In the prologue of “The Alchemist”, Paulo Coelho shares an eye opening excerpt about the journey he embarked on to publish his book. The first time his book published it sold a total of 3 copies over the course of a year and he was dropped by his publisher. He was 41 years old at the time and to a lot of people that defining moment of failure would have been the end of a career. Yet he persevered, pushing forward because he knew inside of that book was his heart and soul.

Here I am at 27…and I have spent the past years feeling unworthy, like a failure because of a lack of recognition. But I’m inspired anew, because in the things I do I put my heart and soul into it, as do many of us who have the calling to create. After this failure “The Alchemist” later went on to become one of the top 10 books of the 20th century, and 25 years later after its release it is one of the most translated books in the world.

The moral of this story is to never stop going. As long as you are breathing you are called to do the work that has been sowed within your soul. You owe your entire existence to fulfilling your destiny. My father told me the greatest weapon the enemy ever created against mankind wasn’t something physical, but that it was discouragement. If you can discourage a person you can take everything from them.

Everyday someone falls victim to discouragement, and they toss aside their dreams, their gifts, their purpose not because they weren’t capable, but because they did not believe. They say that only a mustard seed of faith can move mountains, imagine what we could do with more than that. My reader know your worth.