The other day, I watched Disney’s movie *Hercules* with my children.

It’s a story based on Greek mythology, but when the movie ended, what struck me most was
“This is very close to the Buddhist idea of awakening.”

I also felt it connects strongly to how we work and earn money,
so I’d like to share a few reflections here.

Summary: Working From Love, Not Fear – Lessons from “Hercules”

I’ll walk through these points in more detail below.

External Success Alone Does Not Make You a Hero

Hercules is born as the son of the god Zeus, but due to a certain incident he ends up growing up as a human.
From there he begins to search for a way to “return to the gods.”
The condition Zeus gives him is very simple:

“Become a true hero.”

That is where Hercules’ journey begins.

He gains strength, defeats monsters, and helps people.
He becomes famous, earns wealth, and is loved by the city.

In other words, he achieves one “external success” after another.

Yet even after all of this, Zeus tells him:

“You are still not a true hero.”

At that moment, a line from a Buddhist scripture came to mind:

“Even if coins were to rain down from the sky, desire would still not be satisfied.”

—from the Dhammapada

Money, Fame, Popularity – Even If You Collect Them All…

To me, the movie illustrates this truth in a very accessible way.

Wealth and fame alone cannot make someone a true hero.

Hercules becomes someone who is praised by many.
He hones his power, works harder than anyone else, and repeatedly throws himself into danger.

From a conventional perspective, almost anyone would call him a “hero.”

And yet, Zeus still says, “Not yet.”
I think this is because Hercules was trying to become a hero purely through “external achievements.”

• Fame
• Popularity
• Money
• Track record
• Praise

These are visible achievements and easy-to-understand symbols of success.
But in the end, they are simply “standards defined by others.”

As Buddhism points out, no matter how many external rewards you pile up, there is no end—
you remain stuck in the cycle of “more, more, more.”

Perhaps Hercules himself sensed this mismatch.

“I’ve worked this hard and finally been recognized… so why can’t I return to the world of the gods?”
That confusion shows on his face.

No matter how perfectly you arrange the outside, you cannot become a “true hero” if the inside is unchanged.

That’s the message I felt in that scene.

A True Hero Acts from Love, Not Fear

At the end of the story, Hercules offers his own life to protect the person he loves (Meg).

He doesn’t do it for reward, recognition, or applause.
He acts simply because he wants to protect her.

As a result, he becomes a true hero and earns the right to return to the world of the gods.

In that moment,
Hercules is no longer acting from fear, but from love.

In Buddhism, fear and attachment are said to produce suffering.
When we act with a more altruistic heart, we naturally feel more at peace.

Perhaps “awakening” is not the result of some special training,
but a shift into seeing and acting from a base of love.

It is not external success but the inner state of mind that makes someone a hero.

That is the simple truth I felt this story was pointing to.

Work Is the Same: Fear-Based Effort Exhausts You, Love-Based Effort Fulfills You

While watching Hercules, I naturally started thinking about work.

Even if the goal is “to earn money,”
your experience of working changes completely depending on where your actions are coming from.

When You Work from Fear…

If you try to earn money from fear, your thoughts easily become:

“I have to make more.”
“If things stay like this, I’m in trouble.”
“I need numbers to prove my worth.”

(This was exactly how I felt in the early days of my business.)

It can fuel you for a while, but over time it wears you down.
No matter what you achieve, you never feel truly safe.

This is very close to what Buddhism calls 渇愛（Katsu ai）,
meaning a craving that is never satisfied.
Even when you seem fulfilled for a moment, you quickly start searching for the next “lack.”
It’s an endless loop.

When You Work from Love…

In contrast, when you work from love, the same actions feel very different.

• What would truly help the person in front of me most right now?
• How can I use my strengths to deliver more genuine value?
• What support can I offer so that the future of the people I care about becomes better?

This approach is driven not by external evaluation, but by an inner motive.
You don’t feel like quitting, and the more you continue, the calmer your mind becomes.

And interestingly, such “love-based actions” tend to come back as sales, trust, and opportunities—naturally, over time.
(I’ve experienced this myself.)

Money then becomes not a primary goal, but a byproduct.
It is simply a “side effect” of how wholeheartedly you were able to act with love.

Three Keys to Earning Money from Love, Not Fear

After experiencing every form of external success,
Hercules finally realizes what truly matters.

I feel that this maps directly onto the way we work.

Here are three points I see as especially important for working from a base of love.

1. See the Person in Front of You

When we fixate on numbers and results, it becomes harder to see what the client is actually feeling.
What is this person genuinely looking for?
Focusing there with care is ultimately the shortest route to real value creation.

2. Anchor Yourself in Your Inner Integrity, Not in External Evaluation

What matters more than praise is whether you can stay true to your own sense of honesty.
That’s what allows you to keep working in a sustainable way.

3. Look Beyond Results to the Heart Behind Your Actions

In the end, Hercules is recognized not just for what he did, but for the heart with which he acted.
I think the same is true of our work.

Time spent acting from love quietly accumulates inside of us.
At some point, that inner accumulation inevitably shows up as tangible results.

In the End: Will You Work from Fear, or from Love?

The story of Hercules is not just about someone with special skills or talents.

Whether we fight from fear or choose from love
makes a huge difference in the quality of our lives.

If you keep chasing only external evaluations and achievements, you will eventually feel suffocated.

If instead you keep choosing based on love, your heart naturally becomes more settled, and what you truly need tends to appear later.

Perhaps awakening is not about accomplishing something grand,
but about repeatedly choosing actions that quietly fill your own heart while caring for others—
thinking of those you love, standing beside someone in need, one moment at a time.

When you look at your own work:

Will you base it on fear,
or will you base it on love?