Paulo Coelho: Trending quotes

Source: Veronika Decides to Die

Source: The Zahir

I know a lot of people who feel they have an identity only when they’re talking about their problems. That way, they exist, because their problems are linked to what they judge to be their history.
Aleph (2011)

Source: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Source: The Valkyries

Source: The Valkyries

Source: The Devil and Miss Prym‎ [O Demônio e a srta Prym] (2000), p. x; this has also been misquoted as "A moment is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny."
Context: 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 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.

Source: The Winner Stands Alone

Source: Aleph

Introduction, p. xi.
Source: The Alchemist (1988)
Context: I ask myself: are defeats necessary?
Well, necessary or not, they happen. When we first begin fighting for a dream, we have no experience and make mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.

By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (1994)
Variant: Waiting Hurts. Forgetting Hurts. But not knowing which decision to take is the worst of suffering.
Source: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Variant: simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them".
Source: The Alchemist

Source: Eleven Minutes

Source: The Alchemist (1988), p. 158.

Source: Brida (1990).
Context: When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.

Source: The Alchemist