I'm not doing anything, and yet I'm also doing the most important thing a man can do: I'm listening to what I needed to hear from myself.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Know how to get close to it: mountains are often seen from far off - beautiful, interesting, full of challenges. But what happens when we try to draw closer? Roads run all around them, flowers grow between you and your objective, what seemed so clear on the map is tough in real life. So try all the paths and all the tracks until eventually one day you're standing in front of the top that you yearn to reach.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Achieving your goals may seem easy from a distance, but the journey can be challenging and requires persistence.
Paulo Coelho illustrates the journey of pursuing dreams and ambitions as a metaphorical climb up a mountain. While the destination may appear beautiful and compelling from afar, the reality involves navigating obstacles, distractions, and difficulties that must be overcome. The quote emphasizes the importance of exploring various paths and persevering through challenges in order to reach one’s desired goal.
Themes
MountainsJourneyPersistenceGoalsChallenges
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote during a motivational speech at a conference to inspire attendees to pursue their goals despite challenges.
More from Paulo Coelho
All quotes →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.
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We need to clear our minds of bad thoughts.
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Having the courage to take the steps we always wanted to take is the only way of showing that we trust in God.
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The fool who loves giving advice on our garden never tends his own plants
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Sometimes the Warrior feels as if he were living two lives at once.
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