Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”(Paulo Coelho). This is what was said to the main character, Santiago, in the book, The Alchemist, when the old king told him his personal legend. A Personal Legend is your life's spiritual purpose. He said Santiago’s personal legend was to find the treasure in the Egyptian Pyramids. Santiago must learn the lessons of perseverance, belief in oneself, and sacrifice in order to achieve his personal legend, to find the treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. Santiago learns many things during his journey, but one main lesson was perseverance. He learned perseverance when things got tough for him and he didn’t give up. An example of him learning this, is when he used all of his money, sold his sheep, and didn’t go to the merchant to marry his daughter. He didn’t give up though. He found a job to make enough money to go to the Egyptian Pyramids and helped out the owner of the shop to get more customers."The charming tale

He learns sacrifice when he had to give some of his sheep to the old king, for telling him information about his personal legend. “The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”(Paulo Coelho). This quote helps the reader get a better understanding of just how much Santiago sacrificed in his lifetime. He lost almost everything until he got his head together and got a job, to get enough money, to go to the Egyptian Pyramids. “People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”(Paulo Coelho). The meaning of this quote is people can do whatever they want, whenever they want. There are always excuses or something “holding” them back, but in reality they can do or go anywhere they want. There are just sacrifices that would have to be made to pursue their dreams. Santiago did exactly what this quote means. He left his town and his family to go and fulfill his dreams, to