We women have got to stop devaluing ourselves and demand what we’re worth.

Money was not the motivator—it was what money represented. These women were driven more by what they hoped to achieve than what they aspired to earn.

Focus on Fulfilling Your Values Rather Than Financial Gain.

But for all the M.B.A.’s and Ph.D.’s I spoke to, I also talked to scores of women whose only credential was a bachelor of arts or a two-year associate’s degree. And, surprisingly, there were a number who had no college degree at all, some of whom were high school dropouts. What’s more, the lack of credentials didn’t seem to hurt them one bit.

How boring, I thought. And, yes, intimidating. I pictured these high-earning women as cold, tough, aloof, hard-driven, designer-dressed people I could never relate to, leagues above me.

After all, how can we ever expect to earn as much as a man if we can’t even earn as much as we ourselves are capable of making?

These women demonstrated an indispensable secret for living a prosperous life of genuine wealth: Appreciate Abundance.

defines underearning this way: “to repeatedly gain less income than you need, or than would be beneficial, usually for no apparent reason and despite your desire to do otherwise.”

This is where I learned that belief in yourself doesn’t mean the absence of self-doubt.