4 Celebrities With Big Dreams, Bigger Payoffs

By Erin Joyce

When you set out to find a career, it seems there are two warring camps you have to decide between: doing something you love or doing something that pays well. The dream, of course, is to find something that fulfills both goals, and it is possible. Here are four big names that made it by following their hearts, and ended up filling their wallets.

"Never move out of your truth." - Jillian Michaels

The ferocious trainer from NBC's The Biggest Loser went from (in her words) fat kid to fit kid. She revealed at an eDiets.com conference that she left high school at age 17 to start training others. At age 24, she decided she needed a "real job" and went to work as a motion picture packaging agent, a job she says made her wake up every morning and "wish for death."