With every journey comes an important lesson. In the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Santiago learns various lessons while achieving his personal legend. The lessons Santiago learns, change him as a person. Not only does Santiago learn to never give up on his dreams, but he also discovers the secret of happiness. By going on a journey to achieve his personal legend, Santiago is taught to never give up on his dreams. To begin, Santiago realizes that if one keeps trying, they will succeed. He recognizes that "the secret of life is to fall seven times and to get up eight times" (Coelho 191). No matter how many times one fails, they should keep trying. If that individual keeps trying over and over again, they will succeed and come closer to achieving their dreams. This teaches Santiago to never give up and to always keep trying his best in order to accomplish his dreams. Santiago changes from being someone who thinks about giving up to someone who keeps trying no matter what. Next, Santiago recognizes that if one takes a risk, an important experience can be gained from it. When Santiago "[had] been truly searching for [his] treasure, [he discovers] things along the way that [he] never would have seen had [he] not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve" (130). Since Santiago took the risk and went on this journey, he realized that he got to try things that he never would have if he had given up on his personal legend. Due to this expedition, Santiago is a different person now; he is a more enthusiastic person since he likes. Lastly, Santiago realizes that one should not let the fear of failure stop them from realizing their dreams. Santiago learns that "people are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them or that [they will] be unable to achieve them" (141). If someone wants to follow their dreams, they should not let the fear of failure stop them.