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10 Paulo Coelho Quotes from The Alchemist to Inspire Adventure!

10 Paulo Coelho Quotes from The Alchemist to Inspire Adventure!

Excerpt: Adventure comes in two forms: outside travel and inside exploration. Our 10 Paulo Coelho quotes from The Alchemist will inspire both! Enjoy!


Click Here to jump right to our list of Quotes from The Alchemist!

Introduction: Outside Travel and Inside Exploration

I think at some point in our lives we all fantasize about traveling the world and living the life of a nomad. We could wander from one place to the next and fill our days with spontaneous adventures while meeting new and interesting people. We could explore new cities, take beautiful hikes, have campfires in the woods, listen to new music, and read stories from people who have come before. We can hitchhike in cars, catch cross country trains, sleep in the back of busses, and take red-eye flights. Every day would be different and every day would be filled with a wealth of experience that we could easily get lost in. Sounds pretty great right?

One of the main reason why we might have fantasies like this is because we’re hungry for new experiences. New experiences, in any form, are like the sweet oxygen of our lives. This is why you might find yourself getting antsy if you haven’t had a new experience in a while. It’s why we crave vacations after working for so many days in a row, or why we might go out to a new restaurant with friends after a routine week, or why we might crave a year of worldly travel to break free from a routine life. What we’re really craving is that sweet oxygen of new experience.

NEW In The Shop: Don’t Let The Tame Ones Tell You How To Live [Poster]

Why We ♥ It: Some of the best advice I (Matt here) ever got was: don’t take life advice from people who aren’t living a life you want to live and don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t go to for advice. I created this poster to act as a reminder to listen more closely to our role models and less closely to our critics, trolls, and tamed-comfort-zone-hugger acquaintances. It’s also a perfect gift for the outdoor adventurer, travel enthusiast, or solo explorer (or soon to be). Available in print or digital download. 👇🏼

But before you commit to the nomadic lifestyle, remember that for as long as we’re ‘losing ourselves’ in the experiences of the world, we won’t be ‘finding ourselves’ until we find time to contemplate what those experiences mean and how they might shape who we are and how we might continue to live our lives. In other words, as sweet as a breath of fresh oxygen is, we can’t only breathe oxygen in without first letting carbon dioxide out. And the same is true for us if we want to live a balanced life of optimal self-discovery.

Luckily for us, we don’t even have to think about breathing—it happens autonomously. But ‘breathing’ for a balanced life, however, is something we DO have to think about and take action on consciously. Without our direct oversight and effort, our life can very well end up getting blown around randomly by the winds of life or, even worse, deliberately by the manipulative efforts of others. And if you really want to ‘find yourself’ then YOU need to make plans for new experiences, make space for contemplation, practice the art of applying anything you learn of value, and the art of discarding everything you discover that isn’t. Because one thing is for sure, nobody else is going to breathe for you.

The story of The Alchemist starts out as a journey where the main character seeks to find worldly goods, but turns into an adventure of discovering the treasure within. It’s a wonderfully easy to read book that instills lessons in memorable ways.

Below, you will find our list of quotes from The Alchemist that will inspire you to adventure not just to the outside world for more worldly goods, but to your inside world where you’ll hopefully find your personal treasure—whatever that might be.

I hope these quotes from The Alchemist find you well and I wish you the best of luck on your journey! May you take many sweet breathes both in and out and may you find what you’re truly looking for. ~ Matt


The List: 10 Paulo Coelho Quotes from The Alchemist to Inspire Adventure!


“People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“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

“When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“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

“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“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. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.”

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.  This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

If you enjoyed these quotes from The Alchemist then I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading Paulo Coelho’s book in full.  It comes warmly recommended:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

By: Paulo Coelho

From this Book: 16 Quotes

Book Overview:  The Alchemist, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids.  Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest.  No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way.  But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within.  Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

Buy from Amazon!  Listen on Audible!

Great on Kindle. Great Experience. Great Value. The Kindle edition of this book comes highly recommended on Amazon.


Read Next:


NEW In The Shop: Don’t Let The Tame Ones Tell You How To Live [Poster]

Why We ♥ It: Some of the best advice I (Matt here) ever got was: don’t take life advice from people who aren’t living a life you want to live and don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t go to for advice. I created this poster to act as a reminder to listen more closely to our role models and less closely to our critics, trolls, and tamed-comfort-zone-hugger acquaintances. It’s also a perfect gift for the outdoor adventurer, travel enthusiast, or solo explorer (or soon to be). Available in print or digital download. 👇🏼

Matt Hogan — Founder of MoveMe Quotes

Written by Matt Hogan

Founder of MoveMe Quotes. On a mission to help busy people do inner work—for better mental health; for healing; for personal growth. Find me on Twitter / IG / Medium. I also share daily insights here. 🌱

It has taken me 1,000’s of hours to build this free library for you. If it has helped you, you can support my continued effort here. ☕️

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