Customer Reviews

How to Use What You've Got to Get What You Want

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Excellent/Straight Forward tips for people who wish to develop successful careers and meaningful lives simultaneously. The author clearly states that identifying a personal mission statement is key and she outlines a formula/action plan that is remarkably clear and one that can be followed very easily.

Author has achieved great results at the very highest level in both the business and philanthropic world so therefore those diverse and personal experiences of her own life are interesting to read about and those experiences validate the principles and action points that serve as guide.

Inspirational quotes from other great leaders are positioned throughout the book to help bring home the case in point. These quotes tie in with the theme of every chapter or the action points listed at the end of every chapter.

I like this book as compared to others that I have read of similar nature because it flows very nicely from beginning to end. There appears to be a great deal of energy at directing and inspiring others to take some of their own worthy ideas and put them to good use.

Recommend this for all ages: for people who are establishing themselves after high school or college graduation, for those who may be in transition or who wish to seek a new direction; and for successful people who seek the courage to continue on the path of true fulfillment.

This book is easy and enjoyable to read and at the same time offers simple truths for success. The title says it all. The best part is that it can be referenced as we transition through the changing seasons of our lives.
It is as good for a high school student pondering a career as it is for someone considering a second or third career. Mainly it offers everyone that reads it the guidelines for a happy and meaningful life.

Women have a hard time in business. Lots of business books for women focus on the fluff: the suit, the hair, the shoes.
This book focuses on the person, and how to. It focuses on the work and doesn't leave out the spiritual side.
Interview at www.firstvoicebooks.com/tam.html
The reason I didn't give it five stars was I wish it had been a bigger book, going into greater depth and specifics. But it was good.

According to an old Chinese proverb, "When the student is ready the teacher will come." This is exactly how I felt while reading Marilyn Tam's book, How to Use What You've Got To Get What You Want. While many business books inspire vision, or action, or discuss the nuts and bolts of different aspects of business development, Marilyn's book is different. Though she does all these things in her positive and inspiring book, she takes it a step further by describing the journey of business creation as one that is deeply personal and requires intelligence, knowledge and talent.

As if this isn't enough, the design of this book is brilliant. Each chapter contains clearly written and doable "Action Points" which helps the reader implement the material immediately. This is just another example of the depth of understanding that the author possesses. Aware of the hectic lives we all lead, Marilyn created a workable way of helping readers to quickly digest this valuable information.

Perhaps the most important aspects of How To Use What You've Got To Get What You Want are the integrity and ethics that resonate throughout the book. Current business texts often stresses monetary success over "doing what is right." It is inspiring to read about a prosperous woman who places morals as the source from which her energy flows.

Along with the spiritual and personal overtones of the book are "hard" business recommendations. For example statements such as, "To thrive in life and in business, you need integrity, heart, intuition, and tenacity," are balanced with others lik, "You have to do the research and determine that there is a demand for and feasibility to your dream before you start to build the product or services to meet the demand." The weaving together of philosophy and pragmatic guidance makes this book essential reading for every woman who desires a life with breadth, meaning and passion.

Karen Kahn Wilson, EdD PCC
Executive Coach

I'll be brief and candid: self help books rarely inspire me and business books rarely fail to uninspire. In "How to Use What You've Got to Get What You Want" Marilyn has achieved that rare balance of inspiration grounded in practical, real world applications.
Her four guiding principles are easy to visualize, use, and learn from. In this her first book, she has somehow struck a rich accord of inspiring anectdotes, quotes and testimonials with proven business principles. Bravo Marilyn. I can't wait to read the next book!

An execellent refresher course on how to lead a principled life and use your own strenghts and even weaknesses to accomplish whatever it is you want. Tam reinforces what most successful people already know, but in a way that rejuvinates and validates their own paradigms.
For those just entering adult life, it's a fantastic road map to guide tough decisions you will encounter. Tell the truth, partner, live by the sword and make big mistakes allows the freedom and yet the fortitude to do the right thing for you and the world.
Financially successful people who feel unfulfilled will get some insight from someone who has both.
A quick read and good reference to pull out when conflictions arise.

