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Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists--men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the "Soul of the World." Of course he does eventually meet an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.

As a coauthor of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, he's sold more than 80 million books, and now lives "in a beautiful California estate" with his days of dining on spaghetti and tomato paste long behind him. "All you have to do is decide what it is you want, believe you deserve it, and practice the principles in this book," he says, and success is yours.

His advice is straightforward (examples: "reject rejection" and "surround yourself with successful people"), but rather derivative, with quotes from the likes of JFK, Colin Powell, Aldous Huxley, and fellow motivation author Napoleon Hill.Canfield's definition of success is primarily monetary, and he includes plenty of anecdotes depicting average folks who saved themselves from the brink of bankruptcy after following his principles. He could tone down the braggadocio; readers don't need to know that he's stayed in resorts in Hawaii, Italy, Australia, and Morocco. Despite those gripes, his cheerleader-caliber enthusiasm should benefit anyone looking to improve their lot in life. --Erica Jorgensen

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 Jack Canfield, creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, reveals secrets to success with 64 timeless principles in The Success Principles. Get a successful start right now and watch a video featuring Jack Canfield and his words of wisdom on how to transform your life, how to take responsibility, and why his new book is suited for everyone.

In The First Christmas, two of today's top Jesus scholars, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan, join forces to show how history has biased our reading of the nativity story as it appears in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. As they did for Easter in their previous book, The Last Week, here they explore the beginning of the life of Christ, peeling away the sentimentalism that has built up over the last two thousand years around this most well known of all stories to reveal the truth of what the gospels actually say. Borg and Crossan help us to see this well-known narrative afresh by answering the question, "What do these stories mean?" in the context of both the first century and the twenty-first century. They successfully show that the Christmas story, read in its original context, is far richer and more challenging than people imagine.

Long before co-creating the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Jack Canfield was already teaching the ancient principles of the Law of Attraction. Canfield has been consciously living in harmony with this universal law for more than thirty years, and his personal success is a testament to its power. Now, in Jack Canfield's Key to Living the Law of Attraction, he shares his knowledge and experience with you and offers you his proven tools and techniques for applying the Law of Attraction in your own life.

This book is a simple 'how to' guide for using the Law of Attraction to create the life you desire. Within these pages, Canfield clearly explains not only what you need to know, but what you need to do in order to attract what you want in your life. Jack Canfield's Key to Living the Law of Attraction addresses the important issues of clarity, purpose, and action. This thought-provoking guide will take you step by step through the processes of defining your dreams, goals, and desires. Along the way, you will gain a greater understanding of yourself—a sense of who you really are and why you are here. Your journey begins right here, right now. You can change your life, increase your awareness, and empower yourself to create an amazing future—one that is filled with love, joy, and abundance.

This book is your key.