Overcoming Underearning

How I Rewired My Brain for Higher Earnings…without even realizing I was doing it.

Here’s a revealing exercise. How would you complete the sentence: I’d love to make more money, but_______________.

You probably came up with some perfectly good reasons why you can’t: “I’m too old. I’m too young. I don’t have time. I have little kids. I don’t want to work that hard.”

Your reasons may feel rational. But they are not the truth. They are simply deep-seated beliefs, messages you repeatedly heard growing up that have become deeply embedded in your brain.

These beliefs, far more than any external factors, are the reason you’re stuck in underearning. Whenever you attempt to do something contrary to your beliefs, your brain screams bloody murder: “Stop! Don’t go there! Danger! Danger!”

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Wealth Building Made Simple…Very, Very Simple!

You’d love to be wealthy, right? But then immediately reject the idea as ridiculous. Let me assure you, creating wealth’s a lot simpler than you think. And you don’t need a lot of money to start.

What you do need is enough discipline to obey The 3 Rules of Wealth:

1. Spend Less—never spend money you don’t have. If you can’t pay off your credit cards in full each month, stop using them.

2. Save More—pay yourself first. Ideally, 10% of your income goes straight into savings. But $10 a month is totally fine. The idea is to get in the habit of saving.

3. Invest Wisely—put at least a portion of your money into assets will grow faster than inflation and taxes take it away, like stocks, bonds and real estate.

All 3 are critical. But Investing Wisely is how wealth is created. It’s also the rule that stymies most people.

4 Foolproof Techniques for Calming Fear

I often ask under earners, “When’s the last time you did something you were scared to do?” They’d scratch their heads, seemingly stumped.

When I ask high earners, they laugh and say, “All the time. It’s a way of life.”

Ages ago, after one of those conversations, I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote, in red crayon: Do What You Fear. That’s How You SucceedIt still sits, framed, on my desk today.

Though Joseph Campbell put it far more eloquently: The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

Admittedly, entering the Cave of Fear is…well…terrifying…for everyone. I have yet to meet a successful woman who hasn’t struggled with fear and self-doubt.

The Immense Power of A Strong Intention (Part I)

I can personally vouch for the incredible power of a strong intention!

Years ago, I noticed that just about every High Earner described a moment in her past, when she said to herself, with utter conviction: “It’s time to make more money.”

She didn’t always believe it possible or know how she’d do it. But she was definitely determined.

Compare that to Underearners. Almost without exception, they’d tell me “I’d love to make more money, but…” as they listed off a litany of excuses.

And indeed, their incomes remained consistently low.

I was quite struck by the difference in the responses of High Earners vs. Underearners. So one day I took a post-it note, wrote $125,000 on it, and stuck it on my computer. That was my earnings goal for the year.

The Truth Will Set You Free…And Here’s Why.

“ I really want to make more money, but where do I start?” I get this question constantly. My answer is always the same.

Start by telling the truth about what’s not working in your life…without having a solution in sight.

Simply telling the truth has tremendous power. Problems have a purpose. They’re trying to get your attention.

As I’ve witnessed countless times, financial success is most often preceded by acknowledging a financial challenge.

Your particular challenge could be as subtle as a nagging sense that you’re not happy to the agonizing awareness that you can’t pay your rent, yet again.

Facing a challenge does not mean rushing ahead with possible solutions or passively accepting the situation as “That’s just the way it is.”

Facing a challenge means telling the truth about why it’s there in the first place. That’s when you’ll come to realize that every difficulty you experience stems from the choices you’ve made, choices based on erroneous information, faulty beliefs, past programming, unfounded fear.

Entering the Discomfort Zone

“I really want to make more money,” she said, sighing heavily, “but I find it difficult being comfortable asking for what I’m worth.”

This woman was missing the point. I don’t know anyone who feels comfortable raising their prices or asking for a raise. Yet, underearners will sabotage their success rather than endure the discomfort.

It’s astonishing how fiercely we cling to our so-called Comfort Zones. What a misnomer. These places are anything but comfortable. They’re just familiar and predictable.

Whenever you decide to do something different–whether it’s making more money or losing more weight—you must enter the Discomfort Zone–the space between where you are now and where you want to be.

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Are You an Underearner? Part 2

Underearners (UEs) can be hard to spot. Here are seven traits that all UEs share.

1.  Live in financial chaos—UEs tend to go from one financial crisis to another, struggling to make ends meet, often drowning in debt.

