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Calling all fellow bookworms, library nerds, and general lovers of literature — it’s time for another book club episode of the podcast!
Whenever there are five Fridays in a month, we devote the extra Friday to a book that we can’t get enough of. This time we decided to have a conversation about one of the best-selling books of all time (and for good reason), The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho.
We each pulled a few of our favorite parts to talk about, including:
- Why realizing your destiny is your ONLY obligation in life (and why you don’t have to know what it is to get started).
- Proof that the universe is conspiring to help you get what you want.
- How you can ask for and receive signs that you’re on the right path.
- Why the fear of suffering is always way worse than the actual struggle that you’ll go through.
- How to let yourself fail and be bad at things, without crumbling.
- Why you should think twice before taking anyone else’s opinion about what to do with your life seriously
- Why it sometimes feels like you’re being tested by the universe, and how to not give up when things get hard.
Come leave us a comment after you’ve listened and let us know what YOUR favorite part of The Alchemist is, and if you haven’t read it yet, what resonated most from this conversation.
And in the true spirit of this book, we’d also LOVE to hear your stories of signs and synchronicities, so come share that, too!
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Hey Kristen and Rachel,
I loved this podcast, and really want to read the book now. I have had some experiences with synchronicities over my life, but there is one that stands out to me. When I was researching which software engineering schools to go to, I received a call from my uncle right as I opened a web page for Holberton School in San Francisco. My uncle asked me if I wanted to travel to San Francisco with him to visit an art gallery where his art is going to be shown. I thought it was CRAZY that I had that phone call the FIRST time I visited the website and paid closer attention to it. I also received some intense signs while on my trip that I should attend that school. I definitely went for it, and I am currently living here and recently graduated!
I have also felt like I was channeling the synchronicity through me. I was working at a tech event, and I felt a strong urge to work an extra shift that night. I wasn’t supposed to work the next day, but I felt another strong urge to grab one of the wristbands (displaying we worked at the event) for the next day. I dismissed the thought because I didn’t need it. As I was being whisked away after signing up for the extra shift, the guy that was showing me where I needed to go gave me a wristband anyway. I thought, “Hmm, well I don’t need this” and reminded myself to stay open to whatever the universe is telling me. Halfway through my shift, one of my coworkers realized he didn’t grab a wristband and was very concerned about what he was going to do. Luckily, I remembered that I had it and was able to give it to them, even though I wasn’t supposed to have it in the first place.
I feel like I have a lot more experiences like the latter recently, and I sometimes wonder when I’m going to have another moment for myself. I try to keep an open mind, but I’ve graduated from school and having trouble landing a job in San Francisco (so competitive!) and I’m nearly running out of money. I am definitely building up that resilience though, and I’ve just started to get a lot of responses recently, so I’m hoping that maybe this is when the release happens.
Keep up the great work, and I look forward to your next podcast!
Best,
Robert
I LOVE these stories, Robert, thank you for sharing! You’ve definitely got a strong intuition and connection to the Universe! I know right now you’re feeling the pressure and uncertainty of finding a job; I think it’s the perfect time to try to outsource the job search process to the Universe. Make a list and call it something like, “The Universe is my recruiter” and put on it everything you know you’re looking for in a job, even the stuff that feels too good to be true. And then, to help you stay positive and trusting, you could definitely read the Alchemist, and if you haven’t read Outrageous Openness yet, you should absolutely check that out! Let us know how it goes! 🙂