Excerpt: Are You An Underearner?
Steve O'Keefe
the book, "Overcoming Underearning," in which financial guru Barbara
Stanny helps readers change their relationship with money and realize
that underearning is often self-inflicted. Stanny's expertise lies in
helping women gain financial independence, but the lessons learned in
"Overcoming Underearning" apply to both genders.
Stanny, the leading authority on women and money, is a motivational
speaker, educator, former journalist, and career counselor. She is the
author of two previous books, "Prince Charming Isn't Coming: How Women
Get Smart About Money," and "Secrets of Six-Figure Women."
In "Overcoming Underearning," she shows readers how to: stop
undervaluing themselves and underestimating their worth, control
self-sabotage, quit living paycheck to paycheck, and become financially
empowered. More than just a collection of tips to increase material
wealth, the book acts as both a journal and a workbook, incorporating
Stanny's belief that changing one's perspective about money takes both
"Inner Work" and "Outer Work." The dozens of self-evaluation tools
throughout the book give it a personalized edge.
The excerpt is entitled "10 Traits of Underearners," and is an
eye-opening description of people who earn less than their potential
despite their need or desire to do otherwise. According to Stanny, all
underearners share one common trait: a high tolerance for low pay.
You can read the excerpt at the following URL:
Robin T Cox
> According to Stanny, all
> underearners share one common trait: a high tolerance for low pay.
So low pay is the fault of the employee, not the employer? How convenient.
goo...@woodall.me.uk
You need a course in basic logic. That sentence says nothing about
whos fault low pay is. Underearners accept "low pay" even though they
don't need to.
Underearning is the fault of the employee. As the article says:
What does it mean to be an underearner? To start with, it has little
to do with the amount of money you make. It has everything to do with
your attitude.
Plumbers, builders etc must love doing work chez Robin.
Plumber: It's a tricky job. Going to take me half a day. 150 pounds
including parts inc VAT.
Robin: That's ridiculous. After materials that's only about 3 pounds
an hour. No decent plumber should have to work for that. Lets say 350
pounds.
Tim.
Robin T Cox
You need a course in basic English, if not in basic psychology.
The sentence says that underearners share a common 'trait'. There is not
the slightest evidence for this, nor are there any scientific studies that
prove the existence of such a trait.
And a 'trait' is not the same thing as an 'attitude', which is a term you
have introduced but is not in the sentence.
Goomba38
Perhaps low extended effort, limited professional level knowledge &
skills are the employee's fault in keeping the employee's pay low?
Anthony Matonak
Perhaps it's just how they select the people they study.
For example, all short people share one common trait, they are not
as tall as other people. All poor people share one common trait,
they don't have much money. All underearners share one common factor,
they are considered to be underearners.
That silliness aside, perhaps there is more to life than money.
For instance, there is also power and sex.
Anthony
Robin T Cox
But low extended effort etc are not traits. Traits are things you are born
with, and cannot change, like the colour of your hair or your eyes.
The author of the piece is seriously inviting us to accept that
underearners are the way they are because of the way they are born.
How convenient.
Robin T Cox
Ah, but in this thread we are discussing the under-earning, not the
under-powered or the under-sexed.
Though I quite agree - there is more to life than money. Just look at the
people who have it.
Tim Woodall
>
>> Robin T Cox wrote:
>>> On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 18:01:08 -0500, Steve O'Keefe wrote:
>>>
>>>> According to Stanny, all
>>>> underearners share one common trait: a high tolerance for low pay.
>>>
>>> So low pay is the fault of the employee, not the employer? How convenient.
>>
>> Perhaps low extended effort, limited professional level knowledge &
>> skills are the employee's fault in keeping the employee's pay low?
>
> But low extended effort etc are not traits. Traits are things you are born
> with, and cannot change, like the colour of your hair or your eyes.
>
Trait n. distinguishing feature or character, appearance, habit, or
portrayal.
In biology (and in programming) it has a specific meaning but the author
is not using the word in that sense.
> The author of the piece is seriously inviting us to accept that
> underearners are the way they are because of the way they are born.
>
> How convenient.
No. You have just read a tiny posting. I seriously doubt you have read
the linked article because while there are plenty of criticisms you
could make of the article what you are writing here is just a strawman.
Tim.
--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t,"
and there was light.
Robin T Cox
On the contrary. Your argument uses the straw man that attributes words in
the article that are not there.
Such as 'attitude' instead of 'trait'.
And, as I have indicated, your knowledge of basic psychology is deficient,
in that you cannot tell the difference between a psychological attitude
and a psychological trait.
And, since the words are used in their psychological sense in the OP's
article, you display your ignorance of English also.
Tim Woodall
When you are in a hole it's best to stop digging.
My use of attitude that you have so much objection to is:
>Underearning is the fault of the employee. As the article says:
>What does it mean to be an underearner? To start with, it has little
>to do with the amount of money you make. It has everything to do with
>your attitude.
Now lets look at the third paragraph of the article
What does it mean to be an underearner? To start with, it has little to
do with the amount of money you make. It has everything to do with your
attitude.
Notice anything?
Now if you continue it goes on to give ten traits of underearners.
And then:
Did you happen to notice what these ten traits all have in common? Every
one of them is self-imposed. Every one is something we do to ourselves.
Go back and read each trait. Can you see how every one is the result of
a choice we made? That's wonderful news. If we create the conditions for
underearning to occur, we have the power to change them.
Do you really think the author is saying "Underearners have innate traits
that that they were born with and cannot be changed". That's a funny
understanding of "we have the power to change them."
And now lets look at your first reply:
>So low pay is the fault of the employee, not the employer? How
>convenient.
And the very first paragraph has:
All underearners, without question, share one common trait: a high
tolerance for low pay. This is a sure sign of underearning. Yet even
that description doesn't tell the whole story. "Low pay" is a relative
term. You can make six figures and still be an underearner. Conversely,
you can earn far less and not fit that category.
Robin T Cox
> When you are in a hole it's best to stop digging.
Best to take your own advice.