What were the pros and cons of Santiagos personal journey in The Alchemist?

The disadvantages of
Santiago's personal journey is of course the suffering, challenge and discomfort he experiences.
There is no sense in which this can be ignored, and it is important to remember that what
Santiago does is to step out of his comfort zone and to sacrifice being in a place of security
for striving to achieve his Personal Legend. It is clear that this is not always a happy
experience. However, at the same time the overwhelming message of the text is that what he gains
by risking everything is worth far more than he ever had in the first place, and this is of
course the major advantage to his personal journey. It is important to remember the crystal
merchant and how he acts as a salutory warning to Santiago: he has decided not to risk what he
has for some future and intangible gain, and as a result lives a frustrated life, as this quote
demonstrates:

But you are forcing me to look at wealth and
at horizons that I have never known. Now that I have seen them, and now that I see how immense
my possibilities are, I'm going to feel worse than I did before you arrived. Because I know the
things I should be able to accomplish, and I don't want to do so.

Santiago's example of willing to risk everything, and suffer discomfort and instability
in order to achieve his personal dream is one that acts as a rebuke to the crystal merchant.
Although he has gained great wealth and a measure of security, he lives a frustrated and futile
life, because he has seen how "immense" his possibilities are but has done nothing to
explore them. Although there are significant disadvantages to Santiago's journey therefore, in
the suffering he experiences, what he gains through that journey is of far greater worth than
what he sacrificed and the negatives he experienced. He, unlike the crystal merchant, has had
the courage to take that risk, and it is clear at the end of the book that this is a decision he
does not regret.