Thursday Transcript: What really matters

The lessons from Paulo Coelho’s classic book, The Alchemist, inspired today’s short newsletter.

In the end, what really matters is a life subsumed with discovering and living out your purpose or personal legend, as Paulo Coelho calls it in The Alchemist. 

In the end, what really matters is the strength of life decisions you made; did you settle for less because of the accrued short term benefits or you waded through life, seeking the ultimate prize? 

It’s hard to find the ultimate prize especially in a country where the vast majority play out a uniform script: Go to school, get a job, get married, raise kids, and...

It’s hard to find the ultimate prize when you’re constantly distracted or thinking only about short term survival: The next usual job, the next girl or guy on queue, the next ‘usual everything’

It’s fine to love this kind of life. It’s normal. There’s nothing wrong with settling for the mediocre, ordinary life. 

But there are dangers that escort choosing this kind of life — just as they’re maximum risks and challenges attached to finding purpose. 

The paramount danger of the former is a stinging regret, the ultimate risk of the later is: it’s a challenging and unpredictable journey. 

“You’ll spend the rest of your life knowing that you didn’t pursue your personal legend (purpose) and that now it’s too late,” Coelho wrote. 

It’s why you hear some elders say: “Had I known I would have done xyz when I had the time” 

It’s why the cemetery houses unfulfilled dreams and potentials, buried 6ft underground. 

So what can you learn from this?

Life is short. It’s also beautiful and ugly, depending on your frame of experience. While you can’t control some life events such as your country of birth, family status, and the kind of opportunity life tosses at you, take charge of the time you have to do the things that connect with your body, mind and soul. Something that makes you happy while you secure the bag (because money/wealth generation is important).

Your 20s is the best time to sacrifice your youth and its exuberance to build knowledge and expertise, gain exposure, scale your hustle or passion, and forge valuable partnerships.

When you practise the aforementioned with the right mindset, vision and passion —success is guaranteed.

And, in the end, that is what really matters: To rise beyond limitations and enjoy good success.

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That’s all on today’s newsletter. I’d love to know what you think about this transcript in the comment section. Please share with your friends and family too.

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