a member of the Board of the Shimon Peres Center for Peace, a special counselor for “Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences” with the UNESCO, a board member of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, member of INI International Advisory Council (HARVARD INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION INITIATIVE), and a member of the Board, Doha Center of Media Freedom.

            The Alchemist is a book about a boy named Santiago who is on a journey to find a treasure that he dreams is buried underneath the pyramids of Egypt.  While on his journey across the world, to find this treasure, he encounters obstacles and setbacks that will lead him on a spiritual journey to finding himself, and his dreams.  The story begins in a small village in Spain where Santiago lives with his parents who aspire him to be involved in the church, and live a sheltered life within the village, but Santiago dreams of traveling and seeing the world.  Santiago’s father gives him some gold to buy some sheep so that he can become a shepherd and follow his dreams of traveling.  As he is traveling across the plains, the boy has a dream of a buried treasure in Egypt, one night, while sleeping next to a church underneath a tree.

            During his journey, Santiago encounters a king and a gypsy woman who advise him to follow his dream, which they call his “personal legend”, saying that it will lead him to the treasure he is seeking.  Santiago sells his sheep and travels to Tangier, Africa.  Once arriving in Africa, Santiago befriends a young man who robs him of his money, leaving him broke in a country where he doesn’t speak the language.  Feeling lost and scared, Santiago realizes that he has made a mistake that has cost him everything he owns.  He takes up a job in a crystal shop where he works for a year and earns enough money to return home.  Santiago goes to town, with thoughts of returning to Spain, and it is here where he meets an Englishman who seeks to fulfill his own personal legend, finding a two hundred year old Alchemist who will teach him the art of Alchemy.  It is the Englishman’s talk of passion and seeking the truth that inspires Santiago to continue on his journey to find his treasure and fulfill his “personal legend.”  During the ride across the desert, Santiago is able to connect with nature, and hear stories about the power of Alchemy from the Englishman.  The caravan experiences harsh climates and wars between feuding tribes that make Santiago wonder if he made the right decision to continue on his journey.  After months of traveling through the desert, the caravan stops at a desert oasis.  It is here where Santiago meets a woman, named Fatima, and falls in love.  Once again, Santiago has to determine if he wants to continue on to the pyramids, or stay with Fatima. 

            Fatima encourages Santiago to continue on his journey, believing that the universe brought him to her, and will also return him to her.  Santiago, unable to sleep the night before his departure, looks up to the sky for answers.  He sees two sparring hawks and takes it as a sign that war is looming, and the oasis is going to be invaded.  He takes this insight to the chief of the village, who prepares the tribe for war.  The next day, the village is invaded, but the tribe is prepared and they are able to survive the attack.  The next day, Santiago gets a visit from a man who claims to be the Alchemist.  The Alchemist agrees to help Santiago complete the last leg of his journey to the pyramids.  During the trip, The Alchemist teaches Santiago about reading signs, spirituality, and the power of belief.  After a few days, Santiago and the Alchemist encounter a warring tribe who believe them to be traitors.  They are captured and held hostage.  The Alchemist tells the tribesmen that Santiago has conquered Alchemy, and the men wish to see the proof.  Santiago questions his ability to perform Alchemy, but with encouragement and belief in himself, he is able to show the men that he can speak with the Earth and that the elements will follow his command.  As Santiago speaks with the wind and the sun, he is able to create a sandstorm that is so strong; it makes the men believe that Santiago is some kind of God.  The men, witnessing the boy’s power, decide to allow the two to continue on their journey. 

            Satisfied that his job is done, the Alchemist points Santiago in the direction of the pyramids, and tells Santiago that he will reach his dream.  A few days later, Santiago arrives upon the pyramids.  He quickly begins digging for the treasure.  Two men arrive upon Santiago digging at the pyramids and want to know why he is there.  Santiago tells the men of his dream and the buried treasure.  The men beat Santiago, and hold him while they continue digging for the treasure.  After hours and hours of digging, the men realize that there is no treasure and decide to go through Santiago’s belongings. They find the gold that Santiago had earned while working at the crystal shop, and take it from him.  As Santiago lay there, hurt and defeated, one of the men say to Santiago, “I dreamed, once, of a church in Spain where a boy slept with his sheep.  In my dreams, there was a treasure buried underneath a tree, but I was not dumb enough to follow this dream.”  Santiago returns to Spain and the church where he had the dream years before.  He began digging under the tree.  A few hours later, Santiago uncovers the treasure that he set out years ago to find and imagines returning to Fatima.

            There are many philosophical issues in the book “The Alchemist.”  In the beginning of the book, Santiago’s father wishes him to be a priest, yet Santiago decides his own fate and passion which is to travel and see the world.  While on his journey across the Spanish plains, Santiago sought to take new roads, rather than follow the path’s that he knew would get him where he needed to go.  This is a symbolic approach to life in general.  One can choose to take the roads that are traveled or they can choose to go where no man has gone before.  This is the type of thinking that comes with entrepreneurs and creative individuals.

