The Alchemist is author Paulo Coelho's timeless story of adventure and bravery, following the young Santiago on his journey to find his treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. Along the way, Santiago meets an array of characters who help him understand his personal legend and achieve his destiny. First published in 1988, The Alchemist continues to inspire readers and listeners to take their future into their own hands, as Santiago did, and follow their destiny.
On his journey, Santiago learns of the concept of maktub, meaning “it is written”. Maktub exemplifies the idea that some things are meant to be—a concept that becomes the overarching theme of Santiago’s adventures and relationships throughout the book.
Just as Santiago discovered what was meant to be on his journey, this collection of book quotes—some of our favourite The Alchemist quotes—will offer insight and help guide you through all the ups and downs of life’s experiences, from the simple things to the bigger life lessons.
Quotes About Love
The Alchemist has some of the most profound and beautiful quotes on the subject of love. From words of wisdom by the title alchemist himself to Fatima’s heartwarming sentiments to Santiago, Coelho has provided the world with endless inspiring and poetic sayings about the uplifting beauty of love.
1."One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
2.“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
3.“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
4.“This is what we call love. When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
5."You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
6."Maktub. If I am really a part of your dream, you'll come back one day." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
7.“When he looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke—the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
8.“So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
9.“The dunes are changed by the wind, but the desert never changes. That's the way it will be with our love for each other.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
10.“And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
11.“Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Quotes About Personal Legend
One of the central themes of The Alchemist is Santiago’s quest to achieve his Personal Legend. He learns to pursue it above all else, and something more: once it has been achieved, everything else will fall into place.
12.“Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
13."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.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
14.“To realise one's destiny is a person's only real obligation.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
15."When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
16.“It’s true that everything has its Personal Legend, but one day that Personal Legend will be realised. So each thing has to transform itself into something better, and to acquire a new Personal Legend, until, someday, the Soul of the World becomes one thing only.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
17.“Life really is generous to those who pursue their Personal Legend.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Quotes About Dreams
We picked some of The Alchemist’s most memorable quotes about dreams to inspire you to follow yours.
18.“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
19.“People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
20.“Dreams are the language of God. When he speaks in our language, I can interpret what he has said. But if he speaks in the language of the soul, it is only you who can understand.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
21.“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
22.“People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
23.“Before a dream is realised, 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 realising our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up. It's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.'” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Quotes About Life
The Alchemist has no shortage of profound and inspiring quotes about life. Here are some of our favourites.
24.“Don't give in to your fears... If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
25.“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
26.“Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
27.“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
28.“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
29.“Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
30.“The boy and his heart had become friends, and neither was capable now of betraying the other.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
31.“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
32.“When each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognise the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
33.“Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
34.“If you start out by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work toward getting it.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
35.“Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
36.“When you can't go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
37.“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.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
38.“It said that all people who are happy have God within them.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
39.“God only rarely reveals the future. When he does so, it is for one reason: it's a future that was written so as to be altered.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
40.“There is only one way to learn... It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.” - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
