Back on Track Tuesdays: The Alchemist

The Alchemist opens with the story of Santiago, a young shepherd, on his way to a small village in search of love. However Santiago's travels take a turn after he has a dream interpreted and learns that treasure is in his life's path. The reader travels with Santiago on his journey toward destiny and is treated to some valuable lessons in wisdom.

This story also gives the reader an opportunity to examine themselves while introducing them to the idea of finding their own Personal Legend.

What is a Personal Legend? It's that thing that you have always wanted to accomplish. I'm certain many of you that read and host blogs can relate to that.

For the purposes of this review, I would like to entertain some of the questions included at the conclusion of the book as well as some of the nuggets that have been sprinkled throughout the story. Feel free to explore any missed elements contained within the pages we are discussing in the comment section as well.

We will cover pages 1 - 24. I know these may different depending on how your book is laid out, but this is the story up to the point that Santiago is introduced to the idea of a Personal Legend and he is debating whether to give The Old Man one-tenth of his flock.

Discussion Questions: Cover anyone you like or all of them.

In the Prologue, the alchemist reads a version of the story of the death of Narcissus that has a somewhat different ending from the traditional telling, one that emphasizes the grief of the lake into which Narcissus will no longer be looking at his reflection. In beginning the book with this story, what themes and relationships is Coelho telling us to watch for throughout Santiago's story? Do you think there may be an element of "narcissism" in the pursuit of one's Personal Legend?


Early in the story, Santiago recounts a discussion with the Merchant's daughter with whom he is enchanted. During the discussion she questions that if he is as intelligent as he appears, why is he simply a shepherd. Are you currently in a job that, to those looking from the outside, defies conventional wisdom? How is that job keeping you from fulfilling your Personal Legend?


Santiago was four days away from arriving at the village of the Merchant's daughter and he experiences excitement and unrest. He proposes that maybe the girl had already forgotten about him and that he was just one of many passing Shepherds. His response to his unrest is, "It doesn't matter, I know other girls in other places." Do you find that it is easier for you to let go of your dreams as opposed to holding on to them and having faith? How does your position make you feel?


Do you believe in the following statement, why or why not? At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. What is this statement called in the book?

The Old Man tells Santiago that "Treasure is uncovered by the force of flowing water, and it is buried by the same currents." What does this statement say to you?


There is so much more in those first 24 pages, so if I didn't hit a point that you'd like to discuss, by all means, bring it up in the comments. The floor is now yours.

Get Your Back Up off The Wall

When your back is up against the wall, push yourself forward.

I tend to study people and I notice that a lot of times we withdraw or pull back when the going gets tough. I’ve been guilty of it a time or three, but as I get older and wiser I’m beginning to realize that if you take advantage of the pressure that’s coming against you in your life, you just may find a way to propel yourself forward.

I think that the problem is that we’ve gotten too soft. We have too much nice stuff, too many creature comforts. We don’t know how to work through issues. We’ve forgotten how to be creative. We don’t improvise enough. We don’t think. We just retreat and try to hold onto as much comfort as possible. Is that how you want to continuing living your life? Just enough for the city. If you evaluate history and those who have excelled, you will find that in times of great pressure they focus and try to see things unlike they've seen them before. They realize that greatness won’t come as the result of an easy life; it will come as the result of a smartly fought one.

For example, most people are cutting back like crazy with the rising cost of fuel. That's good to a point, but what are you doing to reposition yourself for the better. What if gas doesn't go down any time soon. What will you do then? Are you investing in anything? Are you finding ways to create income? Are you tapping into your gifts?

You have to see beyond the problem and find your solution. The solution that propels you forward, not one that helps you deal with the pain. In other words, find a way to get rid of the headache, don't just settle for aspirin.

If you look with right eyes and listen with right ears, you will realize your breakthrough is at hand. The question is do you have the faith to see your way through it?



