Overcoming Underearning: A Five-Step Plan to a Richer Life

I first heard of Barbara Stanny when I read Secrets of Six-Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to Up Your Earnings and Change Your Life earlier this year. It really changed how I look at things and even inspired me to start a video blogging site. So that book made a huge impact on me. I decided to look at another book by the same author and found this one. It's not a bad book, but I think it would work better as a companion to her seminar. I still got a few things out of it, but a lot of it felt like rehashing of what I read previously. Having said that, I think this is an important book for business owners and corporate types to read. So many (male and female alike) are not earning up to their full potential. The question you have to ask yourself is "Why?". The author does an excellent job of taking you through those steps to answering that question.

If you are frustrated by a sense that you're selling yourself short in business situations due to a lack of the right tools or right self-concept, this book deftly addresses these challenges and gives excellent exercises to help you improve these areas. I picked this up at the library, but expect I will purchase it for permanent use. I wasn't particularly drawn during my scan of the book (table of contents, recommendations etc.), but somehow would get a pang when I replaced it on the library shelf. So, checked it out and stayed up till 3 a.m. reading it! Still have about 1/4 of the book to go, but I really got a lot out of it. I consider myself pretty tough in my evaluations of self-help type literature, I have read my share of it. I want it to say something new, offer substance and make sense. There's a lot of rigorous and innovative thought behind what Ms. Stanny says, and it is presented in a way that reached me. Her resource/additional reading section at the end is concise and seems carefully considered, and she explains why she has chosen each resource well. I especially found helpful her list comparing the differences between "dawdlers" and "doers".

I've read Secrets of Six-Figure Women multiple times and gained fresh inspiration with each reading. Now I have the instruction manual to go with it! I know that this will be higlighted, dog-eared and oft-quoted. The work is hard, but the steps are easy and clearly spelled out. If you follow them, there's no excuse for not overcoming underearning. I can feel my financial picture shifting already and plan to recommend this to friends and clients as well. Stanny knows exactly how to break through those financial barriers. This is a great investment.

I read Stanny's last book, Secrets of Six-Figure Women, and it inspired me to make some serious changes in how I view my own earning capabilities. I'm self-employed, and I couldn't see a away to earn more without working too many hours. But her new book is the missing puzzle piece for me. Her formula is deceptively simple-until you actually live it-and then it can be challenging to follow through on. The biggest hurdle for me is speaking up for what I really want, since I've always been way too shy for my own good. But a couple of the exercises in the book have helped me to look at this lifelong problem differently, and take some baby steps to correct it. And I have to report that it is a rush to finally be more authentic in my business dealings. And while I'm sure there are men who will be helped by this book, I think women, need it most. Especially if, like me, you are on the far side of 40. But the good news is, it's never too late to value yourself and your services more! My only criticism, is I wish there were even more exercises to do, as I like learning that way.

Okay, I'll admit it, I've always been an underearner--until now that is. I didn't even know I was, actually, until I read this book. I mean, I've done ok, kept the wolf from the door, but just never really hit my potential. Who knew I could blame my parents for something else? (Only sort of kidding...this book shows you how to figure out what messages from your family you took to heart about money.) No surprise, mine weren't great with it either, and I especially adopted my mother's shopping-is-good-therapy model. So I have lots of cool stuff, but don't own a house to put it in. But now I get it, and I've already done most of the exercises in this book, which really helped me to see that I have to push myself to do some things I've been avoiding...which are, of course, the things I most need to do!!! I'm buying another copy for my sister. She needs it even more! If you want to find out why you can't earn more money or hang onto what you do earn, this is the book for you! Highly recommended.