Part One

It prepares your spirit and your will, because there is one great truth on this planet: 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.” (Location 356)

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.” (Location 359)

“‘Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,’ said the wisest of wise men. ‘The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.’” (Location 481)

Part Two

We have to take advantage when luck is on our side, and do as much to help it as it’s doing to help us. It’s called the principle of favorability. Or beginner’s luck.” (Location 693)

But the sheep had taught him something even more important: that 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. (Location 793)

making a decision was only the beginning of things. 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. (Location 864)

The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it’s all written there. (Location 935)

people need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want. (Location 961)

“We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.” (Location 962)

They were strange books. They spoke about mercury, salt, dragons, and kings, and he didn’t understand any of it. But there was one idea that seemed to repeat itself throughout all the books: all things are the manifestation of one thing only. (Location 999)

If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. (Location 1059)

Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living right now.” (Location 1060)

When he looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke—the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert. (Location 1152)

He knew that his love for her would enable him to discover every treasure in the world. (Location 1176)

If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.” (Location 1278)

“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.” (Location 1503)

“Don’t think about what you’ve left behind,” the alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert. “Everything is written in the Soul of the World, and there it will stay forever.” (Location 1521)

Note: Universal consciousness

“There is only one way to learn,” the alchemist answered. “It’s through action. (Location 1542)

God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom. That’s what I mean by action.” (Location 1563)

You don’t even have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation.” (Location 1567)

“Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there.” (Location 1571)

the alchemist had fallen into silence. “Why do we have to listen to our hearts?” the boy asked, when they had made camp that day. “Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.” (Location 1579)

“But my heart is agitated,” the boy said. “It has its dreams, it gets emotional, and it’s become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights, when I’m thinking about her.” “Well, that’s good. Your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say.” (Location 1581)

Note: A sign of heart activity is a good thing

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow.” (Location 1595)

“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.” (Location 1604)

But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them—the path to their Personal Legends, and to happiness. (Location 1614)

Note: Life purpose

Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place. (Location 1615)

Note: Law of attraction

before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was 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’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. (Location 1626)

Note: Hero's Journey

The boy remembered an old proverb from his country. It said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn. (Location 1631)

The tribesman who was searching the alchemist’s belongings found a small crystal flask filled with a liquid, and a yellow glass egg that was slightly larger than a chicken’s egg. “What are these things?” he asked. “That’s the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life. It’s the Master Work of the alchemists. Whoever swallows that elixir will never be sick again, and a fragment from that stone turns any metal into gold.” The Arabs laughed at him, and the alchemist laughed along. They thought his answer was amusing, and they allowed the boy and the alchemist to proceed with all of their belongings. “Are you crazy?” the boy asked the alchemist, when they had moved on. “What did you do that for?” “To show you one of life’s simple lessons,” the alchemist answered. “When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.” (Location 1639)

“Your eyes show the strength of your soul,” (Location 1674)

“Don’t give in to your fears,” said the alchemist, in a strangely gentle voice. “If you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart.” (Location 1737)

Note: Being in a state of fear makes you unable to hear truth/intuition

“If a person is living out his Personal Legend, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” (Location 1739)

“Usually the threat of death makes people a lot more aware of their lives.” (Location 1745)

The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles. (Location 1870)

About the Author

Specifically, Paulo Coelho is recognized for his powerful storytelling technique and the profound spiritual insights he blends seamlessly into his parables. (Location 2103)

It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting, (Location 231)

Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own. (Location 286)

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. (Location 424)

The closer one gets to realizing his Personal Legend, the more that Personal Legend becomes his true reason for being, thought the boy. (Location 916)

when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” (Location 1846)