Page 6 - The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

“...The Soul of the World is nourished by people’s happiness. And also by unhappiness,
envy, and jealousy. To realize one’s Personal Legend is a person’s only real obligation.
All things are one.”

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

“Why do you tend a flock of sheep?”

“Because I like to travel.”

The old man pointed to a baker standing in his shop window at one corner of the plaza.
“When he was a child, that man wanted to travel, too. But he decided first to buy his
bakery and put some money aside. When he’s an old man, he’s going to spend a month in
Africa. He never realized that people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what
they dream of.”

“He should have decided to become a shepherd,” the boy said.

“Well, he thought about that,” the old man said. “But bakers are more important people
than shepherds. Bakers have homes, while shepherds sleep out in the open. Parents would
rather see their children marry bakers than shepherds.”

“In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important
for them than their own Personal Legends.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because you are trying to realize your Personal Legend. And you are at the point where
you’re about to give it all up.”

“And that’s when you always appear on the scene?”

“Not always in this way, but I always appear in one form or another. Sometimes I appear
in the form of a solution, or a good idea. At other times, at a crucial moment, I make it
easier for things to happen. There are other things I do, too, but most of the time people
don’t realize I’ve done them.”

“People learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being,” said the old man, with a
certain bitterness. “Maybe that’s why they give up on it so early, too. But that’s the way
it is.”
“Treasure is uncovered by the force of flowing water, and it is buried by the same
currents,” said the old man. “If you want to learn about your own treasure, you will have
to give me one-tenth of your flock,”