Quotes from Barbara Stanny

If I get stuck in who I am now, I will never blossom into who I might yet become. I need to practice the gentle art of letting go. —SAM KEEN, AUTHOR

Feel the Fear. Have the Doubts. Go for It Anyway.

All underearners, without question, share one common trait: a high tolerance for low

The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, "The reason people get stuck is almost always an emotional reason…and they can get stuck for years…but the consequences are financial." And similarly, Kiplinger's reported, "Financial planners are increasingly finding themselves playing the role of psychologist as well as financial counselor.

While "intention" is a magnet that attracts what we want, "letting go" provides the space for our desire to manifest.

How does one become a butterfly?" she asked pensively. "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar." —TRINA PAULUS

There's nothing magic about this. It's a universal law: Our state of mind shapes our way of life.

We crave and fear becoming truly ourselves.

I saw that six-figure women have two specific types of support that underearners seemed to lack—True Believers, people who recognize their potential and offer encouragement, and Way Showers, people who provide the map and serve as proof that success is possible.

Sure, negotiation techniques and assertiveness skills can easily be learned by taking courses or reading books. But the truth is, if you're going to command more—whether it's a higher fee, more flexible hours, or a corner office—you have to truly believe you're worth it. People will always respond far more to your "vibes" than your words.

1. What do you see as my major personality strengths? 2. What do you see as my marketable skills? 3. What kind of environment do you see me working in? 4. What do you think I need in a job? 5. What do you see in me that I probably don't see in myself?

But in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., "You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step in faith.

Where your intention goes," Gary Zukav writes in his bestselling book The Seat of the Soul, "so goes you. Your intention becomes your reality.

Just as claiming our power is an act of self-love, forsaking it is an act of self-betrayal. We pay dearly for deference and dependency. It costs us our autonomy, self-esteem, and peace of mind.

Think of your own life. Haven't your most valuable lessons come from your most trying experiences? Hard times, like heavy weights, build muscle. I observed, among the women I interviewed, that the most audacious were those who had endured the most adversity, especially as children

Entrepreneur Sheila Brooks, who was raised in a ghetto, told me most of the kids she grew up with are dead, in jail, or still impoverished, but she "beat the odds" through hard work and an unshakable faith in a Higher Power. "I truly believe that all things are possible with God. Every day I spend time in meditation and prayer. I thank my Higher Power for everything He has given me. When I do that, I know that no matter how bad things are, I can overcome.

Maybe there aren't any jobs," she confided. "But I can't let my mind paralyze me." Every day she'd look in the mirror and repeat to herself: "This is an opportunity," until she began to believe it. The last time I talked to her, she was considering several offers.

Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens." —Carl Jung

What do I need to have in my life to feel deeply satisfied? What do I know in my heart is keeping me from feeling satisfied and successful? What situations, relationships, beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and choices have I made that are no longer serving me? If I had a year to live, where would I be? Who would I be with? What would I be doing?

It's like being a duck. Calm and unruffled on the surface, but paddling like hell underneath.

Catherine Ponder explains it this way: "If you want the greatest prosperity in your life, start forming a vacuum to receive it.

The real work in raising the bar is to stop doing the same old thing you've always done, to try out new strategies, to ignore false alarms, to resist the urge to quit, and to refuse to fall back into familiar terrain. The ability to tolerate discomfort—doing what might not feel good, but doing it anyway—is the only way you'll ever complete the path to financial success. It helps to keep in mind that the discomfort is temporary, but the payoff is extraordinary

If you were on your deathbed, looking back at your life, what would make you feel happiest and most satisfied with how you lived?

This conversation was remarkable only in its unremarkableness.