I assumed that Paulo Coelho's novel, "The Alchemist" was a popular book from the multitude of comments raving about it, as well as constantly seeing it in the hands of celebrities. But, I was wrong. It's not just a popular book, a great read, or my favorite book. It's a classic.

"The Alchemist" follows the story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who has a desire to travel. He followed that desire walking the fields of Andalusia with his heard of sheep until he had a dream about a child telling him that he can find his treasure at the Egyptian Pyramids. After being told to fulfill the prophecy the child told him about in his dream, he decides to embark on an incredible journey across the desert in search of his treasure. But, as the saying goes, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey.

Santiago meets fascinating and encouraging people, faces immense challenges, and has to decide to keep struggling in order to follow his dream.

However, it's the lessons that Santiago learns that will stay with you long after you finish the story. To me, these lessons are significant because they are fundamental to achieving success and finding contentment in life.

The best part about "The Alchemist" is not just what happens within its pages, but the journey it took to get there. It is the real life story of its Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho that acclaims the most esteem.

In 1987, Coelho, who had finished writing "The Alchemist" in just two weeks, was told that his book was never going to sell. Luckily, Coelho, like his protagonist, was not one to back down so easily. After his first publisher dropped the title after it failed to sell 900 copies, Coelho still had faith in his story and continued to search for a second publisher. Once he found a second publisher, the books started selling better than before. But it wasn't until the novel was translated into English that "The Alchemist" started to become as widely recognized as it is today.

"The Alchemist" tells a captivating story about a boy on the hunt for his treasure. Not only that, the author has his own phenomenal story for how he got "The Alchemist" to where it is today.

It's the intertwining of these two magnificent stories that gives readers everywhere more of a reason to follow their dreams and fuels others' desires to find their own treasures.