The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

📚 GENRE: Miscellaneous

📃 PAGES: 208

✅ COMPLETED: July 24, 2022

🧐 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Short Summary

The Alchemist follows the fictional journey of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy in search of a treasure at the Pyramids of Egypt. The parable preaches the importance of chasing your dreams, following your heart, and ignoring naysayers along the way. The book was first published in 1988 and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Chase Your Dream — One of the big takeaways from the book is to chase your dream. Santiago gave up his previous life as a shepherd to chase a dream of finding treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. Along the way, he challenged himself, overcame his fears, and followed his instincts — all of which are essential to achieving any big goal.

2️⃣ Heart — Several significant moments in Santiago’s journey required him to make tough decisions where he had to follow his heart. Regardless of the situation, always listen to what your heart is trying to tell you.

3️⃣ Internal Treasure — Although Santiago succeeded in finding the real treasure he was after, the message of the book is that the treasure of life is always inside you, no matter where you are. Living with gratitude for everything, big and small, is one of the lessons the book emphasizes the most.

Favorite Quote

“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.”

Book Notes 📑

Foreword

  • Paulo Coelho — A Brazilian writer and author of The Alchemist. When he first published the book in 1988, it sold two copies in 6 months. His contract was later terminated by the book’s publisher. He continued to push and found big success with a second publisher. 
  • The Alchemist — Fiction book about a traveling shepherd boy named Santiago who chases a dream. The book has been so successful because it’s a great life parable. It’s about going for what you want and overcoming adversity along the way. 
  • Rapid Popularity — An American visiting Brazil picked up the book and loved it. The book was translated to English and later brought to America via HarperCollins publishing. Bill Clinton, Madonna, and Will Smith were among the many famous people who recommended it and helped the book become so big. The book was on the New York Times best-seller list for 300 weeks. 

Part I

  • Santiago — The main character of the book. He is a traveling shepherd boy. He and his herd of sheep are traveling the Andalusian terrain outside of Spain. He went through school and his family wanted him to become a priest, but he decided to go for his dream of traveling around the world instead. 
  • Quote (P. 18): “Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”
    • Takeaway — Have a plan for your life. Have goals and things you want to accomplish. It’s easy to have an opinion about what other people should do with their lives, but it can be difficult to form a plan for your own life. Try to take some time to come up with a detailed plan and then get to work on executing it. 
  • Tarifa — A city in Spain and one of Santiago’s first stops. He exchanged his book, filled up his wine bottle, and rested for a day. He did a few other things:
    • Psychic — Santiago previously had two dreams where a kid was trying to show him where a “secret treasure” was buried near the Egyptian pyramids. He met with a psychic in Tarifa and she told him to go to Egypt and pursue the treasure. 
    • Old Man — While reading his new book, an old man sat next to Santiago and talked to him. The old man offered to help Santiago chase his dream of finding the treasure in Egypt. He told Santiago where the treasure was located and gave him two stones to help with decision-making. In exchange, Santiago gave up most of his sheep.
      • Quote (P. 20): “‘What’s the world’s greatest lie?’ the boy asked, completely surprised. ‘It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.’”
        • Takeaway — You always have control over our thoughts, decisions, and actions. You are responsible for your life, and you can always make changes or pursue things that you want to pursue, regardless of what other people might think.”
  • Personal Legend — The old man uses this term to describe a person’s dream while talking to Santiago. Everybody has a personal legend, or dream. But a lot of people don’t chase their dream or give up on it prematurely for whatever reason. ‘Personal Legend’ is a term from alchemy. 
  • Quote (P. 30): “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.”
    • Takeaway — Be grateful for life and everything you have. There are so many things to be thankful for. Keep your focus on what you have rather than what you don’t have. Live with an attitude of gratitude. 
  • Happiness — The old man told Santiago a story about happiness. In the story, a random person asked the “wisest man in the world” about happiness. The wise man put two drops of oil on a spoon and told the man to walk around and not spill anything. The wise man later asked the man if he noticed all of the beautiful things around him as he was walking. The man said “no” because he was focused on the oil. The wise man said to do it again, but this time observe the world’s beauty. The man did it but spilled the oil.
    • Quote (P. 35): “There’s one piece of advice I can give you: the secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”
      • Takeaway — It’s easy to sometimes become overly focused on things (the oil; work, etc.) that you forget to take a look around and appreciate the world’s beauty. Find a balance between focusing on goals and work but still being thankful for the world and people in your life. 
  • Tangier — A port city in Africa. Santiago met a boy in a Tangier bar who agreed to take him to Egypt by going through the Sahara Desert. Santiago gave him all the money he had in exchange. The other boy later ran off with the money before the two began their journey.
    • Back to Work — After having his money stolen, Santiago went to work in one of the crystal shops in Tangier. He had basically given up on Egypt. His goal was to make enough money to buy some sheep and head back to Spain. He did very well at the shop. 

