From "The Alchemist"

If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry.   Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.

page 17-18

The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.

page 34 Par 3


When I had my sheep, I was happy, and I made those around me happy.  People saw me coming and welcomed me, he thought.  But now I'm sad and alone.  I'm going to become bitter and distrustful of people because one person betrayed me.  I'm going to hate those who have found their treasure because I never found mine.  And I'm going to hold on to what little I have, because I'm too insignificant to conquer the world.

page 41 Par 3

He still had some doubts about the decision he had made.  But he was able to understand one thing: making a decision was only the beginning of things.  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.

page 70 Par 2

"The land was ruined, and I had to find some other way to earn a living.  So now I'm a camel driver.  But that disaster taught me to understand the word of Allah: people need not fear teh unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want"

page 78 Par 2

"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 starts in the heavens, and that the 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're living right now."

page 86 Par 5

"You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend.  If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love… the love that speaks of the Language of the World"

page 122 Par 1

"Every search begins with beginner's luck.  And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested."

page 134 Par 2

"Because you have already lost your savings twice.  Once to the thief, and once to the general.  I'm an old, superstitious Arab, and I believe in our proverbs.  There's one that says, 'Everything that happens once can never happen again.  But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time'".

page 157 Last Par before end of section


And of course, for the many sections this was reiterated, and true enough it has resounded in my head:

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."