--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The boy thought it a strange question…" description: "\"“The boy thought it a strange question. But he trusted in the old man, who had said that, when you really want something, the universe always conspires..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/206/paulo-coelho-10_old-man_the-boy-thought-it-a-strange-question-bu_2767373.jpg" --- # The boy thought it a strange question. But he trusted in… ![“The boy thought it a strange question. But he trusted in the old man, who had said that, when you really want something, the universe always conspires in your favor.” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/206/paulo-coelho-10_old-man_the-boy-thought-it-a-strange-question-bu_2767373.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/206/paulo-coelho-10_old-man_the-boy-thought-it-a-strange-question-bu_2767373.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/206/paulo-coelho-10_old-man_the-boy-thought-it-a-strange-question-bu_2767373.jpg) > ““The boy thought it a strange question. But he trusted in the old man, who had said that, when you really want something, the universe always conspires in your favor.”” [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. When you truly desire something, the universe aligns circumstances to help you achieve it. **In simple terms:** Deep desire draws supportive forces. Key Takeaway Trust your aspirations and act. Themes hope destiny faith universal law Mood optimistic inspired Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - relationship goals - creative projects - spiritual practice Key Concepts Law of attraction intentionality Questions to Reflect On - What do you truly want? - How can you recognize the universe’s help? A Different Perspective Desire alone does not guarantee success; effort is still required. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boy Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boy-thought-313932/) [Conspires Favor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspires-favor-3216088/) [Man Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-said/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Question Trusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-trusted-3216089/) [Universe Conspires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-conspires/) ## Related quotes > [The Warrior of the light knows that when somebody wants something, the whole Universe conspires in their favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-warrior-of-the-light-knows-that-when-somebody-wants-something-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“when you really want something, the universe always conspires in your favor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-you-really-want-something-the-universe-always-conspires-in-your/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The man said, "The toy cars are a dollar a piece". The boy thought about that a moment and asked, "How much for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-leckman/the-man-said-the-toy-cars-are-a-dollar-a-piece-the-boy-thought-about/) [Neil Leckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-leckman/) > [“There must be a language that doesn’t depend on words, the boy thought… He was learning lots of new things. Some of them were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/there-must-be-a-language-that-doesn-t-depend-on-words-the-boy-thought/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When he had gone only a short distance, he realized that, while they were erecting the stall, one of them had spoken Arabic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-he-had-gone-only-a-short-distance-he-realized-that-while-they/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“People say strange things, the boy thought. Sometimes it's better to be with sheep who don’t say anything at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-say-strange-things-the-boy-thought-sometimes-it-s-better-to-be/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“But the boy was quiet. He was at home with the silence of the desert, and he was content just to look at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/but-the-boy-was-quiet-he-was-at-home-with-the-silence-of-the-desert/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Death doesn't change anything, the boy thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/death-doesn-t-change-anything-the-boy-thought/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The world speaks many languages, the boy thought”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-speaks-many-languages-the-boy-thought/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation and when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-realize-one-s-destiny-is-a-person-s-only-real-obligation-and-when/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The universe conspires to help the dreamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-universe-conspires-to-help-the-dreamer/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When you want something, he entire universe conspires to help you achieve it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-you-want-something-he-entire-universe-conspires-to-help-you/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When you want something, all the universe conspires to achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-you-want-something-all-the-universe-conspires-to-achieve-it/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-you-want-something-all-the-universe-conspires-in-helping-you-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-you-really-want-something-to-happen-the-whole-universe-conspires/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## 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 Old man quotes > [“You’d better keep her tied.” “Why?” A yawn stretched Hunter’s dark face. “Because she’s looking skittish.” “She’s naked.” Sheathing his knife, Hunter flopped on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/you-d-better-keep-her-tied-why-a-yawn-stretched-hunter-s-dark-face/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Therefore, brethren, pray until God gives us revelation so that "knowing this" in our spirit we may truly confess "that our old man has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/therefore-brethren-pray-until-god-gives-us-revelation-so-that-knowing/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [My old man was ruthless. He terrorised us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hunt/my-old-man-was-ruthless-he-terrorised-us/) [Mark Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hunt/) > [There was an Old Man of Messina, Whose daughter was named Opsibeena; She wore a small wig, and rode out on a pig, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lear/there-was-an-old-man-of-messina-whose-daughter-was-named-opsibeena/) [Edward Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lear/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“IN the year 1888 Herr von Pasenow was seventy, and there were people who felt an extraordinary and inexplicable repulsion when they saw him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/in-the-year-1888-herr-von-pasenow-was-seventy-and-there-were-people/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [“He wants to dream like a young man with the wisdom of a old man, he wants his home and securities, he wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-seger/he-wants-to-dream-like-a-young-man-with-the-wisdom-of-a-old-man-he/) [Bob Seger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-seger/) > [The true love suddenly broken, not only but like the old man who has lost the stick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-true-love-suddenly-broken-not-only-but-like-the-old-man-who-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. How many 118 year old men do you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-cryer/i-m-59-and-people-call-me-middle-aged-how-many-118-year-old-men-do/) [Barry Cryer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-cryer/) > [The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a grump-looking old man with a great deal of a long gray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-barman-sidled-toward-them-out-of-a-back-room-he-was-a-grump/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-don-t-get-to-choose-if-you-get-hurt-in-this-world-old-man-but-you/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A tall, thin old man waving a scorecard from the corner of his dugout. That's baseball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-harwell/a-tall-thin-old-man-waving-a-scorecard-from-the-corner-of-his-dugout/) [Ernie Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-harwell/) > [God has given this way of life to Israel: to abstain from everything which is contrary to nature, that is to say, anger, fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poemen/god-has-given-this-way-of-life-to-israel-to-abstain-from-everything/) [Poemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poemen/) [Browse all 2,184 Old man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The boy thought it a strange question. 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