We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power

Thinking negative thoughts is a form of self-sabotage that keeps you “safe” and therefore stagnant. Even if the status quo is uncomfortable or makes you unhappy, it feels safer than trying to do something new.

The fact is that most women accept whatever salary they are offered, without saying a peep. Sixty percent of women never negotiate for higher pay, never ever, not even once in their entire career.1 If you are serious about building wealth, you must stop leaving money on the table.

Jim Rohn quote: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”4 Don’t believe me? Let me drop some science. Dr. David McClelland, renowned social psychologist, Harvard professor, and author, studied human motivation for more than thirty years. As discussed in chapter 3, he found that “95 percent of your success or failure in life is determined by the people with whom you habitually associate.” Ninety-five percent, my friend.

And if you’re not into dismantling the systems of oppression that exist in our world today, why not? (We should all be participating in our collective freedom.) However, we have a right to build wealth for ourselves as women for no other reason than we want it.

WHEN YOU DOUBLE YOUR PRICES, EVERYONE WINS

We are the saviors we are waiting for.

You are an underearner if you are earning less than you have the potential to earn, and your potential to earn is solely determined by you.

is focusing on our natural skills and talents, being mindful of how we use our time, and prioritizing the building of generational wealth, because that is how we can make serious change.

We’ve begun to raise hell and use our voices, but we need to start playing a different game. A game we can win. Even though the rules that apply to men don’t apply to us.

And here’s the thing that’s really sad: Imposter syndrome doesn’t just make you feel shitty about yourself, it also keeps you broke.

Boundaries aren’t about saying no to other people. Boundaries are about saying yes to yourself.

You have to be okay with disappointing others. Sometimes people won’t like your boundary. They may even be offended or hurt by it. That’s okay. It’s not your job to make everyone comfortable, and you aren’t responsible for everyone’s feelings. Let other people be responsible for their own feelings just as you are being responsible for your own feelings by setting and maintaining clearly communicated boundaries.

A landmark study conducted in 2004 found that a sixty-five-pound increase in a woman’s weight is associated with a 9-percent drop in her earnings.

It’s about feeling like a million dollars every day. Because when you feel like a million bucks, you are far more likely to earn a million bucks.

time famine is a real drag on well-being.

In 1963, the United States passed the Equal Pay Act requiring equal pay for equal work. But as we know, sixty years later, Latina and Native American women still make only 54 cents and 57 cents, respectively, on a white man’s dollar. Black women make 62 cents on a white man’s dollar, and white women make 79 cents on a white man’s dollar.

Things that she might evaluate include: Was this friend there for me this year? Did we have fun bonding times this year? Does this friend frequently use our time together to complain about her life but then do nothing about it? Do we still have similar interests? Do I look forward to spending time with her? Do I feel energized or drained after spending time with her?

You become a role model and inspiration for fellow women and girls. A teenage girl finds out you’re earning $1 million per year and thinks, Damn. For real? Maybe that’s possible for me, too. Another life transformed because of your wealth. You are helping to change outdated perceptions and reestablish what women’s work is worth in our society. Women win. Girls win. Because of you.

Bottom line: When women earn more, all society benefits immensely. The research proves it. I’ve seen it and felt it. I’m sure you have, too. Instead of just admiring women who earn millions and change the world, become one.

Consider, “If someone hires me, and we work together, what is the highest possible outcome? What is the best that could happen?

Action step: Grab a journal and write at the top of the page “What would you do if you were a bad girl?” Write down whatever comes to mind, no matter how “bad” it is. Allow yourself to explore your true desires and not just what society has trained you to want, say, and be.

Your thoughts are always a prelude to your actions.

According to Stanny, women are underearners because we routinely accept less money for our work, give away our skills for free, or don’t believe we are worth more. We put other people’s needs before our own. And we fear the discomfort of disappointing people, saying no, and putting up boundaries.