Books
17 Paulo Coelho Quotes That Will Inspire You
If you're on the hunt for inspirational book quotes to help you get started when you're in a rut (or every Monday morning), you can't get any better than Paulo Coelho quotes. Reading Coelho is practically like employing a personal life coach, pushing you to stay motivated and aware every day of your life, except it's super affordable. So whether you are in the midst of a break-up, struggling with your job or schooling, or just having one of those days, Paulo Coelho quotes could be the medicine that cures your ills.
Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho de Souza is an icon across the globe, thanks in large part to his book The Alchemist, a deceptively simple story about a shepherd named Santiago who travels to the Egyptian desert to find a mysterious treasure in the Pyramids. The writer could have probably used his own inspirational words back when The Alchemist was first published in 1988, as it was a flop, and the publisher decided not to reprint after its first very small run. (Whoops.) After the success of his third novel Brida, The Alchemist found new life at HarperCollins in 1994, becoming a worldwide phenomenon, translated into 80 languages, and propelling Coelho into lists of the bestselling authors of all time.
If that's not an inspirational story, I don't know what is. This Coelho clearly has an understanding of what he's talking about. So these 17 Paulo Coelho quotes will give you major inspiration, too.
1. “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
2. “Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.”
― Paulo Coelho, Brida
3. “It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
4. “Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym
5. “Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”
― Paulo Coelho, Brida
6. “Everything tells me that I am about to make a wrong decision, but making mistakes is just part of life. What does the world want of me? Does it want me to take no risks, to go back to where I came from because I didn't have the courage to say 'yes' to life?”
― Paulo Coelho, Eleven Minutes
7. “The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
8. “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
9. “Be crazy! But learn how to be crazy without being the center of attention. Be brave enough to live different.”
― Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die
10. “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym
11. “You are what you believe yourself to be.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Witch of Portobello
12. “I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It's all a question of how I view my life.”
― Paulo Coelho, Eleven Minutes
13. “People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
14. “People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.”
― Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die
15. “Now that she had nothing to lose, she was free.”
― Paulo Coelho, Eleven Minutes
16. “Don't give in to your fears. If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
17. “If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.”
― Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
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