Living on A Smile

16 Ways to Live a Big Life and Lead with Love

Non-Fiction - Occupational
204 Pages
Reviewed on 09/27/2022
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Author Biography

Jo Ann is a recovering corporate chief marketing officer. This book is a celebration of family, friends and mentors who helped along the way. Each chapter gives the reader a chance to "pause" and reflect after each chapter and provides tools to guide your passion, purpose, positivity, planning and pivoting and pursuits.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Joe Wisinski for Readers' Favorite

Living On A Smile: 16 Ways to Live a Big Life and Lead with Love is an accumulation of wisdom from a successful corporate executive. Jo Ann Herold started at the bottom in the food service industry and worked her way to the top. She shares what she learned in this book. Some of the chapter titles are “Progress - Go For It, Go Get It,” “Positivity: Be a Positive Light in the World,” and “Practice Joy, Feel Happiness.” The book is interactive in that readers are often asked to fill in their values, goals, and personal thoughts. There are what Herold calls “GoGos,” or personal to-do lists, at the end of each chapter, which readers are encouraged to complete. There are also ditties, which are fun, and creative summaries of that chapter’s teaching. Herold makes use of bulleted lists and charts for easy reading and effective explanations of her concepts.

I enjoyed reading Living On A Smile. Not only has Jo Ann Herold much wisdom and knowledge to share, she knows how to do it effectively. The interactive nature of the book is most helpful. One doesn’t merely read this book, you experience it, and that’s extremely important in a guide of this nature. I also liked the liberal use of bullets and charts, which are a great help in understanding the ideas under discussion. The ditties help make the book fun to read as well, but that is not to say that it’s not valuable. It is, and anyone at any stage of their career could profit from it. Every chapter contains useful information that, if applied, will help change readers’ lives. Read it for inspiration, to advance your career, and to learn from someone eager to help others achieve the same kind of success she has.

Philip Van Heusen

Some people live boring lives. To read about them will drain your vitality. Jo Ann Herold is not one of these people. You can say that she has lived a life full of adventure, success, and joy. In Living on a Smile: 16 Ways to Live a Big Life and Lead with Love, Jo Ann shares her philosophies and experiences of life. She has been a marketing executive for Arby’s and other major corporations and writes from the viewpoint of experience. Her super strengths are optimism, courage, generosity, and humility. Reading this book will develop these qualities in you. She helps readers understand and become servant leaders who put service first and leadership second. This book will inspire you to exceed expectations and be more than you are. Read this book, and then act on the inspiration and motivation you receive.

Those who have walked the pathway have much they can share with those who follow. Jo Ann Herold is a mentor’s mentor and she shares her wisdom in Living on a Smile. She learned how to make the best of even a disheartening situation. Jo Ann shares three criteria necessary for success: believe in the brand, like your boss, and work as a team for success. Optimism is vital. This book is full of quotations that are worthy of inclusion. Jo Ann doesn’t just talk about success as a business leader but stresses the need for balance. Her hints regarding global travel are invaluable. Happiness and joy are not the same things. She explains how to increase both. One of her goals is to become a better listener. Live a life of gratitude, and you will enjoy life much more.

Pikasho Deka

To pursue a life of success and happiness, one has to find a balance between career, friends and family, and even time for oneself. In Living On A Smile: 16 Ways to Live a Big Life and Lead with Love, Jo Ann Herold draws from her own life experiences and decades of knowledge attained from working as an award-winning marketing and transformation expert in some of America's most high-profile companies to offer readers helpful titbits and advice on how to approach their careers and live their life to the full. Growing up in Ocean Springs, Jo Ann started working as a STAR at McDonald's during high school and went on to become an integral part of companies such as Interface and The Honey Baked Home Company, LLC. This is a guide to following your passion by purpose planning and becoming a positive ray of light to the world.

Living On A Smile acts both as a memoir and a self-help guide to leadership. Jo Ann Herold provides a meticulous approach to career pursuit that is based on building on your inherent passion, planning your purpose, and following through with the plan until its accomplishment. However, she also cautions readers on knowing when to leave in pursuit of better options. Every chapter is filled with personal anecdotes, making it easy for the reader to find something to relate to and feel a sense of engagement with the relevant topic. At the end of each chapter, there are interactive questions for readers to assess their development. A personal and much-needed book for career-driven professionals.

Edith Wairimu

Jo Ann Herold shares timely advice about finding fulfillment and happiness, and leading from a place of empathy in her uplifting guide, Living On A Smile: 16 Ways to Live a Big Life and Lead with Love. Herold shares about how to maintain a healthy balance between work and family and incorporate other activities important to you in your schedule. She also shares useful advice about how to lead effectively, maintain personal well-being, and find your passion. Jo Ann includes how to decide whether to take accept a new opportunity. She inspires her audience to be brave and true to who they are. She explains how to add joy to your life and positively impact your area of influence. The work examines what fulfilled people and families do differently and shares lessons about achieving the same outcome.

Written with humor and vulnerability, Living On A Smile was a joy to read. I enjoyed each anecdote and loved how they all highlighted important, applicable lessons. I loved that the advice in the book applies to both career and personal life. Not only does the guide explain how to succeed in one’s profession, but it also discusses how to leave a great lasting legacy and balance each aspect of life. Each chapter is accompanied by practical action steps and helpful questions for applying the advice outlined. Key points are summarized at the end of each chapter which makes them easy to recall. Jo Ann Herold has produced an actionable guide on how to lead effectively and live a fulfilling life. It includes wise, relevant advice that will help readers achieve personal and professional goals. Highly recommended.

K.C. Finn

Living On A Smile: 16 Ways to Live a Big Life and Lead with Love is a work of non-fiction in the inspirational and self-help subgenres. It is suitable for the general reading audience and was penned by author Jo Ann Herold. In this charming and helpful work, which is part memoir and part self-help guidebook, the author takes readers through her life from being a food service worker to being the CMO of global business brands. As the “sole woman in the room” for many years, Herold has an inspirational mantra for those who follow after her to make a positive and balanced impact on their lives and businesses in times to come.

Author Jo Ann Herold offers every business-minded individual a great wealth of wisdom, optimism, and hope in this superb collection of anecdotes, sage advice, and well-organized tips and hints. From the actual impact that one’s own company could have on the outer world to the relationships we need to build and nurture along the way, the person-centered approach at the heart of Herold’s philosophy is refreshing and exciting for modern ethical business practices. The organization of the work itself is also well thought out, with a great balance between personal storytelling in a friendly narrative, and a logical progression of solid business models and professional practices that readers can easily relocate and refer back to. Overall, I would certainly recommend Living On A Smile for those plucky individuals who are looking to brighten their future business and career prospects.