Jimi Hendrix and The Alchemist

Ankur Bhatt

Mr. Mahoney

5/12/14

Blog Post: The Alchemist and Jimi Hendrix

 The Alchemist is a tale that highlight the importance of following one’s calling, and pursuing what one is meant to do. There are many distractions and secure paths that one can take instead of following their calling, but in the end it will haunt them for the rest of their lives. A person I believe had succeeded in following their personal legend is guitar player Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix went through many rough times in his life, with the only thing guiding him out of the darkness was his guitar. Once he decided that he would stick to the amazing skill of his to play, he ended up becoming big internationally, and now being known as one of the most legendary players of all time. There is no doubt that Jimi Hendrix reflects some of the major factors presented in The Alchemist. The ideas of the distractions to the Personal Legend and the world conspiring to help achieve one's goal were played out over the course of Jimi Hendrix’s life.

Paulo Coelho’s concept of a Personal Legend is the overall goal that the universe plans for you to achieve, and that your spirit demands for everlasting satisfaction. In The Alchemist, Santiago pursues his calling and travels to the pyramids to eventually find his calling. During the course, Santiago is in a position where life seems satisfying enough to him. He had met his wife Fatima, and was very wealthy after staying at the oasis. But even though he is in a position to settle down, he decides to keep pursuing his calling, knowing that the regret from not doing so would eat him up alive until he was dead. Similar to Santiago, Jimi Hendrix faced obstacles in pursuing his calling as a guitar player, but decided to stay away from these distractions. One major distraction that Jimi fortunately avoided was staying in the army. Even though it seemed like a good option for his circumstance, he stayed with his calling to become the legend he was. “Jimmy’s father strongly suggested that his son join the 101st Airborne Division. If he wasn’t going to finish high school, he needed some way to make a living and head for a steady future” (Lawrence 19). Jimi was influenced to be in the army, which other people in his life thought would be great for someone with his circumstances. But Hendrix could not put the guitar down, and forget about the extenuating talent he had. He did eventually get called out from the army, and followed his Personal Legend. This shows that Jimi Hendrix does reflect the idea of one’s calling presented by Paulo Coelho.

Along with the idea of following your personal legend, Paulo Coelho believes that the world conspires in your favor when you try to achieve your goal. This occurred to Santiago in The Alchemist through the people that he met in his journey. For example, the Alchemist he meets guides him through the desert and teaches him the lessons that nature gives off to help Santiago in his journey. Also, the King of Salem’s wisdom helps Santiago continue his course to the pyramids and pursue the journey, indicating that it is indeed his calling. The biography Jimi Hendrix shows examples of the universe conspiring in Hendrix's way to achieve his goal of becoming a renown musician. The most important was his trip to London, which eventually jump started a career that would create a legend. After creating and playing a song independently, Hendrix got nothing but positive feedback from people around him. “ Folkestone, London, Paris, the world! You’ve got a hit record blooming and more on the way! I’ve kept it promise, mate” (Lawrence 68)! This was Chas’s words, Jimi Hendrix’s manager. before this, Jimi hadn’t taken advantage of the unique talent he had with his guitar. It was when he started to take part in gigs that the world did conspire in his favor. More and more people would reach out to him and ask to take part in their own gigs, and Jimi would almost never refuse. Eventually, he got a chance to meet with Chas and become a hit in London, and become the world's highest paid performer in the 1960’s. Jimi’s seemingly swift ride to the top proves that the universe does indeed conspire in one’s favor when the Personal Legend is being met.

Hendrix’s life does provide ideas presented by Paulo Coelho, most importantly the ideas of the Personal Legend and the world conspiring to help achieve one's goal. Jimi Hendrix was meant to express himself through his guitar, and even though there were several obstacles in his life in his way, he found a way to cross the barriers and achieve his goal. Once he did head in this direction, the opportunities he got started swarming towards him, and the universe did indeed help him achieve his Personal Legend. Jimi Hendrix is a great example of the rare cases of people meeting their Personal Legend. Most people settle down and live a safe, secure lifestyle. But is that what life is about? Paulo Coelho and Jimi Hendrix demonstrate ways that taking a risk can work out for you, and work out for the universe in the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjwWjx7Cw8I