I just ran across an interview with Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist. If you haven't read The Alchemist, I highly recommend it. Like the Celestine Prophecy (book one, not two) and The Mists of Avalon, The Alchemist can turn your perceptions of what you think you know 180 degrees backward and make you think a little harder. The end is also a little annoying, but I won't spoil it for you.



Paulo Coelho says "I don't believe in sacrifice as our goal in life. Sometimes like me in my life I had to face a difficult moment. I was in a mental institution, I was in jail, I had very many, many hard times while I was young, because I was always rebellious. But I never saw this as a sacrifice, I saw this as part of my personal legend, as part of my road, towards my dream."

"I'm proud of my scars..."

"The fact that you're here is not to get immediately to the goal, but to enjoy our journey. You understand that every single moment in life is a sacred moment, a sacred instant. So is to pay attention to that, to be conscious that today in one minute, you can change the rest of your life, for better or for worse, and never try to keep things still. They are not. Life is movement... Move ahead, don't be scared by the challenges of life, because life is fully worth living"


"What I wrote in The Alchemist, 'When you want something, the whole universe will conspire to let you have it'. This means that you put your energy, your vibration, you call it whatever you want to call it, into the air, somehow the soul of the world is effected."

"you need to be brave enough, to dive into this universe, and say 'I am going to learn this language'" (of the universe).

"The metaphore for journey is a metaphore for life. We are here, taking this journey from birth to death."

He also speaks about his characters and their struggle to find their place in the sun, and of course they have to pay a high price. It reminded me of something Chris McComack, winner of the Ironman Kona 2007 men's race, said after the race. If he hadn't tried and failed, if he had just shown up and won his first year, he wouldn't be the person he is today.

This is a great interview he has some interesting things to say http://www.harpercollins.com/features/coelhovideo/index.aspx?WT.mc_id=NEWS_AUTK_CLHO-ALMSTLVE3_082508

I won't say doing the Ironman is anything like being institutionalized, or thrown in jail, but it is a challenge I've set for myself and what he says makes a lot of sense to me.