Early Life
• Born in Rio de Janerio, Brazil
in 1947
• Middle class family – wanted
him to follow religion or
engineering
• Rebellious – at 17 father
thought he had a mental illness
– 2 shock therapies - Doctors
said not mad, just irresponsible,
misunderstood
• Wanted to write, perform in
theater (immoral) – sent to
hospital 3 time
•1960’s joined hippie movement, long hair, not carry id, drugs,
writing
•wrote songs for a musician, sold 500,00 copies
•changed the Brazilian Rock scene
•at 25, wrote pieces against the government
•Wanted a Normal Life
Adult Life
•Writing songs and working for a record company
•Fell in love and started traveling
•Met a man – suggested he return to faith and “Walk to road to
Santiago”
•Worked many professions – not fulfilling
•1970 quit law school and traveled
•Songwriter
•1974 imprisoned by military dictatorship in Brazil
•1980 walked 500 mile “Road to Santiago” – described in The
Pilgrimage - 1987
•1988 published the Alchemist
Decisions
•Followed his dreams to be a writer – Personal Legend
•Strong views on political and ethical philosophies
Alchemist
•Simple and clear
•“Simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate
them.”
•Spiritual
•Written in 15 days
•Today over 210 translations with sales over 34 million copies
•Novel tells a story about a boy, Santiago who has a dream and the
courage to follow it. Seeks the greatness of the world, but in the end
discovers that “treasures lie where your heart belongs.
Intimacies
• Greatest virtue • Men
• Greatest failure • Truth
• Hobby/entertainment • Time
• Catalytic experience • Fame
• Source of inspiration • Fortune
• Greatest fear • Impossible
• Greatest hope • Happiness
• Next mountain • Work
• Friends • Beauty
• Women • Serenity
• Greatest virtue I am a brave person. "He who dares, wins".
• Greatest failure Lack of patience.
• Hobby/entertainment Walking.
• Catalytic experience I was close to the univers of madness.
• Source of inspiration People.
• Greatest fear Speaking in public.
• Greatest hope To carry on with my writings.
• Next mountain The one that happens to be in front of me.
• Friends The greatest treasure in life.
• Women From them one learns love in all its forms.
• Men From them one learns discipline.
• Truth A treacherous word. The only definition of truth is the word of
Jesus Christ: "You will know truth, and truth shall make you
free!"
• Time The present moment.
• Fame An abstract notion for a writer.
• Fortune Behind fortune there is always tragedy.
• Impossible Again, a misleading word. People let themselves get
discouraged, not because things are impossible, but because
we actually want them to be. But nothing is impossible
• Happiness The most mediocre thing in the world. I'd rather go by the idea
of joy.
• Work Work equals passion.
• Beauty The honesty of the soul.
• Serenity It is not absence of movement, but absolute concentration.