In Paulo Coelho's book The Alchemist, Santiago learned many lessons. One of his first lessons came when talking to the old man, who told him, "when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth...[and] all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" (Coelho 22, 23). Santiago mastered this lesson by questing for the treasure and finding that key people come into his path just when he needs their wisdom, and circumstances change to benefit him.
A second lesson is that when people are young, "everything is possible" and they know what their Personal Legend is, but as time passes they become convinced that they will not be able to realize it (Coelho 22). Santiago recognizes this truth and masters it by meeting the challenges along his way to fulfill his own Personal Legend, even though they are difficult.
A third lesson is the "principle of favorability" (Coelho 29). The old man explains this principle to Santiago by telling him, "When you play cards for the first time, you are almost certain to win. Beginner's luck" (Coelho 29). The old man tells Santiago that a force wants him to win and that the force brings him success because it wants to whet his appetite (Coelho 29). Santiago discovers the truth in this when he goes to sell his sheep and finds that his friend buys all but one immediately-an easy sale. This occurs near the beginning of his journey, and just as the old man says, it encourages him.
A fourth lesson that Santiago learns is that we meet our true loves because the universe brings them to us. Santiago meets Fatima and falls in love with her, and he recounts to her how he had a dream, met a king, sold crystal, crossed the desert, and went to the well where he found her as he was seeking the alchemist (Coelho 127). He ends by telling her, "So I love you because the entire universe conspired to
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