And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven
Was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Zarephath, a city of Sidon, unto a woman
That was a widow.
Luke 4:24-26
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In my book The Alchemist, the central thesis lies in a phrase that King Melchizedek says
To the shepherd boy Santiago: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in
Helping you to achieve it.”
I believe this with all my heart. However, the act of living one’s own destiny includes a
Series of stages that are far beyond our understanding, whose objective is always to take
Us back to the path of our Personal Legend – or to make us learn the lessons necessary to
Fulfill our own destiny. I think I can better illustrate what I am saying by relating an
Episode in my life.
On August 12, 1979, I went to sleep with a single certainty: at the age of thirty I was
Successfully making my way to the top of my career as a recording executive. I was
Working as artistic director for CBS in Brazil, and I had just been invited to the United
States to talk to the owners of the company, who would surely provide me with every
Opportunity to achieve all that I desired to do in my area. Of course my great dream – to
Be a writer – had been set aside, but what did that matter? After all, real life was very
Different from what I had imagined; there was no way to earn a living from literature in
Brazil.
That night I made a decision: to abandon my dream. One had to adapt to circumstances
And take advantage of opportunities.
If my heart protested, I could deceive it by
Composing song lyrics whenever I wanted, and by doing some writing now and then for
Some newspaper. Besides, I was convinced that my life had taken a different path, but
One no less exciting: a brilliant future awaited me in the world of the music
Multinationals.
When I woke up, I received a phone call from the president: I had just been fired, without
Further explanation. Although I knocked on various doors in the next two years, I never
Found a position again in that field.
When I finished writing The Fifth Mountain, I recalled that episode – and other
Manifestations of the unavoidable in my life. Whenever I thought myself the absolute
Master of a situation, something would happen to cast me down. I asked myself: why?
Can it be that I’m condemned to always come close but never reach the finish line? Can
God be so cruel that He would let me see the palm trees on the horizon only to have me
Die of thirst in the desert?
It took a long time to understand that it wasn’t quite like that. There are things that are
Brought into our lives to lead us back to the true path of our Personal Legend. Other
Things arise so we can apply all that we have learned. And, finally, some things come
Along to teach us.
In my book The Pilgrimage, I tried to show that these teachings need not be linked to
Pain and suffering; discipline and attentiveness alone are enough. Although this
Understanding has become an important blessing in my life, it still did not equip me to
Transit certain difficult moments that I experienced, even with total discipline and
Attentiveness.
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