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The Manuscripts Found in Accra

Summary

Before Jerusalem is attacked by the French in 1099, people gather to hear a Copt speak and ask him questions. This book is that dialogue which offers guidance on how to live our lives and which virtues to cultivate

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Key Takeaways
  1. Believe only in the present moment
  2. In the cycles of nature, there is no such thing as victory or defeat, only movement. Both will pass so blame no one for your situation
  3. Only he who gives up is defeated. Everybody else is victorious
  4. Defeat is for the valiant and as long as you never give up, you never fail. Failure is forever
  5. Without solitude, no love can survive nor work grow. It is necessary and vital. Solitude required to understand who you are. Learn to accept solitude as a blessing
  6. We are afraid to change as we know and are comfortable with ourselves and our world. Be like nature and continually change
  7. For those who think change is dangerous, routine kills much more quickly
  8. People who find things ugly are only reflecting their own inner insecurities. The eyes are the window to the soul
  9. Enthusiasm is your sacred fire - do whatever it is that brings this out in you
  10. Cannot love if expect something in return. We need to love unflinchingly. We love because love sets us free. Let's us say and feel things we never could have before
  11. Pleasing everyone is not noble. It shows lack of love for self
  12. Do not seek love for any price for love has no price
  13. Stay close to those who are not afraid to be vulnerable. Those who realize that the friendship is the end not a means
  14. Let your light shine forth and you will attract the right people and right situations
  15. Elegance lies in simplicity and not in the clothes you wear but how you wear them. Simplicity is the coming together of the true values of life and are the most extraordinary. Elegance cultivates beauty. Elegance makes no effort to be elegant
  16. Success is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace
  17. Love all and without expectation. You will always be the first to benefit
What I got out of it
  1. A very deep and inspirational read, per usual with Coelho. The ideas about happiness, success, love, enthusiasm and defeat all resonate with me and is something I try to keep in mind
  • The manuscripts of Nag Hammadi were found and contained Greek translations of a body of work known as the apocryphal gospels. Called so because they're not included in today's version of the Bible because written by women or depicted a Jesus who knew of his divine message
  • Knowledge is not what is learned in books but what lies in the souls of people of good will
  • Wait patiently for the right moment to act
  • Do not let the next opportunity slip by you
  • Take pride in your scars as they speak more loudly than the sword who caused them
  • Only the defeated know joy and love as they have felt pain
  • Woe to those who have never been defeated for they will never be winners
  • Nothing and nobody is useless in the eyes of god. Everything has a reason to exist. Don't try to be useful. Try to be yourself. Live the life you want to live
  • If we are happy, we are on the right road
  • What scares the traveler is not what happens but how he will deal with it
  • Nature desires beauty and outer beauty is inner beauty shown. Like a flower.
  • Don't deny own beauty because others can't or won't accept it. Beauty lies in the different and the imperfect
  • There is no answer into how to live your life. Look to your childhood and what made you passionate.
  • The end goal of sex should not simply be pleasure but an intimate journey with your partner
  • Whenever you put love into something, no matter how small you will be rewarded
  • We are all free to love or hate what we do
  • Succeed in work when you love what you do and don't do it merely to survive. Simply do your best and never compare your work to others
  • Work to enrich your life and not to fill your coiffures with gold
  • Anxiety is part of love. How can a heart be quiet when it is filled with passion? Anxiety is part of life but never let it control you
  • Obsession is one of mans worst enemies as it robs man of any peace
  • Life is governed by 4 forces - life, death, power and time
  • Loyalty is a choice and can never be forced upon anyone
  • Our greatest pain will be caused by those closest to us, who we believed we could follow
  • Never repay hatred with hatred, but with justice

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