How do certain people help Santiago on his journey in The Alchemist?

Santiago is
helped on his journey by many
people. He learns, for example, from the crystal

merchant the importance of cleaning crystals (or doing other simple
tasks) to
clear one's mind and get rid of negative thoughts.

He learns too from the
wisdom of the old man, who is the
King of Salem. The old man tells
him a
"mysterious" truth:

whoever you are, or

whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire
originated
in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth.

He impresses on Santiago the importance of not
giving up on pursuing his personal destiny by
telling him the story of the
man who believed he should dig for a precious gem. This man worked
on a river
bank for five years and came up empty-handed. However, just as he gave up in
anger
and disgust, he threw away the rock that held the precious emerald he
was looking for. This
teaches Santiago not to abandon his search for his
destiny too soon. The king also gives
Santiago the stones Urim
and...