The surprisingly simple shift to quit playing small, name the fear, and move forward anyway
UNDERESTIMATED
"Hard story people are my kind of people.
Here's to the kind ones, the quiet ones, the ones so often overlooked. For all those who have ever felt Underestimated, first by the world but even worse by yourself, these words are both a love letter to you and a field guide as we fight our way forward... TOGETHER."
"Hard story people are my kind of people.
Here's to the kind ones, the quiet ones, the ones so often overlooked. For all those who have ever felt Underestimated, first by the world but even worse by yourself, these words are both a love letter to you and a field guide as we fight our way forward... TOGETHER."
— mary marantz, underestimated
Enter the Underestimated
GIVEAWAY!
Preorder your copy of Underestimated today &
enter to win our giveaway of a $250 target gift card and a 10 book bundle from the endorsers
ENTER in 3 easy steps
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Next, pre-order your copy of Underestimated TODAY if you want to earn 10 BONUS entries!
I know it's so tempting to just wait until a few days before the release date to order your copy of a favorite new book. But did you know that EARLY preorders actually determine whether stores will even stock the book on shelves come launch day?
There is no single better way to support an author you love than to preorder their book as soon as you hear about it!
pre-order now!
Hint: Keep your order #, you'll need that below!
Fill out the Official Entry Form by clicking the
button below!
That's it! You'll be entered to win a $250 Target Gift Card AND 10 of my favorite books from the INCREDIBLE authors who have endorsed Underestimated. We're talking Sharon McMahon,
Jon Acuff, Steven Pressfield, Christy Wright,
Dr. Alison Cook, Laura Tremaine, Jess Ekstrom, Graham Cochrane, Jason VanRuler & Mattie Jackson!
Winner will be announced Friday, January 31st!
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY
"The book you're about to read isn't written by some unrelatable guru or filled with empty platitudes. Mary, I can personally attest, is the REAL deal...
I knew before we were friends that her mind was sharp and her eyes were kind. But now I know with certainly that her heart is true and her spirit is gentle. Mary has been through the valley, and her wisdom is hard-won.
This book is a guide through the wilderness of being Underestimated. And there is NO ONE better than Mary Marantz to lead us to the mountaintop.
I'll see you there!"
From the Foreword by
#1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon McMahon...
Steven Pressfield
“Mary has that rare gift of words to say exactly what she wants to say in a way that is equal parts funny and smart, poetic and razor-sharp. This is the best of what happens when EQ meets IQ. If you are fed up with fear having the final say in your life, I dare you to read just the first few pages of this book. You won’t be able to stop when you do!”
"Mary has that rare gift"
Jon ACuff
New York Times bestselling author of Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking
“Underestimated delivers a knockout punch to playing small. Chapter by chapter, Marantz goes toe-to-toe with all the different faces of fear that keep people stuck, and emerges on the other side as a trustworthy guide for all of us. Mary is the real deal. This book will change lives!”
“Underestimated is an absolute delight—a brilliant, kind, and disarming guide for anyone who has spent precious time playing small or second-guessing themselves. Marantz invites you on a wisdom-soaked journey of self-discovery, helping you face your fears while keeping you laughing out loud, all while empowering you to embrace your unique purpose and finally show up for yourself. A must-read!”
"A must read!"
Dr. Alison Cook
"Mary is the real deal"
bestselling author of I Shouldn’t Feel This Way and The Best of You
ENDORSEMENTS for UNDERESTIMATED
New York Times bestselling author of
The War of Art
MORE >
< BACK
“Underestimated is the handbook for how to quit playing small that I wish I would have had twenty years ago because it seriously would have changed everything! This book is sharp, funny, and heartfelt, as well as truly practical. Mary Marantz has packed a lifetime of grit and hard-won wisdom into these pages, and we are all better for it. I can’t wait to share this book with everyone I know!”
Jason VanRuler
bestselling author of
Get Past Your Past
Christy Wright
Laura Tremaine
“If you’ve ever struggled with fear, doubt, insecurity, or impostor syndrome, this book is for you. In Underestimated, Mary Marantz gives you the kick in the pants you need to stop making excuses and playing small. This book will fire you up and make you believe that you can do that new hard thing you’ve been wanting to do—because guess what? You can. I’m so thankful for Mary & this powerful book.”
bestselling author of
Take Back Your Time
podcaster and author of The Life Council:
10 Friends Every Woman Needs
"Mary Marantz is one of my favorite voices to listen to when I need to get out of my head and stop sabotaging my own potential. Her stories and wise words in Underestimated made me want to break my own lifelong patterns of people-pleasing and hiding behind perfectionism. As soon as I closed the book, I started mapping out the next steps in a project I’ve been procrastinating on."
"A powerful book!"
"One of my favorite voices"
" Sharp, funny, practical"
< BACK
“WARNING: If you want to keep playing small and putting off the dream another year longer, do not open this book! Mary Marantz has done all the heavy lifting for us to make sure we don’t have a single excuse left for not getting started. Underestimated will make you laugh, make you cry, make you think, and challenge all your ‘I’m my own worst enemy’ ways . . . often on the same page. Read this EXCELLENT book!"