About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit www.i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

The Day I Woke Up

I was trippin over losing you
Never deserved to have my undying love
The way you made me feel
Like I was on top of the world

Had me checking for you
Like I was a dope fiend looking for crack
My heart open and watch my love
Spill out at your feet
Walked all over me without a second thought
We would be down for life
I
Musta
Been
Trippin

I caught myself peeking in your window
Hoping you’d see me and smile and invite
Me back into your life
Ain’t all I thought I
Was missing something that you somehow added
Nothing to me that wasn’t already there

I can’t believe I was acting like a stalker
The thought of it now even sounds ludicrous
For me to even refer to you as a friend
You couldn’t have been thinking straight
Out the door you went without a pause.

I shoulda seen it coming.

Almost a year now and I still
Just don’t get how having last name Cheney in your bed
Meant more to you than something that was
All together true.

Maybe I was blind from the get
Me a long handled spoon for this medicine
Made me stronger than I
Needed you to go so I could see what was in me
Instead of being treated like I was an extension of you
Know God always shows forth the truth
Has set me free.

One Event

Sometimes life is the sum total of "One Event". We never fully realize how "One Event" can change the course of our lives forever. Some events propel us forward, some send us spiraling downward, and then some leaves us stuck in that moment where the "One Event" occurred.

I had an occasion to remove yet another layer this past weekend as I realized during a moment of introspection why I approach some things the way I do. I will now share with you now some of my historic "One Event" moments and how they affected me, maybe you will see yourself.

I loved her (girl 1) but she turned her back on my love and gave herself to another man -- So I told myself, I'll get "them" before they get me. Now I find it hard to trust love, even when it's obviously real.

I cried my eyes out and poured out my soul and she (girl 2) she still left -- So I told myself, I'll never cry or beg another woman to stay with me, no matter who she is to me. Now I'm the "poker face" lover. She thinks I can take her or leave her, but I'd be nothing without her.

I trusted and believed that Pastor X had learned his lesson, but after all that has happened he's still the same. -- So I told myself, If I can't trust the man who impacted my spiritual life the most, then what Pastor can I trust. They all twist the word to their benefit, even in the face of wrong. Now, I think I can get along without church even in the face of a constant battle against the enemy.

She asked me to be honest and I was, but now she uses it against me at every turn. So I told myself, you should have known better, next time follow your gut and keep your mouth closed. Now I feel forced to abandon the honesty that is pertinent to building strong relationship.

While it may be true that we can learn from our pasts, we have to be careful not to let those events that we encounter negatively shape our future. We often think we are protecting ourselves from pain, but when we look closely we might see that trying to avoid the pain in the past is what is causing us to now hurt like hell.

Do you have a "One Event" that you need to learn from. One that may be holding you back or maybe you have a good story to share -- an event that took you to the next level. Either way, will you share?

Free Your Mind Friday

Friday's are all about freeing yourself of whatever is hindering your spiritual growth. I'm setting the table and my partner, Kim Possible is serving up the meal. So, without further ado, we present to you:

Keep Running – In and out of his life. 



RICH said:

Barring my youthful rebellion of anything “un-cool”, I would say the biggest factor in people avoiding, opposing or otherwise denouncing God is that all too often we make decisions about how we are going to serve God based on how others have misrepresented His character and goodness. So my view on the subject is: “Don’t let what other people do affect your relationship with God.”

KIMPOSSIBLE said:

In and Out of His Life Take One: I can honestly say that I have been on “the run” in my relationship with God before. I grew up in a single parent home. I watched my mother struggle to raise two children by working three jobs at a time. I had to grow up fast. My mother loved us and wanted the absolute best for my brother and me. However, because she worked all the time, we basically had to raise ourselves. She had a “Things to Do” list on the table for us everyday along with a schedule of what we should be doing the moment we woke up until it was time for us to go to bed.

