The Alchemist

I first thought this was an allegorical read and then realized it's more philosophical. Some bits of wisdom from the Koran, some from the Bible, and other bits of wisdom from the author in the form of the “old king” and the “alchemist.”

Life is about the pursuit of dreams. In the pursuit of dreams, you achieve many, seemingly-unrelated milestones. Those milestones are all stopping points (meaning, places you could stop and say “This is an achievement in and of itself. I'll stay here.”). But if you use those milestones as lily pads to jump closer to your dream, you realize a couple of things:

* You would never experience the milestones (treasures) of the journey if you never took the journey. The milestones, in and of themselves, are beautiful treasures.
* The further you push, the more treasure you realize.
* The treasure was there all along, but you don't recognize it without taking the journey.

In closing, don't skip the prologue. So much is changed by perspective...