The Alchemist is a world-wide best selling story about a boy, Santiago, who literally follows his dreams.  He starts off in Spain and pursues a dream of treasures waiting for him beneath the Pyramids of Egypt.  Along the way, he runs into various characters who represent different ways of living life.  While this book is often read in high school or earlier, I never came across it until my co-founder mentioned it recently off handedly.

I found myself reading it over the last few weeks in various venues throughout San Francisco — leading to interesting observations and encounters.  In one case, the bartender at Zare at the Fly Trap remarked how she read it a long time ago and it changed her life.  That’s when I knew I had to think about it less as an entertaining story and more about how it applies to real life.  Below is my crude attempt to take the essence of the book and distill it down for anyone who doesn’t have the time to enjoy this beautiful work of literature.  I’m focusing in this case on one concept but may add more in the future as I continue to peel back the layers of the story.

Story Concept: Personal Legends

A Personal Legends is one’s destiny in life (should one choose to pursue it).  It is the path people decide to take that will fill their heart with passion and satisfaction. Most people don’t try to fulfill their Personal Legend and thus live their lives compromised.

Santiago is told about the idea of Personal Legends and how people are constantly tried while pursuing them.  He will have to give up material success and postpone even love to achieve his Personal Legend, but he will ultimately be happy.  Many other characters in the story do not pursue their Personal Legend.

The Crystal Merchant was one such cautionary example of what happens when you don’t pursue your Personal Legend.  He ran a store that was commercially successful and was a kind man — in many ways an exemplary character.  He dreamed of one day going to Mecca, but he tells himself that he will never be able to afford to go.  Then he sees much poorer people passing through his town that go to Mecca and realizes he is making an excuse.  So, the Crystal Merchant reveals that he is in fact worried that he will have nothing to live for once he’s achieved his dream.  He understands the benefits of taking risks but will not take any still, leading to an unfulfilled life.

The Baker is another example.  He desires to travel and so should have been a shepherd who gets to roam with his flock.  However, the Baker understood that bakers as a profession were valued more by society than shepherds and so he would be more likely desired as a husband by being a baker.  So he became a baker and dreams about traveling his whole life while being sad and unsatisfied.

What these characters don’t understand is that following your calling will make you happy and will be easier to do than they think.  Two other characters, the Alchemist and the King of Salem, explain to Santiago that when you go after your Personal Legend with all your heart, the whole universe conspires to help you.  They further explain that material success may come from your pursuit but people who simply seek riches as the goal will not be fulfilled.  It’s very much about the journey and process — just as it is far more valuable to go through the process of transmuting lead to gold than to be chasing the end result of gold in itself.  

Life Concept: Personal Legends

Everyone has dreams at some point.  They know “what would be awesome to do” even if they can’t articulate what they want to do with their lives.  People get hung up on how they will make money to support their journey so they never get started.  It’s disheartening to hear people talk about life with a neat 5 year or 10 year plan since they always must be setting very conservative paths for themselves or compromising along the way to be sure they are meeting their goals.  You won’t achieve your Personal Legend overnight and in fact won’t even know all the obstacles along the way but you won’t also know all the help you will get on the way.  You have to take a risk to do anything worth doing.

One of the most true parts of the book to me was the idea that the universe conspires to help you fulfill your Personal Legend when you go after it completely.  I have found repeatedly that people are happy to give you advice, introductions, and even money to help you do something you have absolute conviction in.  They will guide you when you are lost and encourage you when you feel down.  I think people drastically underestimate the world in this regard and often think the world conspires to keep them down.

The cautionary tales of the Baker and the Crystal Merchant were fascinating to me partly cause I was reading about them while in the Financial District.  I thought “wow, just put a ‘n’ and you have Banker and the story still works.”  The Alchemist though isn’t an indictment against banking or owning a small successful business [the modern equivalents?].  Santiago, the main character, even takes refuge at times in his life working at the crystal store and also being a shepherd trying to amass a bigger flock.  I think the story says there will be times in life when taking shelter makes sense but you can’t ever forget where you were going and lose sight of your Personal Legend.  

Lastly, profits follow passion.  Just as Santiago eventually finds his treasures after having gone through the process, you’ll always find rewards for doing something you really believe in.