The Alchemist

I guess I was too young when I first heard about this book, "The Alchemist". So was my friend, who told me about the book and her friend who had actually read it. It was that point of time when all we understood in the book was that there was a shepherd who sold his sheep, travelled far and wide only to come back to where he started off. I used to wonder "Why on earth is that book a best-seller? The story is pretty boring! You won't find me reading that book anytime soon!". I was only in primary school then.

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it

Well... I didn't really "want" to read the book, but still I guess the universe decided to conspire in helping me read the book! My father had gone to Germany this summer, and over there, this guy had given him a small present. It was a book written by Paulo Coelho called "The Zahir". My dad read half the book and told me that Coelho was quite a good writer and that I should try reading his books sometime. On the last page of the book was a list of other books written by Paulo Coelho and "The Alchemist" was on the list. (duh!). And it just so happened that my parents and I had to go to this shopping mall to get me a pair of jeans. We got the jeans, and ended up buying "The Alchemist".

My dad normally doesn't read that many books, and even when he does, he doesn't sit for hours together in a single day. But this time, he sat with the book till he completed it and then gave it to me to bring with me back to Singapore. He told me to read it.

And I did. I just finished reading it.

I first freaked out a wee bit. It almost seemed like the book was written specifically for me! But as I went on, I realized I wasn't the only one with dreams and I wasn't the only one who didn't follow my dreams with all my heart due to the fear of failure.

This book has got to be one of the most amazing books that I have read. It has inspired me to look at the world in a different way. I had almost given up on this blog, but now I am back. And in a strange way, thats because of the alchemist. (and no, having a blog wasn't one of my dreams, I just like sharing my thoughts).

Today, I am the shepherd, sitting with my sheep and trying to follow a dream. I guess only time will tell if I will have the courage to sell the sheep to embark on an adventure to realize my dreams or if I will just sit around and do what everybody else does in fear of failing to achieve what I want.

So universe, start conspiring to help me out! Macho Girl has just met the alchemist and is armed with inspiration! (now comes the 99% perspiration part :P)