David Archuleta says Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist taught him that we write our own stories, not fate. After American Idol ended, he thought his narrative was finished until he realized dedication revealed new possibilities. Reconciling his Mormon faith with his identity required courage to test what happiness could look like.
What's the world's greatest lie? The
boy asked that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.
That's what's so great about the book you picked. The Alchemist is it's about the journey, not the destination. Right. When I was 17,
just off of the American Idol tour, and I kept getting this book from fans in my head, I'm like, there's no way I'm going to make it on this show.
People think the story is being written for them. And really, you write your own story.
I thought I was done. I thought my story was going to end 15 steps ago, and I'm still here.
Whenever you dedicate yourself to a craft or dedicate yourself to a mission, you learn who you are, what you're made of, what you're capable of.
You have to allow yourself to think the unthinkable. In my little Mormon head, it was impossible to be happy and to feel a connection with God and accept that you're gay just by stepping out past the line of limitation. The second I realized, oh, it's is possible, and then it's like, oh, what else can I challenge? I had to test your courage. The stranger said, courage is the quality most essential to understanding the language of the world.
Final question. Okay. How did the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho change your life? The Alchemist changed
my life because he.
