Book: 20220524 to 20220525, "The Alchemist" by Coelho, Paulo

20220524 - Part One

At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. p18

It's not fate, but our habits. When we are so used to our habits, we stopped explorering, reflecting and review, we don't change our habits anymore. We just repeat the daily activities again and again, not matter it's good, bad, or boring.

"The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon." p34

How could this be possible? Observe and enjoy all details of life, and keep going forward to success?

As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure. "I'm an adventurer, looking for treasure," he said to himself. p44

We need food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Then we can work hard to implement our dream.

The boy said nothing. He got up, adjusted his clothing, and picked up his pouch. "I'll work for you," he said. Anad after another long silence, he added, "I need money to buy some sheep." p50

In real world, to learn a new language is not easy, and to get hired by a not so greedy employer is even harder. People get sick easily. Any minor unlucky things may stop people from pursuing their dreams for many years. So only the lucky one who persist can win.

20220525 - Part Two

And maybe it wasn't that they were teaching me, but that I was learning from them. p60

I should pay attention to everything to learn from everything. Be sensitive to cues, so we can analyse them.

If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. p108

"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream." p120

This is not completely true. 1. Survival bias. 2. The accumulation of knowledge and resources takes time.

But for most of people, in most of the cases, it's correct. When people keep trying hard, more likely the luck would fall into them.

"There is only one way to learn," the alchemist answered. "It's through action." p132

"The soul of the world" is our subconscious. It's not always correct. It's more like the accumulation of previous habits. That's why we need to improve our subconscious.