There are hundreds of business books that suggest ways to succeed in business. There are far less that reveal how to live a successful life in and out of business. In How to Use What You've Got to Get What You Want, Marilyn Tam reveals her secret recipe for living an authentic and ethically driven life that won't leave you asking, "is that all there is?" at the end of yours.

HTGWYW is based on a foundation of four principles: always telling the truth; partnership; being willing to make mistakes as part of the learning process (and there are plenty to learn from in the book), and dying by your own sword or standing on your convictions.

The book goes on to explore Marilyn's personal and business life to reveal how she applied her foundational principles. In a simple sentence Marilyn suggests how to thrive in life and business. "You need integrity, heart, intuition and tenacity."

Derived from her many years with Nike, Reebok, Aveda and other companies she felt in tune with including her own non-profit, The Us Foundation, (There is no them, just us), this book is a treasure chest of great practical ideas based on real world experience told in a passionate way. In today's world where business corruption and deception seem to be the norm rather than the exception, it's rare to find business ethics and personal growth combining to make a difference in the world but that is what Marilyn has spent her life doing. Her mission drives her life and her passion and brilliance at living it jump off the pages and into your heart and mind if you are ready. This little book is a valuable tool and prescription for living an authentic and soul satisfying life and I heartily recommend it along with Mark Albion's Making a Life, Making a Living as books that will help you live a deep and meaningful life in a world far too often focused on the externalities of life at the expense of our inner wisdom.

Jeff Hutner
Producer, The Illuminators

Marilyn Tam is a true visionary. Her most profound accomplishments lie beyond the normal hallmarks of being a successful businesswoman, and can be found in her deep wisdom,remarkable clarity and generosity of spirit. This book is more than just a powerful guide for dreamers and doers--it is an infusion of inspiration and encouragement that will uplift any reader and make him or her grateful to have read this wonderful book. This is someone who is truly successful inside and out!!

Reviewed by :
Dr. Barbara De Angelis, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author,
How Did I Get Here? Finding Your Way to Renewed Hope and Happiness When Life and Love Take Unexpected Turns

The ulimate "self-help" and pragmatic.

THERE ARE MANY BOOKS THAT PURPORT TO HELP ANYONE GET ANTHING THEY TRULY WANT. HOWEVER, THERE'S A REASON ADVANCED PRAISE FOR THIS BOOK READS LIKE A WHO'S WHO OF POWERFUL LEADERSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY. RANGING FROM THE FOUNDER OF AVEDA AND THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE M.K.GANDHI INSTITUTE FOR NONVIOLENCE TO JOAN BORYSENKO,PH.D AND BEN COHEN (OF BEN & JERRY'S,) ALL RECOGNIZE THIS IS NOT A BOOK OF PLATITUDES BUT OF TRUTH. FOR EXAMPLE, WHILE MANY AUTHORS IDENTIFY TELLING THE TRUTH AS A MORAL IMPERATIVE, CAUSING THEIR READERS TO NOD THEIR HEADS WITH A PERFUNCTORY "OF COURSE," MARILYN TAM RELATES TELLING THE TRUTH TO THE WORLD WE RECOGNIZE AND IDENTIFY WITH:"OFTEN, WE SAY WHAT WE THINK OTHERS WANT TO HEAR TO KEEP THEM HAPPY. WHEN THE TRUTH COMES OUT LATER, EVERYONE IS UNHAPPY. MORE IMPORTANT, THERE IS LESS TIME TO FIX WHATEVER YOU WERE AFRAID TO SAY IN THE FIRST PLACE." READING THAT LAST SENTENCE, I DIDN'T JUST NOD BUT PAUSED TO THINK ABOUT THAT INSIGHT. AND THAT'S JUST ONE TINY EXAMPLE OF WHAT I FOUND SO THOUGHT-PROVOKING ABOUT THIS FASCINATING BOOK. Margaret Lobenstine, M.A. (author of Random House/Doubleday/Broadway's forthcoming SECRETS OF THE RENAISSANCE SOUL: How to Make "Too Many Interests" Work For You.