Folded Corners

"My heart is a traitor," the boy said to the Alchemist, when they had paused to rest the horses.  "It doesn't want me to go on."
"That makes sense, the Alchemist Answered.  "Naturally it's afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you've won."
"well, then, why should I listen to my heart?"
"Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet.  Even if you pretend no to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you,repeating yo you what you're thinking about life and about the world."
"You mean I should listen, even if it's treasonous?"
"Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly.  If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you.  Because you know it's dreams and wishes, and you know how to deal with them."
"You will never be able to escape from your heart.  So it's better to listen to what it has to say.  That way, you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow." - P. 129

"My heart is afraid it will have to suffer," the boy told the Alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.  And that no heart has suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." - P. 130

"Don't give in to your fears," said the Alchemist in a strangely gentle voice.  "If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart." - P. 141

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible: the fear of failure." - P. 141

Excerpts taken from THE ALCHEMIST by Paulo Coelho