It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.
When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
People learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being. Maybe that’s why they give up on it so early, too.
Santiago is a young shepherd boy in Spain. His days are simple-guiding his flock, sleeping under the stars, and enjoying small freedoms. But night after night, he has a strange dream: that treasure awaits him near the pyramids of Egypt. He doesn’t understand what it means, but the dream pulls at him like a magnet.
One day, he meets an old king named Melchizedek who tells him something that changes his life. Every person has a Personal Legend-a destiny, a path, a dream that only they can follow. Most people give up on it, the king says, but the ones who pursue it live truly meaningful lives. With that, Santiago sells his sheep and sets off on an adventure that will take him far beyond what he imagined.
The road is not easy. In Tangier, he is cheated out of all his money and nearly gives up. To survive, he works at a crystal shop, helping the struggling merchant turn his dusty, forgotten store into something thriving again. Here Santiago learns two things: patience, and the danger of living a life only of comfort without risk.
From there, he journeys deeper into the desert, meeting an Englishman obsessed with alchemy-the art of turning lead into gold. But Santiago soon realizes that true alchemy is not just about gold-it’s about transformation, listening to the heart, and seeing how everything in the world is connected.
His most powerful teacher is the desert itself. In silence, in the endless horizon, Santiago learns to read signs, to listen to omens, and to trust the whispers of his own heart. He even falls in love with a desert girl named Fatima, but the Alchemist tells him he must continue-love never holds us back from destiny, it strengthens us to achieve it.
Finally, Santiago reaches the pyramids. There, in a cruel twist, he is beaten by robbers. As they mock him, one of them tells a story: he too once dreamed of treasure, but it was buried in a ruined church in Spain-exactly where Santiago first had his dream. And suddenly, Santiago understands-the treasure was never in Egypt. It was waiting for him at home all along. But without the journey-the struggles, the love, the lessons-he would never have been ready to see it.
In the end, Santiago digs under a sycamore tree at the church where he first dreamed, and there he finds the real treasure. His journey had come full circle, teaching him that dreams are not just about reaching a destination, but about who we become along the way.
What Bangladeshi Youth Can Take Away
Here’s the thing: a lot of young people in Bangladesh carry a “Santiago dream” inside them. Maybe it’s to start a clothing brand in Narayanganj, maybe to study film, maybe to build a startup app in Dhaka, or maybe to run a small café in Sylhet. But often, those dreams get shut down before they even take their first step-sometimes by parents, sometimes by society, sometimes by fear.
The truth is, like Santiago, many of us go in circles, searching far and wide, when the treasure might actually be closer than we think. For example, someone might dream of building a social enterprise but feels they need foreign funding or a foreign degree to even start. But what if the first step is just solving one small local problem, right here, with what they already have?
Santiago’s story teaches us something powerful: your dream will test you. You’ll get cheated, you’ll lose money, you’ll feel stuck in your version of the “crystal shop” job where nothing exciting seems to happen. You might even wonder if you’re foolish to chase it. But if you keep going, the desert itself-the difficulties, the silences, the failures-will teach you.
Think of the countless Bangladeshi youths who left their villages for Dhaka with nothing but a dream. Some struggled for years-working odd jobs, facing rejection-but eventually, they built businesses, NGOs, or creative projects that changed lives. Their journey wasn’t smooth, but each step shaped them, just like Santiago.
So maybe your dream is not about crossing deserts to find pyramids. Maybe it’s about believing your small idea in Chattogram, Khulna, or Barishal matters. Maybe it’s about not giving up when your first attempt fails. The treasure might end up being something different from what you imagined-but the only way to discover it is to take the journey.
Closing Note
The Alchemist whispers a reminder to every young person in Bangladesh: your dream is not silly, and it’s not impossible. The treasure may be closer than you think, but you’ll only uncover it if you’re brave enough to take the first step. Don’t let fear, comfort, or society decide for you. Start walking-your desert is waiting.
And when you do, remember what Coelho wrote: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
About the Writer
Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian novelist born in 1947. His early life was far from easy – his parents thought his dream of being a writer was impractical, so he was even sent to a mental institution as a teenager. Later, he worked in law, theatre, and music before finally finding his true voice in writing. His most famous work, The Alchemist, first published in 1988, has sold millions of copies worldwide. What makes Coelho unique is not just his words, but the fact that he lived the struggle of chasing a dream that everyone around him doubted. That’s why his stories connect so deeply with young dreamers.
If you want to order this book, Click the link here, English: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Bangla: দ্য অ্যালকেমিস্ট (হার্ডকভার)
Thank for giving me your time while reading this. Getting anyone’s time is the most precious thing for me. To read my other blogs like Building Social Business by Yunus | A book summary for youth, Phobia to Nervous moment? Is it normal?, and The Shondha River Stole My Childhood: Why I’m Fighting Climate Anxiety, you can click here.
