Suffocated by The Alchemist's Motivation

The Alchemist makes me think of cheesy one liners that are said to inspire and create a drive in a person who is set on giving up. Yeah it's a great story, who doesn't like treasures and far of exotic lands? This is what makes it so popular.  While reading it I found myself involved and yet very critical of how upbeat and mushy this book is. I mean if there is any book that a parent should give to their child that is about to graduate from high school this one is up on the list. Follow your dreams, never give up, don't settle for average, push yourself! It makes me think back to my days of soccer when my coach would yell motivational phrases at us trying to get us to win. "If you have nothing, remember you have your heart! Your heart will succeed if you let it!" shit like that always pissed me off, and it obviously still does. This book is just too motivational for me, but none the less a great story. And it has been in the hands of so many people that I too feel inspired to search for my 'Personal Legend.' 

And then I got to thinking of the Personal Legend thing, and it made me feel like a failure, because all my life I was going to be a soccer super star, that was my dream, and I let it go. I simply said no more, I don't wanna be injured 365 days of the year and be pissed off if I lose. It didn't seem like a goal I needed to reach, and yet now I think, hummm did I give up on my Personal Legend? Have I fallen into the masses of failed attempts and given up dreams? I mean soccer is fun and all, but how much money could I truly have made playing soccer? Maybe it wasn't supposed to be my life after all! 

So now I'm excited, maybe.  I'm graduating and my Personal Legend might actually is still there and I haven't opened my eyes wide enough since that day I quit soccer to see that my dream is still alive and waiting for me to discover it again. Maybe all along my Personal Legend has been over shadowed by my ability to play soccer at higher levels and my focus was on something that, though I was exceptional good at, wasn't my (pardon the repetition) Personal Legend. 

Ahhh so maybe there is hope for me after all, and maybe there is hope for this book to actually not make me want to vomit from the over exaggerated motivational speeches in every paragraph.  I guess this book does have a lot of failed attempts to reach a dream, and this is somewhat pleasing to me. (How demented.)

~L.