Paulo Coelho Quotes

I am trying to be guided by my passion.

Not to say that you shouldn't strive for success, but don't forget why you're doing it. It's not just for adoration.

If I lose touch with that... the reason why I act... then I'll leave it all. I don't do it for fame or money.

I think there comes a time when you start dropping expectations. Because the world doesn't owe you anything, and you don't owe the world anything in return. Things, feelings, are a very simple transaction. If you get it, be grateful. If you don't, be alright with it.

I used to worry a lot and regret a lot before I took on this whole concept of karma. But now I understand that destiny is what it's all about. I still push ahead and look forward to achieving certain goals but I try not to lay up expectations that they have to happen.

I'm full of confidence. I know what I can do, and when I'm not playing, I'm not happy.

Perhaps your challenge isn't finding a better project or a better boss. Perhaps you need to get in touch with what it means to feel passionate. People with passion look for ways to make things happen.

You have to identify what you care about and why you care about it. It has to be personal. It has to be something that fires you up or means something to you, or it's not going to drive you.

Love means knowing when to let go.

It is very hard to enroll people in anything. And there is a very big difference between the words motivate and inspire. Motivation means we have an idea and we are going to carry through on that idea. We work hard at it, and we are disciplined. A highly motivated person takes an idea, goes out there, and won't let anybody interfere with them. Inspiration is exactly the opposite. If motivation is when you get hold of an idea and carry it through to its conclusion, inspiration is the reverse. An idea gets hold of you and carries you where you are intended to go.

I approach my work with a passionate intensity, acting as if its success depends entirely on me. "But once I've done my best, I try to let go as much as possible and have no expectations about how my work will be received by the world."

A burning passion coupled with absolute detachment is the key to all success.

We never get upset over what happens. Never. We get upset because of preconceived ideas as to what we think should happen, what we want to happen. When our preference clashes with the reality, we get hurt. Rid yourself of all preconceived ideas as to what should happen. You are then at peace whatever happens.

I feel a passion for what we're trying to do.I mean, why does somebody who's old who's a writer keep writing? Because that's who they are.

Motivation is when you get hold of an idea and don't let go of it until you make it a reality. Inspiration is the reverse - when an idea gets hold of you and you feel compelled to let that impulse or energy carry you along. You get to a point where you realize that you're no longer in charge, that there's a driving force inside you that can't be stopped.

Detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you are able to leave it.

What men want is not talent, it is purpose; in other words, not the power to achieve, but the will to labor.

Meditation simply means a discipline that makes you capable of being aloof and detached from your mind. So even if the mind is sick, your consciousness is never sick. Even if your mind is going crazy, you are just witnessing it. Mind is only a machine. You are not. Meditation is the experience: "I am not my body, not my mind - I am the witness of it all." This experience, this transcendental experience, immensely transforms the whole situation. Many things which were driving you crazy simply drop away.

The key that unlocks energy is desire. It's also the key to a long and interesting life. If we expect to create any drive, any real force within ourselves, we have to get excited.

My drive is something that I don't fully understand.

Followers are always watching what you do. And people do what people see! If you are a leader seeking to make your vision come alive, then there is no better way to accomplish this than by living it: Modeling your expectations, setting the example by your actions, and showing the way through leading. Your followers, who are watching, will see in you the living picture of the vision, and you will produce the energy, motivation and passion to keep it going.

Becoming mature means learning to accept what you cannot change, facing unresolved sorrows and learning to love life as it really happens, not as you would have it happen.

If you follow your dreams, it means you follow your heart. If you do follow your heart, I don't think you can go wrong.

Strength is not nearly as important as desire. I don't think you can teach anyone desire. I think it's a gift. I don't know why I have it, but I do.

I don't want to discount talent and ability, but I still maintain that a lot of it is just sheer desire.