Hey everyone! I am Arnav Tripathi, an Engineering Undergraduate. Writing newsletters is a completely new thing for me and I hope that together with the readers’ support, we can create a space for us to connect and grow around our shared interests.
I welcome you to The Arnav Enigma: A Random Collection of Musings. Explore the web's hidden corners with me! Expect a mix of random discoveries, book summaries, and thought-provoking questions.
Moving on to today’s topic. At least once in your lifetime, you might have come across or have heard the name of this book. I dedicate my first newsletter by summarizing this novel as it was through this book with which I embarked on my journey of reading books. I wouldn’t lie, this is book was a bit dense to understand at first. It was after I picked it up for the second time after a few years, then I could understand the meaning of various life lessons conveyed by the author. And once when I truly understood it, it was for sure a startling experience for me. The best part of the book is the innate simple and lucid style in which it is written. The book, which is narrated as a simple story, has various deep teachings and messages.
About the Author
Paulo Coelho de Souza is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. He is best known for his international bestseller, The Alchemist. He is famously known for his symbolic and philosophical stories that explore the theme of faith, love and personal journey to find your true self. His other famous works are Veronika Decides to Die and Eleven Minutes.
About the book
The synopsis of the book goes on as,
“Dreams are made to be followed,
Life is meant to be lived,
Some Books are meant to be read, loved and passed on.
The Alchemist is one of them.”
The first two lines of this statement, in my opinion, can alone be an eye opener for many of us in this world who fail to understand the true potential of the human nature and how it is solely our own responsibility to take actions in order to fulfill the our dreams and that of our loved ones whilst living life to the fullest without any regrets.
This book was written by Paulo Coelho in the year 1988 yet it is considered to be an epitome of skillful writing which conveys some of the universe’s simplest but the most life changing pieces of advices stitched together in one novel.
The story is about a shepherd boy from Spain whose name was Santiago. He keeps getting the same dream about treasure that are lying in the Pyramids of Egypt. He consults a fortune teller and a wise old man, both urging him to pursue this dream of his. Santiago sells all his sheep, which were his only source of income at that time and with whom he shared a deep connection to go to Africa. He encountered many challenges along the way, including being robbed and forced to work as a salesman in a crystal shop. At the crystal shop, he meets the Alchemist who agrees to help him on his quest. Along the way, the Alchemist teaches the boy various lessons like listening to his heart patiently despite the fact that our heart can often be fearful. The Alchemist also tells the process of pursuing his Personal Legend is more important than the particular dream he wants to fulfill, and that he cannot reach his goal through learning. He must do so by taking appropriate action.
At the oasis, Santiago meets a girl named Fatima and falls in love with her. He decides to stay with her but the Alchemist reminds him of his dream and carry on. Their journey is disrupted by a tribal war where The Alchemist and the boy are captured. However, by remembering the Alchemist's teachings about the Soul of the World, he connects with the desert and convinces it to create a sandstorm which convinces the Tribal chief about his abilities. Santiago uses his communication skills to negotiate peace with the tribal chief and it works wonders.
Santiago finally reaches the pyramids, but is attacked and robbed by a tribe. Dejected, he realizes the treasure wasn't about material wealth, but about the journey and the lessons learned. He remembers a previous clue, the treasure lies back near the ruined church where he first had the dream. Returning to Spain, Santiago digs beneath a sycamore tree and discovers a chest filled with gold and jewels. He reunites with Fatima, understanding the true meaning of his dream which he had all along and what the Real Treasure was.
Some Valuable Lessons
The Alchemist's message is about listening to your inner voice, overcoming obstacles, and realizing that the most valuable treasures are often found within ourselves and the journey we take in life.
If you want to achieve something, you will have to get out of your comfort zone and venture into unchartered territory. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. Nothing great comes out from remaining where one has been and you have to constantly keep moving forward regardless of the circumstances holding your back.
Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own. The one who understands this the earliest, tends to become wiser.
Achieving big things in life are not a day or two’s task. The most important skills required are consistency and perseverance. The story aptly defines beginner’s luck and how the journey keeps getting harder and harder once you keep moving forward. It is also normal to have multiple positive and negative moments throughout your journey. When you try to become a better person, everything around you also becomes better.
The book also lucidly explains that only those who are completely engrossed in and passionate about achieving what they truly want enjoy the real taste of success rather than those who just focus on the outcomes and benefits.
Thus, it can be rightfully said that the actual treasures in life is enjoying the present moments we have and finding peace and happiness in it while simultaneously striving harder to make small but significant steps towards the goal that we have dreamt of in some point of our lives.
Some Great Quotes from the Book
“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”
“To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation.”
“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting...”
“Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.”
“If you start out by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work toward getting it.”
“When you can't go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward.”
“There is only one way to learn... It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”
Hey there! If you have made it this far, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. Please do consider sharing it with your family and friends. I would love to hear about your thoughts of this edition. Mail me at arnavtripathi1605@gmail.com or connect with me on Instagram (arnavvvvv_16).
Until next time!
P.S. Here’s a photo of my copy of the book :)