            When trying to decide if he should remain a shepherd, Santiago meets a king who encourages him to follow his “personal legend.”  Santiago, while contemplating this issue, says to the king “Bakers are more important than shepherds,  Bakers have homes, while shepherds sleep out in the open.  Parents would rather see their children marry bakers than shepherds.”  The king replies “in the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers become more important for them then their own personal legends.”  This has great meaning for me.  This says that people are too worried about what others will/do think of them, which will hold them back from what they truly desire in life.  When Santiago is robbed in Africa, he states that he is seeing the world in terms of what he would like to see, rather than what exists.  Sometimes, we as people tend to hope for the best; therefore, we may overlook danger or even the “truth.” 

            In the book, there is a lot of talk about not interfering with one another’s personal legends.  It is very important to become connected with others around us, and to realize that every person has their own personal legend to fulfill.  We must respect those who wish to find their personal legends, and assist in any way that we can to see that we help those who wish to do so, and not interfering or discouraging their actions.  The Alchemist talks of becoming connected with the spiritual plane, stating “when one is able to do this to perfection, they will come into contact with the material plane.”  By becoming connected to the spiritual plane, one will realize that what is and what was were all created by the same hand.  When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too, and when we love, we always strive to become better.  For me, this means that by becoming connected with the world around us, we strive to want to know and understand more about it.  As we seek out the answers, we gain knowledge, truth, wisdom, experience, and understanding; therefore, we begin to love, not judge, the world around us.  In doing this, we become one with the universe and all of its creations and are truly connected.  We are able to see how everything on Earth has a purpose, and affects the other.  Even people have their own purposes, or “personal legend,” to fulfill, and when these thoughts are through love, the world and our surroundings will become better, and the energy and care will move things in a positive direction.  The book says that when a person truly desires something, the universe will conspire to help the person realize their dream.  The universe will not just hand out what the person dreams of, but the universe will place things in the person’s path, that will allow them to gain the knowledge and skills it takes for the person to realize their dream.

            Santiago asked the Alchemist why other alchemists were not able to turn lead into gold.  The Alchemist replied, “They were seeking out the treasure of their personal legend, without actually wanting to live out the personal legend.”  Santiago does not understand what the Alchemist means by this statement until later in the book.  Later, Santiago states, “when I have been truly searching for my treasure, everyday has been luminous, because I’ve known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it.  When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I have discovered things along the way that I would have never seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.”  This implies that the value is in the journey, not the destination.  All the different people, situations, experiences, and knowledge acquired along the way is what will prepare the boy, and help him to discover his personal legend.  He is able to reflect back on the many obstacles he has faced, and overcome, and realize his true potential and courage.  This relates to a part of the book when the Alchemist tells Santiago, “what you still need to know is this:  before a dream is realized, the soul of the world tests everything we have learned along the way.  It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we moved toward that dream.  That is the point most people give up.  It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.”  I believe that the Alchemist is trying to tell Santiago that this is the universes way of trying to see if what the person is seeking is truly their personal legend.  If it is, when the person is faced with opposition, they will never give up or lose sight of their dreams.  They will overcome any obstacles in order to achieve their own “personal legend, “ and in doing so, they find the ultimate meaning of their lives. 

            On nabou.com, the book reviewer states that the book is “a symbolic masterpiece where Coelho states that we should not avoid our destinies, and urges people to follow their dreams, because to find our “personal legends” and our mission on Earth is the way to find “God”, meaning happiness, fulfillment, and the ultimate purpose of creation.”(13)  The reviewer also states that “Coelho suggests that those who do not have the courage to follow their “personal legend,” are doomed to a life of emptiness, misery, and fulfillment.  Fear of failure seems to be the greatest obstacle to happiness.  As the old crystal merchant tragically confesses, “I am afraid that great disappointment awaits me, and so I prefer to dream.”  This is where Coelho really captures the drama of man, who sacrifices fulfillment to conformity, who knows he can achieve greatness, but denies to do so, and ends up living a life of void.”(13)

                The Alchemist was a great story, and should encourage all of its readers to follow their dreams.  It shows that when a person really wishes for something in life, no matter how big or small, if they truly desire it, it is achievable through hard work, determination, and perseverance.  This is the universe’s way of testing us, to see if what we seek is truly our personal legend.  In the book, Santiago was able to become an Alchemist, not because he was able to turn lead into gold, but rather, he was able to master the lessons along his journey which would make him able to use his knowledge, and eventually find his treasure.  The book always implied that the treasure under the pyramids was Santiago’s personal legend and dream, but in the beginning of the book Santiago told his father that his dream was to travel and see the world.  The dream of the hidden treasure is what kept Santiago on his journey across the world, and although he thought he was seeking the treasure, and eventually obtained it, the real treasure was in him being able to realize his dream and see the world.