Born in Hong Kong to a traditional Chinese family, Marilyn Tam was an unlikely candidate for corporate stardom. She rose to the executive suites of Reebok, Nike and others; now, she’s telling “How to Use What You’ve Got” lessons in making the best of who you are to achieve personal, professional success

Whatever qualities you have, no matter how limited or broad that they may be in your own mind, veteran corporate executive Marilyn Tam has set out to show people how to use what they’ve got to achieve their dreams.

Marilyn Tam should know. She was born in Hong Kong, where men dominate the business landscape. Marilyn readily admits that she was not the highest priority in the family. She never aspired to be either a beauty queen or a trophy wife, which was the case for many women while Marilyn was growing up.

Early on in her life, Marilyn recognized that what seemed to be disadvantages in her life were in fact keys to personal and professional freedom. Ultimately, she landed in the U.S. and became the Vice President of Apparel and Accessories for Nike, Inc., and President of the Reebok Apparel and Retail Group. Ms. Tam is also the co-founder of three other corporations, although her road to success also had the proverbial bumps. She is now sharing the secrets to success that she learned from her remarkable journey through her talks, program and her book.

Ms. Tam now resides in Santa Barbara, California and heads her own foundation, the Us Foundation www.usfoundation.org She gives talks and coaches business and non-profit leaders around the world on leadership, strategic planning, diversity, change management and the bottom line benefits of community service. Through her work and life experiences she has identified four basic principles that are essential in realizing goals:

	Truth Tell the truth all the time. Why complicate your life by having to remember lies?
	Partner Make Partners. Find people that support your ideas and endeavors and make them your allies.
	Mistakes Make big mistakes. This way, you can learn from them. Small mistakes are things done carelessly.
	Sword Die by your own sword. Hold on to your convictions and fight for your ideas.

Tam also advises that if you need something you don’t already have to reach your goals, go elsewhere for them. Charisma is a typical example Tam provides. “You need it to get ahead in the world,” she says. “And if you don’t have it, aquire it or go hire it!”

Marilyn Tam has always been passionate about what she wants in life. Passion, along with the aforementioned principles and “using what she’s got,” enables her to “get what she wants” out of life. And she wants to show you, “how to use what you’ve got to get what you want.”

Hear Marilyn in this April 16 interview with Ron Stark.

April 2003 ISBN 1-58872-077-2 Hardcover, $20.00 Buy it at Amazon!