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Paulo Coelho
209 quotes
“When I knocked, the door opened. When I looked, I found.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life is a dream from which we wake only when we meet death.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In 1974, the English archaeologist Sir Walter Wilkinson discovered another manuscript, this time written in three languages: Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin...On 30 November 2011, I received a copy of the text that he had mentioned at that first meeting. I transcribe it here.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now that I am at the end of my life, I leave for those who come after me everything that I learned while I walked the face of this Earth. May they make good use of it.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This evening, in the same square where, a millennium ago, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, handed Jesus over to the mob to be crucified, a group of men and women of all ages went to see the Greek, whom we all know as the Copt... He did not seek to join any particular religion, and no one tried to persuade him otherwise. The Copt believes only in the present moment and what he calls Moira - the unknown god, the Divine Energy...”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It isn’t the absolute truth about life and death, but the thing that helps us to live and confront the challenges of day-to-day life. It isn’t what we learn from books, which serves only to fuel futile arguments about what happened or will happen; it is the knowledge that lives in the hearts of men and women of good will.... I am a learned man and yet...still don’t know quite what to say to you. But I will ask the Divine Energy to purify my heart.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You will ask me questions and I will answer them. That is what the teachers of Ancient Greece did; their disciples would ask them questions about problems they had not considered before and the teachers would answer them... We will speak, therefore, about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face. That is all the future will be interested in, because I do not believe very much will change in the next thousand years.’”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Does a man who spent years preparing to climb the highest mountain in the world feel defeated when, on reaching that mountain, he discovers that nature has cloaked the summit in storm clouds? The man says... "...the weather will change and, one day, I will make it to the top. Meanwhile, you’ll still be here waiting for me.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Does a young man, rejected by his first love, declare that love does not exist? The young man says to himself: “I’ll find someone better able to understand what I feel. And then I will be happy for the rest of my days.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the cycle of nature there is no such thing as victory or defeat; there is only movement. The winter struggles to reign supreme, but in the end is obliged to accept spring’s victory, which brings with it flowers and happiness.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If victory is not theirs this time, it will be the next time. And if not the next time, then the time after that... The important thing is to get back on your feet. Only he who gives up is defeated. Everyone else is victorious.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The defeated are those who never fail. Defeat means that we lose a particular battle or war. Failure does not allow us to go on fighting.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Defeat is for those who, despite their fears, live with enthusiasm and faith. Defeat is for the valiant. Only they will know the honour of losing and the joy of winning.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who were never defeated seem happy and superior, masters of a truth they never had to lift a finger to achieve. They are always on the side of the strong. They’re like hyenas, who only eat the leavings of lions.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Without solitude, Love will not stay long by your side... Without solitude, no plant or animal can survive, no soil can remain productive for any length of time, no child can learn about life, no artist can create, no work can grow and be transformed.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Solitude is not the absence of Love, but its complement...Solitude is not the absence of company, but the moment when our soul is free to speak to us and help us decide what to do with our life.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Therefore, blessed are those who do not fear solitude, who are not afraid of their own company, who are not always desperately looking for something to do, something to amuse themselves with, something to judge... If you are never alone, you cannot know yourself... And if you do not know yourself, you will begin to fear the void.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That feeling of uselessness is no respecter of age and never asks permission, but corrodes people’s souls, repeating over and over: ‘No one is interested in you, you’re nothing, the world doesn’t need your presence.’”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In a desperate attempt to give meaning to life, many turn to religion, because a struggle in the name of a faith is always a justification for some grand action, which could transform the world. ‘We are doing God’s work,’ they tell themselves. And they become devout followers, then evangelists, and finally, fanatics. They don’t understand that religion was created in order to share the mystery and to worship, not to oppress or convert others.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nothing in this world is useless in the eyes of God. Not a leaf from a tree falls, not a hair from your head, not even an insect dies because it was of no use. Everything has a reason to exist... Don’t try to be useful. Try to be yourself: that is enough, and that makes all the difference. A life is never useless. Each soul that came down to Earth is here for a reason.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are afraid to change because we think that, after much effort and sacrifice, we know our present world. And even though that world might not be the best of all worlds and even though we may not be entirely satisfied with it, at least it won’t give us any nasty surprises. We won’t go wrong. When necessary, we will make a few minor adjustments so that everything continues the same.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It’s nice to dream that we will have plenty of time in the future to do our travelling and that, one day, we will. It cheers us up because we know that we are capable of doing more than we do. Dreaming carries no risks. The dangerous thing is trying to transform your dreams into reality.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Joy. That is one of the main blessings of the All-Powerful. If we are happy, we are on the right road.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When they are lying in their tents, unable to sleep and overwhelmed by sadness and regret, they say to themselves: Tomorrow, and only tomorrow, will I take another step. Besides, I can always turn back, because I know the road, but one more step won’t make much difference.’ Until one day, without warning, the road stops testing the traveller and begins to treat him generously. The traveller’s troubled spirit takes pleasure in the beauties and the challenges of the new landscape.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What continues to trouble him is not what happens, but a fear that he won’t know how to deal with it. Once he has decided to follow his path and has no alternative, he discovers that he has great will power and that events bend to his decisions.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People always say: ‘It’s inner beauty that matters, not outer beauty.’ Well, that’s not true. If it were, why would flowers put so much energy into attracting bees? And why would raindrops transform themselves into a rainbow when they encounter the sun? Because nature longs for beauty, and is only satisfied when beauty can be exalted.