What Is a Personal Legend—and Are You Living It?

One of the many profound lessons in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist is that each person must discover his or her own "personal legend"—the unique path that leads to an individual's destiny. Paulo says he is "100 percent convinced" every person has a personal legend, but he says he doesn't believe every person will realize his or hers. "You are here to honor something called the miracle of life," he says. "You can be here to fulfill your hours and days with something that is meaningless, but you know that you have a reason to be here."

How can you tell whether you've found your personal legend? "It is the only thing that gives you enthusiasm," Paulo says. "And you know when you are betraying your personal legend when you are doing something without enthusiasm."

In the video above, Paulo cautions against living a life without enthusiasm, exposes the common excuses we make for ourselves and reveals what can get us all back on track to our true potential.

More from this episode

From Paulo Coelho
Paulo reflects on 25 years of The Alchemist

Read an excerpt from his latest novel, Adultery