The Universe Conspires

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

This is one of the most beautiful ideas from Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist.”

I love that this book appeals to everyone — from the person who reads a book a day to the person who has read three books in their life.

It’s similar to St Exupery’s “The Little Prince,” which can be appreciated and loved both by children and weary soldiers. Another favorite.

The idea that the universe conspires to help you get what you want is so powerful that it is core to several of the word’s mega-bestsellers. “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne is another one (I personally didn’t like that one as much because it is not wrapped around a beautiful story).

But regardless, why does this idea resonate so much?

Because it is true, and because we want it to be true.

I absolutely believe that people’s beliefs often become reality. I have seen people in business believe that they always get screwed over… and guess what… it should come as no surprise that they usually create circumstances that create another bad outcome for them again and again. I have seen people believe this in their personal relationships… and… the same outcomes are recreated.

I have seen people who believe that they are surrounded by kind and caring people who want the best for them… and surprise… they usually tend to be better surrounded than others and good things generally ensue from that.

Another book which had a profound effect on me when I read it back in my teens is “Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships” by Eric Berne. It is centered around a similar and controversial idea that people create the outcomes they want.

For example, if a spouse feels unappreciated in their home, they will seek to create a scene whether at dinner or at another moment with their partner (maybe over doing the dishes) where they will end up feeling unappreciated, so they can then go off and have a breakdown and fight about it. This whole “game” is one where every player actually knows the outcome that they are creating and is deliberately taking actions to create it. “The Courage to be Disliked” by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi is a mega-bestseller in Asia (interestingly more so than in the U.S.) and again is centered around a similar inversion. People are not surprised by the outcomes they create but actually deliberately create them.

I will not go so far as to defy the laws of physics: if you jump off a building and believe that you will fly, the universe will not come to rescue you.

But I do think that self-fulfilling prophecies are a very deep-rooted and potent force that runs the world.

It is one that is worth paying attention to.

Take note of what you believe and of the outcomes that you consciously or subconsciously may be turning into reality.