Book Review: Secrets of Six Figure Women by Barbara Stanny
How uncomfortable does you comfort zone have to be, before you look for a way out?
I’ve read before that no matter how happy you are in your work, you should always be job hunting. I never really understood this advice. Should I keep a current resume on a thumb stick in my purse? Should I have a good idea what competing business are paying for my type of work? Or should I really scan job sites on the lookout for a new gig?
Probably all these things are good practice. And they certainly provide an excellent method for staying out of a career rut. If you’re looking at available opportunities, you’re probably mindful of what looks exciting, or scary, or boring out there, compared to what you’re doing. Looking outside yourself gives an excellent perspective of where you currently stand.
It’s easy to get comfortable in our jobs – to know where you’re going when you get up in the morning, to feel good in a routine, to do your job and come home to your myriad other tasks that take up your evenings and weekends. But, how uncomfortable does that comfort have to get before we notice it, or do something about it?
Recently I listened to Secrets of Six Figure Women by Barbara Stanny. I have to admit a particular love for the “Inspirational” section of my library’s online audio book catalogue, and stumbling upon this book was the best type of fortune.
Although this book was written almost two decades ago, “six figures” is still a completely crazy-high figure to many of us, who Stanny would dub “chronic under-earners.” Earning over $100, 000 is still a crazy pipe dream for those of us who’ve settled for less.
Stanny is here to be the motivation we need. The six figure women she interviews are extremely relatable – which drives home the idea that we could be just like them. The layout of the book lays the “secrets” out like a checklist for our lives, to keep us on our game.
First, Stanny pushes the reader to believe she’s the author of her own destiny – if motivation is all that separates us under earners from her six-figure compatriots, she’s here to provide it.
Stanny challenges readers to stand up for themselves in negotiations, in relationships, and to keep in with people who will encourage their growth.
While I was listening, I would find myself coming up with a rebuttal to one of her points. Before I even finished the thought, she would address and dismiss the excuse as if she was right in my head.
Second, Stanny has interviewed her subjects in an informal and personal way – it’s like having a conversation with friends. The women have extremely varied backgrounds, and it’s incredible to see how some of them went from a position like mine, to the powerful women they became.
As they look back on the fear they faced when they left their jobs to pursue a passion, left detrimental relationships behind, and set inhibitions to the side in their drive to be successful, I realized gumption and a willingness to act, or “audacity,” as Stanny calls it, is one of the main characteristics of six-figure women.
I listened to the audio version of this book, while doing a job I was not passionate about, feeling like I had no control over my future, and being the classic under-earner. In laying out the “secrets” the high-earning women provided, Stanny sets specific benchmarks for one’s own behaviour.
For instance, one of the secrets is that the women felt the fear, and acted anyway. Through various examples, Stanny shows how the women were petrified they would fail at a task, or that colleagues and bosses would find out they weren’t up for the job. She says the most successful people are just as afraid as everyone else, but they carry on with the job at hand.
Another “secret” is “letting go” of the ledge that we think is keeping us safe. She talks about over-coming self doubt, letting ourselves be the boss, and finding the balance between our careers and the rest of our lives.
Mostly, she tells us that we have a say in how we live. If we think we’re stuck, that we don’t have options, that what we have is the best we can do, we’re lying to ourselves.
I realized listening to this book that I am not alone, and that I am only as stuck as I allow myself to be. The Secrets of Six Figure Women was a great read for anyone looking to get out of their comfort zone.