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Outer beauty is inner beauty made visible, and it manifests itself in the light that flows from our eyes. It doesn’t matter if a person is badly dressed or doesn’t conform to our idea of elegance, or isn’t even concerned about impressing other people. The eyes are the mirror of the soul and reflect everything that seems to be hidden; and, like a mirror, they also reflect the person looking into them. So if the person looking into someone’s eyes has a dark soul, he will see only his own ugliness.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In order to hear Love’s words, you must allow Love to approach. However, when it does draw near, we fear what it might say to us, because Love is free and is not ruled by our will or by what we do...True Love, however, is the love that seduces and will never allow itself to be seduced... Love transforms, love heals. But sometimes it lays deadly traps and ends up destroying the person who decided to surrender himself completely. How can the force that moves the world and keeps the stars in their places be, at once, so creative and so devastating?”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are used to thinking that what we give is the same as what we receive, but people who love, expecting to be loved in return, are wasting their time. Love is an act of faith, not an exchange... Life is too short for us to keep important words, for example, ‘I love you’, locked in our hearts. But do not always expect to hear the same words back. We love because we need to love. Otherwise, love loses all meaning and the sun ceases to shine.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sometimes, when loneliness seems about to crush everything, the only way to resist is to keep on loving.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our great goal in life is to love. The rest is silence.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We need to love. Even when it leads us to the land where the lakes are made of tears, to that secret, mysterious place, the land of tears!”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We love because Love sets us free, and we say things that we once never even had the courage to whisper to ourselves.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No one can go back, but everyone can go forward. And tomorrow, when the sun rises, all you have to say to yourselves is: I am going to think of this day as the first day of my life.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My smile is my way of saying: ‘You can destroy my body, but not my soul.’”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For the first time, I will smile without feeling guilty, because joy is not a sin... For the first time, I will avoid anything that makes me suffer, because suffering is not a virtue.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love rules, but no one knows where it has its throne; in order to know that secret place, you must first submit to Love.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And if I’m alone in bed, I will go over to window, look up at the sky and feel certain that loneliness is a lie, because the Universe is there to keep me company.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Men and women whisper to each other because they have turned a sacred gesture into a sinful act. If two bodies merely join together, that is not sex, it is merely pleasure. Sex goes far beyond pleasure. In sex, relaxation and tension go hand in hand, as do pain and pleasure, shyness and the courage to go beyond one’s limits... It isn’t enough to imagine everything that might happen if we allowed ourselves to join not just our bodies, but our souls as well.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let us plunge together, then, down the dangerous path of surrender. It may be dangerous, but it is the only path worth following.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let us forget all that we are taught about how it is noble to give and humiliating to receive. Because for most people, generosity consists only in giving, but receiving is also an act of love. Allowing someone else to make us happy will make them happy too.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We were born alone and we will die alone. But, while we are on this planet, we must accept and glorify our act of faith through other people.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Arrogance attracts hatred and envy. Elegance arouses respect and Love. Arrogance causes us to humiliate our fellow man or woman. Elegance teaches us to walk in the light. Arrogance complicates words, because it believes that intelligence is only for the chosen few. Elegance transforms complex thoughts into something that everyone can understand.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When we are walking our chosen path, we walk elegantly, emanating light.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The weak are wicked. Goodness can only be expected from the strong.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (15 July 2013)
“The gods throw the dice, and they don't ask whether we want to be in the game or not. They don't care if when you go, you leave behind a lover, a home, a career, or a dream. The gods don't care whether you have it all, whether it seems that your every desire can be met through hard work and persistence. The gods don't want to know about your plans and your hopes. Somewhere they're throwing the dice — and you are chosen. From then on, winning or losing is only a question of luck. The gods throw the dice, freeing love from its cage. And love can create or destroy — depending on the direction of the wind when it is set free.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You have to take risks … We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. Every day, God gives us the sun — and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day, we try to pretend that we haven't perceived that moment, that it doesn't exist — that today is the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if people really pay attention to their everyday lives, they will discover that magic moment. It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane, like putting our front-door key in the lock; it may lie hidden in the quiet that follows the lunch hour or in the thousand and one things that all seem the same to us. But that moment exists — a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love is always new. Regardless of whether we love once, twice, or a dozen times in our life, we always face a brand-new situation. Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere. We simply have to accept it, because it is what nourishes our existence. If we reject it, we die of hunger, because we lack the courage to reach out a hand and pluck the fruit from the branches of the tree of life. We have to take love where we find it, even if it means hours, days, weeks of disappointment and sadness. The moment we begin to seek love, love begins to seek us. And to save us.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every Warrior of the Light has suffered for the most trivial of reasons. Every Warrior of the Light has, at least once, believed he was not a Warrior of the Light. Every Warrior of the Light has failed in his spiritual duties. Every Warrior of the Light has said "yes" when he wanted to say "no." Every Warrior of the Light has hurt someone he loved. That is why he is a Warrior of the Light, because he has been through all this and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is. Each stone, each bend cries welcome to him. He identifies with the mountains and the streams, he sees something of his own soul in the plants and the animals and the birds of the field. Then, accepting the help of God and of God's signs, he allows his personal legend to guide him toward the tasks that life has reserved for him. On some nights, he has nowhere to sleep, on others he suffers from insomnia. "That's just how it is," thinks the warrior. "I was the one who chose to walk this path." In these words lies all his power: He chose the path along which he is walking and so has no complaints.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source