Excerpt Credit: Hero by Rhonda Byrne/Atria Books 

Don’t let money and security dictate your choices in life. Life continually changes; companies change hands, go bankrupt, or relocate overseas, jobs are lost, or economic collapse brings about massive cutbacks. You can lose your job, your savings, and your house. Marriages can end, health challenges can appear, and circumstances can arise that throw the security you thought you had out the door. I chose financial security over following my dreams, and when I was fired, I was clearly shown that the security I thought I had was all in my mind. Real security means knowing there is no security, because then you will make sure you live every day of your life to the fullest.

MASTIN KIPP
Family and friends, while they love you and while they want what’s best for you, unless you have a kick-ass mom or dad or a kick-ass environment that you grew up in, generally they’re going to want you to take the financially safe path where there’s certainty and safety.

MICHAEL ACTON SMITH
As painful as it might be in the short term to step away from the security and a job that is paying well, you’ve got decades of life to live. You might as well suffer a bit of short-term pain to find something you love, even at a lower salary. Because if you do a job you love, you will end up being successful in so many other ways.

G. M. RAO
Don’t let less money let you compromise on what you love to do. What you excel in will definitely bring you that very prosperity and security you need. Maybe the start would be small, but as one achieves perfection in what you are doing, everything else will follow.

Being trapped by security can happen to anyone; there are many people making a lot of money whose work is a grind to them, and they’re as unfulfilled and unhappy as those making a lot less money.

LAIRD HAMILTON
What is money for you? If it’s the goal then it will be the ruler of you – it’ll dictate your movements and it’ll control you.

Material things are wonderful, and experiencing them is one of the great pleasures of living on earth, but through the conditioning of society we can be misled into thinking that the accruement of material things is the purpose of our life. If material things were the purpose of our life they would provide true happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction, and we’d never need to buy another thing. The happiness we feel when we get those things wouldn’t be fleeting, but would be everlasting.

If accruing material things were our purpose in life, we would be able to take them with us when we leave. You would walk outside to get the paper in the morning and see that old man Joe’s house across the street disappeared because he took it with him. We can’t take material things with us because they are not who we are; while they are part of the joy of living on earth, they are not the purpose of our life.

LAYNE BEACHLEY
It was tough, it was challenging, and I sacrificed a lot, but I made those sacrifices out of choice, because following my dream of becoming a world champion was way more important to me than earning money.

We all need food, shelter, and clothing, but the pursuit of material things for their sake alone robs us of the freedom to live a truly fulfilling life. Don’t let the tail wag the dog by making security and the pursuit of material things the purpose of your life instead of following your dreams. The irony is that when you do choose to follow your dreams over security, you will have it all, material riches and a rich, fulfilling life.

In addition, you receive something that money can never buy; you will have the greatest feeling of accomplishment, fulfillment, and satisfaction. Of course you will always want to do more and continue to build on your dreams, but when you experience that feeling of absolute fulfillment from taking the Hero’s Journey, you’ll be in no doubt that it was what you were born to do. And all that you gain within from fulfilling your purpose is what you do take with you when you leave.

Don’t get to the end of your life and regret all the things you didn’t do. Your life is precious. If you sell yourself out you won’t find the happiness you desperately seek, because true happiness comes from fulfilling your dreams. Imagine what it would be like to get to the end of your life with no regrets. Imagine reflecting back on everything you did, and you are filled with the greatest feeling of satisfaction.

LIZ MURRAY
You know that saying, “Don’t die with your music still inside of you”? People have things they dream of when they lay their head on the pillow at night. And if you don’t honor that voice, it doesn’t go anywhere. It’s an energy that lives inside of you. You can’t negate that energy. It’s part of the fiber of who you are as a person. So if you put your head down on the pillow at night and you are called to do something in this world and you ignore that, then that dream is still locked inside of you. To me that’s the worst thing… to die with your music inside of you.

A friend of mine worked for many years in the administration area of television, and through changes in the company she worked for she was pushed out of her job. She knew what she wanted to do more than anything, which was to be a movie director, and she started to make plans for a new life of living her dream. But just before she had seized the opportunity and put her new life into action as a movie director, she was offered a well-paying job back in television administration. She took the job, and just like that her dreams and the possibility of her new life vanished.

MICHAEL ACTON SMITH
I don’t want to get to the end of my life and be sitting in a nursing home and look back and wish I could have done all these things differently.

ANASTASIA SOARE
What do you have to lose? You have to try it. You’ll then live a life without knowing that you were able to do it. That’s painful... to me, that’s painful.

PAUL ORFALEA
I always tell students to start your business out of college. What’s the worst thing that can happen to you? You can go live with your parents. It is not about experience - just stick your neck out and start your business.

MASTIN KIPP
Most people won’t take the leap, because they’re not experiencing enough pain. Usually they will take action once they’re so fed up, once they’re so sick and tired, that they’re like, “I can’t take this anymore.”

PAUL ORFALEA
Even if you’re stuck in a job or a profession you don’t like, you’ve got a better shot than ever in human history to end up doing something that really satisfies you.

Don’t wait until you get to the point where you can’t take it anymore before you make a change. Change your life now! Anything but true happiness and fulfillment is not good enough for you, so don’t settle for anything less. Even if you think the tentacles of security have already wrapped themselves around you and you can’t move because of your obligations, it’s never too late – there are always unlimited ways to follow your dreams, and it is much easier than you think.

For more information on Hero click here.