My mother found God when I was in elementary school and she exposed me to prayer because I would walk in on her conversations with God all of the time. She also made sure my brother and I were in church every Sunday. It became a tug-of-war between my grandparents since one went to a Baptist church and the other went to a Methodist. Go figure? So, we had to swap churches each Sunday. Well, this went on for quite some time. Every Sunday after church my grandfather would take my cousins and me for ice cream after we ate dinner. I noticed that every Sunday on the way back to grandma’s house from the ice cream store that we would ride past a motel. I would always see my grandfather’s Pastor get out of the car with another woman as he was walking into the motel. I would look in the rear view mirror at my grandfather from the back seat and my eyes would then follow his Pastor inside the motel. It was almost as if my grandfather would pass that motel every Sunday just to let his Pastor know he saw him. One Sunday, I couldn’t take it anymore. When we got back to grandmother’s house, I asked my grandfather in front of everyone “Grandpa, why is Pastor _________ always going in the motel with another lady and not Mrs. _____________?” The room became silent and my grandfather’s face was frozen. My grandmother blurted out “Go ahead and tell her. Tell her that your Pastor is sleeping with another woman. And while you are at it, tell her that those deacons steal money from the church every Sunday.” So, he sat me down and began to tell me that sometimes people don’t practice what they preach etc. When I got back home to my mother’s house I told her that I no longer wanted to go back to church because Pastor ______________ was a hypocrite and I didn’t like that. She said I didn’t have an option not to go to church.

In and Out of His Life Take Two: So, I did go back to church, I just went to my grandmother’s church. However, that experience put a bad taste in my mouth for church and God. But, I was always spiritually aware even as a little girl. So, my mother started going to a non-denominational church and the Youth Ministry was a little more modern and that was a catch for me. I went to Youth Church and was happy to see that the youth dressed like normal people. I was 16 at the time and I was beginning to “smell” myself. I developed an anger and a hatred for my father and his absence in my life. I blamed my mother for my not having a normal childhood. For some reason I held her responsible for being the odd one out. All of my friends had both parents and I didn’t like the fact that my dad was lame. I began to have sex, go to parties, listen to music (I LOVED MUSIC), and I would have my fair share of wine coolers. My mother would always tell me that I couldn’t serve two gods. Of course, I was like whatever and I told her that my generation was different from her generation.

The Pastors daughter came to my house to spend the weekend and would you believe that “trick” told me that I was not living right because I was listening to secular music. I brushed her off and was like whatever “church girl!” I left her in my room while I was on the phone with my boyfriend and when I came back in my room that chick had taken ALL of my poster’s down. She ripped my Michael Jackson poster down, you know the one where Mike had on a yellow vest and some white pants?


She tore down my Thriller poster,
my MC Lyte,


Doug E. Fresh,


and Public Enemy posters
and she took ALL of my tapes and broke them. I cursed that girl out and kicked her out of my house. I told her I needed her and her holier than thou attitude to hit the road. I was pissed at her and my mother was pissed at me. Whatever!

At this point in my life I hated going to church. Because even though the Youth Ministry kids seemed cool, they were very judgmental and did not come off the side of the tracks I came off. They were exposed to a whole lot more in life than I was. They went to great schools and lived in great neighborhoods. I lived in a good neighborhood too, but if you walked out of my house a couple of blocks down it wasn’t too far from “the hood!” I thought the kids in the youth ministry were straight crazy. They didn’t listen to music, they hadn’t had sex, they hadn’t had any drinks, they made me feel like I was the prodigal daughter with all their “You are going to hell, if you don’t do this or if you don’t do that!” So, they turned me off from God. I became very rebellious and I wanted to start doing things my way. Bump God, bump church, bump those lame, phony kids in youth ministry. So, I just went all out. I experienced a little more than I bargained for. The gentlemen I was dating for almost 3 years pulled a gun on me because I wanted to break up with him. In that moment I saw my entire life flash before my eyes. I knew that I could die because my boyfriend was probably one of the biggest drug dealers in my city at the time. I knew what he was capable of and in that moment I thought I would be part of a statistic. Long story short, God got me out of that situation alive and I became tired of living that way. I would go to parties and feel empty. I would hang out with my friends and drink and not be fulfilled. I would have sex and still be lonely.

I could remember going out to parties and coming back home and I would hear my mother praying for me. Her prayers would sound something like this “God, where ever she is, make her sick to her stomach. Do what ever you have to do to get her attention.” I was like OMG, how could she pray something like that. But, I went in my room and cried my eyes out. I knew that God was expecting more out of me in terms of my devotion to Him. I knew that I couldn’t just live anyway I wanted to. To whom much is given much is required. I prayed and told God “If you are who I just heard my mother praying to, make yourself real to me. I want to know you for myself.” As time progressed He made himself so real to me and I started cultivating a relationship with Him.

