--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Comparing objects like cars, houses…" description: "\"Comparing objects like cars, houses, clothes, and defining life according to those comparisons, instead of trying to discover the real reason for being..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/paulo-coelho-10_alive_comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-cloth_146164.jpg" --- # Comparing objects like cars, houses, clothes, and defining… ![“Comparing objects like cars, houses, clothes, and defining life according to those comparisons, instead of trying to discover the real reason for being alive.” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/paulo-coelho-10_alive_comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-cloth_146164.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/paulo-coelho-10_alive_comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-cloth_146164.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/paulo-coelho-10_alive_comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-cloth_146164.jpg) > “Comparing objects like cars, houses, clothes, and defining life according to those comparisons, instead of trying to discover the real reason for being alive.” [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. Defining life by material comparisons distracts from discovering its true purpose, urging a shift toward deeper existential inquiry. **In simple terms:** Material comparisons distract from life’s purpose. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond material possessions. Themes materialism purpose self‑discovery Mood contemplative motivational Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - career - relationships - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance material goals with existential searching? - What practices reveal deeper purpose? A Different Perspective Material focus can provide comfort and stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [According Comparisons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/according-comparisons-1638194/) [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car/) [Clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes/) [Compare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare/) [Comparing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparing/) [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Comparisons Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparisons-instead-1638193/) [Defining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defining/) [Defining Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defining-life-1638195/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life According](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-according-422044/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [“He is the cornerstone of a defining life moment for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-thomas/he-is-the-cornerstone-of-a-defining-life-moment-for-me/) [Kitty Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-thomas/) > [Comparing is impoverishing your own experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/comparing-is-impoverishing-your-own-experience/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“‎Comparing is empoverishing our own experience. There is meaning to our suffering, if we rise above it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/comparing-is-empoverishing-our-own-experience-there-is-meaning-to-our/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Life (according to the faith) is very like a serial story in a magazine: life ends with the promise (or menace) "to be continued…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/life-according-to-the-faith-is-very-like-a-serial-story-in-a-magazine/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Your life can't go according to plan if you have no plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/your-life-can-t-go-according-to-plan-if-you-have-no-plan/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [The pleasure of life is according to the man who lives it, and not according to the work or the place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-pleasure-of-life-is-according-to-the-man-who-lives-it-and-not/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I'm running my life according to what I know to be true from the Bible and the old scribes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-campbell/i-m-running-my-life-according-to-what-i-know-to-be-true-from-the/) [Glen Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-campbell/) > [You have to live your life according to what comforts you, not what the rest of your family thinks you ought to be doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/you-have-to-live-your-life-according-to-what-comforts-you-not-what/) [Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/) > [Would you rather live your life according to the approval of others or aligned with your truth and your dreams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/would-you-rather-live-your-life-according-to-the-approval-of-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She thought that trying to live life according to any plan you actually work out is like trying to buy ingredients for a recipe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/she-thought-that-trying-to-live-life-according-to-any-plan-you/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Life can be lived in rules, but then life becomes superficial. Live life not according to the laws but according to consciousness, awareness. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/life-can-be-lived-in-rules-but-then-life-becomes-superficial-live/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Without realizing it, the individual composes his life according to the laws of beauty even in times of greatest distress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/without-realizing-it-the-individual-composes-his-life-according-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Success is nothing more than living your life according to your own truth and your own terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/success-is-nothing-more-than-living-your-life-according-to-your-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have lived my life according to this principle: If I'm afraid of it, then I must do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-have-lived-my-life-according-to-this-principle-if-i-m-afraid-of-it/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“REMEMBER Do you live your life according to how you want to remember it or how you will be remembered?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-downer/remember-do-you-live-your-life-according-to-how-you-want-to-remember/) [Kitty Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-downer/) ## 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 Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Comparing objects like cars, houses, clothes, and defining life according to those comparisons, instead of trying to discover the real reason for being alive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paulo Coelho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-clothes-and-defining-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-clothes-and-defining-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/paulo-coelho-10_alive_comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-cloth_146164.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/paulo-coelho-10_alive_comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-cloth_146164.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/paulo-coelho-10_alive_comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-cloth_146164.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Comparing objects like cars, houses, clothes, and defining life according to those comparisons, instead of…” — 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": "Comparing objects like cars, houses, clothes,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-clothes-and-defining-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/comparing-objects-like-cars-houses-clothes-and-defining-life/#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 } } ] } ```