MADE
MADEXXXX
INC.
“WHEN YOU REALLY WANT SOMETHING, THE UNIVERSE ALWAYS
CONSPIRES IN YOUR FAVOUR.”
This powerful phrase, along with countless others just like it is riddled throughout The Alchemist. The 28-year-old book’s undeniable appeal has transcended
generations, managing to remain relevant enough to not only be quoted by
those who bought the book more than two decades ago, but those readers’ children as well. Just take a look at the lines from the book turned into inspirational
memes. Coincidence? I think not.
SO, WHY SHOULD YOU READ THE ALCHEMIST?
It’s easy to see why it’s a mainstay on bookshelves. A quick read, the 163 page
book tells the story of Santiago, a Spanish boy who works as a sheep herder
and has a dream that he will find treasure and great fortune in the Egyptian
pyramids. An elder who called himself the King of Salem tells the boy that he
knows his Personal Legend – his calling in life – but most times an unseen but
clearly heard force tells people that the legend won’t happen and they give up.
But the old man stresses to the boy that, “When you want something, all the
universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
The book follows Santiago during his journey to the treasure and depicts his
obstacles that he somehow manages to overcome along the way. After much
trepidation, he takes his search to the desert, where he meets The Alchemist,
who may be able to help him find his treasure. Just when he’s near the treasure,
the boy faces one of the most important challenges of his life.
As you can imagine, the book is just one huge pile of symbolism waiting to be
applied to our everyday struggles. Sounds corny, but the likes of Oprah, Julia
Roberts and countless other wildly successful figures have been singing the
book’s praises for years.
WILL YOU LIKE IT?
It’s hard to say. If you’re a sucker for inspirational memes and Oprah show
re-runs, this book will be dog eared just a few pages in. If you’re more of the
cynical type, the story will probably be less applicable to your life and the
thinly veiled motivational plot tropes will be more obvious than epiphanic.
However, it’s clear that the story is one that can easily be appreciated, especially
for millennials going through the dreaded quarter life crisis and need a bit of
reassurance that everything really is going to ok
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