The Alchemist later became a mega-success. It’s been translated from Portuguese into 80+ languages and it’s spent a record-breaking 400 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

But Paulo Coelho’s bleak first-experience as a published writer gives me so much hope for not-yet possibilities in my own life now (particularly as someone who writes things).

One of my favorite authors (one of the most influential authors of my time! an author who’s been interviewed by Oprah!) was “forty-one and desperate” before he published his first book; and it was massively unsuccessful and generally ignored for years before anyone started reading it.

That didn’t stop him from writing it or publishing it (twice).

Your creative energy ebbs and flows, right? But it's (likely) not random.

There's a pattern, a rhythm.

And it starts with the body, and her natural creative cycle: menstruation is like WINTER; ovulation is like SUMMER.

Our abundance conversation should forever consider what's necessary for the collective. ⁣
⁣
By which I mean, the global breakdown of wealth is, at the very least UNFAIR - but also deeply + intentionally OPPRESSIVE.⁣

We've created this "value" system that says the more money you have, the more valuable you are to society - but also you have zero rights to a basic standard of living, whether or not you work (and I haven't even touched the conversation of whether or not people *can* work, or what's considered "work" worth pay to our current world). ⁣