Paulo Coelho Quotes

Your decision to walk creates the path ahead

People are very reluctant to talk about their private lives but then you go to the internet and they’re much more open.

It’s not difficult for me to put my feelings into written form. I try to be concise and to go direct to the subject. This is what people like about my work, and what the critics hate.

I love almost everything about my work except conferences. I am too shy in front of an audience. But I love signings and having eye contact with a reader who already knows my soul.

Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering.

No, I never saw an angel, but it is irrelevant whether I saw one or not. I feel their presence around me.

close some doors today. not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they lead you nowhere

We have lost contact with reality, the simplicity of life.

I hate to be smart.

Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.

Writing is a solitary experience. I’m extremely superstitious. If I talk about the book or name the title out loud before finishing, I feel the energy I need to write will be drained. It’s so intimate, I can’t even share it with my wife.

The good old days, when each idea had an owner, are gone forever.

You should treat a muse like a fairy.

Let us be absolutely clear about one thing: we must not confuse humility with false modesty or servility.