Practicing Radical Self-Acceptance

Written by Barbara Huson

All my life, I’ve been a self-improvement junkie. Show me a seminar touting personal growth and it was like throwing raw meat to a ravenous lion. I’d hungrily pounce on it.

But then, in 2020 when life went into lockdown, removing a myriad of distractions, I noticed something disturbing—how brutally critical I am of me. This wasn’t a new insight, of course, but I began to see how awful it felt.

So, I made a conscious decision. Rather than pushing myself to improve, I decided to practice Radical Self-Acceptance, loving myself, warts and all…especially the warts.

Don’t get me wrong. I still aspire to be better. But I’m finding a remarkable sense of freedom and well-being as I learn to fully embrace my shortcomings and my strengths, my achievements and my failures, without fear or false humility, without shame or recrimination.

The “I” Word

Written by Barbara Huson

One thing I know for sure—Your financial foundation is only as strong as your personal integrity.

The word integrity comes from a Latin root, meaning wholeness or entirety. Integrity demands your words and deeds consistently reflect your deepest truths.

Or, as A Course in Miracles puts it, “There is nothing you say that contradicts what you think or do.”

Whenever you’re settling for less than you truly desire, working at a job you hate, making excuses, rationalizing, spending money you don’t have, not honoring your most cherished values and authentic truths, you’re out of integrity, giving away your power and sabotaging your success.

Lifting The Financial Fog

Written by Barbara Huson

I spent most of my adult life in a financial fog as opaque as pea soup…and frustrating as hell. If you can relate, you’re certainly not alone.

Millions of women today are stuck in a financial fog so thick and threatening, they can’t find their way to wealth and well-being. And the consequences can be devastating…on our self-esteem as well as our future security.

The way out of this miasma is not by learning more financial facts, but by first understanding then lifting the fog.

This fog is made up of a matrix of issues–suppressed emotions, limiting beliefs, childhood wounds stemming from cultural conditioning, parental messages, unhealed trauma and hidden shame.

The Secret to $uccess No One Ever Talks About

Written by Barbara Huson

I was mystified. It was 1994. I’d begun researching my first book, Prince Charming Isn’t Coming, by interviewing women who worked in the financial industry—investment advisors, mortgage brokers, bankers, etc.

After all, I assumed, financial professionals were the perfect candidates to illustrate the book’s theme: how women went from being ignorant to smart about money.

Believe me, I never expected how many would tell me: “I do this for a living, but my own finances are a mess!”

How could that be?? Decades later I discovered the reason. In a word, Self-Efficacy, or rather the lack of it.

Self-efficacy—a psychological concept developed by the Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura—is the belief that I can do whatever I decide to do, trusting I’ll succeed no matter what.

It’s the difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it, between being highly competent and feeling truly confident.

How the Spiritual Factors into Financial Success

Written by Barbara Huson

Let’s talk about the Higher Work of Wealth—something I believe is missing when we talk about financial success.

The financial media focuses almost exclusively on the Outer Work of Wealth—learning the practical facts, like understanding the difference between a stock and a bond or how to diversify your retirement account.

Granted, we’re seeing more articles, even books exploring the Inner Work of Wealth—overcoming internal blocks, negative attitudes and limiting beliefs we have about Wealth.

But discussions of the Higher Work of Wealth are rare. Though it’s certainly a hot topic in my online community, The Wealth Connection. I believe for most women, the real motivation to create wealth–what keeps us going when resistance rears its ugly head—is not amassing more money.

Are You Playing Full Out?

Written by Barbara Huson

In work, as in life, there are only 2 games you can play.

I call the first game the Underearners Game or Not to Lose Game. The second game is the High Earners Game or To Win Game.

Underearners play the Not to Lose Game, which means focusing on playing it safe, looking good and staying comfortable, avoiding anything that could possibly be scary, awkward, embarrassing or (gasp!) lead to failure.

High Earners play the To Win Game by going as far as they can with all that they’ve got. And when they fall, they get back up and keep going. Which means, despite their fear, they keep playing full out.

Which one are you playing? (Be honest, now!)

5 Tips for Increasing Your Net-Worth

Written by Barbara Huson

Want to make more money? Well, I’ve got the secret. And I’ll bet it’s not what you think.

It sure wasn’t what I expected when I interviewed hundreds of high earners for my books; Secrets of Six-Figure Women and Overcoming Underearning®.

Very few of these highly successful women were driven by money, yet they still demanded to be well compensated because – and here’s the Big Secret – they felt they were worth it.

The good news is that it’s possible for all of us to build up our self worth. Here are some tips for pumping up your self-esteem along with your net worth:

Putting the Fun into Finances!

Written by Barbara Huson

I want to share the inspiring tale of a woman (I’ll call her Jane) who discovered the stunning power of women joining with other women to take their financial lives higher.

I’ve never met Jane. But recently, she emailed me to say a good friend started an Overcoming Underearning® Book Club, that she joined. The club of five women meet monthly, at 7:30 am for what they dubbed, “OU Power Breakfasts.”

They read a different financial book each month. I am proud to report the first was mine — Overcoming Underearning®. Next was On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl’s Guide to Personal Finance by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar.

How Does One Become Wealthy? — Part 3

Written by Barbara Huson

According to success guru, Jack Canfield, “Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.”

I thought of that quote when a woman, in one of my groups, recently posted: “Even though I say I want to create wealth, I keep signing up for more courses that kept putting me deeper in debt.”

I hear this all the time. Taking endless classes feels like you’re taking action, but it’s actually an act of self-deception. So, I responded with a question: Why don’t you want wealth?

How Does One Become Wealthy? — Part 2

Written by Barbara Huson

Here’s the good news about creating wealth. Believing that you can do it, or not, is inconsequential. You just have to decide that’s what you want and be willing to do whatever comes next.

Powerful intentions produce sheer miracles. There’s a sort of magic inherent in a strong intention that will carry you through the toughest and scariest of times.

Here’s a 2-part exercise for creating a powerful intention.

Women & Wealth

Practicing Radical Self-Acceptance

The “I” Word

Lifting The Financial Fog

The Secret to $uccess No One Ever Talks About

How the Spiritual Factors into Financial Success

Are You Playing Full Out?

5 Tips for Increasing Your Net-Worth

Putting the Fun into Finances!

How Does One Become Wealthy? — Part 3

How Does One Become Wealthy? — Part 2

Meet Barbara Huson

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