Top 116 Quotes by Paulo Coelho

The only thing that relaxes me is archery. That's why I have to have apartments with gardens.

I am not a self-help writer. I am a self-problem writer. When people read my books, I provoke some things. I cannot justify my work. I do my work; it is up to them to classify it, to judge.

With all due respect, the Mona Lisa is overrated.

There is an afterlife. I am convinced of this.

Writers are lampposts and critics are dogs. Ask lampposts what they think about dogs. Does the dog hurt the lamppost?

You're always learning. The problem is, sometimes you stop and think you understand the world. This is not correct. The world is always moving. You never reach the point you can stop making an effort.

Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.

I think you can have 10,000 explanations for failure, but no good explanation for success.

I can't consciously explain how people feel after reading my books. All is too personal.

I lived in a dictatorship in Brazil, and I was arrested three times. I felt in my flesh what it is to live under such a regime and experience deprivation of freedom.