I am sure many of you are fans of the writer Paulo Coelho, and may know that he had a battle against his father to pursue his chosen vocation as a writer. The author and film maker Baptist De Pape speaks of the connection he shares with Coelho in his book The Power of the Heart.Baptist feared going against his own parent’s expectations as well. Coelho’s parents apparently considered him to be “unhealthily introverted and obstinant…. at the age of 17 they had Paulo committed to a psychiatric institution. At the age of twenty Coelho went to law school, on his parent’s request but dropped out to travel and eventually became a song writer and journalist.”
Paulo writes
From the moment I realised that I wanted to be a writer I said, ‘It may take ten days, ten years, or twenty years, but I am going to write. “I started by writing songs. I started writing articles for newspapers. I had no choice but to follow the thing that I wanted to do. …. you will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what is has to say.”
Paulo had an awakening as pilgrim travelling the path to Santigo de Compostela, it led him to write The Alchemist, his first book.
Baptist writes
Paulo’s story… shows that sometimes you need to be terribly brave to follow your inner voice and passion when no one but you can hear or comprehend it. But your courage will be rewarded.
Defying expectations is very important to following our soul path. To know what we need or feel or desire, to have the courage and heart to pursue will take strenght when voices of fear or doubt try to undermine us. Paulo’s story is a reminder of what can be done if we trust our heart and stay true to our soul.
Emerging From The Dark Night 
Never knew this about him! Awesome to find this out! I like his work!
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It really made sense to me of some of his writing. There is a book something about a girl deciding to die and going through a psychiatric committal. That book must have come out of his own experience.
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