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Author Paulo Coelho says that the biggest obstacle most people face in pursuing their Personal Legend is, “the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives”). How does this explain the Crystal Merchant’s failure to travel to Mecca? 

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Author Paulo Coelho says that the biggest obstacle most people face in pursuing their Personal Legend is, “the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives”). How does this explain the Crystal Merchant’s failure to travel to Mecca? 

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Paulo Coelho's statement, “the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives” supports the Crystal Merchant's failure to travel to Mecca. This is because the Crystal Merchant's dream was always to go and travel to Mecca. However when he now gets the chance and opportunity to do so, he realized his dream is now attainable, but he does not want to leave where he is comfortable. He wants to keep that dream in the same spot where he began, far far away from his reach and possibility. That just goes to show, for the readers analyzing the Crystal Merchant, that it is a huge sign of just how simple people’s biggest obstacle when pursuing their personal legend, is actually realizing and taking action to do it. An example of that is exactly, and just like most people, The Crystal Merchant isn't ready to face and pursue his Personal Legend of traveling to Mecca after he fought his lifelong battle to try and afford to go to Mecca. Even after doing it all to try and go or do their personal legend, they just can’t take action, go ahead, and do it. So, The Crystal Merchant fails at what Coelho says is most people's biggest obstacle when facing their legend, leaving him to not go travel to Mecca.

-Hamza Hamdan

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Based on what we have read so far (by the end of your reading today) in The Alchemist, and your own knowledge about life experiences, what often stands in the way of someone’s personal fulfillment? 

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Based on what we have read so far (by the end of your reading today) in The Alchemist, and your own knowledge about life experiences, what often stands in the way of someone’s personal fulfillment? 

# data[].attributes.body
Based on what we have read today in The Alchemist Fear of the unknown often stands in the way of someone's personal fulfillment. In the book, after presenting the merchant  with multiple ideas on how to bring in more business, the merchant shares his fears of the future with Santiago. “Because it’s the thought of Mecca that keeps me alive. That’s what helps me face these days that are all the same, these mute crystals on the shelves, and lunch  and  dinner  at  that  same  horrible  café.  I’m  afraid  that  if  my  dream realized, I’ll have no reason to go on living." The crystal Merchant's personal legend was to travel, but he had chosen not to and now he lives a life of regret. He has come to the realization that even if he did go to see the only thing he wants to, he cannot in fear of having no more purpose and wanting to die. This demonstrated how his own fears of what could happen affect his personal legend. Back when the king was saying that only a special few people actually follow through with their legends is very accurate because not everyone has the will and spirit that Santiago has. That being said, Santiago still had doubts about going to the pyramids. After nearly a year of working an honest job at the crystal store his plan was to return back to the mainland and buy more sheep and become a shepherd again with a much bigger flock. When he went back to the same bar he was on the first day his ship docked and had realized how far he had come. He was then determined to finish the journey he started putting behind all the fear of the unknown. He was venturing out of his comfort zone and what he already knew, sheep, and going on the adventure of a lifetime to find the treasure in the pyramids.

- Katie Gronda

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Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly knawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplation's with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly knawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplations with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly knawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplations with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly gnawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplation's with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

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Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.subject
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly gnawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplation's with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

# data[].attributes.headline
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.subject
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.body
kl

# data[].attributes.headline
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.subject
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly gnawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplation's with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

# data[].attributes.headline
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.subject
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly gnawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplation's with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

# data[].attributes.headline
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.subject
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly gnawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplation's with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly gnawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplation's with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

# data[].attributes.headline
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.subject
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly gnawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplation's with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael

# data[].attributes.headline
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.subject
Coelho says another one of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path”. When his money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times” . By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?

# data[].attributes.body
Persistence is a skill that does not come naturally but is learned over time as you fail and learn to overcome all the hardships you face in the challenges of life. Within the Alchemist, Santiago was first introduced to us as a closer to a simple-minded but complex young shepherd, but now by the end of today’s reading, he has grown into something completely different. Through his current hardships have following his personal legend, he slowly started to experience the unavoidable result of which Coellho has mentioned, “ The fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” constantly gnawed at Santiago at fist especially because he had yet to learn that there was still a way wit the omens and time to continue on his journey, he just had to have patience.  Although he had not realized, that’s what the omen of crystal merchant shop had led him to, a patient omen of which would slowly lead him to where we left him off today in the reading. Coellho says that “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times.” Santiago had failed once before trying to pursue his personal legend, and although he failed then, he knows that he has the patience to start over and go back to the crystal merchant until he gets back on his feet for the third time if he uses his money improperly for the second time. It’s all about how well he understood that to truly succeed within himself he must fail countless times to truly go down the right path. We truly know that he learned the lesson of persistence and perseverance through his actions and although it may seem in the end that he may go back to being a shepherd, in the end, he will go to Egypt, and overall his entire contemplation's with himself and second-guessing is another form of persistence with the constant reminder of the king being and omen of persistence.

-Jael