My Experience Reading “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho
Reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho was a powerful and meaningful experience for me. The story is simple, but it carries a lot of wisdom. One quote that really stuck with me is, “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.” This line captures the book’s message perfectly—the idea that we should chase our dreams with courage, even if it’s scary. I remember reading it for the first time and feeling those words hit me right in the heart. It made me think about how life is filled with destiny, but also with fear, risk, and challenges—just like the lives of many great people who’ve faced tough situations. I connected deeply with that idea.
There’s another part of the book that I found unforgettable. It’s the story of the spoon and the oil, where a boy is told to carry a spoon filled with oil while walking around a beautiful mansion. The lesson here is about balance: you can focus so much on your responsibilities (the oil in the spoon) that you miss out on the beauty around you (the mansion), or you can get so caught up in enjoying life that you forget your duties.
Coelho is saying that true happiness comes from finding a way to do both—enjoying life while also taking care of what’s important. That’s a lesson I think everyone can relate to.
Now, I don’t usually read fiction. I’m more into books that teach real-life lessons—biographies, history, business, and how-to guides. But The Alchemist surprised me. Even though it’s a story, the lessons felt so real and connected to my life. Coelho has this amazing way of telling simple stories that hit you deep inside, making you think about your own journey and what really matters.
I have to mention that 11 Minutes, another book by Coelho, also left a big impression on me. It’s about a young woman who dreams of fortune and fame but ends up working as a prostitute, and the story is both raw and touching. One quote from that book that I love is, “What does the world want of me? Does it want me to take no risks, does it want me to go back to where I came from? Because I didn’t have the courage to say ‘yes’ to life?” This quote speaks to the struggle of facing fears and having the courage to live life fully, which is something I think everyone deals with at some point.
Even though I’m not a big fiction reader, I can’t deny that Coelho’s books have a special kind of magic. They make you think about life, dreams, and the choices we all have to make. His stories have a way of sticking with you long after you’ve finished reading. I’m glad I picked up The Alchemist, and I know I’ll keep coming back to Coelho’s work because it touches on something universal—something we all feel but don’t always know how to put into words. If you haven’t read it yet, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s the kind of book that could change the way you see your own life.