I Got 99 Problems, and My Needs are One

I Got 99 Problems, and My Needs are One

by Samm Zombolo 

A Plentiful Harvest

Terrie Williams

Length: 289 pages

Warner Books

Price: Free (The Library Rocks) 

Terrie Williams is smart. This became incredibly apparent to me about three chapters into A Plentiful Harvest. She has taken so much insight from the world and has given that wisdom back to us in the form of simple journal instructions that have me looking at so many of my life decisions in a completely new way.

The chapter that affected me most was Week 16: Understanding Needs, Wants and Desires. Like she said, “desires blend needs with the feel-good wants.” Never before had I thought of desires as an “emotionally charged want” but Webster’s should really look at adding that to the definition of desire.

Below is the link to the definition of desire:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desire

I enjoyed this chapter the most because it went beyond saving money, it was compelling because this chapter could change me; it made me question my actions in life more than any other chapter. I lived in one of the nicest apartment complexes in Norman but would I be as equally happy in a cheaper and smaller apartment? The answer: yes. It became apparent in this chapter, and throughout the book that I need to start making good decisions with my money, relationships and life now. If I start now on seeing the differences between wants and needs, I will have a lot less mistakes to look back on.

After reading up on Williams, I understood why she wrote this book. Growing up with dysthymia she hid her needs behind a mask of hard work and dedication to others. I think she wrote this book for herself as well as her public. The book makes you look at yourself, how your actions, feelings and emotions affect how you are portrayed. I think when she wrote Week 16: Understanding Needs, Wants and Desires, she was thinking about how she lived most of her life doing wants over needs. She needed to understand herself and the disease that controlled her but rather than doing so ignored her needs and fulfilled wants and desires.

PBS posted this interview and I think it gives more insight on Williams than any other biography will.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/depression/faces-terrie.html

Williams has always been a compassionate person, working hard in both professional and personal life to make others successful and happy. But today she goes above and beyond by mentoring students as the take on the challenge of life. What I found so interesting as she has taken her mistakes and made them into positives for others. From her interview this really stuck:

“My advice is to be honest with yourself. Tell somebody. It's clear to me that when we share our stories - the good, the bad, the real - it gives us strength. It lets us know that we're not standing on the ledge alone, and it encourages us to face our own truth.”

I think this quote embodies her entire book. And on top her three successful books she has written, Plentiful Harvest, The Personal Touch and Stay Strong, she also runs an incredibly successful PR firm whose clients have been Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson and even P Diddy.

Basically this lady is a badass.

The book looks at what makes a life not only balances but successful. Called the seven Kwanzaa-inspired virtues, Williams looks at: calling, thrift, responsibility, community, love, spirituality and creativity. I think before going into this book readers need to understand it is a self-help book. The end of the book doesn’t mean you WILL BE a better person rather it brings lite to how she thinks you should look at life. And before reading the book: people should now when they answer the questions she posses, they will feel like crap but in the end the books allows you to truly evaluate yourself and become a better you.

In the end the book was good but I would never have read it if it wasn’t assigned. I like to think of myself as a forger, like Williams was through her early adulthood. She made mistakes through her life and now look where she is now. I think this book made it as far as it did because of the author. She is a huge name in the PR world and is becoming a huge influence in many Fortune 500 companies. If her name wasn’t behind this book, it wouldn’t not have the same readership.