Another year, more The Alchemist

Yes, I know that I have already posted about this book before, but this time I have a fancy new teleprompter that I have been waiting for some time to figure out how to use and create a video about this book, well, one particular part of it anyway - the Personal Legend.

I talk to so many kids, and one of the questions I often ask is, “What are you passionate about?” I then watch them go through a series of thoughts, which I interpret this way:

I am passionate about this, they think. Self-editing takes place, I won’t say that - I will say this safer comment that I believe will not result in possible derision and/or judgement.

What a bummer, man. I see the light shine in their eyes, and they dim it out. All. By. Themselves.

So I decided that maybe Paulo Coelho has a better answer. I will try to jump on his shoulders and hopefully resonate with the kids.

Below is my copy for the teleprompter. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Ahh, the end of another school year.  Around this time, I start thinking about where and how things are going in my life, which causes me to pick up a book that I read once a year when I am feeling and thinking that way.  It is called The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  How was I turned on to this book?  I heard Reggie Miller on a sports radio channel talking about it one day on my ride home from school over 20 years ago.  So I went and bought it - this was before Amazon and Kindle readers.  It was an easy read - I’d call it a 2-sit-down read.

It really resonated with me.  So much so that I gave it to some of my students to read.  When I got it back, they had written in it - scribbles everywhere. At first, this made me really angry, but then I took the time to see what they were writing.  It was really good stuff.  Occasionally really profound, and students were responding back and forth to what other students had written.  So I told them to go ahead and keep doing it.   Tell me what you think about it.  Expand on it.  When other people read the book, they might take something from what you wrote in there.

Over the years, tons of students read it, and the annotations just kept growing.  So much so that it kind of became a living, breathing thing.  It had a heartbeat of its own because so many people added their thoughts and whatnot.  I treasured that book, and it always worried me when I gave it to someone to read.  As it so happens, I did loan it out and never got it back, and I consider it such a loss because there was just so much good stuff in it.

So why did I keep reading this book over and over?  One of the best parts about it is when Coelho talks about Personal Legends.   Your personal legend is your deepest calling or purpose in life.  It's the thing you always wanted to do. Dreamed about.  Your personal legend is purpose plus desire plus identity.  It is the thing that makes you feel alive and true to yourself.  It's the path that aligns your desires with the universe or “Soul of the World.”  More on that later.

That stuff all sounds really good, right? Well, here is where it gets tricky.  Coelho says that we all know EXACTLY what our personal legend is when we are young.  This is because all things are possible.  That the universe sends us messages about what we should be doing - he called them omens.  

The primary reason that people do not realize their personal legends is fear, just being afraid.  Afraid of failure, losing what they already have, and of what other people will think.  The deeper message is that fear is more dangerous than failure.  Santiago, the protagonist, meets a mentor, Mel-chuh-zeh-duk, who nudges Santiago towards the truth that the journey matters as much as the destination.  Learning and transformation are as important as the treasure he seeks.  Mel-chuh-zeh-duk offered his advice for a price, which demonstrates that searching for one’s personal legend requires sacrifice and commitment - chasing your personal legend is not free; you have to give something up to pursue it.

Santiago learns that the universe conspires to help us in our quest, but not through anything miraculous, so get that out of your head right now.  It gives you signs that guide you, signs that, along with your intuition and awareness, will tell you what direction to go.  It helps us by giving us opportunities.  We must pay attention to these opportunities, trust our instincts, and act decisively.  These opportunities also have to be pursued with enthusiasm.  A lack of enthusiasm is betraying your personal legend.  Either be about it, or forget it.

What is my personal legend?  When I was young, it was to be a professional baseball player, which, to a small extent, I managed to do.  And there were all kinds of help from the ‘universe’ to assist in that endeavor.  

Other possibilities presented along the way.  I think that the universe put several people in my life who might be considered ‘omens’ along the way.  Mr. Gary Twesten, my HS biology teacher,  was the person that I remember to this day who made me think that being a teacher would be a really cool gig.  The fact that I remember his name is quite remarkable because I am the worst person in the world at remembering names.  I am thankful that he was placed into my life.

This is all to say that I think I have been very blessed in the journey I have taken chasing down my personal legend - but I do not want to talk about that whole thing right now.  I would like to talk about your personal legend.

Just yesterday, I spoke with a student about what their personal legend might be. After I asked this question, I watched them go through the self-editing process, where they were deciding whether or not to tell me what it was, and started explaining why they didn't think it was right for them - they had already given up on it, which validates what Coelho said - that we only believe our dreams are possible when we are young.  As time passes, we begin to rationalize why chasing those dreams is no longer a viable option.  We become convinced that our lives will take us in another direction and that it is okay to let go ‘the dream’  Coelho also said that at that point, the universe will stop sending us omens because it doesn't want to break our hearts; it knows when we have given up and that it would only make us feel bad by reminding us about the dreams we once had.

There's a lot to unpack there.  I highly recommend that you read the book, as it will do a far better job explaining how one chases down their personal legend than I ever could.  What I think you should do is go have a meeting with yourself, take yourself out to coffee, go for a long drive, and try to reacquaint yourself with who you were as a 7-year-old.  Talk with them about what they wanted to be in life, when the entire world was new, and all things were possible.  If you can somehow replicate that mindset, even for a little while, it might open up a world of new thoughts and maybe opportunities.  Perhaps an omen showing you a glimpse of your 7-year-old passion is right around the corner, and if you align some effort and attention, new opportunities might present themselves. If you trust your instincts and act decisively, who knows what might happen?