I returned from New York, had a relaxing weekend, and promptly developed a nasty case of bronchitis, from which I am still recovering. My first full week off the job and I had to spend it on the couch, barely awake and feverish!

While sick, I watched the entire set of “Bleak House” DVDs.  Highly recommended! I also started to work with the photos I took for a trial run at HDR processing. The $99 cost of Photomatix gave me pause though.

I’ve been slowly pursuing leads for a new job. I hate the question, “How’s the job hunt going?” I’m still unemployed–how do you think it’s going? It seems that my timing is off just about everywhere. I woke up this morning thinking about it, which is never a good sign.

Lloyd Dobler: I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that. (Say Anything)

I have to admit that I’m profoundly embarrassed to have succumbed to the book publisher’s ploy of appealing to my financially-focused (ed. originally said greedy, but see traits #5 & 6 below) side and bought Secrets of Six-Figure Women. This, however, speaks to the book’s topic–how financially successful women approach money in a way that financially unsuccessful women do not. (Hint: They aren’t embarrassed to admit they occasionally need help, support, and guidance when it comes to the fruits of their labor.)

The book is an interesting mix of self-help, interviews with successful women, and personal disclosure from author Barbara Stanny, an EF Hutton heiress who lost her trust fund at the hands of an unscrupulous husband and managed to become a six-figure author. Stanny points out that it’s not, in fact, the amount that you are paid, but rather the determination to be paid what you’re worth that matters. While I gained a lot of intangible benefit from attending business school, I probably would have gained even more just by reading this book before I went. Or before that even.

Not only had I shortchanged myself financially based on a myth I held as fact, but even worse, I denied myself the satisfaction of seeing tangible rewards from personal achievement and the deep sense of security that you can only get from being genuinely self-reliant.

If you think, suspect, or know you’re an underearner (yo! represent!) and you’re not quite ready to totally ‘fess up, you should at least read through the descriptions of the Nine Traits of Underearning on page 52 before you put the book back on the shelf:

1. High tolerance for low pay
2. Underestimating your worth
3. Willing to work for free
4. Are a lousy negotiator
5. Practice reverse snobbery
6. Believe in the nobility of poverty
7. Be a self-saboteur*
8. Be unequivocally codependent
9. Live in financial chaos

*This is my biggest fault–the constant moving? Check. Switching jobs frequently? Check. Stopping short before reaching important goals? Check.

While the book’s editors could have been a bit more heavy-handed and the financial investment information in the back isn’t particularly helpful, I’m glad I read this.