Hamilton-Guarino personalizes the material with exercises, journal prompts (“write freely about how you wish to be remembered”) and other tools crafted to help readers discover their own routes and destinations. She emphasizes collaboration throughout, noting, in one of the many “Stores from the Heart” case studies, that entrepreneurship “requires collaboration, shared wisdom, and a humility that allows for learning from others.” The emphasis on collaboration may surprise readers raised on the myth of the independent genius entrepreneur, though Hamilton-Guarino’s treatment of the subject is nuanced and includes the advice that collaborations can become bitter without mutual respect.
Some material here will be familiar to self-help readers, and The Success Guidebook occasionally is repetitive, though Hamilton-Guarino’s enthusiasm is infectious. She writes like a coach or a friend, someone who has been through what readers might be facing and offers advice born out of experience. Her attitude toward the relationship between money and happiness is interesting, as she recounts learning money’s value the hard way, via a lack of it, but also proposes that money (nor “status, awards … or famous contacts in your phone”) is the key to happiness. Her comments about resilience (“resilience and determination can overcome even the toughest of setbacks”) are especially upbeat and hopeful.
Takeaway: Upbeat guide to charting one’s own long road to success.
Comparable Titles: S.S. Bawa’s Visualizing Success, James McCrae’s The Art of You.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
“Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino hit a home run with this book; you get a blueprint for success and different ways to achieve success. Get your notepad ready as you get a master class with this book.”
This book is a life-line. Absolutely brilliant! It is packed with 80 success tips, stories, journal prompts and somehow the author has managed to seamlessly create a masterclass as well, complete with certification. I added this to my resume. Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino has been one of my favorite self-help authors since she began at Hay House. Her books and information about change, gratitude, compassion, and success have completely changed my life. Highly recommend! Will be recommending our HR department buy copies and bring Elizabeth in to present and do a book-signing.
What resonates with me most about this book is its honest portrayal of life's challenges. It acknowledges that achieving our goals can be a long, winding road full of obstacles, but it emphasizes that these struggles don't define our success. This book is a perfect read for anyone grappling with feelings of "Am I doing enough?" or "Am I enough?" It also addresses the common "I will be happy when" syndrome that many of us experience. I highly recommend this book to C-level executives and new college graduates alike, as it provides a real, behind-the-scenes look at success and offers valuable insights on how to savor the journey.
“Elizabeth helps us understand that success is a concept as unique as the individuals striving to achieve it. This is a must read for all to pursue a life that resonates with your genuine happiness while dismantling the obstacles that have been holding you back.”
Don’t get caught up in the benchmarks and dreams of others. If The Success Guidebook: How to Visualize, Actualize and Amplify You by Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino teaches us anything, it’s that success is a personal thing.
Hamilton-Guarino, a master life coach and founder of The Best Ever You Network with millions of followers, takes readers out of their comfort zones only to guide them back to a place where comfort is everything and success is in the eye of the particular beholder. Everyone is already a success in their own way — by their own definition, once they are able to cultivate that definition and embrace it. And in doing so, readers will understand there’s much more to life than the stereotypical symbols of success such as financial wealth, tangible possessions, fame, adoring followers and power — traditional measures that are often not attainable.
“Success is a profoundly personal word that combines our deepest hopes, dreams and desires all folded under one big umbrella,” says Hamilton-Guarino. “For many years, I have been observing the top factors of success and how they manifest in each of us; why we struggle to identify them, and how we keep them.”
Visualize, Actualize and Amplify
Hamilton-Guarino, similar to her earlier companion book, The Change Guidebook, has created a path to self-assessment and self-evaluation, and a participatory primer breaking the concept of success into visualizing, actualizing and amplifying. Within those three categories, she identifies 10 disciplines and takes a granular approach to evaluating and understanding each of them: Imagine, Believe, Focus, Plan, Ask, Network, Collaborate, Sustain, Adjust and Celebrate.
Along the way, she provides insights into each step, and introduces a number of her friends to share their own stories of how they climbed a mountain and achieved success — people ranging from entertainers, writers and comedians to sports coaches and business executives, even her own son. Together, they paint an inspirational picture of what success looks like.
The book also contains exercises at the end of every chapter, forcing readers to think about their own lives in the context of the particular segment. Their participation ranges from digesting open-ended questions, writing down thoughts and even developing a journal.
The ideas shared by Hamilton-Guarino are “proven tactics of creative action to help you visualize, actualize and amplify excellence and success — and make them last.”
And the rewards are enormous.
That Magical Feeling
“Success has an energy to it,” says the author. “And when you are in the presence of someone who demonstrates it, the construct is palpable … The aura is magnetic.”
The key, says Hamilton-Guarino, is letting truth intersect with infinite possibilities. And it all starts with imagining — if we can see it, we can be it and do it.
Yes indeed, The Success Guidebook teaches us that success is a personal thing. So how does Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino measure success? “For me, true success is reflected in the smiles that brighten our faces and the peace that settles in our hearts.”
Now that’s a formula for success that money can’t buy.