Part II

  • The Decision — After working in the crystal shop for over a year, Santiago had enough money to buy a herd of sheep and a ticket back to Spain. He decided to forgo that option and pursue his real dream of chasing the treasure in Egypt instead.
    • Quote (P. 70): “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.”
      • Takeaway — Anytime you make a big life decision, that’s just the beginning. Every opportunity will take you down a different route and open up a lot of great things in your life. The important thing is to commit after you’ve made a decision. Make the decision and then commit to giving your best effort and make the most of the opportunity. 
  • The Caravan — Santiago took a caravan across the desert to Egypt. The group traveled by camel, and while with the caravan Santiago met an Englishman who was in search of an alchemist in Egypt. The Englishman had several books about alchemy and allowed Santiago to read them. The books taught Santiago about:
    • Alchemy — The medieval precursor to chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. Alchemy was known as the process of converting base metals into gold.
    • The Emerald Tablet — Was highly regarded by Islamic and European alchemy as the foundation of their art. 
    • The Philosopher’s Stone — Mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver. It is also called the ‘elixir of life,’ useful for rejuvenation and for achieving immortality. For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal in alchemy. 
    • Quote (P. 87): “Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. You’ll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we are living right now.”
      • Takeaway — This quote is from the caravan driver when he was taking to Santiago. Living in the present moment is the essence of meditation. Don’t get caught up in your mind and the past and future thoughts that usually dominate it. Focus on the breath, the inner body, and your surroundings. Try to spend most of your time in the present moment. 
  • The Oasis — The caravan finally arrived at an oasis near Egypt. Santiago and the Englishman went looking for the Alchemist. Soon after arriving at the oasis, Santiago met a woman named Fatima and fell in love.
    • The Warning — While at the oasis, Santiago had a vision that war was coming. In his mind, he saw warriors coming to attack the oasis soon. He went and warned the chief of the oasis army, who was skeptical. The chief told Santiago that he would receive a piece of gold for every 10 enemies killed the next day. But if nobody came to attack, Santiago would be executed for a false warning. 
    • Meeting the Alchemist — On his way back from warning the chief, a horseman dressed in all black stopped Santiago. The horseman questioned him, and the two engaged in a discussion about the warning. The horseman told Santiago to come see him at his tent the next day. As the horseman rode away, Santiago realized he had just met the Alchemist he and the Englishman had been looking for. 
  • Quote (P. 106): “The secret is here in the present. 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.”
    • Takeaway — Focus on the present moment and making the most of it. Try not to be too concerned with the past or future. 
  • The Attack — That next day, Santiago’s warning came true and 50 members of a different tribe attacked the oasis. The oasis army was ready and downed all 50 tribesmen. 
  • Leaving the Oasis — After the attack, Santiago visited the Alchemist and made a tough decision to leave the oasis in pursuit of the treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. The Alchemist had agreed to lead Santiago through the desert. Santiago initially wanted to stay with Fatima at the oasis instead, but changed his mind and decided to go with the Alchemist. 
  • Quote (P. 131): “The desert will give you an understanding of the world; in fact, anything on the face of the earth will do that. 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.”
    • Takeaway — We move too quickly. Take a step back periodically and admire the beauty of the world and nature. The little things in life and in nature are amazing when you take a moment to observe them and think about them. 
  • Follow the Heart — One of the big messages the Alchemist taught Santiago on the ride through the desert was to listen to and follow the heart always. This is also one of the big messages of the book in general.
    • Quote (P. 134): “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.”
    • Quote (P. 134): “It said that all people who are happy have God within them. And that happiness could be found in a grain of sand from the desert, as the alchemist had said.”
  • Military Camp — As they got closer to the Pyramids of Egypt, the Alchemist and Santiago were captured by a tribe. To avoid being killed, the Alchemist promised the chief of the tribe that Santiago would “transform himself into the wind” within three days.
    • The Wind — On the third day, Santiago took the tribe to the top of a hill and “spoke” to the wind, the sun, and God about love, dreams, and the meaning of life. He eventually got the wind to blow so hard that everything in the camp flew away. The chief was impressed and allowed Santiago and the Alchemist to pass though. 
    • Quote (P. 146): “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
    • Quote (P. 155): “And that’s where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.”
  • The Pyramids — Santiago eventually made it to the Pyramids of Egypt. He found the spot where his treasure was supposed to be located and dug for hours, but nothing was there. Two men found him, beat him up, and robbed him of the gold the Alchemist had given to him the day before.
    • New Treasure — One of the men who beat him told Santiago of a dream he had about a hidden treasure at an abandoned church in Spain. The man said he wouldn’t be “stupid enough to chase a silly dream.” Santiago laughed because it was the same church he had slept at many times in the past when he was a shepherd earlier in the book.
    • Treasure Discovered — Santiago went back to the church in Spain and dug at the base of a sycamore tree, as the man who beat him up had described. He found a huge treasure chest with gold. He decided to take it and go back to the oasis to live with Fatima. 
  • Book Takeaway — Although Santiago found the real treasure he was after, the message of the book is that the treasure of life is always inside you no matter where you are. Taking the time to slow down and be grateful for everything you have is essential. Live life with love and God at the top of your mind.