The Alchemist is the first book I finished in 2024. It’s shorter than I thought. I find reading shorter books easier and motivating. For example, last year nearly all books I finished are short (Little Prince, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). This is good news as I can start with short books to build my reading habit.
I don’t remember how this book ends up in my kindle. The only thing I recall is a few years ago I saw it from my friend’s kindle. She was reading When Breathe Becomes Air back then - which I’m about to read next - and I glanced over her other books in kindle and I noticed this book. I definitely knew When Breathe Becomes Air because of her. Maybe I should credit her for this one as well.
Why I read it
One of the habit I’m trying to form is read 30min before sleep. I was reading a few books before this one, all non-fictional, mainly to gain knowledge and improve myself. One of the them is The 4-Hour Workweek. One thing Tim Ferriss mentions is to read only fictions before bed as it helps sleep. It resonates with me. Good non-fictional books make me think and it excites my brain and work against falling sleep. As I struggle with lack of sleep recently I decide to change a bit and this book is one of the only two fictions in my kindle.
What’s inside it
The book tells a story of a young shepherd boy who listens to his heart and travels in search of a treasure. His quest leads him to much satisfying experience than he imagined. His story reminds us about the importance of following our dreams, recognizing opportunities and reading the omens shown on our life’s path. Though it’s in the book’s name, the Alchemist is only a character, albeit the most important one, that helps the shepherd boy fulfill his dream.
How I think about it
It was a good read. I was recently having thoughts about work and life. Over the past decade, I’ve never seriously thought about. Basically I just blindly chase what everyone else is after: having a high-paying job, buying a house, finding high return investments and starting a family. There’s nothing wrong with them. But starting near the end of last year, I began to feel unhappy, especially with my work. I tried many different things such as improving my productivity, building new habits and writing daily journals and weekly reviews but none of them helps me getting rid of the feeling. It’s like I’m in a dark tunnel and I can’t see the light at the end. I can’t remember where I heard but it’s something to the extent of people becomes crazy when they realize they can’t escape the repeated suffering. That’s exactly how I feel now. If my life goes on without change like this I’ll go crazy.
Reading this book reminds me the beauty of following one’s own heart. You might fail. You might not earn the salary you want. You might be late in achieving financial freedom. You might slow down on your career. But so what? Comparing them to your dreams. Comparing them to your limited lifespan. Do they really matter if you look back at your life when you about to die? Something that resonate with me the most from this book
The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon
The idea of seeing the marvels of the world excites me. I’ve been living in Australia for 10 years yet I’ve only been to Tasmania 5 days, Melbourne 3 days, Canberra 2 days, Gold coast one day. I haven’t seen the Great Barrier Reef. Or Uluru. Or other marvels of Australia. I’ve been busy preparing for interviews and working and wasting my time on things nothing to do with my goals. While I’m thinking hard to “design” and “architect” my life and making things complicated and being unhappy, the shepherd boy simply listens to his heart, living a simple life and achieves what he wants. If I follow my heart, maybe in the short term I will slow down on my goals as I’m taking detour. But the detour might end up being the path I enjoy so I can sprint faster and achieve my goals earlier and happier.
Last words
I will definitely read it again. I like it because it reminds me that I can make my life simpler and be happier. From another review
And treasure lies where your heart belongs, and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired.
Unlike self-help books trying to give you the reasons why you should something, this book tries to teach you lessons by telling a story. Even though you’re quite aware of the fact that it’s only a story, you still remember and possibly change your behavior. That is the power of story. I definitely should read more fictions.