The Scotty Russell Special Summary of The Alchemist
First off, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is by far my favorite book and has massively impacted my creative side quest.
After reading it with my ears for the millionth time, I felt compelled to give you the Scotty Russell Special Summary.
To start off, there's a young boy named Santiago who loves to travel and desires to be in control of his life. He decides to become a shepherd despite his father's wishes for him to become a priest.
One day, he dreams of a buried treasure in Egypt by the pyramids. As he tries to decipher what this dream means, he makes acquaintances with an old king. The king states that this dream of treasure was part of his personal legend.
Santiago spends years pursuing his treasure and personal legend. He deals with waves of adversity—as it seems there is a force trying to deter him from finding the treasure as he gets closer to his goal.
Eventually, Santiago not only reaches the treasure, but he also realizes how much he's grown on the journey. Overall, it wasn't solely about finding the treasure, it was about the transformation along the way.
While this book is fiction, the author summarizes what I feel is a blend of the hero's journey, Law of Attraction, and the overall pursuit of your dreams.
The Alchemist parallels the grit and tenacity we must conjure within ourselves to seek out our creative potential. Furthermore, the story informs us of the adversity and unforeseeable forces we will deal with along the way.
The following are the four main ingredients for the secret sauce of pursuing your own personal legend. Let's set out on a journey to uncover that buried treasure within you.
What's a Personal Legend?
Before I dish up the first ingredient, I think we need to answer what is a personal legend? Later on, I will explain what I believe is my personal legend during this phase of my life.
Essentially, a personal legend is one's destiny. It's identifying your purpose and having the desire to become the greatest version of yourself.
Pretty simple, right?
Ingredient #1: Don't Believe the World's Biggest Lie
During the old king's explanation of what a personal legend is, he insists that Santiago not believe in "The World's Biggest Lie."
The old king says this:
"At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.”
This means that we believe the lie that we have the inability to choose and be in control of our personal legends.
Sadly, many people operate with the mindset that they can never catch a break and that the world is conspiring against them. They passively exist and don't allow themselves to pursue their dreams.
It's easy to see the world as a threatening place. The more you view it this way, the more the world will mimic your beliefs as your thoughts attract your reality.
We are afraid to let ourselves dream, which restricts us from discovering the path we're supposed to find. Many of us are afraid of becoming one massive disappointing failure.
Instead of taking control of the wheel, we choose to settle and become the passenger in our own vehicle.
Truth is, the only thing holding you back is you. Any obstacle or hurdle you face along the way is just another stepping stone to uncovering your personal legend and the treasure within you.
There's a path laid out for you, but you have to know what you want and pursue it.
Ingredient #2: Know What You Want
What do you want in life?
Can you visualize yourself achieving it?
It's hard to take the necessary steps to pursue your personal legend if you don't have a clue about what you want.
One of the most powerful quotes from the book is, "When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his or her dream."
This always puts me in check and makes me ask myself, "How badly do I want it?"
If I 'kind of' want it, I'm going to 'kind of' see some results.
I used to think