'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho

By Justin Prasetyo
October 9, 2024

“The Alchemist”, written by Paulo Coelho, is a magical bestselling fiction novel designed to illustrate the journey towards our dreams and the challenges we face within it. The book not only motivates us to have faith in ourselves, but also the path in which we follow, inspiring readers to embrace any hardship they meet along the way (before we start, please understand that there will be some mild spoilers within this article).

The book is a relatively easy and short read, which follows a boy named ‘Santiago,’ a shepherd who keeps having recurring dreams about a hidden treasure waiting for him near the Egyptian pyramids. Although Santiago lived a comfortable life, he decides to take the risk and embarks on a journey to find this treasure despite discouraging advice from others and his own self-doubt. Just like many of us, he suffered through fogs of uncertainty and skepticism as to if it will all work out, which I find highly relatable.

Whatever you’re going through, you can take a lot of inspiration and comfort from one of my favorite fiction reads. Although everyone can benefit from these teachings, I especially recommend this book to those who aspire to chase an accomplishment so great, they worry about the odds being ultimately against them and the excruciatingly tough path to get there. What I learned from Santiago’s journey was that failure is indescribably better than inaction; just by starting, you’re already ahead of the many others that are starstruck by the countless hours of theory and planning involved in the same dream, ironically believing that they are in a different spot than they were beforehand. Don’t make it more complicated than it actually is and just start.