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
Why do they make things so complicated?" "So that those who have the responsibility for understanding can understand.," he said. "Imagine if everyone went around transforming lead into gold. Gold would lose its value." "It's those who are persistent, and willing to study things deeply, who achieve the Master Work.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Complicated systems exist to maintain value and encourage deep understanding.
This quote emphasizes the importance of complexity in understanding and value creation. It suggests that if knowledge and skills were easily accessible to everyone, the worth of those skills would diminish, highlighting the significance of persistence and dedication in achieving mastery and profound insights.
Themes
UnderstandingComplexityPersistenceMasteryValue
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the importance of studying complex subjects, this quote can help illustrate the necessity of persistence.
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.
Paulo CoelhoRead
We need to clear our minds of bad thoughts.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Having the courage to take the steps we always wanted to take is the only way of showing that we trust in God.
Paulo CoelhoRead
The fool who loves giving advice on our garden never tends his own plants
Paulo CoelhoRead
Sometimes the Warrior feels as if he were living two lives at once.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Similar quotes
You are free when you gain back yourself,” Madame Wu said. “You can be as free within these walls as you could be in the whole world. And how could you be free if, however far you wander, you still carry inside yourself the constant thought of him? See where you belong in the stream of life. Let it flow through you, cool and strong. Do not dam it with your two hands, lest he break the dam and so escape you. Let him go free, and you will be free.
Pearl S. BuckRead
Imagination is a poor matter when it has to part company with understanding.
Thomas CarlyleRead
I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that don't work out, that's when I've really learned.
Carol BurnettRead
I believe the reason we sleep is not just to allow our body to rest but that it is to allow this inner wisdom to speak to us through symbols. This includes the body or somatic problems as well as psychological ones. Dreams and drawings are useful in diagnosing physical conditions.
Bernie SiegelRead
The cut worm forgives the plow.
William BlakeRead
The personal things should be left out of platforms at conventions. You can argue yourself blue in the face, and you're not going to change each other's minds. It's a waste of your time and my time.
Barbara BushRead