Ro's Recz

Since I have been pretty busy recently, I have not had as much time to write new blog posts. While I am still constantly finding new things I love to recommend, I wanted to share some of my previous favorite recommendations. Over the course of this blog, I have now written over a year’s worth of posts (382 and counting), so you may have missed some of these along the way!

The Alchemist was published in 1988, but I only heard about it recently because it has become very popular with NBA athletes such as Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant, and Andre Iguodala.

The Alchemist follows a relatively typical novel path of a once poor shepherd boy who went on a fantastic journey in life before finding success. It differed from other novels because of the details and lessons on life that it offered. The main lesson I took away from The Alchemist is that although there may be a recommended and normal path for you to take in life, it is up for you to decide whether this really is the life you want to live. I think the message is really valuable in society today because the typical path for most people is go to school, go to college, get internships, find a decent paying job, and have a family. However, the book really makes you question whether this is the path that you want to take for yourself, or whether you are following it simply because this is the societal norm.

Many people have dreams and aspirations that are quickly shot down as fantasies by the time we are teenagers. It is the really special people in life, however, who are able to keep these dreams alive and become who they really want to become in life. These types of people are able to pursue dreams and life paths that most people would consider too risky, too dangerous, and too uncomfortable.

Ultimately, I think this book makes it clear that any sort of life path you end up choosing is fine, but you do not want to have any regrets later on in life. For many people, once you choose to become something (accountant, doctor, lawyer, etc.), this is what you will choose to stay as for the rest of your life. Even if you may have one skill/trait that you are known for, you can constantly be adapting and trying to improve.

After reading the Alchemist, you will learn to work on controlling your own life and goals, rather than constantly having society telling you what is best for yourself.

The Alchemist Recommendation Rating: 4

This post has now been updated to reflect a new ratings system that I have implemented, which is scored as follows:

1: Something worth checking out if you have time

2: Something that is a hit for some people, but not a must for everyone

3: Something worth prioritizing if interested

4: Something worth making time to check out

5: An absolute home run, worth going out of your way for