What Is The Fear Of Failure In The Alchemist

The Fear of Failure

"You can not make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen"(Michelle Obama); those who fear not being successful in their decisions are restrained in achieving total happiness. This is essentially true for Santiago, the protagonist in Paulo Coelho's adventure novel, The Alchemist. In this book, Santiago goes on a quest to the Pyramids of Egypt to fulfill his Personal Legend. Along the way, he meets many individuals who teach him various influential lessons about life; he must learn to trust himself instead of relying on the omens he receives and what others tell him. In the novel, it is revealed that many people choose not to pursue their dreams because of the fear of failure; fear limits individuals from making decisions that will ultimately help them get closer to their Personal Legends.

In the book, Santiago is unsure and fearful about the choices he makes without realizing that his choices are what are getting him closer to his goal--traveling to the Pyramids of Egypt to find his treasure and fulfil his Personal Legend.

In the beginning of the story, Santiago is robbed in the plaza in Tangier by a boy whom he thought would lead him to a place to buy a camel. This event greatly discourages him and makes him very apprehensive about continuing his journey, considering he has no money, no sheep, and is in an unfamiliar town. When Santiago meets the alchemist later on in the story, he learns many valuable lessons from him; the most important one being to never lose faith. Through the tough challenges that Santiago faces, the alchemist teaches him that "there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve" and that is "the fear of failure" (Coelho 146). Santiago must trust his decisions and he learns how to do so as the story

progresses.
In addition to fearing his decisions, Santiago is afraid of facing challenges when confronted by one; no one can completely achieve their Personal Legend without going through hardships. Towards the end of Santiago's journey, his biggest challenge and final trial is turning himself into the wind when the alchemist and he are captured by the soldiers of the tribal wars; a life threatening situation where that proves his worthiness of completing his Personal Legend. He becomes very stressed out over turning into the wind because the Alchemist gave him little direction and he did not understand how it was physically possible to communicate with a force of nature. The reason behind this is because the alchemist wants to challenge Santiago and see if he is both physically and spiritually capable of completing his Personal Legend. The alchemist teaches him that the only way he can turn into the wind is to trust himself and to do this he must "not give into your fears, [because] if you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart." (Coelho 146). If Santiago does not truly trust his heart to communicate with the wind, he will not be able to fulfill his Personal Legend.
In conclusion, the fear of failure prevents you from making the right choices that help you achieve your Personal Legend.