Words of Wisdom from Hero by Rhonda Byrne
If you loved Rhonda’s book or movie, The Secret, you are going to devour her book, Hero. (And if you haven’t read or watched The Secret – what are you waiting for?!).
Hero is about The Hero’s Journey, and in this case, the hero is you! This book follows the journey of twelve successful people, as they share their advice and words of wisdom on how to overcome obstacles and realise your dreams, helping you to create a road-map to live your greatest life. Here are the learnings and quotes I found most helpful and inspiring…
1. Everyone has a calling, but some of us never realise it
“Every single person who has ever been born or ever will be born comes with some unique talent or ability. It’s the special thing about you that is your calling. Although no human being is born without it, many will live their lives without discovering or living their calling.”
2. This is how to identify your calling
“Your calling is something that moves you like nothing else in life. It’s something you’re attracted to, something you’re passionate about, and it fills you with joy and sets your heart on fire when you do it.”
3. Your hobby can be your calling
“A hobby can be a clue to your calling, because it’s something you’re passionate about and that you make the time to pursue. Plenty of people’s hobbies have turned into big dreams that became big companies.”
4. There is more than one way to fulfil a dream
“You’re never called to follow a dream unless there are multiple ways for you to fulfil it.”
5. Look for the opportunities right in front of you, everyday.
“Opportunities are in front of everybody every day. It’s almost like a train station; everybody is in the station, there are trains that stop in front of people, but they have their eyes closed. They don’t have their eyes open to see and get onto that train. Opportunities are everywhere.” – Anastasia Soare
6. There is no security in life, and that’s a good thing!
“Real security means knowing there is no security, because then you will make sure you live every day of your life to the fullest.”
7. Do what you love, and the money will follow
“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 something small, but as one achieves perfection in what you are doing, everything else will follow.” – G.M. Rao
8. Don’t focus on material things
“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.”
9. Ask yourself, ‘What is my dream, and what is my purpose?’
“Most of us go through life not knowing what our dream is or what our purpose is, because we’ve never made the time to ask ourselves. It’s important people take the time to identify what they love. If you don’t, you’re just a rudderless boat.” – Layne Beachley
10. How to find your direction
“One way of finding out a direction: take two pieces of paper. Write down on one piece of paper what you’re good at, and on the other piece of paper what you’d like to be able to do with your life. And see if you can take those two pages and match things together.” – Peter Burwash
11. Every day, do something that makes you feel good
“Make the choice to do something that makes you feel good on a daily basis. How many people do that? How many people identify what makes them feel good and then commit that time to themselves on a daily basis?” – Layne Beachley
12. Trust your bliss. and follow it
“You can have it all. No matter how unrelated you think your bliss might be to a bigger dream, follow your bliss and follow it with all your heart. Although you can’t see the whole way ahead, your bliss is the thread that will lead you to all of your dreams!”
13. Do this before you fall asleep each night
“The most powerful time to reprogram the subconscious mind is when you’re falling asleep at night. When you’re in that very sleepy state of being half asleep and half awake, plant the thought that you can do anything and you can achieve anything you set your mind to. Your aim is to make that “believing in yourself” thought your last thought before you fall asleep, because the very last thought you think as you’re falling asleep goes straight past the firewall and into your subconscious mind. And when that thought goes past the firewall, the subconscious mind must except it is true.”
14. Learn to relax and shut-down your mind
“Updates can’t be installed while your computer is running lots of other programs – and likewise your subconscious mind can’t receive your vision if your mind is on the run with other things. But when you shut down your mind through relaxation, your vision will be successfully installed.”
15. It’s ok to have down days
“A positive and optimistic attitude doesn’t mean you don’t have occasional down days. You will have some down days. It’s not about the occasional down days, though; it’s about how many of the 24,869 precious days of your life you’re enjoying because of your positive and optimistic attitude.”
16. Practice gratitude
“What’s so great about gratitude is that it gets you outside of yourself. You focus on what you have, you focus on blessings, you focus on other people, and that’s ultimately where fulfilment comes from. When you’re grateful you’re not focusing on you. It stops the misery of me.” – Mastin Kipp
17. It’s ok to take small steps towards your goals
“Realise that it may not come all at once, but if you really want something it’s a cinch by the inch, it’s hard by the yard. Little steps along the way.” – John Paul DeJoria
18. Whatever happens in your life, either appreciate it, or learn from it
“My basic philosophy has been: if something good happens I appreciate it, if something bad happens I see it as a learning process.” – Peter Burwash
19. Look for the opportunity in every situation
“The Chinese have a saying: “Crisis is opportunity.” It’s a truism that every failure contains the seeds of a new opportunity.” – Paul Orfalea
20. Be a humble servant
“Lawrence Rockefeller said that you’ll know you’ve matured in life when you understand that the highest position will you will ever attain is that of a servant; the person who gets comfortable with that is the person who is really going to have a successful life. And the key to being able to be of service to everybody is to be very, very humble. That’s your crown jewel. That’s your final achievement in life; it’s the most important lesson of them all.” Peter Burwash
21. Empower people
“Don’t do anything that a person can easily do for himself or herself. If you do, you will not help them, but you will disempower them. There’s a fine line between helping and disempowering somebody, so help them in ways they cannot easily do for themselves. Inspire them, encourage them, help instil belief in them, and provide them with opportunities so that they can pull themselves out of their current situation. When you do this, you empower them, and there’s nothing greater that any one of us can do than to empower another human being with what they need to fulfil their own life.”
