The Alchemist and the Writer

“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it.”  ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
 
The Alchemist is about a young man who abandons his life as a Shepard in pursuit of a treasure. To find his treasure he first has to acknowledge his personal legend. Our personal legend is what moves our life forward, and is connected to the forward movement of all living beings. Just as I bring forth in my book, The Zero Point Agreement: How to Be Who You Already Are, and Stephen Pressfield affirms in his book, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, we are each  born with a personal legend. We don’t have to go in search of who and what we already are. Our journey to the treasure is our life. All the obstacles, detours, stopping points, losses, encounters and gifts are what make up our lives. We live true to our personal legend, find the treasure and then continue to live our legend, having found our treasure. Just like Siddhartha Gautama, the first Buddha didn’t stop his life’s work, his living his personal legend after his enlightment; our life continues after we find our treasure. 
 
But first we must know our personal legend. What moves our life forward? Who are we? 
 
Fortunately, this discovery is simple (not necessarily easy). We need to know what we want, trust this and follow this. Joseph Campbell referred to this as following our bliss.

“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
 
I want to write. You? I want to transform my worlds into word. I want to be a Change Agent through the written word. I want to serve others by helping them write. 
 
Writing, and helping others to write is part of my personal legend as a Writing and Spiritual Sherpa. My personal legend is about helping others discover their personal legend. This personal legend is who I am.  And, as I lived my personal legend I have found my treasure. 
 
What haunts you? What calls to you? What do you want? (A note to fiction writers – your protagonist fulfils their personal legend, your antagonist does not. That is one reason the antagonist suffers so! He isn’t living his personal legend.)
 
“So, just as an exercise, let yourself want. From this you can invent, recharge, or update your intentions. To want can mean to open up to your heart’s desire, to follow your bliss; it can mean you are focused on what you don’t think you have, and it can point to what you are missing. It can mean all this and more. It’s up to you. You are the meaning maker.
 
From a place of more awareness and curiosity you can wake up to more of life’s offerings. This process of awakening the meaning maker acknowledges that you will find your own Bodhi tree, discover truth for yourself, and awaken to your own potential. Invest, as the Buddha did or as I believe Eleanor Roosevelt did, sincerely and deliberately in your own personal awakening.”  (taken from The Zero Point Agreement) 

We become, as the boy did, an Alchemist. Turning the world into golden words as we live out our personal legends as Writers and as . . . ?

“People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.” 
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.” 
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist