“The gigantic tension before the shooting of an arrow, and the total relaxation seconds later, is my way of connecting to the universe.”
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Author detail
Paulo Coelho, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a Brazilian novelist known for employing rich symbolism in his depictions of the often spiritually motivated journeys taken by his characters. Coelho dropped out of law school in 1970 and traveled through South America, Mexico, North Africa, and Europe. In 1972 he returned home and began writing pop and rock music lyrics with Raul Seixas, a well-known Brazilian singer and songwriter. He worked for Polygram and CBS Records until 1980, when he embarked on new travels in Europe and Africa. It was during this trip that he walked the route of Santiago de Compostela, which formed the basis of his first book, *O diário de um mago* (1987), which was published in English as *The Diary of a Magus* in 1992 and was reissued as *The Pilgrimage* in 1995. In 1988 Coelho published *O alquimista* (*The Alchemist*), which ultimately became an international best-seller. His other notable works include *The Valkyries*, *Eleven Minutes*, *Manual of The Warrior of Light*, *Manuscript Found in Accra*, *The Devil and Miss Prym*, *The Fifth Mountain*, *Veronika Decides to Die*, and *The Zahir*. Source: [Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paulo-Coelho)
Quotes
Showing 241-260 of 334
“The gigantic tension before the shooting of an arrow, and the total relaxation seconds later, is my way of connecting to the universe.”
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“When you write an article about anything, trolls use the comments to attack. They feel frustrated - but haters are losers. It's not good to feed this aspect. It's more intelligent to be cons...”
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“Twitter is my bar. I sit at the counter and listen to the conversations, starting others, feeling the atmosphere.”
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“Jesus lived a life that was full of joy and contradictions and fights, you know? If they were to paint a picture of Jesus without contradictions, the gospels would be fake, but the contradic...”
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“I talk to my readers on social networking sites, but I never tell them what the book is about. Writing is lonely, so from time to time I talk to them on the Internet. It's like chatting at a...”
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“Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have t...”
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“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.”
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“We have to stop and be humble enough to understand that there is something called mystery.”
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“Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.”
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“What I can say is that all my characters are searching for their souls, because they are my mirrors. I'm someone who is constantly trying to understand my place in the world, and literature...”
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“However happy people say they are, nobody is satisfied: we always have to be with the prettiest woman, buy a bigger house, change cars, desire what we do not have.”
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“I have spent every New Year's Eve since 1992 in Lourdes. I spend the hour of my birth every year in the grotto. It's a place with meaning for me.”
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“I walk every day, and I look at the mountains and the fields and the small city, and I say: 'Oh my God, what a blessing.' Then you realise it's important to put it in a context beyond this w...”
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“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.”
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“Once I found this possibility to use Twitter and Facebook and my blog to connect to my readers, I'm going to use it, to connect to them and to share thoughts that I cannot use in the book.”
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“Most of my young years were spent under the boots of the military.”
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“I was not encouraged to follow the career of a writer because my parents thought that I was going to starve to death. They thought nobody can make a living from being a writer in Brazil. The...”
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“I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to...”
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“Sometimes I catch myself stooping, and whenever I am like that, I am sure something is not quite right.”
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“I am a Catholic, not so committed to the church, but to the idea of the Virgin, the female face of God.”
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