If you want a fable inspired by Christian principles and themed on pursuing your dreams against all odds, you have got to read Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. The book has enough nuggets and wisdom in it to inspire and motivate you to pursue and take charge of your business aspirations as any work you will find in the Harvard Business Review – the story is that good.
The story starts in Spain, where a shepherd boy, Santiago, had a dream. Literally, he slept one night and had a dream that he travelled and found treasure in Africa. Egypt to be precise. The dream was so compelling – just as your business aspiration might be – that Santiago could not let it go. He had to actualize. Selling all his sheep, he set off to find his treasure in Africa.
Where your treasure is, there your heart also will be.
Much of The Alchemist is about the odyssey of Santiago. His adventures, the people he came into contact with (the good, the bad and the ugly), his new learning, love, and eventually finding his treasure – but his treasure he found in the most unusual place. This brings to the fore that as we pursue that compelling vision, that business aspiration, we must be awakened to the dynamism of the world we live in, we need to be flexible.
I document some key learning from the book that can be related to business:
When you have a dream and start to pursue it, the whole universe conspires with you to make it real.
This, Coelho calls the Beginners Luck. As you begin your business venture, there will be a lot of good will. People all over will be excited with and for you. From tweets to posts they will be talking about you. CNN and BBC may even come to your door. But after they have shot their footage you will need, you must, continue to demonstrate that thought leadership. Ride on the exposure whilst be doggedly committed to service excellence and that compelling vision. It is quality and responsiveness of product and service that is number one, and after that quality, and even after that quality.
Along your journey you will have to serve.
Santiago served a crystal store in North Africa as a sales person cum waiter. He perceived that the owner of the crystal store was not capitalizing on the potential of his store and he worked assiduously and with great motivation to upgrade the aesthetics of the store so that it would be appealing to tourists – much to the wonder and chagrin of the owner. He enjoyed the surge in customers, but knowing Santiago’s dream of finding treasure in Egypt, he perceived that if he was selfish and withheld Santiago from pursuing his dream, the gods would descend on him, the store owner. He promptly sent Santiago off in the pursuit of his dream. Morale of this story – helping others on the path to your own dreams is part of the story. Life and business is transformational, not only transactional.
Love, sweet love.
On the journey, love. Santiago met and fell in love with Amina on his odyssey. He loved Amina so much that periodically he forgot about his dream. He wanted to pursue his dream of finding treasure in Egypt but he loved Amina, elsewhere in Africa. Amina, the wise wonderful woman that she was, was unselfish. She understood that if she prevented him from pursuing his dream, though he loved her, he may resent her in years to come; she also understood that if he went away, he may never come back to her. She took risk, in faith. That sounds like a moot point but that is what faith is – being certain of things we do see yet. She released him to go saying that he had to fulfill purpose. The entrepreneurial journey is tough – and you need the right partner to support and love you along the journey. Of course Santiago found is treasure, and of course he came back to Amina.
Even when you arrive at your promised land, the hustle and the journey does not stop.
One of the most telling part of The Alchemist for me was when Santiago arrives at the spot at the Egyptian Pyramids he had dreamt he found his treasure. He arrived there and just as he was about to dig for his treasure, disaster struck. Robbers attacked and, mocked and laughed at, he was left empty handed.
But faith does give substance to our hopes and makes us certain of realities we do not see. Santiago returned to Amina, returned to Spain and he did find his treasure – the fullness of it. The entrepreneurial life can take you on a merry-go-round, but be strong in your convictions. Be certain of realities you cannot see. Above all be diligent in the pursuit of your compelling vision. Diligence. That does not mean pursuing Facebook, Twitter and Instagram likes, and neither does it mean been at every event hoping that notable business man notices you. No. It means diligently doing what you are doing, and doing it so well that the world cannot but notice you.
Author: Ruka Sanusi is a management and business adviser with over 20 years of international consulting experience in the UK and twenty African countries. Ruka’s career to date has been built around her abilities to both provide specialist advice on matters of business strategy and business operations, and organizing resources and facilities to implement recommendations. She has strategic and operational ability.
