It's funny how life sometimes takes you to a place you never expected.

In my case, I graduated at the top of my class at Purdue University. I was Phi Beta Kappa, and my resume was already pages long - chock full of all kinds of extracurricular activities to prove how well-rounded I was.

But, like many recent college graduates, I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. I just knew that I wanted to do something BIG. I dreamed that I would be an executive in charge of the international operations of a Fortune 500 firm, pulling down a six-figure salary and jet setting around the world. Or that I would I be a noted philanthropist - helping to find a cure for cancer, or to solve the problems of world hunger or global warming. Or that I would be an inventor who regularly dreamed up exciting new products that would take the world by storm.

But after I graduated, I soon learned that being #1 in my class, and having the thickest resume and the biggest dreams around didn't translate into instant success. In fact, soon after graduation, I was left with just two career options.

The first option was as a hairnet-wearing muffin server working the morning shift at the local Rise & Shine bakery.

The second option was a position as a secretary for a very small business - and I do mean a very small business. If I accepted this position, I would be working elbow-to-elbow with my new boss - in the crowded garage of his home.

Both jobs paid just minimum wage, and neither offered any benefits or perks or anything more than the promise of a paycheck every two weeks. No six-figure salary. No jet setting around the world. No cure for cancer. No finding a solution for world hunger or global warming.

So much for my dreams.

A recent survey of college freshmen revealed that about 88 percent had plans to go on to graduate or professional school after they received their undergraduate degrees. However, a year after these same students actually graduated, only 24 percent followed up with these plans.

Somewhere along the line, the dreams of these young men and women collided with the reality of life. And if all these collisions were anything like the one I went through after I graduated, I would guess that the scenes of all these accidents were not very pretty.

But I needed a job. I didn't want to move back home - it was time for me to try my wings and fly. Even if it meant flying just a few feet off the ground instead of a mile high.

So I decided to accept the secretary job. I lowered my aspirations and buckled down to a 9-to-5 minimum-wage job working in some guys garage.

Fast forward five years.

I was no longer a secretary, and I was no longer working in a garage. Five years after my ignominious start, I was running my own company that pulled in revenues of more than $1 million a year. I was meeting with top publishers in New York City about the book you hold in your hands. I met and married the man of my dreams, and we together bought a million-dollar home on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We vacationed on private islands and even found the time to take a two-month luxury sabbatical in Spain to recharge our batteries.

While my life has had its ups and downs since then, I am still married to the man of my dreams, I have a beautiful 18-month-old daughter, and I own a business that doesn't just generate more than enough money to keep my family afloat in these difficult economic times, it is my passion.

I personally believe that if you follow the North Star that is your passion, then chances are, you'll end up in a place that is not just good - but remarkable. It worked for me, and it can work for you.

This book is all about understanding that anyone can do what I did. I am no business genius, and I didn't inherit a fat trust fund. While today I have achieved the success that I always dreamed of, there were no guarantees along the way - no safety net. When I was left with just two minimum-wage job options, I took the lesser of two evils and moved on. But instead of letting my dreams die along with my lowered expectations, I kept them alive and nurtured them. And I quietly prepared myself for the day when I would be able to pursue them.

And when that day finally did arrive, I was ready to grasp the gold ring. I didn't shrink from following my passion and I didn't hesitate from fulfilling my true destiny. Make no mistake about it - it wasn't easy to make the leap. I was afraid to leave the comfort of working for someone else. But leap I did, and my life - and the life of my loved ones - has been forever changed for the better.

In the pages that follow, it is my deepest hope that my own journey to remarkable will help you answer the question "What should I do with my life?" Whether you are mid-career and wondering why you're working in an unfulfilling job, or if you are a recent college grad trying to figure out what to do next with your life, or if you've recently been laid off and are now forced to retool your work and your life. Each of us has the potential to be remarkable - the seeds are planted deep within us, just waiting to be watered and brought to life.

In the words of novelist Andre Gide, "One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time."

My challenge to you is to follow your North Star to new lands - to lose sight of the shore and to follow your passion and dreams. The journey to remarkable will take you to places you never expected or imagined - and it will forever change your life for the better.

Sneak Peek - Read The Intro