Cannes has rarely experienced such a dramatic attack. Paulo Coelho?s choice of venue to bring out the foibles of human ambition takes the reader to the heart of the top party that brings thousands of global celebrities together annually. Coelho?s poser ? are dreams all about money, fame and beauty, is unravelled through the eyes of a Russian businessman trying to win back his estranged wife. The best-selling author replies to Suman Tarafdar over email.
•The traditional wisdom is that dreams come at a cost. Why then should its pursuit be so harmful always, as it is in this book?
You should make the difference between: the price you pay for your dreams and the price you pay for your illusions.
The ?currency? (if you wish) is always the same: your soul.
In the first case, you bet on doing something that brings enthusiasm to your soul ? despite other people?s opinions. The price you are paying in this case is the price of your freedom ? which is high but ultimately worth it.
In the other case, you crave for something that hasn?t sprung from your deep rooted convictions. You choose to follow the road that all abide to: the road either of financial security or the road of social excesses. Either way: these ?sought after? avenues lead nowhere because they were built on cravings that are dictated by the industry.
In this book I wanted to explore how dreams can be manipulated and how people get shattered in the process. I?m not condemning vanity ? since all under the sun is vanity as Salomon said. What I am interested in is in how people allow themselves to be dispossessed of themselves.
In our current society, there are collective standards that are completely anonymous and yet many try to subscribe to them. Some people believe their happiness is conditioned by money, fame, beauty? How does that happen? This book arose from this central question.
•Ambition and the need to move forward have been often held responsible for a lot of progress. How can they be tempered so that they are not destructive or meaningless?
This is a very personal process and experience is extremely important. But I believe that as long as we are able to distinguish between being and having ? this force (ambition) can be directed. It?s always important to have in mind that the most precious things are invisible.
•How did you choose Cannes as the setting for The Winner Stands Alone? Did you consider any other option? If you could change one human failing, what would it be?
I attend Cannes Film Festival each year. There I had the possibility to understand ?behind the scenes? mechanism of the movie and fashion industries. In The Winner Stands Alone, I wanted to explore the world of fashion and unravel why we tend to adopt dreams that are not our own so easily. One human failing that I will like to change is hypocrisy.
•You attend the WEF at Davos. What have been your takeaways and how do you think you have influenced other world leaders? Despite your writings, the US bombed Iraq ? how do you view the principles on which the US is running?
It?s impossible for me to measure my impact. The only thing that I know for sure is that when I write political text, I am first and foremost writing because I feel the need to express my view. Of course, these words then follow their own destiny, despite of myself ? or the world leaders.
In regards to the US, since Barack Obama has stepped into power it is visible that the rules are changing ? and for the better despite all the chaos.
•What are your inspirations? How would you describe yourself as an author ? in terms of motivations, messages, communication with readers?
I believe that the need to keep on understanding myself and questioning the world is what motivates me to write. I?m living the dream I had in my youth but I never look upon this dream as something that has an end. As long as I?m able to live, think, and love the spark will continue.
My literature is much more the result of a paradox than that of an implacable logic. The paradox is the tension that exists in my soul. Like in archery, the paradox is the bow that can be both tense and relaxed. I know that it?s important to have values in life, but I?ve always been more drawn to incoherence, because life is not static but rather like the tides, coming and going.
Real events, memories, longings, other stories ? all fuse when I embark in a new story.
I think the best advice/message is always to not follow advices. Try life by yourself. Freedom is people making their decisions by themselves, not giving it away for a ?guru? to answer and decide for them.
•Your books are read by millions across the world, and many look up to you as a spiritual guide. How do you react to this responsibility?
I?ve never seen myself as someone giving away mantras for making other people lives more satisfying. I?m not responsible for others.
Freedom is exactly that: people making their decisions by themselves, not giving it away for a ?guru? to answer and decide for them.
I?m just a man who has gone in the direction of his personal legend, taking risks and learning daily from all around me.
We are all on a pilgrimage whether we like it or not and the target, or goal, the real Santiago, if you like, is death. You must get as much as you can from the journey, because ? in the end ? the journey is all you have. It doesn?t matter what you accumulate in terms of material wealth, because you are going to die anyway, so why not live? When you realise that you can be brave and that is the first tenant of any spiritual quest ? to take risks.