Paulo Coelho was born on this day. Did you know the Rumi of our times was a lyricist as well?
His most famous book was The Alchemist with sales of over 150 million copies worldwide.
During his adolescence he was sent to an asylum so that he would give up his writing dream and even though he attempted to make a career out of law, he dropped out of the rat race, living a hippie life and traveling widely.
He began working as a songwriter and dabbled in many creative careers. He was even incarcerated by the military government in Brazil for some time.
He began a songwriting career that was interrupted by his sudden awakening to write and follow his dreams. The Alchemist was picked up by an unknown publisher and later Harper Collins. A strong thread of Sufism and pantheism runs through his fiction and non-fiction books.
Happy b’day Paulo Coelho!