Quotes by Paulo Coelho

"I talk to my readers on social networking sites, but I never tell them what the book is about. Writing is lonely, so from time to time I talk to them on the Internet. It's like chatting at a bar without leaving your office. I talk with them about a lot of things other than my books."

"I walk every day, and I look at the mountains and the fields and the small city, and I say: 'Oh my God, what a blessing.' Then you realise it's important to put it in a context beyond this woman, this man, this city, this country, this universe."

"Elegance is achieved when all that is superfluous has been discarded and the human being discovers simplicity and concentration: the simpler and more sober the posture, the more beautiful it will be."

"No one can lie, no one can hide anything, when he looks directly into someone's eyes."

"The more violent the storm, the quicker it passes."

"You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it."

"The two worst strategic mistakes to make are acting prematurely and letting an opportunity slip; to avoid this, the warrior treats each situation as if it were unique and never resorts to formulae, recipes or other people's opinions."

"I cry very easily. It can be a movie, a phone conversation, a sunset - tears are words waiting to be written."

"You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle."

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

"Writing means sharing. It's part of the human condition to want to share things - thoughts, ideas, opinions."

"Elegance is usually confused with superficiality, fashion, lack of depth. This is a serious mistake: human beings need to have elegance in their actions and in their posture because this word is synonymous with good taste, amiability, equilibrium and harmony."

"Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure."

"I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature."

"I can control my destiny, but not my fate. Destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left, but fate is a one-way street. I believe we all have the choice as to whether we fulfil our destiny, but our fate is sealed."

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

"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."

"If you start by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work towards getting it."

"I've done everything I wanted to do, even if I have had to pay a very high price - which has been the case most of the time."

"Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time."