Paulo Coelho

Lyricist and Novelist

Paulo Coelho (Portuguese: [ˈpawlu kuˈeʎu]; born August 24, 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. He has become one of the most widely read authors in the world today. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum and France's Légion d'honneur.

Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and attended a Jesuit school. As a teenager, Coelho wanted to become a writer. Upon telling his mother this, she responded with "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 researching, 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 16, 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. Coelho later remarked that "It wasn't that they wanted to hurt me, but they didn't know what to do... They did not do that to destroy me, they did that to save me." At his parents' wishes, Coelho enrolled in law school and abandoned his dream of becoming a writer. One year later, he dropped out and lived life as a hippie, traveling through South America, North Africa, Mexico, and Europe and started drugs in the 1960s. Upon his return to Brazil, Coelho worked as a songwriter, composing lyrics for Elis Regina, Rita Lee, and Brazilian icon Raul Seixas. Composing with Raul led to Paulo being associated with magic and occultism, due to the content of some songs. In 1974, Coelho was arrested for "subversive" activities by the ruling military government, who had taken power ten years earlier and viewed his lyrics as left-wing and dangerous. Coelho also worked as an actor, journalist, and theatre director before pursuing his writing career.

In 1986, Coelho walked the 500-plus mile Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, a turning point in his life.On the path, Coelho had a spiritual awakening, which he described autobiographically in The Pilgrimage. In an interview, Coelho stated "[In 1986], I was very happy in the things I was doing. I was doing something that gave me food and water – to use the metaphor in "The Alchemist", I was working, I had a person whom I loved, I had money, but I was not fulfilling my dream. My dream was, and still is, to be a writer." Coelho would leave his lucrative career as a songwriter and pursue writing full-time. (Wikipedia.com)

To learn more about Paulo Coelho's work visit: PauloCoelho.com

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Simple Reminders by Paulo Coelho

Other Amazing Quotes by Paulo Coelho

Whatever the thing observed, one could find a connection with his experience of the moment. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (11)

When you love, things make even more sense. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (59)

I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It's all a question of how I view my life. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (-6)

Anyone who loves in the expectation of being loved in return is wasting their time. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (19)

If you're brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (25)

If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (41)

You don't need to explain your dreams. They belong to you. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (44)

Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (0)

Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (46)

When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream. by @paulocoelho (15)

You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. by @paulocoelho (10)

Life was always a matter of waiting for the right moment to act. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (38)

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. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (-56)

No one can lie, no one can hide anything, when he looks directly into someone's eyes. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (17)

You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (32)

Every blessing ignored becomes a curse. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (63)

Each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (9)

Of course, to have money is just great because you can do what you think is important to you. I always was a rich person because money's not related to happiness. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (-38)

Every day I try to be in communication with the universe in an unconscious way. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (23)

We have lost contact with reality, the simplicity of life. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (44)

When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It's very simple. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (9)

Everybody has a creative potential and from the moment you can express this creative potential, you can start changing the world. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (-5)

The pain of yesterday is the strength of today. by @paulocoelho http://smpl.ws/ej (55)