The greatest and most important adventure of our lives is discovering our true purpose in this world. Whether we are embarking on a newfound love interest or wanting to explore our highest life aspirations, we will always encounter obstacles along the way. In Paulo Coelho's book, The Alchemist, he follows a shepherd boy named Santiago through a journey to find his treasure. Santiago is led through Spain to Egypt facing trial after trial to realize his dream of finding his treasure. Through his personal journey Santiago overcomes fear, listens to omens, and uses life's obstacles as blessings to create and live his ultimate life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As Santiago ventures to pursue his personal legend, he encounters many instances where he is presented with a barrier of fear that he must overcome. For starters, the fear of contradicting or not one's opportunity to achieve more ambitious goals in life. While Santiago knows that being a priest would make his father happy and that his father's wishes would give their family both social status and financial security, Santiago begins to learn that pursuing what is expected of him will not make him happy or help him pursue his personal legend. Even after Santiago's father expresses his doubts by stating that “those who chase dreams are never satisfied” (Coelho 11), Santiago firmly sets aside his father's dreams to pursue his own. At this point Santiago recognizes that the world has many things to offer and a priest is not one of them. He realizes that there is a fear of not becoming what he can be, but rather giving in to what he is expected to be. Later, the fear of losing his life in the Battle of Al-Fayoum in the middle of the journey makes Santiago wonder whether he should risk his life to pursue a dream. Santiago learns how to handle this situation because, “the camel driver once said, dying tomorrow is no worse than dying on another day. Every day was there to be experienced or to mark one's departure from this world. “Santiago begins to realize that if he dies, at least he will have died in the state of pursuing what he was destined to do, which is his personal legend. He learns to live in the present rather than dwell on the unknown. His personal legend is a complete representation of himself. Santiago recognizes that following his personal dream is worth more than his life. The vital importance of his personal legend underestimates the thought of his death because living without a personal legend would be worse than death itself since he would have to live a life that does not. was destined for him. Finally, the Santiago's fear of losing everything he has worked hard for leads him to doubt continuing his journey towards his personal legend. Due to the fear of failure when the alchemist forces him to try to transform into the wind, Santiago states: " The heart is a traitor... it doesn't want me to move forward." "It's logical," replied the alchemist. 'Of course it is afraid that, by chasing a dream, a person might lose everything he has won... don't give in to your fears... if a person is living his personal legend, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."' Throughout the novel, Santiago is known for following what he truly desires but, in this case, he seems to resort to what he truly feels. right The alchemist seems to encourage Santiago to abandon his fear by convincing him that fear is definitely normalon the road to riches but that giving up his dreams because of his feelings wouldn't be right. Santiago follows the alchemist's advice and overcomes his fear of doubt of losing everything to continue his journey. Through his experiences and choices, Santiago learns to overcome his fears of reaching his destiny. Throughout the novel the meaning of omens is shown throughout Santiago's journey. Omens play a crucial role in deciphering Santiago's fate. His first omen appears through his dream with both the gypsy and the king of Salem, where he was taken to the Egyptian pyramids and told that "if you come here, you will find hidden treasure." This vision is what Santiago believes will lead him to his treasure. This dream symbolizes something much bigger; describes the rewards Santiago will gain if he sticks to his goal of realizing his personal legend. It's what helps keep Santiago's dreams alive in his quest. These omens continue even later, when he almost gives up his quest while working for the crystal merchant. The two stones Urim and Thummim, which had been given to him by the king, fell from his jacket. This led Santiago to reconsider and reveal what the king had told him: “Never stop dreaming” and “Follow the omens” (Coelho 62). These exact omens are what motivated Santiago to pursue the choices he makes. Santiago feels the courage sent by the old king through the stones and that is what encourages him again to continue his journey. The presence of the characters was also an omen in Santiago's life. The alchemist plays a significant role as an omen in Santiago's life. The alchemist teaches Santiago to listen to his heart to know all its fears, desires and dreams. “The heart is alive. Keep listening to what he has to say” (Coelho 134), the alchemist shares, and that is exactly what Santiago chooses to do. Learning from the alchemist, Santiago's heart reveals to him his greatest qualities, "his courage in giving up his sheep and trying to live his Personal Legend, and his enthusiasm during his time working at the crystal shop" (Coelho 134) . Without the alchemist Santiago would not have been able to listen to his heart and would never have learned these new aspects of himself. The omens presented to Santiago show how close he is to his personal quest to understand the universal language of the world and realize his personal legend. However, omens in Santiago's life play an important role in his search for his personal legend. We all encounter obstacles while trying to achieve a goal in life. Santiago overcomes many obstacles to reach his personal goal. Santiago overcomes many obstacles, one of which is love. Santiago must risk losing his newfound love for Fatima. The Alchemist and Santiago conversed stating, “I will guide you through the desert,” said the Alchemist. “I want to stay at the oasis,” the boy replied. “I have found Fatima and as far as I am concerned it is worth more than a treasure” (Coelho 122). This is the most difficult part of the Santiago journey. He feels that Fatima is the love of his life and is willing to give up his personal legend for her. He knows he must pursue his personal legend, but he's afraid of hurting the only person he loves to pursue a dream. Overcome this problem with the wise words of the Alchemist: “'You must understand that love never stops a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that search it's because it wasn't true love. . . the love that speaks the language of the world' (Coelho x). With the Alchemist's wise words and the love that Fatima expresses to Santiago, she gives him the courage to continue on his path towards his personal legend. During the trip.