Paulo Coelho

poster yourself poster yourself poster yourself poster yourself poster yourself poster yourself poster yourself Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His own life has in many ways been as varied and unusual as the protagonists of his internationally acclaimed novels. Like them, he has followed a dream in a quest for fulfillment. His own dream, to be a writer, met with frustration throughout much of his early adult life, a time in which he worked at various professions, some of them materially rewarding but spiritually unfulfilling. "I always knew," he says, "that my Personal Legend, to use a term from alchemy, was to write." He was 38 when he published his first book. Coelho once said that following your dream is like learning a foreign language; you will make mistakes but you will get there in the end. In 1988 he published The Alchemist, a novel that explores this theme, and it launched him as an international bestselling author. Specifically, Coelho is recognized for his powerful storytelling technique and the profound spiritual insights he blends seamlessly into his parables. Since then, The Alchemist has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and has been translated into some 41 languages.