2.  Vagueness about money—UEs usually have no idea how much money

they have, earn or need and depend on wishful thinking instead of strategizing and negotiating.

3.  Underestimates worth—UEs give away their time, knowledge, skills for free or bargain prices because they devalue themselves.

4. Anti-money attitude—UEs are ambivalent or downright negative about money and people who have it, believing there is virtue in being poor.

5.  Self-saboteurs—Bright women remain UEs primarily by taking on too much, being scattered and unfocused or procrastinating.

6.  Co-dependent—UEs put everyone else’s needs first, which leads to anger, resentment and pain (not the qualities conducive to success).

7.  Craves comfort—UEs are unwilling to be uncomfortable and therefore unwilling to take risks.

Did you say to yourself, Yes, that’s me, as you read this? If you struggle with Underearning tell me about it in the comments below.

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Are You an Underearner? Part 1

Ever wonder if you’re underearning? 

 

All underearners share one common trait: A high tolerance for low pay.  But that description can be deceptive.

 

 “Low pay” is a relative term. You can make six figures and still be an underearner. Conversely, you can earn far less and not be.

 

My definition of an underearner—someone who makes less than she needs or desires despite her efforts to do otherwise. 

 

Underearning is not the same as VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY—a conscious choice to live on less in order to create a simpler, saner life; or A MINDFUL LOW EARNER, someone who does work that feeds her soul and still makes enough to meet her needs.

 

Underearning is never a conscious choice. It never leads to a saner, more satisfying life. It is always a CONDITION OF DEPRIVATION, not just of money, but of time, joy, freedom, choices and self-esteem.

 

Do you see yourself in any of the descriptions above? Share in the comments below and be sure to watch for next week’s blog where I’ll share some specific traits of underearners.

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Is Money a Pressing Priority?

You say you want to make more money, right?

But understand this. Nothing will happen until you consciously decide to make financial success a pressing priority.

A decision is not the same as a goal. A goal denotes the desired destination. A decision implies the determination to reach it.

Here’s the beauty of a committed decision. You don’t need to have a plan all figured out. All you have to do is decide what you want and do what comes next.

Decisions are like magnets. They attract opportunities.

But be warned: those opportunities always lie outside your comfort zone.

You’ll come to a point where you must decide what you’re really committed to: increasing your income or staying where it’s safe.

You can’t have both. Have you done anything recently that’s outside your comfort zone? Leave me a comment below.


If you’ve made a decision to build your Wealth in 2020, I’m here to tell you it’s easier with support. Get the support you need to stay on the Wealth-Building path in my virtual community—The Wealth Connection. Learn More.

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Are You Really Playing Full Out?

In work, as in life, there are only 2 games you can play: 

  • The Underearning Game (Not to Lose)
  • The High Earning Game (To Win)

Which one are you playing? (Be honest, now!)

The goal of the Underearning Game is Not to Lose, which means you must focus on playing it safe, looking good and staying comfortable, avoiding anything that could possibly be scary, awkward, embarrassing or (gasp!) lead to failure.

The goal of the High Earning Game is To Win by going as far as you can with all that you’ve got.  And when you fall down, you get back up and keep going. Which means, despite your fear, you keep playing full out. 

Problem is, it can be tough to tell which game you’re playing. There are times when I swear I’m giving my all, but later it hits me.  I was fooling myself by holding back (even just a tiny bit means I’m playing it safe).

So, I devised the following list to help assess if you’re really playing to win.

5 Signs I’m Playing Full Out (check what applies to you).

  1. I know what I want and am committed to getting it. (And if I don’t know, I devote time and energy to figuring it out).
  2. I’m so focused on my vision that I don’t get distracted (at least not for long) by irrelevant, draining, or conflicting tasks.
  3. I’m willing to experience whatever it takes—defeat, discomfort, even humiliation—to achieve what I want.
  4. I don’t say ‘yes’ when I really want to say ‘no,’ even if it means upsetting another.
  5. Every time I’m afraid to do something, I force myself to do it anyway. (And I catch myself when I justify not doing it.)

I’d love to hear: How many did you check?  Is there anything you’d add to this list? Leave a comment below.


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Meet Barbara Huson

When a devastating financial crisis rocked her world, Barbara Huson knew she had to get smart about money… and she did. Now, she wants to empower every women to take charge of their money and take charge of their lives! She’s doing just that with her best-selling books, life changing retreats and private financial coaching.

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