--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As he mused about these things, he…" description: "\"“As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in qu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/paulo-coelho-10_adventure_as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realiz_751289.jpg" --- # As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to… ![“As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure. “I’m” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/paulo-coelho-10_adventure_as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realiz_751289.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/paulo-coelho-10_adventure_as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realiz_751289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/paulo-coelho-10_adventure_as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realiz_751289.jpg) > ““As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure. “I’m”” [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing between seeing oneself as a victim or as an adventurer determines destiny. **In simple terms:** Self‑perception shapes fate. Key Takeaway Adopt an adventurer mindset. Themes identity choice empowerment adventure Mood hopeful philosophical Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal challenges - goal setting Key Concepts self‑concept narrative framing psychology Questions to Reflect On - What narrative do you tell yourself about challenges? - How can you reframe setbacks as quests? A Different Perspective Victim mindset can be hard to overcome. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Adventurer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventurer/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mused Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mused-things-5844368/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Quests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quests/) [Thief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thief/) [Thief Adventurer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thief-adventurer-5844367/) [Thieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thieves/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Treasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treasure/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) ## Related quotes > [Sala-manda-stron, look out here we come, A thief a warrior and a mole. Though the quest may take its toll, We'll march until we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/sala-manda-stron-look-out-here-we-come-a-thief-a-warrior-and-a-mole/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [He had not a cent in his pocket, but he had faith. He had decided, the night before, that he would be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/he-had-not-a-cent-in-his-pocket-but-he-had-faith-he-had-decided-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You can choose between being a victim of destiny or an adventurer who is fighting for something important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-can-choose-between-being-a-victim-of-destiny-or-an-adventurer-who/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I'm an adventurer, looking for treasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-m-an-adventurer-looking-for-treasure/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You can either be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It all depends on how you view your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-can-either-be-a-victim-of-the-world-or-an-adventurer-in-search-of/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It's all a question of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-can-choose-either-to-be-a-victim-of-the-world-or-an-adventurer-in/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Tragedy depends on the way you see it. If you chose to be a victim of the world, anything which happens to you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/tragedy-depends-on-the-way-you-see-it-if-you-chose-to-be-a-victim-of/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I’m an adventurer, looking for treasurer,” he said to himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-m-an-adventurer-looking-for-treasurer-he-said-to-himself/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Facing the difficulties, I can choose either to be a poor victim or a great adventurer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/facing-the-difficulties-i-can-choose-either-to-be-a-poor-victim-or-a/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/remember-your-dreams-and-fight-for-them-you-must-know-what-you-want/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Every true man's apparel fits your thief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/every-true-man-s-apparel-fits-your-thief/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If a man knows he will sooner or later be robbed upon a journey, he will have a bottle of the best in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/if-a-man-knows-he-will-sooner-or-later-be-robbed-upon-a-journey-he/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [If war comes upon us, it will come as a thief in the night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eamon-de-valera/if-war-comes-upon-us-it-will-come-as-a-thief-in-the-night/) [Eamon de Valera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eamon-de-valera/) > [Procrastination is the thief of time: Year after year it steals, till all are fled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/procrastination-is-the-thief-of-time-year-after-year-it-steals-till/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Your thief looks Exactly like the rest, or rather better; 'Tis only at the bar, and in the dungeon, That wise men know your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/your-thief-looks-exactly-like-the-rest-or-rather-better-tis-only-at/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## More by Paulo Coelho > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Love will never separate a man from his personal legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-will-never-separate-a-man-from-his-personal-legend/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-love-is-to-be-in-communion-with-the-other-and-to-discover-in-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Eat when it is time to eat. And walk when it is time to walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/eat-when-it-is-time-to-eat-and-walk-when-it-is-time-to-walk/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Joy is like sex – it begins and ends. I want pleasure. I want to be contended, but happiness? I no longer fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/joy-is-like-sex-it-begins-and-ends-i-want-pleasure-i-want-to-be/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Trudi se da zivis, sjecanja su za starije ljude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/trudi-se-da-zivis-sjecanja-su-za-starije-ljude/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-someone-leaves-it-s-because-someone-else-is-about-to-arrive/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [She didn't need to understand the meaning of life; it was enough to find someone who did, and then fall asleep in his arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/she-didn-t-need-to-understand-the-meaning-of-life-it-was-enough-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The simpler the pose, the better; the more sober, the more beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-simpler-the-pose-the-better-the-more-sober-the-more-beautiful/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Explore all 3,665 Paulo Coelho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure. “I’m”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paulo Coelho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realized-that-he-had-to-choose/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adventure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realized-that-he-had-to-choose/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/paulo-coelho-10_adventure_as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realiz_751289.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/paulo-coelho-10_adventure_as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realiz_751289.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/paulo-coelho-10_adventure_as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realiz_751289.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor…” — Paulo Coelho", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paulo Coelho", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As he mused about these things,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realized-that-he-had-to-choose/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/as-he-mused-about-these-things-he-realized-that-he-had-to-choose/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```