As a writer, I appreciate what Paolo Coelho has done for the world, especially in the area in which he's done it. In many ways, he's helped bring spirituality into the mainstream with The Alchemist, which was no mean feat back in 1988. Back then, spirituality was considered woo-woo by many.
Today, the Alchemist holds the Guinness World Record for the most translated book by a living author, which is pretty amazing when it's up against authors like J.K. Rowling and books like Harry Potter.
What I love most about his success is that he's spreading a message of positivity, courage, vulnerability, curiosity, and heart. Historically, that hasn't sold well, but he found a crack in humanity's armour and has become one of the most successful writers of all time.
Here are 8 quotes from Paulo Coelho that I love and a few reasons why.
"Be crazy! But learn how to be crazy without being the center of attention. Be brave enough to live different."
For 25 years of my life, I tried to be normal. I tried to fit in, but I sacrificed my authentic self. I had to travel the world and discover who I was to realise that I'm just as crazy as the next person. No one's normal, and if they claim to be, run away.
"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." — Dr. Seuss
I've found the trick is to be crazy and weird with the right people. Or person.
One person is enough to make life magical, and everyone has at least one person whose craziness is compatible with their own.
"Death is the only isle of certainty in the uncertain waters of life. No matter where life takes us, death delivers everyone to the same fate."
No one is getting out of here alive. Soon, we'll all merge back into the same cosmic pool of energy that we came from.
Depending on how my life is going, this is either scary or liberating.
It sounds cliché, but death teaches me how to live. If I'm lucky, I've got a few more years left on this planet. But that's all I'm playing with. Every time I remember this, I wake up. There's a deep sense of peace, presence, and urgency that comes with it. But not the kind of urgency that makes me rush around like a madman. It's the kind of urgency that makes me pay attention to what's happening in and around me, and appreciate it, and share it with others.
"People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves."
Bad teachers tell people what to do. Good teachers involve them in the process.
Benjamin Franklin said it best, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
I couldn't agree more.
"You have two choices, to control your mind or to let your mind control you."
For 25 years, my mind controlled me. It ruled the house and did whatever the hell it wanted.
Then I started meditating, practicing breathwork and tantra, and experimenting with psychedelics, and I learned ways to control my mind. It still runs havoc from time to time, but I have techniques to bring it back now, and being someone who used to suffer from anxiety, that feels like a superpower.
"The danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort."
Don't get me wrong, I love a day on the couch as much as the next person, but I don't want to get to the end of my life and know that's the only thing that I've done.
I want to live life, experience all the ups and downs, feel my strength and fragility, and witness the beauty in and around me. Life is full of magic, mystery, and mayhem, and I want to be a part of it.
In that regard, I agree with what Hunter S. Thompson said:
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!"
"We all live in our own world. But if you look up at the starry sky — you'll see that all the different worlds up there combine to form constellations, solar systems, galaxies."
What this says to me is that we're small, unique, and individual, but we all belong to something much bigger, unified, and mysterious.
We're one, but we're all. We're alone, but we're together.
It's one of the great paradoxes of life, and I'm in awe every time I think about it.
"Life is always a matter of waiting for the right moment to act."
Having said that, I'm a firm believer in being ready enough. No one can be truly ready or prepared for every eventuality. There are too many unknowns in life. So, there's always an element of risk. Timing does help, but as Anthony Liccione warns, "there is never a perfect time for anything."
Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot.
"The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter."
It's easy to romanticise the future as some faraway dreamland that's full of sex, money, and endless opportunities. But the reality is that whatever the future holds will be similar to what's happening right now. We'll just be a little older.
In my twenties, I dreamed of becoming a scuba diving instructor and travelling the world. It was the most incredible and adventurous time of my life, and I loved (almost) every minute of it. However, no one told me about the number of hours I would spend underwater freezing my ass off, no one told me how many shitty nights I would spend "sleeping" in transit, and no one told me how I'd make just enough money to get me through the day.
In my thirties, I dreamed about becoming a full-time writer. The last five years have been magical. I've become a more confident person, I've found my voice, and I've been accepted by thousands of people online. However, no one told me of all the months I would spend without receiving a single comment or dime, no one told me how many days would go by that were filled with self-doubt and shame, and no one told me how many hours I'd spend a day working, but not writing.
I've had to live both dreams to know that even dreams come with their ups and downs. That's what I love most, though, because it's real. And I'd take real over make-believe every single time.
Jon Kabat-Zinn said, "Wherever you go, there you are." And I feel like that is truer than ever.
It's not what we do that's important, but who we are while we do it.
Spirit has taught me that much.