What important lesson have you learned from Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist as a whole?

Paulo Coelho's The Alchemistis a unique story which basically tells readers not to just follow their dreams, but to go accomplish them. The boy, Santiago, represents each one of us on life's journey. Since we all have choices to make in life, the question is whether or not we will make ones that will propel us forward to achieving our fullest potential, or will we sit still and wait for life to come to us? Santiago learns...

Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist is a unique story which basically tells readers not to just follow their dreams, but to go accomplish them. The boy, Santiago, represents each one of us on life's journey. Since we all have choices to make in life, the question is whether or not we will make ones that will propel us forward to achieving our fullest potential, or will we sit still and wait for life to come to us? Santiago learns to watch for omens that will direct him through life and towards his Personal Legend and treasure. He learns to trust in himself, not to give up until the goal is accomplished, and that marriage and family can wait until all of this happens first.

There are some very inspirational quotes and pieces of advice given throughout the book, too. Here are a few examples:

1- ". . . when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too" (150).

2- "What you still need to now is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream" (132).

3- "The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles" (152).

These are all very empowering and motivating passages that teach readers not to give up and that life does not have seem insurmountable. Life can be difficult, but there's always a solution to discover or a choice to make it better.