Graham Cochrane
USA Today bestselling author of Rebel:
Find Yourself by Not Following the Crowd
Jess Ekstrom
“While you’re waiting until you feel ‘ready’ for your dreams, pick up Underestimated. Mary will show you that you already have exactly what you need and there’s no time like the present!”
founder of Mic Drop Workshop and author of Chasing the Bright Side
Mattie Jackson
"Once again, Mary meets us in hard spaces with wisdom, wit, and hard-won truths of how to make long-shelved dreams into reality. Her never-minced exhortations always meet us with empathy, and her passion to call us into our next, authentic best seeps from every page. When you don’t believe you can do it, Mary reminds you—you can."
bestselling author and
host of In Joy Life podcast
"No time like the present!"
"Hard-won truths"
"Read this Excellent book!"
Pre-Order your copy today!
UNDERESTIMATED
The Surprisingly Simple Shift to Quit Playing Small, Name the Fear, And move Forward Anyway
For the person who feels called to do BIG things... and also simultaneously doubts that someone like YOU will ever get there.
pre-order now!
AS SEEN IN
press & Praise for Mary
a few next action steps:
Don't do it for "them"
Those of us in the "Sacred Order of the Underestimated" can spend our whole lives trying to prove other people wrong. Whether it was someone who left us or someone who told us we would never amount to anything, we have convinced ourselves that we thrive on showing people just how far we've come. But now it's time to ask yourself, what does success look like for YOU?
You can't gold star your way into worth
If we place our worth in our achievements, we are inherently putting the power in other people's hands... to both see our accomplishments AND somehow deem them worthy. In other words, if we crave other people's approval to keep us fed... that's a sure fire way to spend our whole lives hungry. We have to find a source of our worth that does not waiver.
Are you ready for more?
My third book, Underestimated, launches into the world April 29th, 2025 and it is the systematic take down of Fear that we've all been waiting for. Perfectionism, Procrastination, People Pleasing, Impostor Syndrome, Overthinking, Feeling Like Not Enough, Criticism, Fear of Failure... and even SUCCESS. I tackle them all.
Because it's time we NAME the fear... and Move Forward ANYWAY!
Ch 1 Starting over is a rolling boulder
Ch 2 Fear is a broken script
ch 3 Self-Sabotage is a Shot Glass
Ch 4 Second-guessing is a missing handbook
ch 5 Not enough is a blank space
Ch 6 impostor syndrome is a sheet of thin ice
ch 7 overthinking is an orange safety cone
fear is a really boring liar...
Ch 8 procrastination is a double edged sword
Ch 9 people pleasing is a lonely intersection
ch 10 Perfectionism is hiding with better PR
Ch 11 failure is a bankrupt identity
ch 12 criticism is an inside job
Ch 13 distraction is a clock that's ticking
ch 14 success is a slippery slope
Hello there!
BEFORE WE let you go...
MEET THE AUTHOR:
I'M MARY MARANTZ
Recovering gold star, highlight reel, A++ level overachiever... picture Elle Woods meets Rory Gilmore, with a side of Jessie Spano.
"I'm so excited, I'm so excited... What, like it's HARD?"
I'm the girl who grew up in a single wide trailer in rural West Virginia, before making my way all the way to the hallowed halls of Yale Law School... only to end up still not feeling like enough. Like I wrote in my first book, Dirt, "What if success is where the real trouble began? What if we get everything we ever wanted, only to find out it still doesn't change a thing about not liking this skin we have to do life in?"
I have spent the last five years figuring out how to separate my worth from my achieving. In other words, figuring out WHO I am apart from WHAT I do.
Today I help generation changers own the muddy parts
of their story & give up achieving for their worth.
In fact, I wrote a whole quiz about it...
WHAT'S YOUR ACHIEVER TYPE?
take the quiz
take the quiz! (it's just 60 seconds)
Each one of us has an Achiever Type, and it determines so much about the way we go after goals, WHY we go after them, and what keeps us stuck. Knowing our type allows us to understand what motivates us, gain insight and get ahead of what trips us up, and move forward with purpose to the work we're being called to do.
The Performer, The Tightrope Walker, The Contortionist, The Masquerader,
The Illusionist in the Distance
Let's do this!
Here are your curated must listen episodes for
THE UNDERESTIMATED
At the Mary Marantz Show we believe that we
NAME the Fear... and Move Forward Anyway!
And we have a full line up of binge-worthy episodes. But for you, my friend in the Sacred Order of the Underestimated, start HERE! These are the episodes you most likely need to hear first as you let go of playing small once and for all!
Listen to this!
slow growth prepares you for sudden success WITH Sharon Mcmahon
These Mary Marantz Show episodes
were hand-picked just for you...
LISTEN NOW
how to change overthinking into a super power w/ jon acuff
how to get unstuck when doubt takes over w/ steven pressfield
how your small yes can turn into big impact w/ natalie grant
Healing > HIding: How to Expand our capacity w/ Dr. Alison Cook