In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist,
actually it is not the alchemist that convinces Santiago to go on
his trip to pursue his Personal Legend, unless you believe that Melchizedek (the King of
Salem) that Santiago meets early on, is the same person. (I do not: Melchizedek talks to
God, referring to him as "my Lord." The alchemist is a teacher, not a "prophet" like
Melchizedek.)
When Santiago decides to follow his dream of
treasure by going to the Pyramids in Egypt, he asks a gypsy woman to explain his
recurring dream. For this she asks for ten percent of his treasure if he finds it. In
the marketplace, the King of Salem approaches the boy (Santiago) and tells him that he
will give him the information he needs to find his treasure for a tenth of Santiago's
flock.
It is Melchizedek (the King of Salem) who explains
about Santiago's Personal Legend and omens, and that once he begins to follow his dream,
the universe will do all it can to help him reach his
goal.
When you
want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve
it.
The second piece of
information that the King of Salem gives Santiago is that just when you are ready to
quit, that is the time you must move forward, so as not to come so
close to your goal that at the last minute, you turn away from it—never knowing how
close you actually were.
As an example, he tells the boy
that sometimes he (Melchizedek) appears to someone—in an unusual form—just about the
time that person is ready to quit following his Personal Legend. Recently he has helped
a miner who had been searching for an emerald.
...the miner was about to give it all up, [and]
if he were to examine just one more stone—just one more—he would
find his emerald. [Melchizedek] transformed himself into a stone that rolled up to the
miner's foot. [In anger, the miner] picked up the stone and threw it aside...it broke
the stone it fell upon...and there...was the most beautiful emerald in the
world.
The King of Salem
tells Santiago this story so he won't give up, giving him encouragement and direction to
hold onto his dream.
(Santiago does not meet the alchemist
until the later part of the story, and the alchemist helps Santiago realize what true
treasure is—love—and how to achieve his Personal
Legend.)
The King of Salem tells Santiago about his dream
before the boy ever speaks of it, and can read his mind, as he does regarding the boy's
grandfather and omens, even as Santiago is thinking silently to himself. In showing that
he is knowledgeable and powerful, he offers Santiago hope that he will find his Personal
Legend simply by sticking to his path. Santiago's heart is open, and in these ways,
Melchizedek is able to direction the boy onto the path that will bring him
happiness.
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