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Article by Speaker Marilyn Tam. Find out more about Marilyn.

Q&A with Author, successful entrepreneur, corporate leader and respected philanthropist, Marilyn Tam, courtesy of Feedback Magazine.

Marilyn shows readers the competitive advantage in making sound assessments about life and career choices in her book, How to Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want. Born in Hong Kong to parents who really wanted a son,she was an unlikely candidate to climb the international corporate ladder while still in her 30s. She also founded several businesses and started her own international charitable trust, the Us Foundation. In a recent interview for ADA Feedback readers,Tam shared some insights on how her principles of Discovering Your Life Mission and Getting Partners to Help can give you the velocity you need to move forward in your professional life and achieve extraordinary success.

Feedback: You talk a lot about a “Life Mission.”How can you best discover this?
Tam: Finding your mission is a discovery process.You need to discover who YOU are and what you care about.Know what it is that you truly desire - then you can focus on obtaining it.Create opportunities to reflect on your inner guidance through art, nature, reflection and meditation. Allow regular opportunities to detach from technology and tune in to your inner self. Discover what you have real passion for. That is critical to your mission and your success.

Feedback: What is the importance in developing a life mission in making key decisions about work and career?
Tam:Your inner mission is your North Pole. It is what guides your every business and personal decision. It keeps you centered, at peace and on track to live the life you want. This is the filter by which you assess the wisdom and prudence of all possibilities. Before making a decision, ask “How will this affect my ability to live my mission?” Ultimately, living and working by your mission makes your life easier and more fun.

Feedback: It seems that everything worthwhile in life requires serious thought and effort to produce. Discovering your mission is no exception.Perhaps even more challenging is to determine what “you’ve got”that will ultimately help you “get what you want.”
Tam: Assessing what you have is fundamental to the process. It requires that you be completely truthful and search your soul for what will make you happy.You must go deep in order to know what constitutes a good life, not what others expectations are for you. Once you know what YOU want, you can better align your talents and skills to focus on achieving it. This self knowledge becomes the basis for what you’ve got - the motivation and desire to pursue your passion in life.

Feedback: For an entrepreneur or someone in the profession of audiology who is thinking of starting his/her own practice, what guidance do you give?
Tam:This is a big and meaningful goal, you need help.Make partners. Enlist people in your audiology business community along with family and friends to support you in your goals. Talk with others you assess as important to your career and show them how they can also benefit from your mission. Engage them as partners in your ambition and dreams.

Feedback: In our society we’ve always been taught that hard work alone is enough to enable us to realize our dreams. You seem to think that there’s more to success than that. Please explain.
Tam: You can’t accomplish nearly as much on your own as you can by enlisting the help of others.Your network of help is critical to your success. Surround yourself with those who have the capacity to help you. Have valuable conversations, ask the hard questions to people who have the history and experience to provide powerful answers, before you embark on a new venture.

Feedback: In your own life you’ve experienced what it is like to overcome obstacles and actually turn them into opportunities. Do you have any coaching for readers who are having difficulty with obstacles keeping them from what they want?
Tam: Always be open to possibilities regardless of circumstances.The minute you become discouraged, you close down possibilities. You don’t see “How to Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want”because you are gripped by negative thinking. Remain flexible and open while in pursuit of your passion. There is not one “right” answer, don’t let a narrow view close down possibilities.Always be open to the thinking that there may be a better way. It’s never too late to let your aspirations soar and take action that will bring you closer to your true professional potential. When people see how your mission can also benefit them and the world, you will be widely supported in making your dreams come true.

The Hard Questions

1. Is this truly in line with my mission?
2. Who is this going to serve?
3. Is there a large enough customer base?
4. Am I prepared to do what this requires of me?
5. What am I prepared to risk for this?
6. Can I get the resources necessary to accomplish this?
7. Can I get the support I need to do it?
8. How long is this going to take and what if it takes much longer?
9. Who else is doing this? If no one else is doing this, why?

Copyright © Marilyn Tam, All Rights Reserved