If you heard howls of excitement echoing through the blogosphere the other day…that was ME discovering that one of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho, has – wait for it – a BLOG!!!
How I have lived the past FIVE years without knowing about this magical Internet destination, is beyond me.
If you’re looking at me funny right now, thinking Geez, lady, get a grip. It’s just a blog!, let me put it this way. Do you have an author whose words never fail to uplift you? Whose views resonate deeply and whose next piece of work you can’t wait to get your hands on?
For me, Paulo Coelho is one of those people. So the fact that he has a blog – and FIVE YEARS of blog archives for me to paw through!!! – makes for the most exciting discovery in recent memory (not counting the emergency stash of chocolate that I had forgotten about!).
If you’re still looking at me funny because you’ve never heard of this Paulo Coelho person, well, stop it (your face might freeze that way!) and allow me to tell you a little about him:
- He wrote my all-time favorite book, The Alchemist (which happens to be the only book I’ve ever read over and over again).
- According to Wikipedia, I’m not the only one who loves The Alchemist. Apparently, it has sold more than 65 million copies (which makes it one of the best-selling books in history). AND it’s been translated into more than 70 languages (the 71st was Maltese, winning it the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author!).
- Paulo was a teenageer when he realized he wanted to become a writer, but his mother told him, “My dear, your father is an engineer. He’s a logical, reasonable man with a very clear vision of the world. Do you actually know what it means to be a writer?” After doing some research, Coelho concluded that a writer “always wears glasses and never combs his hair” and has a “duty and an obligation never to be understood by his own generation,” amongst other things.
- At 17 years old, Coelho’s introversion and opposition to following a traditional path led to his parents committing him to a mental institution (from which he escaped three times before being released at the age of 20).
- Today, he is the author of nearly 30 books, which have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
Intrigued yet? Let me share with you some of my favorite Paulo-isms:
“If you have a dream, don’t waste your energies explaining why.”
“You can only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
“When you want something, the whole Universe conspires to help you realize your desire.”
“Only one thing makes a dream impossible: the fear of failure.”
If you love Paulo Coelho and want to read more of his work, visit his blog: http://paulocoelhoblog.com/.
If you’ve never heard of him but your interest is piqued, check out his post Is It Written?
for one of the many examples of why I love his work.
Enjoy!
I Know!
Thank you for sharing his blog, I’ve added it to my google homepage!