Over on his blog, Paolo Coelho posts snippets of writing, usually involving a lesson or life advice. There’s a nice one up today about doing the most with the time you have on this planet.

On his tombstone, he had the following epitaph engraved:

“A life which ends with death, is a life not well spent.”

I like the piece because it does not necessarily preach about what one should do to ensure future generations remember them, it just gives an example of one character. Coelho will live on through his writing — The Alchemist in particular — much as Shakespeare has. It’s also important to note that Abin-Alsar, the character in the blog posting, does not achieve world fame or glory, but rather makes life better for the people of his town. A local but beloved immortality.

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