says many people told him to take the legal job offer to pay off his debt . They advised him to pursue his passion of acting later . His Uncle Frank recognized he was only looking at the legal job for the salary . '' ` Let me tell you , if you 're ever making a decision and the principle reason you 'll do it is because of money , then it is absolutely the incorrect decision , ' '' Harper said his uncle advised . Harper emphasizes that money can be a factor , but it should not be the primary one . `` I went on to take a job waiting tables from 11 at night to 7 in the morning at a diner . Fighting rush hour traffic to get home by 8 to go to sleep . Wake up at noon or 1 to audition for films and go to acting class in the evening and maybe come home and get a nap between 9:30 and 10 and go to work again at 11 , '' he said . `` I certainly was n't making as much money as I would have at a law
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Actor and author Hill Harper wants you to live your life and understand what true wealth is . `` The word courage , one of my favorite words , the root or the etymology of that word is ` cour , ' which means heart , '' he said . `` I think true courage is actually following your heart and not getting or succumbing to what other people 's definition of what your life should be . Live your life . '' Harper , who once wanted to be a professional football player , tells me the story of how he accomplished that himself , thanks to the advice of an uncle . `` I had all this student loan debt , and I had this six-figure legal job offer in corporate law coming out of Harvard Law School . There were job opportunities there , particularly out of this high-end law firm , '' he said . Harper has a bachelor of arts degree from Brown University , where he studied acting , and a masters in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government , which is a part of Harvard . He