As I have matured over the years. I realize that we ALL fall in and out of his life. But he is the one consistent thing in our lives. He is such a gentlemen and he will never force himself on us. In my case I believe he allowed me to almost lose my life to get my attention. I was a hard nut to crack because I did not like phony Christians and I wanted my relationship to be genuine. Either I was going to go all the way in my relationship with him or I wasn’t going to have one with him at all. That was how I saw it. I think that we all have different seasons in our lives. At times we are more in tune with God and what He wants out of us and at other times we push him away and kind of do our own thing. What are the circumstances in your life that keep you going in and out of his life? Are you MIA in your relationship with God? That’s how I see it, how do you see it?

tuesdays with Morrie

My man C-Mack, who from time to time drops a bit of knowledge in this spot, recommended this book to me a few years back. Well, I was finally led to purchase it and read it and you should too.



My thoughts about tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven - another good book.)

An insightful story about the truly important things in life. A book everyone should read at least TWICE. In it you will find wisdom that can be applied for a lifetime.

It's worth it!

Sometimes in life we find ourselves at a crossroads;
a place of decision, a place of testing, a place in which
we do not know which way to turn. When we come to that place,
what do we do? Do we toss a coin? Do we rely on others
for the answer? Do we do nothing and just fall out in
the middle of the road? The answer of course is
none of the above.

When we find ourselves at that place, that is the time
to draw within and seek that small still voice for the answer.
In that voice we will find direction based on purpose.

I'm sure you've heard the term "follow the money",
well in times of decision that term may not always apply.
Following the money, may end up leading you
down the road that is ultimately a dead end.
Then there are some who might decide to take the road
which looks easiest to navigate; the path of least resistance.
While that road is smoother to travel, it may just end up
being the scenic route and take you quite some time
to get to where you want to go.

The road to take, is the one that leads you directly
to your purpose. In order to recognize this road in your
minds eye, you will need to take an honest look at yourself and
determine just exactly who you are. That's the hard part.

Lets be real, sometimes we like to lie to ourselves.
We try and convince ourselves that we are who our
parents want us to be or who our spouses desire for us to be.
At times we even try to be the person who we think everyone
will like. In reality, who we are can only be defined by our Creator.
Once we tap into that force, then and only then will we
know who we are. It is in that moment;
the moment that we decide based on purpose
and true passion that the choice becomes easy.

Just a word of warning. Once you are on the right road,
expect a few curves, even a possible flat tire. But there is one thing
you can be sure of. This road will lead you to your expected end.
When you arrive, even if you are tired and worn out you
will know that without a doubt, it was worth it.

It's only the beginning

"And I wonder... if you know... what it means...to find your dreams"

What a year it has been. Trust me; you don't even know the half.
It's been a long haul, but sometimes life is like that.

God is still good and he is still in the blessing business.

So, now that I've gone through the valley,

it's time to shout from the mountains,
because today I'm celebrating the release of our

new book project.

Join with me in congratulating

Saadia Ali Aschemann (Girly Girl)

Diane Dorce' (Mizrepresent)

R. Fitzgerald (Mega Rich) - ME!

April C. Hayes (Literary Felonies)

D.R. Johnson (Dave @ Wandering Ether)

Cordenia Paige (CAPcity)

Torrance Stephens (All-Mi-T @ Raw Dawg Buffalo)

Cedric Harris - Editor (Ced it Meant it)

Denea Marcel - Cover Artist (Denea)

B-Side Artist:

Mr. Ash (BygPowis)

Mr. Jones (iamrj)

Ms. McCrary (Xcentric Pryncess)

Ms. Tery (MysTery)

Mr. Smith (Don)

This project has been in the works since early this year

and is finally coming to fruition. To check out excerpts of four of

the six stories or to purchase an advanced copy

go to the Bloggers Delight Book site.

What's Holding You Back?

Some of y'all commented on this back in May. I wonder if your answers would be the same today? Hmmm.

*I don't usually do reposts, but some reviews are good to do. Here's an opportunity to assess if you have changed in this area.

Everybody wants more. More money, more house, more car, more love, more patience. Maybe not all at once, but you want something. All I want to know is what is it that you want and tell me, just for the record, what's holding you back?