image by michael seljos, flickr artist

two years ago when i was laid off, a good friend of mine visited and gave me a book to read.  that book was paulo coelho’s the alchemist.  it’s a great tale about a shepherd who gives up the life he knows in search of a lost treasure.

at that time in my life, it was a story that i needed to hear.  now, two years later, i find myself re-reading it to remember the book’s lessons, and hopefully to learn a few new ones along the way.  while it’s easy to be wrapped up in the story of the main character and his journey, the secondary characters hold lessons just as important, like the lessons learned from the crystal merchant.

in the alchemist, santiago takes up a job with a merchant, cleaning the crystal in his shop.  with his help, the merchant — who had run his shop in the same exact spot for 30 years — begins to earn more business.  it’s when santiago begins to propose some changes to the shop to help increase business even more that we gain a better understanding of the merchant.

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