Fear is an emotion that negatively influences people to shy away from their plans. Throughout the novel, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, many characters are overcome by fear and, more specifically, fear of loss and fear of the future. Coelho repeatedly shows that by overcoming these fears, people free themselves from the limitations of fear and are therefore willing to act on their dreams. For starters, the fear of losing things or loved ones presents people with dilemmas that affect the continuation of their journey. and they can get around these dilemmas only by eliminating fear altogether. For starters, Santiago's fear of losing everything he has already earned makes him doubt his plans and thus discourages him from continuing his journey. Santiago expresses his doubts by stating that his “'heart is a traitor…it doesn't want [him] to move on.' “It makes sense,” the alchemist replied. 'Of course [he is] afraid that, in pursuing [a] dream, [a person] might lose everything [he] [has] won'” (Coelho 145). Over the course of the novel, Santiago learns to always listen to his heart, but in this situation, if he did, it would mean abandoning his journey. The alchemist encourages Santiago to abandon this fear by stating that it is normal to be afraid, but it is not normal to give up a dream because of a feeling. Santiago's best solution in this situation is to completely conquer his fear of loss and erase the doubts in his mind for a smoother journey. Subsequently, the fear of losing his life in the middle of the journey makes Santiago wonder whether it is worth risking his life to pursue a dream. Santiago learns how to handle this situation as “the camel driver had said [once], dying tomorrow [is] no worse than dying on any other… medium of paper… it is only there in an attempt to lead him astray because fear suffering is worse than the action itself, which never happens when you chase your dreams anyway. Therefore, the fear of future suffering should be overcome as it is nothing but a burden on one's life. Therefore, fear of the future must be overcome because people do not know whether what they fear will actually happen. In conclusion, Coelho shows that people are more willing to act on their dreams if they overcome their fears. The two most important fears that should be overcome are the fear of losing loved ones or things and the fear of what the future holds. In the end, fear is really just an obstacle in life; it controls people and makes them believe things that are not necessarily true and the only way to get rid of these thoughts is to get rid of the fear itself.